{"id":21,"date":"2026-09-23T02:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T02:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/?p=21"},"modified":"2026-09-23T02:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T02:09:22","slug":"1-peter-series-lesson-1-the-status-of-peter-and-biblical-doctrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/?p=21","title":{"rendered":"1 Peter series, lesson 1: The status of Peter and Biblical Doctrine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Background: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first epistle of Peter, and he wrote this letter while in Rome during 64 AD. The context behind writing this letter is that Roman Emperor Nero was persecuting the Church following the destruction of Rome in the Great Fire of Rome which happened the same year as Peter writing this letter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nero took the office of 16 years old during 54 AD, and like most Roman Emperors he lived a life that honored himself versus prioritizing the citizens he had to watch after. And he\u2019s now infamous for how bad of a ruler he was as well persecuting and killing Christians. He was the first emperor during Rome’s time that sought after killing Christian\u2019s personally just for being Christians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did this because of the Great Fire of Rome, which started because there was a mass crowding of people in a central area, and someone somehow started a fire but cheaply made homes and shops caught on fire, and thus the fire  spread and raged on for a total of 10 days, and at the end of it 10 of Rome’s 14 districts were completely destroyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nero blamed this mass crowding of people on Christians, saying that had all of these Christian\u2019s not come to Rome and weren\u2019t gathering to discuss God and share the gospel, it never would\u2019ve happened. Following this, the people of Rome, as well as the Roman government began seeing to it that Christians were murdered in efforts to keep new people from coming in and getting old ones out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They carried out these executions by: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Feeding them to wild animals<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Crucification\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Executions\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Flogging\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Stoning<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Burning Christian\u2019s alive<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And while there  isn\u2019t a direct number of Christian\u2019s that were murdered by Nero, but it\u2019s estimated to be well over a thousand. His harsh murders and aggression towards Christian was so crazed and strong that the Christian\u2019s philosophers of that time looked to Nero as a foreshadowing of the anti christ to come in the end times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All of this history is given to set us up for why Peter is writing this letter, he\u2019s writing is to the spread out, weakened, and terrified church during one of the most brutal and heavily persecuted times in all of church history to give them a refresher, encouragement, hope, and prayer, all of which is done in the name of Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This gives us an insight into their time, but if we were to look today: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are some ways in which Modern day Christians face persecution, both personally in our day to day lives, but also generally with public perception and how they view us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Following up: How should we respond to this persecution? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So this lesson today is just gonna be covering verses 1-5, and in these few but heavy verses Peter is going to help these Christian\u2019s get the heads off of what\u2019s going on around and instead in heaven as they are excitedly awaiting what\u2019s coming for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Point 1: Peter is a True Apostle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Verse 1a: \u201cPeter an apostle of Jesus Christ\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Peter makes a very bold statement about himself and god here. He\u2019s stating that he himself is an Apostle of Jesus, and furthermore highlights the holy trinity, its three beings, their functions, and then prays that the church in this time would be multiplied in these things they offer for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In modern times, there\u2019s church denominations such as apostolic, who believe that there are modern day apostles that God chooses to guide their church. They also don\u2019t believe in a holy trinity but rather that God is one being manifested through man whose name is Jesus, and that he alone is all three  parts seen in the Bible. To summarize, the belief is that those who are sent to a specific place by god, for the purpose of making disciples and spreading the news is considered an \u201capostle\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I oppose this belief that anyone who is sent to do something by God, is an apostle. We can see countless people in the Bible during Christ\u2019s time that were sent to do something for him, that were not apostles. In Luke chapter 10, Jesus sends out 72 men to do the same things that the apostles were doing, but notice in Luke  6, he specifically picked out the 12, they were set apart from the rest. This not only disproves the idea that in order to be an apostle the only requirement is being sent by God, it also empathizes with the importance of these 12 and later on Paul and Matthias being chosen, with certain criteria being met. And I\u2019ve pulled five requirements from scripture that just quickly highlight these points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. An apostle must me an eye witness to Jesus:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Acts 1:21-22 tells us that the replacement for Judas has to be someone who was with Christ during his time of ministry, from the start of his baptism until the end of his life. The only exception to this was the apostle Paul who wasn\u2019t actively present during the time of Jesus ministry, but was rather blinded by the magnitude of Christ. But this point still holds true, the apostle Paul saw the risen and glorified son of god on the road to Damascus. And the light that was radiating from him was so bright that the naked eye couldn\u2019t even comprehend what it was looking at, resulting in his blindness which needed to be healed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. An Apostle is given authority to perform miracles:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Acts 2:43 tells us this much, it says that the people came in awe to the signs and wonders that the apostles were doing. They couldn\u2019t believe all the miracles that the 12 were doing, these miracles allowed them to believe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. An Apostle could be given special revelation and visions from God:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The entire book of revelation was given to us from John, Acts 10:9-23 Peter has a vision which later thanks to the Holy Spirit he\u2019s able to interrupt as the gentiles are allowed access to the salvation Christ has done for us. 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul has a vision of the third heaven. All of this to say that the apostles were given special revelations and messages to be delivered to us and those of that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. The apostles were given the ability to write equal to scripture:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            This kind of goes without say but almost all of the New Testament is written by the apostles, and there\u2019s a few others who whine they weren\u2019t apostles; were eye witnesses to Jesus such as Jude, and none of their writings doesn\u2019t counteract one another or the old, but rather adds onto it making the Bible a complete book. We today have no right to add or take away from the Bible, Deuteronomy 4 and Revelation 22 tells us this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            1. The apostles were needed to layout the foundation of the church:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              They established the church and led it in the early days, teaching the scriptures and laying out the construct of elders, deacons, and biblical church leadership. The apostles are the foundation that they laid out, Chris rowing the cornerstone, they are the foundational teachers and have passed on the teachings to us. For this reason the purpose of being an apostle is no longer necessary, our job is not to be an apostle and add on new ideas or teachings, but rather keep expanding deeper in our understanding using that foundation they\u2019ve already laid out for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The apostles were needed back then to fulfill these five things, but nowadays our job is not to be apostles and add into the foundation they built but rather use that foundation to root ourselves in it and then use it for the purpose of being g stewards of God. So there is no need to have apostles now and there’s no one alive today that can meet the requirements that the scriptures lay out in order to be an apostle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Point 2: Elect Exiles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verse 1b: \u201c’Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God\u2019s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I also wanted to just really quickly highlight this term Peter uses at the end of this Verse, \u201celect exiles\u201d. Some people might be wondering what\u2019s that? Well being an elect exile means that those who are saved were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, this choice was void of any outside influence, and it was also done without us having any say in the matter. God didn\u2019t merely wait on those who would be gifted to Christ to come out in faith and then were added, he sovereignly chose, our faith is gifted to us, we in ourselves bring nothing to this table except for the sin that requires a savior to begin with! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The doctrine of election is a doctrine that infuriates a lot of people, many non-believers and even believers don\u2019t like the idea that God chooses us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              But when speaking about election the thing that people need to understand is it’s never been about what we could bring or offer God for salvation. See, God has to put the faith required for salvation in us, apart from God’s divine intervention in our lives we would never be able to find true saving faith. Many people have a hard time grasping this, and get even more heated at the idea so much so that they say it’s unfair of God to choose who he’s going to save. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              As a result of the work Christ did for us, and the sacrifice he was on our behalf, his reward is us, as ours is his. If you find this hard to believe, read what the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-8,<\/a> \u201c ‘ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.\u201d, a few verses later on Paul also refers to Christ\u2019s  inheritance being the saints who have their eyes opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Notice, it\u2019s not what we did and rather what God has planned before creation. It is written in this way that it was before the foundation of the world, meaning before God has created, he elected us. This is biblical doctrine, not some perceived notion someone thought was wise. The passages shine a light on the reality that Christ is taking all who the father gives him, and likewise is rewarded his inheritance which is those who are saved. This is not unjust of the father, and actually a further showing of his grace. Listen to what is written in Romans  ‘What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, \u201cI will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.\u201d ‘ (Romans 9:14-15<\/a>). The bible could not be anymore clear, God has mercy and compassion to those he chooses to, and it is not unjust of him to do so. It actually is because of his grace that he does this out of love for us. God electing us is our blessing in Christ. This should be something that we praise and thank God for every single day, that he chose to put saving faith in us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              It\u2019s important to note, election does not mean we don\u2019t have a role on our end, because we must receive and respond to the faith that\u2019s been given, Paul says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as lord and believe if your heart god raised him from the dead you will be saved, for whoever will call on the name of the lord will be saved.  This shows that this doctrine has two parts, we must be elected by God\u2019s sovereign choice, yet we must also respond to this calling. It\u2019s impossible to call a non elect to faith and it is impossible to keep an elect from coming to faith. The two parts of being saved go hand in hand, you cannot have one without the other, and it\u2019s not our place to decide wether if Gods right in that or not, because if he was a God of fairness and giving each what they owe then Hells gonna need a lot more space because that\u2019s where they\u2019d all be going. But God being a God of love elected those of us to be gifted to his son, and goes as far as to prepare a room for us in heaven and allows us to eternally bless praise and learn about him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              After being saved our citizenship here becomes only temporary, but our heavenly citizenship never goes away. Will touch up more on that later though.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              To close, Peter brings up this idea in the text to remind the Spread out believers of this time that they\u2019ve been exceedingly blessed by God for this choice that he made to save them, and in that Choice although they\u2019re from different regions and places in the world, they have something in common, their salvation. It was reminded to them as a way to unite the church and bring our hope, encouragement, and praise to God for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Point 3: The Holy Trinity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verse 2: ‘who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. ‘<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For verse two I really just wanted to highlight the doctrine of the holy trinity because this verse shows us God in his three persons, their functions, as well as the assurance of not losing what\u2019s been given to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The doctrine of trinity is the fact that our God, is of a triune being of three distinct persons. The father is not the son, the son is not the spirit, the spirit is not the father, yet all three of these parts are made of God. This is something that as Jordan has said to us, cannot be comprehended to us, it\u2019s not something that we can even begin to understand in the sense of how it\u2019s possible. But we can understand what each person of God does, we can see the personality differences among the three, the jobs that they do, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              To start with: The Foreknowledge of the father: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This points to how God the Father knew and chose those who belonged to him. The point Peter is making here is that it was the Fathers doing of calling or choosing those who were saved that we might be gifted to his son. I think that we\u2019ve already discussed this pretty well when we looked at the doctrine of election earlier on in this lesson) so I won\u2019t hammer on it much more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The Sanctification of the spirit: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The Holy Spirit plays a vital role to us as believers. He is our seal so to speak, his job is to keep us until the day of our resurrection, and he permanently resides over us, now and in heaven. He is the greatest gift that God has ever blessed mankind with, he is so important to the life  of believers that Jesus tells us it\u2019s better for him to depart because it allows the Holy Spirit to come down and dwell with us. The Holy Spirit does two primary things for us, firstly, he seals us until the day of our resurrection, he resides in us and raises us from the dead into the newness of life that God talks about. So he remains upon us and guides us until the day that we pass. And I hold the belief that he remains with us for the rest of eternity; that even in heaven God’s spirit dwells within us. He also plays a crucial role in our sanctification, the holy spirit is the one who puts the love of God into our hearts and changes our desires to want to walk in obedience with him. He purifies our hearts, convicts us of sin and guides us in the light, he keeps us from running into the darkness and when we do go he draws our attention back and when we\u2019re not sure what to pray over or are having a hard time praying he fills in those gaps for us. So the Holy Spirit is of a huge importance to the everyday life of a believer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For obedience to Jesus and the sprinkling of his blood: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              There\u2019s so much that we can say about Jesus. He was the one who came down from the heavens, lived a perfect life, suffered and died on our behalf, and then rose up from the dead for us. The son\u2019s biggest purpose was to be a substitute on our behalf, his job was to live the life that we couldn\u2019t live so that we may have this doorway to everlasting life and an eternal covenant with God. He is the ladder that Jacob dreams about, he\u2019s the one that provides the doorway for us access to God the Father, he is the example that we are to follow and everyday we strive to be more like him, he is the one who has the ability to remove sin from us and cleanse us of it, his death and resurrection is what allows us to be hopeful, his teachings are used as a guide for us to give us insight and grant us spiritual as well as everyday knowledge and wisdom, and the entirety of the Bible is telling the story of him, and without him there wasn\u2019t anything made that was made. There is so much that we can go into about Jesus but again his biggest role that he plays in these three persons is coming down and living the perfect life for us, being condemned from the father and suffering the wrath of God for the millions that are saved and paving the way that we are to follow. The scriptures record him as being the way the truth and the life, he is the light of this world and makes all things possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              With all of that being said, there are certain church denominations that don\u2019t believe in this doctrine, for instance the apostolic church believes that everything I just listed is simply one being and not three parts; that God is the father; who left heaven and manifested himself through the son, and is actively a part of everyday living through his spirit. But this verse alone proves the false teaching of this church, because it shows throughout the entirety of scripture that God is three persons in one divine being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Point 4: Blessings to God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verses 3a: \u201cBlessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              What are some reasons why the writers of scriptures offer blessings to the lord? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Do our blessings put God in a better state\/ make a difference to him? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Answer: When we talk about these blessings or saying blessed be your name, it isn\u2019t an act of favor or grace or protection bestowing upon the lord like how it would be when he blesses us. Rather, it is a way of praising God, lifting him name up high and saying that he is deserving of our praise, our blessings inning of themselves don\u2019t make God stronger or more empowered, yet he delights in them because it\u2019s one of our many ways of expressing thankfulness and gratitude for all that he does for us.  The scripture blesses the lord’s name hundreds of times, this is done as a way to praise and honor him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              So verses 1 and 2 Peter prayed over the elect exiles, that they may be filled with the grace and peace of God, as well as shows the holy trinity, now the first half of verse 3, he\u2019s praising god through the form of this blessing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Point 5: Our Hope is alive because Christ is alive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verse 3b: ‘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, ‘<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Peter then goes on to talk about this act of being born again to a living hope. That\u2019s been made possible through Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This living hope refers to Jesus himself, the gospel cannot remain the gospel without the resurrection of Jesus, because of Christ’s resurrection it not only satisfied all proof ever needed for those in his time to believe he\u2019s God, but also allows us to preach not in vain but in complete confidence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The resurrection of Christ is the central point of which we can build our faith on. Without Christ\u2019s resurrection, the gospel holds no real stature, and our faith is done in vain. People love to talk about the miracles, and the deeds that Christ did while here, but were not the apostles also given that ability? Even the non-believers  of Christ time believed in the miracles, just in the same way that we might. All they understood was that they were hungry, and Jesus was giving them fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               But furthermore, Christ death and resurrection is what allows us and the apostles back then to boldly preach and profess that he is the one true god, that has won the victory and claimed the salvation for those chosen.  By means of his death, for this reason, his death must be accompanied by his resurrection In order for the gospel to be permissible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This also means that Christ\u2019s one act of righteousness is what allows us to be saved. Christ’s resurrection is proof that his death substitutionary to our own, was enough to fully satisfy the father. It\u2019s also permitted to be passed onward to us, so just in the same way that Christ was resurrected we too will be. This is the basis for our hope and the assurance of our justification, we are assured that his death was enough to save by his resurrection, and we\u2019re hopeful for what\u2019s to come by his resurrection. It\u2019s for this purpose that our hope is a living hope, because Christ is alive, he didn\u2019t die on that cross and that\u2019s was it, he was raised, and is living in heaven with the father to which we will one day also be when we join him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The apostle Paul writes in this lengthy passage, but I really think it\u2019s hammers on this point fully: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cNow if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead (swore that he would be), how can some of you (members in the church of Corinth) say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.\u201d (\u202d1 Corinthians\u202c \u202d15\u202c:\u202d12\u202c-\u202d19\u202c \u202dESV\u202c\u202c)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Paul\u2019s point further exemplifies the previous, without the resurrection, Christ life meant nothing to us. He finishes off Chapter 15 with these verses: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cWhen the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: \u201cDeath is swallowed up in victory.\u201d \u201cO death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?\u201d The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d \u202d(\u202d1 Corinthians\u202c \u202d15\u202c:\u202d54\u202c-\u202d57\u202c \u202dESV\u202c\u202c)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The point is that Christ did come, he did die, but he was raised from the dead. Since he was raised, the sting of death caused by sin ceases for a believer because our sin is remembered no more. Our victory in Christ, as well as our living hope, comes at the revelation and belief that he was raised from the dead. We are made new, and it results in a complete change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              So why is it that for some reason believers may forget about their hope in Christ? I’m gonna let you guys think about that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Point 6: The things to Hope for<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verse 4: ‘to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ‘<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Verse four goes on to dive more deeply not just on the reason why we are hopeful, but also the things we have to be hopeful for. Peter speaks to us about this inheritance that was given once saved, but also that this inheritance is reserved in Heaven for us. This Inheritance of course is referring to the gift of our salvation and being blessed by everything God has to offer us as a result of it. So Not only does this verse provide believers the assurance that we cannot lose our salvation, it also gives us means for us to be hopeful because we have been blessed exceedingly through Christ, and our citizenship lies in heaven, and we get to be hopeful for our deaths because we know that where we are going to be is infinitely better in every way.  This is what our inheritance gives us, citizenship in heaven and spending all of eternity rejoicing in what he\u2019s done, as well as learning more about him.  So I just want to take a second and go over a few points about this inheritance that Peter speaks of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              A few points about our inheritance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. We are not only receiving an inheritance but we are also becoming one. Once we\u2019re saved we are simultaneously being Christ\u2019s inheritance that\u2019s given to him through the father, while also inheriting Christ and everything he has to offer. Paul writes in Ephesians and says \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.\u201d (Ephesians 1:3 ESV) What Paul is saying here is that we\u2019ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing that God has to offer us, and they\u2019re being reserved in the heavenly places for us. Notice the similarity of this verse with verse four, that God has laid this inheritance up in heaven , so that after we\u2019re saved and pass away we get to rejoice in everything that he\u2019s blessed us with in heaven. This doesn\u2019t mean that God cannot or doesn\u2019t bless us with things in this lifetime here on earth, but the spiritual blessings that Paul talks about and the inheritance that Peter points to, its reserved for us in heaven so that on the day when we cross over from this life and into the next not only is it ready for us to rejoice in, it also gives us great hope and excitement when leaving this world. This also highlights that We ourselves are also an Inheritance to Christ. God the father elected those to be saved as a gift for his son, that he can also eternally dwell with his own people. John 17:6 (ESV) says \u201c\u201cI have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.\u201d This just shows that God the father prepared us to be elected to hand off to his son as his inheritance, because he came down and died a substitutionary death on our behalf.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Our inheritance is the result of Christ’s fruitfulness. God the Father elected us to be saved before the foundation of the world, through being redeemed by the blood of Christ, which grants us being sealed by the Holy Spirit, and gives us a righteous standing before God as a result of the victory Jesus won. This victory allows us to spend eternity in heaven, being freed from sin and the sting of death, having everlasting communion and fellowship with God and the rest of the elect. This is the result of the fruits that were brought from Christ; without his perfect life and his teaching guiding our way, we simply could not have access to this gift that\u2019s claimed through him.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. Our inheritance is different from our heavenly rewards: This inheritance that Peter talks about is something that regardless of what everyone does for the lord, we all gain access to. It\u2019s not something that we lose or something that\u2019s judged differently for every Christian, we all inherit the same inheritance. Heavenly rewards are something that\u2019s given to us based on the works that we\u2019ve done for God’s glory. These works don\u2019t gain us favor in the eyes of God in the sense that God doesn\u2019t change our inheritance based on our works, we don\u2019t get access to heaven because of them. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 3:8 (ESV) when he says this \u201cHe who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.\u201d His point is that we receive rewards in heaven as a result of the work that we do here after being saved. These rewards are laid up as our heavenly treasures that we are given access to after dying, and are something to look forward to.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                All of this brings us full circle to the closing of this lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Point 7: We cannot Lose what has been given<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Verse 5: ‘who by God\u2019s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ‘<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                All of this is speaking to us directly as Christian\u2019s on the basis that everything that we\u2019ve just talked about concerning our salvation, heavenly rewards, hope, faith, and everything that goes into being a believer is all being secured through God, it is imperishable, undefiled, unfading; and never taken away from us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                This verse should bring about great joy and peace for a believer because what it\u2019s really pointing to is the inability for one to lose their salvation. If our faith was guarded by ourselves we would never be able to have the strength to home onto it. We cannot bring up enough faith in our lives to be the size of a mustard seed, yet we hear people argue that this doctrine is false. Here\u2019s a few points that further deepen our understanding and reasoning behind why we cannot lose our salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                1. Paul writes this to us \u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV) This idea is the result of us being sealed for eternity by Christ that the one passing away is made brand new. Thus a testament to the fact that once we\u2019ve been saved we cannot revert back to this old self and lose our salvation\/ inheritance. Listen to the wording that Paul uses here, the old has \u201cpassed away\u201d in other words, it has died, it no longer remains because it ceases to exist from us. This doesn\u2019t refer to our physical body but rather our spiritual standing before God. The sinner that God was to judge and pour wrath on dies to themselves, and puts on this new creation through having faith in Christ, and then Peter tells us in verse 5, that God\u2019s power is guarding this salvation and faith for us. We ourselves cannot guard or protect ourselves from this faith, but rather god lays it in the palms of his hands and secures it for the rest of our days so that we may never be forgotten or lost again.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                2. God seals us through his spirit to keep us eternally in this inheritance.\u00a0 Paul writes this as Ephesians, \u201cIn him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,\u201d. (Ephesians 1:13 ESV) This highlights to us what we were talking about earlier, that the Holy Spirit is the sealer of our inheritance. In other words, because we are given the spirit we can never lose our salvation because he is indwelling with us for the rest of our days. This is Christ\u2019s promise to us in John 14:16 (ESV) when he says \u201cAnd I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,\u201d. Jesus is telling us here the The Father is bringing us this helper to be with us, God cannot pull this helper from us, once he\u2019s upon us he remains within us, for that reason we have an ever greater assurance that once someone is saved they cannot lose their salvation, because we have this helper for the rest of eternity and God says he will never pull him from us. What a joy and privilege it is to have this promise from him.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                3. Paul also writes this in Philippians 1:6 (ESV), \u201cAnd I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.\u201d God has started a work for those who are saved and he must and promises to see that work finished. Paul is telling us that much here! Until the day of our deaths or until Christ returns back to us he will not abandon or forget about what he\u2019s started, he\u2019s an artist that sees the end of all of his paintings as Jack was preaching to us about a few Sundays ago.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  All of these verses are put in the Bible to tell us that We ourselves do not hold onto this salvation, but rather that God keeps it reserved for us, he himself holds onto our inheritance through his power until the day that his work is complete and we dwell for the rest of eternity in the new heaven with him, eternally and forever praising, honoring, and glorifying him. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Background:  This is the first epistle of Peter, and he wrote this letter while in Rome during 64 AD. The context behind writing this letter is that Roman Emperor Nero was persecuting the Church following the destruction of Rome in the Great Fire of Rome which happened the same year as Peter writing this letter.  […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leavewithpeace.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}