Celebrating Our Living Hope (1 Peter 3:9)
He is risen. He is risen indeed! That’s why we’re here today, right? To talk about His resurrection. He is risen. He is risen indeed!
But what should our response be - to the fact that He’s risen? And what result should it bring about in our lives? That Christ has been raised from the dead? That’s what I want us to think about today. Our world is a pretty disturbing place today, isn’t it? Here in America, so much division. And we’re now in an election year! Things are so dangerous - in this broken world. You might be driving over a bridge - and it falls right out from under you. You might be cheering in a parade, and gun shots go off right around you. The world is broken. We’re surrounded by evil. Is there any reason to have hope today? And could it have anything to do with the resurrection?
Today, we’re breaking from our series through Matthew. And we’re going to take a brief walk through that passage we just read. Peter is writing this letter, his first, to Christians scattered throughout what is now modern Turkey. He is writing as a suffering Christian to suffering Christians. And He’s encouraging them to persevere. Peter tells them - there is hope - in the empty tomb of Jesus.
The Response: Worship
Peter calls them to a response right out of the gate. Do you see that? In verse 3, he writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
We hear this call to worship - to praise, to celebration. Of our heavenly Father, the Father of Jesus. Peter tells us we should have joy in Him. Now this is what we were made for. Back in the beginning. When we were created. We were put there - in that garden - to live in relationship with God, and beyond that, to celebrate Him, along with His works.
Why would God make us for this? To command us to praise Him? C.S. Lewis once shared how he struggled with this. It made God seem, he thought, like a vain old woman, fishing for compliments. But then he had this realization:
“But the most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or anything — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless . . . shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it.”
He went on to talk about how we hear praise everywhere - our favorite bands, our favorite teams and more. And then he wrote,
"Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible. . . . I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’ The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.
My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.” (C.S. Lewis)
In just a few short months, Amy and I will be back over at Faurot Field, cheering on what should be a top-ten team. Raising and clapping our hands. Singing and shouting with passion. We won’t be able to contain ourselves there. We’ll show up here on Sunday, talking about the game.
Friends, that’s what God made us for - but to sing and shout about Him. That’s really what worship is. It’s delight, it’s joy, in something. That brings honor to that something. Worship isn’t really that weird at all. It comes very natural to us. We do it all the time.
It would make sense that we’d do it for what’s most important. What Lewis calls the “supremely valuable.” And it’s not a strange thing for God to demand. In fact, if we were made for that, to enjoy Him, it’s the most loving thing He could ever ask. When we bless Him, as Peter here tells us to do, our hearts are filled. It’s what they are for. Here’s what God invites us to do. To worship. Our first point today. Worship of our Father.
But we all struggle with that, don’t we? We’ve turned to other things. Like our ancestors in the garden. We’ve taken good things - like football - and have made them god things. And they’ll never fill up this God-shaped hole, that’s right here, inside us. But if praise doesn’t come naturally, there’s another reason. Not just that we don’t realize who He really is. We haven’t fully been gripped by what He’s done for us. And that’s where we’re going next in this passage.
The Reason: Resurrection
Here’s the reason that Peter gives here - for that worship. It’s not just that we were created for that. To delight in Him. And to honor Him. We’ve also been redeemed for that, to do it again, if we belong to Christ. Listen to the rest of verse 3: “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.” Let’s walk together through that verse.
It reads, “According to His great mercy.” Back in that garden, when Adam and Eve rebelled, something died inside of us. And our bodies started breaking down - along with all of what He’d made. The Lord could have left us - outside the garden - without God, without hope in this world. But the Lord pursued us - even back at that fall. And He’s still coming after us today. He calls us back - into communion with Him, to celebrate Him again. Why? Because of “mercy.”
And see what has He done - for we who are believers. “He has caused us to be born again.” He has given us new life. This is what we call “regeneration.” Grudem defines it as a “secret act of God in which He imparts new spiritual life in us.” This is what Paul talks about in Ephesians 2. We were lost. Even more, we were dead. And he writes,
Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…
Hear me, Karis. We can experience resurrection life right now - spiritually. Beginning today. And that life flows right out of the empty tomb. And notice: it all comes at His initiative. It’s by His mercy. He causes it to happen. None of us decided when we were born physically. And the same applies spiritually. We can take no credit for ourselves. That’s one reason why we should praise Him.
But there’s another. We’ve been raised to what? Verse 3 says again, to a “living hope.” In this world, that’s fallen, we’ll have struggles. In these bodies, that are frail, we’ll suffer. But those trials, those troubles, won’t destroy us. They can’t defeat us. And we can’t let them leave us discouraged. We have a hope. Not something we’re crossing our fingers for. Something that’s secure.
And “hope" that’s “living.” It’s authentic. It’s real. It’s not fake. It’s not dead. Therefore, as Paul put it, in 1 Thessalonians 4, we don’t “grieve as others do who have no hope.” We can stand out, as we live in this world. Why? We have this hope.
Verse 3 says we’re given this new life, this new hope, “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” That’s how it all comes. That’s how it’s all guaranteed. Jesus came out of that tomb. Alive. And that means that sin doesn’t have the last word. Death has been conquered. Good things are ahead of us.
You might ask, “How can you believe that, Kevin? Isn’t that all made up?” Well actually, one could argue that people in that day were even more resistant to the idea of a resurrection. The people of Israel, citizens of Rome. They would have no motivation to fabricate something like that. But the main thing I want to ask you is this: why would so many followers of Christ have gone out, spreading this news, and even dying for this, if it hadn’t have really happened? That’s a question we all have to wrestle with.
I’ve done a bit of reading on why teens are struggling so much in America today. But I don’t at all think it’s just limited to them. Sure, Covid was rough. But it’s way more than that. There are a couple of reasons experts point to. So many of our young people are hopeless and cynical. The world is broken. It’s full of evil. And it’s easy to look ahead and not see reasons for joy. School shootings. Political insanity. A terrible job and housing market. It’s not hard to see how we’re more anxious and depressed today.
But there’s also this pressure to create and maintain an identity. Maybe you’ve heard of expressive individualism. We think we have this responsibility to create who we are. And then try to express it some how.
Others have tweaked the term to performative individualism. We then do all we can to get others to affirm who we are. We perform. To get clicks, likes, and shares. And that’s so much pressure. It seems we can never keep up.
But here in this passage, what do we see? So much reason for hope - through the resurrection of Jesus. And we can be made new - through His life in us. A new identity. Where we’re His. As many have said, we as Christians don’t have an identity that’s achieved. It’s one that’s received - through the mercy, through the resurrection of Jesus. Here’s what we’ve been given to celebrate. Our reason. Hope. Our second point. Resurrection from death. To life.
The Reason Explained: Inheritance
Let’s move on into verses 4 and 5. There the apostle Peter explains - expands - further about this resurrection life. He gets more specific about our reason to praise. Listen to those two verses again. Again, we’re “born again to a living hope…”
1Peter 1:4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
This resurrection hope means an “inheritance” for us. Now as we read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, and we think about an inheritance, our minds might go to land. But what we’re talking about here - this “inheritance” - is so much more than that. But don’t hear me saying it’s less.
Jesus has risen from the dead. But we believe that we’ll also be raised. See, our hope isn’t just of our souls being resurrected. As we’re made born again. And we put faith in Christ. It’s that our bodies will be raised when Christ returns one day. What God will give us is eternal life - again something spiritual. Starting now. But we’ll also experience something physical. Down the road.
Our resurrected bodies will live on, not just in some land in the Middle East. But in the world! That God will make new at Christ’s coming. As Peter puts it just another page over, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
This inheritance is something greater than any of those idols. Money. Fame. Houses. Sports. Vacations. Whatever has a hold of our heart. None of those things will ever fill up that hole. And that’s by design. To quote Lewis again:
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water... Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise…
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthy pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.
I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help others to do the same.” (C.S. Lewis)
Imagine this, church. We who are God’s people - we’ll be together. People from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And we’ll be in God’s place - a renewed world. In our “true country.”
And we’ll be in God’s presence. Don’t miss this. It’s the Lord who ultimately is our inheritance! It is He we’ll celebrate, starting now, even in this fallen world. And we’ll worship in His presence when He returns - forever and ever.
See verse 4. This inheritance is being protected, preserved. It’s secured by God. It won’t perish. It can’t be defiled. It won’t fade. It is “kept in heaven” for us. God is guarding it. He’s guarding us. Verse 5 says that the Lord will preserve us - in our faith - if we’re His. We’ll be fully, finally saved by Him.
This is His promise to believers. We’ll surely receive all this glory - when the Lord returns. This is what this hope means for us - an inheritance. Of life. Our third thing for this morning.
The Result: Joy
Let’s turn now to the difference this all makes. Peter gives us the result of the resurrection, of this inheritance, in our lives. Hear verses 6 and 7 once again:
1Peter 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
What’s God telling us here? How does this all relate? We can rejoice even in amidst the suffering of this world. Because of this inheritance we’ll receive. That’s the difference this “living hope” - that we’ve been “born again” to receive - can make in our lives. Our trials won’t crush us. No, we don’t rejoice in the trials. That’s not what God expects. But we rejoice in Him in the middle of them. We can take joy in the fact that there’s more going on. There’s more than this world, than this life. We have this inheritance ahead.
But what do these trials do? Well, they seek to wake us up. To get us ready for what’s to come. But, as Peter puts it here, in verse 7, these trials test us. To see if our faith is genuine. We may love Jesus. When our team is winning. When our marriage is thriving. When the bank account is full. When our health is strong. But what about when those things are taken away? Were we praising Jesus before - or just all those blessings? Were we in love with the Giver - or just His gifts?
Here’s another thing to think about. It comes from John Piper. Does your vision for the new heavens and new earth include your family members, your pets, the mountains, the oceans - lots of things - but not include the main thing? Namely, Jesus. If our hope for the world to come doesn’t have God at the front and center, then it’s not Him we’re really worshipping.
If you think about it, God is good when He - at times - takes those things away. He won’t let us miss out on the main thing, the greatest thing - our inheritance in Him. Even in these trials, God is working of our joy. He’s weaning us off won’t satisfy. He’s directing our attention to the inheritance ahead.
If you didn’t notice, we’re back to where we started. He’s calling us back to what we were made for. To commune with Him. To celebrate Him. To delight in our Father. To bring Him honor. As verses 8 and 9 explain, God is giving us joy even now. In Him, our inheritance.
We’re not just to grin and bear it - here and now. But to praise Him right now, in this world, in these sufferings. We’ve not seen Him with our eyes. We can’t currently see Him right now. But we can by faith. Our joy can be real. And if we hang on in faith, verse 9 says it’ll result in great “praise and honor” when Christ is revealed. And that’ll go on forever.
The Lord calls us to celebrate Him. To have joy. In trials. Because of this “living hope.” This is what this inheritance does in us. Fourth. The result. Joy. Even in the midst of suffering.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this is why Peter is writing these things. To encourage struggling Christians to endure. Today, some folks take more of an eastern mindset to suffering. Maybe it’s all an illusion. Not really there. Or it is, and detachment is the strategy. Here in the western world, we tend to live in denial. And our strategy is achievement. Stay busy. Ignore it. Maybe try to overcome it. But neither of those approaches really work, right? Someone close to us dies. Our bodies start breaking down.
So I think we move into one of two directions. Out in the world. Even here in the church. Maybe you’ve heard when the nickname for our university is used as a verb. Where things are starting to look up, but everyone fears getting Mizzou’ed? You know - another fifth down loss. A last second shot against us. Mizzou’ed! That term drives me crazy.
Why’s that? Well, I tend to swing the other direction. I’m a bit of what the kids call a “homer” of a fan. The other day I shared an article with my sons about Andy Reid. And I said, “You were little, but I remember being excited when we hired him.” And my oldest responded with, “I remember you being excited. But to be fair, you’re excited for every coaching hire.” With a laughing emoji. He’s right. I’m that kind of fan. That coach is gonna lead us to the promised land. That transfer who averaged four points at a division 2 school is going to be all American. My sports conversations in the office with Aaron are predictable. He’s a “negative Nellie.” I’m the pollyanna type when it comes to sports.
Don’t we tend to move toward those two extremes? A dreary pessimism. If you expect the worst - right? - you’ll never get disappointed. Or what about a naive optimism? Where everything is sunshine and rainbows.
We see those even in the church. With a theology that’s all cross and no resurrection. All about sin and nothing about redemption. And another kind that’s being preached no doubt elsewhere today. If you just believe hard enough, all your problems will go away. But neither this kind of cynicism or idealism fits with the Jesus of holy week. Right?
If we’re Christians - and we read our Bibles - we believe in something more like a hopeful realism. Where there are sad things in this world. But Satan won't have the last word. Jesus rose from the dead. And all those sad things will one day come untrue.
Many of us are struggling financially - in this economy today. But say you have a rich uncle, who’s put you in his will. You’re not really hoping he’ll die. But you know that, when he does, piles of cash are coming your way. And for what reason, you’re not worried. You’re not scared. You’re good. That’s what we have here - but so much greater!
I recently caught part of an interview by Russell Moore with Tim Keller. It’s after, I believe, when he and his wife realized Tim’s pancreatic cancer had returned. He talks about them spending a lot of time weeping, but being comforted by this hope. He said:
“If Jesus Christ was actually raised from the dead - if He really got up, walked out, was seen by hundreds of people, talked to them. If He was raised from the dead, everything is going to be alright. Whatever you’re worried about right now. Whatever you’re afraid of. Everything is actually going to be ok. Because you gotta remember. We’re not just talking about resurrected people… This is where Christianity is unique. We’re talking about a resurrected world.” (Tim Keller)
We look forward to a resurrection. We have this inheritance. Thanks be to God. Jesus is risen!
Responding to His Resurrection
Well, as I wrap up this morning, I want to call you back to that response, that Peter calls us to here. The result this inheritance brings. To bless the Lord. To celebrate Him. First, maybe you’re a Christian and you’re struggling. You’ve lost your way. I want to call you to be renewed in that hope today. To celebrate it again. Ask the Lord to flood your heart with that hope. As we celebrate Easter this morning. Worship Him, disciple of Jesus!
Second, you who would not call yourself a Christ-follower. Ask the Lord to give you a new heart. To wake you up to His life today. Experience the hope of Christ’s resurrection here. Call out to Him. You can have a new start. Praise the Lord - of the resurrection - with us today.
We don’t have to create who we are. We don’t have to perform. Through His power, through His resurrection life, we can be granted a new identity. As children of the Father. As brothers and sisters of the resurrected King. As heirs to the entire world. One that will be healed of all of this suffering and pain that see - and we feel. That’s the promise we see here. A true reason for joy. This story has a very happy ending.
Karis, think about this. As we look back to His resurrection in the past, it gives us hope for the future. Right? This great inheritance we’ll share. But it also gives us joy in the present, as we endure these many trials. Let’s celebrate the hope that springs from His resurrection together. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray.