4 Incredible Gifts You Receive In Christ
/It is common for runners to "hit the wall" as they push themselves past their comfort level. Here's how the long distance runner Dick Beardsley described it:
"It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto my shoulders and was making me carry it the rest of the way in."
Hitting the wall is a very real physical condition. Once carbohydrates and hydration are diminished, the body wants to stop. The body burns out of energy and becomes so tired it can't go forward.
What is true for the body is true for the soul. Spiritually speaking, sometimes we also hit the wall. We feel like an elephant has jumped on our back. We hit that can't-do-this spiritual fatigue. Life is an endurance race, in which we all will at some point "hit the wall" and want to quit. (1)
Is that you? Feeling like a great big fat elephant is sitting on your shoulders? Are you discouraged? Well, I believe the text of scripture we are going to dive into has the potential to get the elephant off your back and get you back on track!
You Are Unstoppable Because of What You Have in Christ
When I don’t spend the necessary time balancing my checkbook and keeping an accurate understanding of where we are financially, I get a little bit nervous. Why do I get nervous? Because I don’t know clearly where we stand financially.
I think the same type of worrisome angst can happen to us spiritually if we fail to keep track of where we are at with the Lord. This is Peter’s goal in the first part of his letter to the dispersed Christians who are starting to undergo persecution for the faith. He wanted them to understand clearly what they had in Christ Jesus.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5
1. You have the Father’s Great Mercy
Peter is very careful to start verse 3 off with clear praise and blessing to, not only the Father, but to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus. Each person of the Godhead has a distinct role in the salvation process. The Father is the architect of the plan, Jesus is the executor of the plan, and the Spirit of God is the enabler of the plan. Peter blesses God for the plan of redemption.
A major component of God’s plan is mercy –withholding just punishment.
Of any of the disciples don’t you think Peter understood mercy the best? Think of how many times Peter deserved the wrath of Jesus on many occasions and yet he experienced mercy instead…
Peter wants the believers in the dispersed churches to remember that they too deserve punishment. They have broken God’s Law over and over and He is perfectly just in sentencing them to eternal Hell.
But praise God He is RICH in mercy (Eph 2:4). If you are in Christ, you are a beneficiary of God’s great mercy!
2. You have Salvation through the Resurrection
What is the result of His great mercy for the follower of Christ? Salvation! He saved us!
According to the text, he caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Now, let’s spend some time thinking through the implications of this verse.
God is the cause of your salvation–“Caused us to be born again” is one word in the Greek. Isn’t this an amazing concept? God loves you so much that even though, according to Romans 5, you and I are enemies of His, He desires for us to have new life.
Dead people don’t know what they want and there is no way dead people can make themselves alive. Dead people are dead until an outside force causes them to be alive. God is that force. God causes your salvation!
Through Christ’s resurrection, God demonstrated His power over death. You have a living hope because you have a living Savior!
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Do you sense the encouragement and hope Peter is offering these churches? He is reminding them what has happened to them and now, he is reminding them what is in store for them. And the same is true for us! Look at verse 4…
3. You have an Amazing Inheritance
God, our Heavenly Father, promises us an inheritance. There is something very special about the inheritance our Heavenly father has for us. Something far better than any estate one can receive in this life.
Check out the three powerful words Peter uses…
Imperishable–“Not being subject to breaking down, thus lasting forever.”
If you are in Christ, your inheritance is absolutely, 100% Everlasting! Permanent! Never-ending! IMPERISHABLE! Doesn’t that encourage you?
Undefiled–“Free from stain or blemish...untainted in the eyes of God.
Unfading–“Characterized by never losing quality or beauty”
Three words that have similar definitions means Peter is making a powerful point here. These three words are a triad of hope! Do you get the sense that the inheritance for the follower of Jesus is a sure thing? But there is yet another promise from God that Peter points out…
Kept in Heaven for YOU!
Your inheritance is secure because whatever God secures is fully secure! Why can Peter make such a bold claim? Look at verse 5…
4. You have a Salvation that WILL be Revealed
...to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 3:4-5
Did you notice what this passage says? Not only is your inheritance being guarded for you, but you are being guarded for your inheritance! Do you see it? God’s power is guarding you!
I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back? Isaiah 43:13
Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me? Jeremiah 32:27
It is God’s power that is guarding us.
And if God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
How does God choose to guard us? Through FAITH! Faith is the key.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Peter is telling his readers that if they have faith, they have a SURE Salvation.
Is it any wonder why Peter starts verse three off with blessing and praising God? If you are in Christ, you are free! You have hope! There is nothing that this life can throw at you that God’s promises do not override.
Christians should have a holy boldness when it comes to their walk with the Lord. Again, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
You are unstoppable to live out the Christian life because of what you have in Christ!
Exercise your confidence! According to this text, you have nothing to worry about. Everything you are hoping for...eternal joy, peace, and love are waiting for you on the other side. So while you are on this side, live boldly.
Ask an unbeliever if you can pray for them…
Build a relationship with your neighbor by inviting them over for dinner…
Volunteer at Love INC, The Family Life Center, Forgotten Man Ministries, etc. and give people hope...
Invite someone to do a Bible study!
What do you have to lose? You are unstoppable!
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” -Jim Elliot
(1) Adapted from John Bishop, God Distorted, (pp. 171-172)