“Hope in Holiness” -- 1 Peter 1:3-9

One of the Greek myths that most people have an awareness of is Pandora’s Box. In the myth, Pandora was a beautiful young woman created by the gods of Olympus as a lure to Epimetheus. Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus.

Prometheus, according to Greek myth, created humanity. His love for humanity led him to steal fire from Olympus and give it to the people. This so enraged Zeus, the chief god of Olympus, that he ordered the creation of Pandora and that Pandora was to be made the wife of Epimetheus. When Pandora was sent to Epimetheus, she was given a beautiful sealed vase or urn. Zeus assured Pandora that the jar was empty and was only for decoration, but Pandora was curious why the urn had to be sealed. Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the jar.

When Pandora opened the jar, out came all the troubles and ills that afflict humanity. She desperately tried to get them back into the jar and reseal it, but she was only able to keep one element within the vessel. The last thing in the jar was hope.

There are those who believe hope was intended to be the worst of the curses that came out of the jar. As long as we have a false hope, we will live delusional lives, believing in that which can never nor will ever be.

Indeed, life without hope is a resigned life. We refer to those who have given up the desire to live as giving up all hope. A life without valid hope is a sad, despairing one. As Peter and the other disciples watched Jesus die on the cross, there must have ended all their hope.

But when Jesus rose from the dead, hope came with Him. The cross had taken away our sins; the empty grave gave us eternal life and hope. Jesus does not give us the empty hope of delusions and fantasy, but instead gives us the hope based upon the promises of God and the assurance of the Holy Spirit.

As Peter wrote to live a holy life, one of the elements he discussed in 1 Peter 1:13 was, “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

As we have considered the idea of preparing our minds for action and of self-control and temptation, we know turn to the idea of setting our hope in the God who gives us life and hope.

Background

Peter must have been an interesting man to speak to. He had given up his career of fishing to follow Jesus and become a fisher of men. Peter was blessed to be a part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, along with James and John and sometimes Andrew. As a result of his commitment to Christ, Peter witnessed so many things. He saw Jesus’ miracles, heard Jesus’ teachings and spent three years at his Savior’s side.

Calvary must have been a devastating time for the apostle. To see his hope in Jesus as the Christ seemingly come to a horrible end on that rugged cross must have been beyond words to describe.

Then to be told only three days later that Jesus’ body was missing and that an angel had proclaimed Jesus was alive must have seemed unbelievable. Peter and John ran to the tomb, Peter getting there after John. While John stood outside the empty tomb, Peter went in and saw the empty burial garments and the burial mask folded neatly beside them.

Peter was in the locked room with the others when Jesus suddenly appeared to them, and Peter walked with Jesus beside the lake, being told his moment of denial was forgiven and that he had a task to fulfill in Jesus’ kingdom. “Feed My sheep,” Jesus repeatedly told him.

And now, the apostle is carrying out his ministry, encouraging new believers to live out their faith in the face of difficulties and persecution. He is feeding Christ’s sheep with the Word and remaining faithful to his call. He encourages us in the words we read today.

Central Truth: The holy life is founded on hope and faith in God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hope in God:

1. Comes from our new birth from God (3-5)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (vs. 3-5).

Whether the apostle is about to tell us these great truths or if the great truths spring from his opening statement, Peter begins this passage with an exclamation of praise for God. When we consider the things God has done for us, continues to do for us and will do for us in the coming days and years, He is worthy of praise and blessing. Again, unsure whether the praise springs from what he is already planning on writing or if it the truths in the text spring from this declaration, God is always worthy of praise and thanksgiving.

The reason we give God praise is because of His great mercy He has given us. Peter says God’s mercy is seen in giving us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This new birth is a direct result of Christ’s redeeming act at Calvary and ensured with His resurrection. Had Jesus remained in the tomb, had He never been risen in victory, then our salvation from sin would only be a partial cause for rejoicing.

Instead, it was always God’s plan that Jesus would die for our sins and rise again, bringing with Him a new birth into a living hope. The new birth is the renewal of our spirit that died when we first sinned, and it allows us once again to fellowship with God the Father and with the Son. This new life is one that has a living hope—a never-ending source of assurance and something to look forward to, precisely because Jesus has been raised from the dead. The idea of “living hope” is like the idea of living water, a stream of water constantly being fed by a source that never dries up. So is our hope, springing from the Living Water of Life (cf. John 4), always renewed and refreshed by God’s mercy and promises.

But God’s mercy does not only give us new birth and a living hope. He also gives us an inheritance that can never perish. This inheritance is similar to the promise made to Abraham about the Promised Land. It took Israel over 400 years from the time of Abraham to finally claim the promise under Moses’ and Joshua’s leadership. Our inheritance is greater, for it is an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us by God Himself. Our inheritance is the gift of eternal life and fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This inheritance will be given to us when Christ returns and brings with Him the final victory. God’s mercy blesses us with a faith that is shielded—protected—by God’s own power. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Nothing is mightier than God. One of my commentaries suggested that God’s power is a fortress, and our faith is the soldiers that stand guard at the fortress. Keeping our eyes on Christ, holding fast to His mercies and His promises, with a new life and a living hope, we can only give praise to the God who gives us new life in Jesus.

2. Proves our faith (6-7)

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold,, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (vs. 6-7).

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Hope and faith are closely tied together—where there is hope, there is faith, and where there is faith, there is hope. Peter seems to understand this, saying that this precious gift of hope given us in our new birth is to prove our faith genuine.

Peter uses an analogy here, comparing faith to gold. He reminds them that gold has to go through a purifying procedure to burn off any waste and impurities. In the same way, our faith may be tested in order to make it stronger and purer.

This testing of faith is found in undergoing all kinds of trials. Peter doesn’t say all of them will endure persecution, nor does he say that persecution is guaranteed to come. What he is saying is that when persecution comes, it is allowed to strengthen our faith. As long as we hope in the promises that we will find fulfilled when Christ returns, then we can stand up to persecution, trials and tribulations. As long as we keep our eyes on the prize, we will find ourselves giving ourselves over to the One who saves us and will find victory only and always in Him.

All of this hope and faith will result in glory, honor and praise for Jesus when He comes again. There is no question in Peter’s mind about the Second Coming. His confidence in Christ was strengthened when he saw the risen Christ, and has only grown as he has walked in obedience to Christ as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Having experienced firsthand the ministry, the death and the resurrection of Christ, having been in the upper room when the Spirit was poured out upon him and the others gathered in faith in Christ, and having lived out a life that has seen the great works of the Holy Spirit in so many ways during the days of the early church, it is no wonder that Peter is certain of Christ’s return.

Like Peter, we, too, can have a faith in God’s promises, and we, too, can commit to living holy lives. We may not have experienced all that Peter has experienced, but we each have our own experiences and assurances of the risen Savior and the Spirit that leads and empowers. We have a living hope and a faith being purified. We have the Spirit of God at work in us, so that, when Christ returns, we may give Him praise, glory and honor.

3. Leads to glorious joy (8-9)

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (vs. 8-9).

When Thomas was told by the other apostles that Jesus was risen and that they had seen Him and spoken with Him, Thomas refused to believe. He said the only way he would believe is if he could actually place his hands on Jesus’ wounds and feel the side that was pierced.

When Jesus did appear to Thomas, He offered to allow Thomas to feel the wounds Jesus had incurred at Calvary. Instead, Thomas immediately fell to his knees and said, “My Lord, My God.” In response, Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (cf. John 20:24-29).

Perhaps Peter was remembering that moment as he wrote these verses. Peter understands that our experiences are not his. Unlike him, we have no idea what Jesus looks or sounds like. We only have stories of Him and the presence of the Holy Spirit working in us to let us know the stories are real, the promises valid.

Ours is a faith based upon the Holy Spirit who gives us a new birth and eternal life. This eternal life allows us to know the Father and the Son. This knowledge is not an intellectual awareness, but a genuine relationship. It means we have access to the Father through the Son by the Spirit, and that we can share with Him our hearts and hopes and dreams. In return, He can show us His will and call us to follow Him.

The life of hope and faith is a life built upon the love we have for Him, and the way we demonstrate our faith is through our obedience to His revealed word to us. Because we seek to walk in obedience, we are drawn by the Spirit to live holy lives. We renew our minds in Him, we give ourselves over to Him and we walk in hope and in faith.

Conclusion

In Pandora’s Box, hope is trapped inside the vessel. The implication is that hope is gone from the world.

In the Bible, hope comes out of an empty tomb and is given by a Holy Spirit to all who profess Christ as Savior and Lord. With this hope comes faith, and with this faith there comes assurance.

We believe Jesus. We believe He alone has the words of life. And so, we follow Him. We offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and are being shaped and transformed by the Spirit of God in order that we may live holy lives.

Give yourself to Him today.