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A Praise of God for His Manifold Blessings.
The wonderful gifts of God's grace:
v. 3. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
v. 4. to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,
v. 5. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
v. 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations,
v. 7. that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ;
v. 8. whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;
v. 9. receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The apostle knew that the Christians to whom he was writing needed encouragement. But there is no better way of cheering up faint-hearted Christians than by singing the praises of Him to whose goodness and mercy we owe such an overwhelming debt of mercy: Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He who, according to His great mercy, has born us anew unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The apostle gives all blessing, all praise, to God alone, since He is the Author and Finisher of our salvation, reserving none whatever for himself, for his own merits and works. We Christians have reasons for praising God with such full abandon of our hearts and minds, because He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus is our Savior, our Brother, and therefore God, being His God, is now also our God, being His Father, also our Father. This the apostle explains by saying that God has born us anew, that He has made us His spiritual children, and again, not by reason of any merit or worthiness in us, but simply according to His great, His abundant mercy, according to the riches of His love in Jesus Christ. The result, then, of this spiritual begetting should be that there be imparted to us, and that we possess, a living hope, a hope that has sound basis, a hope that is sure to be rewarded. The entire life of regeneration is a life of hope, which looks forward to the precious gifts of the future. With faith there is naturally combined the hope of a future, perfect salvation in eternity, for to the reconciled sinner heaven itself is standing open. This live, this vigorous hope exists in our hearts through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; for this fact has given us the guarantee that our hope will surely be fulfilled. Christ, having risen from the dead and having entered into the state of His glorification, will certainly make good His promise and bring us also into the life of glory.
The beauty and glory of this gift is such as to provoke the apostle to a veritable burst of exultant praise: To an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven with a view to you. That is the aim, the object, of God's regeneration, that is what He wants to give and impart to us. Heaven and all its glory are our inheritance, for we are children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. This heavenly inheritance is imperishable; it cannot perish, cannot decay, cannot be corrupted, cannot lose in beauty and value. Earthly possessions will pass away and become subject to corruption, but the heavenly possession is of a nature that will never deteriorate, It is an unsoiled, undefiled inheritance. Earthly goods and riches are soiled and defiled and violated by reason of unrighteousness, covetousness, avarice, sin. But the salvation which Christ earned for us is pure, unspotted by any sin; it is the inheritance of the saints in the holy light that emanates from the throne of God. Earthly happiness, earthly fortune and glory, is like the flower of the field, which, indeed, shoots up quickly and blossoms soon, but just as quickly loses its beauty and fades away. The heavenly inheritance is unfading, standing before us in everlasting, unchanging beauty. The first indescribable exultation that will take hold of our hearts upon entering the heavenly mansions will never be reduced, will never grow cold. This inheritance is laid up, reserved, for us in heaven. There is no possibility that it may yet be lost to us, since God's promise is holding it out to us, since it is assured and applied and imparted to us by faith.
And lest someone hesitatingly refer to the possibility of growing weak and of losing hope, which, indeed, is ever present on account of the many temptations which beset us, the apostle adds: Who are protected by the power of God through faith unto the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The Christians are like a house or fortress which is besieged by Satan in many forms of temptation. But they are guarded and protected by God's almighty power. This is not exhibited in absolute majesty, but through faith, which is the hand that receives the gift of salvation, which clings to the certainty of the everlasting mercy. Thus the keeping of the believers unto salvation is accomplished, namely, to a salvation which was appointed before the beginning of time for the believers, in order that it might be revealed and made known in the last time, at the end of the world. The exact time is not known to the author, nor does the fact of his being ignorant of this date in any way interfere with his faith. Sufficient for him is the fact, as it should be for every believer, that God is keeping watch, that his soul's salvation is well taken care of in the hands of the heavenly Father. Apostasy is indeed man's fault all alone, but the opposite condition, the reason for steadfastness of faith, is in no way a better conduct or attitude in man, but it is the work of God all alone. What a wonderful comfort when weakness of faith and doubt tend to assail our hearts!
This it is that causes the apostle to write: in which you greatly rejoice, although now for a little you may be obliged to be grieved in various trials. That is the true attitude of the Christian's heart, full of joy, exultation, jubilation, even here in time, to be completed, however, with inexpressible happiness, throughout eternity. The believers having the guarantee even now that they are chosen sojourners, incidentally have the assurance that God will preserve for them eternal joy and salvation. Therefore this anticipation cannot be influenced by the fact that the believers are here, for a passing moment, exposed to outward grief on account of their being beset by various trials; their life may make the impression, as if they were subject to nothing but disheartening experiences and never had a glad hour.
But appearances, in this case, are very deceiving; for the apostle continues: That the testing of your faith may (show it to) be much more precious than perishable gold, which is also proved by fire, found unto praise and honor and glory in the revelation of Jesus Christ. Those very trials which a Christian must undergo are at bottom not a cause of sorrow to him, since they redound to his advantage. For if his faith stands the test to which it is subjected, it is thereby proved to be more precious and valuable than any corruptible gold, whose quality is likewise tested by fire, just as faith is tested in trials. And the result, if the believer stand the test properly, will be that he attains to praise and glory and honor. Through the fiery trial of suffering we not only realize the vanity and evanescence of all earthly things and our own helplessness in spiritual matters, but we are also prepared for the final acknowledgment of our faith, for its crowning and glorifying in the bliss of eternal salvation. On the day of the final revelation of Christ's glory He will, out of His boundless mercy, permit us to share in this glory and to live and triumph with Him throughout eternity.
This happiness is pictured by the apostle: Whom, without seeing, you love, in whom you now, although you do not see Him, yet believing, you exult with unspeakable and glorious joy, obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The readers, just like the Christians of the present time, had not seen Christ in the flesh, had not been witnesses of His miracles nor heard His wonderful parables and discourses. And yet their love, growing out of the faith in the Gospel-message, had taken root and was firmly established. Even now, when they expect His return to Judgment, their faith in Him is unmoved, although they are still without sight of Him. And with their faith their joy, their happiness, their exultation over their redemption and over their final deliverance, continues. In this way the present joy of the believers leads up to its future culmination, when, in the enjoyment of the heavenly glories, their joy will transcend all human language, the most glowing description which human tongue could give, being beyond the conception of even the most daring speculation on glory which human beings have ever succeeded in bringing forward. Thus will the believers obtain, carry off as a prize, the end, the goal, of their faith; they will go from believing to possessing; they will have and hold forever the salvation of their souls. Thus justifying faith is also saving faith, and by the fact of its having accepted the promises of the Gospel it works deliverance from this earthly life with its misery and affliction, and will finally seal to us this deliverance, world without end.