The apostle Peter was not shy theologically. In 1 Peter 1:3-5, writing to intensely suffering Christians, he paints an enviable picture of the invincibility of our inheritance in Christ. He describes our inheritance in a multitude of ways in these three verses, but there is one particular string that stands out for its staccato structure of phrases describing the security of our inheritance. He says that the Father’s inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith.” In this string alone there are at least six ways that our inheritance is utterly safeguarded. There are dozens of implications that flow from the reality of this imperishable inheritance. One is that you can choose out of love to die freely and happily today precisely because you have an invincibly glorious future in the life to come.
1. Our inheritance is “reserved.” By definition a reservation (e.g., at a restaurant) is (1) promised and (2) protected. If your table is promised but unprotected, it will quickly be taken by anyone who is unaware (or unconcerned about) the promise. And if your table is protected but unpromised, it will quickly be taken by anyone who can persuade the protector. But our inheritance is both promised and protected. God promises that it will be ours in Christ and He guards it Himself.
2. Our inheritance is “reserved in heaven.” The security of something that has been reserved is dependent on the location at which it is reserved. It is meaningless to reserve something precious at an unprotected, unrestricted, unhidden location. But our inheritance is not reserved on the side of the road with a sign saying, “reserved — please do not take.” It is not reserved at an eschatological self-storage unit located somewhere in the lower forty-eight states in the hopes that no one finds it before we do. It is reserved in heaven where the unrighteous cannot go, where the righteous must go, and where nothing ever fades.
3. Our inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you.” A reservation — even a reservation promised by God and protected in heaven — is only guaranteed to you if it is reserved for you. Nameless reservations are worthless, except for the person who shows up first or works his way to the top or can manipulate his way around. But our Father does not distribute His inheritance on a first-come, first-served basis. We are not on a waiting list. We are not working to fulfill a list of conditions. And we are not even competing with each other for a portion of the inheritance, because our Father’s resources are not limited. The inheritance that we have in Christ is reserved in heaven specifically for the people of God, and if you belong to Christ, specifically for you.
4. Our inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you who are protected.” Although it is comforting to know that our inheritance is invincible, on our better days we are all well aware that we ourselves are the opposite. We are tiny specks of life putting around on a blue-green sphere hurtling through space attached to an invisible string keeping us in an orbit which physicists can barely explain much less see. We have rebelled against an infinitely good, perfectly just God who created us and gave us His world to inhabit and enjoy. And we have been given a rightful sentence of eternal death because of our treasonous, self-seeking, cosmic mutiny. We are not invincible. We are actually very vulnerable. We need protection. Pondering this backdrop of helpless vulnerability is one way to appreciate the glorious significance of the death and resurrection of Christ and our adoption as children of God. In the gospel we find protection. So not only is our inheritance utterly safeguarded, but we ourselves are utterly safeguarded.
5. Our inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God.” The quality of protection and one’s sense of security are directly proportional to the strength of the protector. We are protected by the power of God. Ultimate power guarantees ultimate protection. And ultimate protection is nothing less than invincibility.
6. Our inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith.” The quickest way to see and feel the power of this truth is to ask this question: What if Peter had said “through works”? What if we were protected for our inheritance through the leaky, clanky, rusty, halting mechanism of human effort? What if the inheritance promises of the New Testament said that we would receive the Father’s promised gift on the condition that we performed perfectly as His people, behaved flawlessly as His children, and persevered tirelessly as His followers? Certainly there is a sense in which we are called to perfection (Matthew 5:48), obedience (1 Peter 1:14-16), and perseverance (Hebrews 10:36). In a passage that should astonish Western Christendom (and a passage that has troubled me personally), we are even told that suffering is in some sense a condition of inheriting (Romans 8:16-17). But none of these pursuits happen apart from the one-time act of redemption at Calvary (Hebrews 10:10-14), the daily washing of sanctification (John 13:8-10), and moment-by-moment dependence on the living Christ (John 15:4-5). In other words, none of them happen apart from faith. Guarding ourselves for our inheritance by sheer teeth-gritting willpower is not a Christian option. Rather, we are protected for this future gift through the relentless, persevering, grace-fueled act of forward-looking faith. Peter goes on to expand on the dynamics of faith that he’s talking about: We are protected through faith as we allow our faith to be purified in the fiery trials heated by our divine refiner (1 Peter 1:6-7). We are protected through faith as we cultivate our unspeakable love and inexpressible joy toward the unseen Christ (1 Peter 1:8-9). And we are protected through faith as we tie down the distractions flowing around in our minds, discipline ourselves into spiritual sobriety, and “set our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). We are protected by the power of God through the divinely-enabled act of grace-anticipating, Christ-expecting, hope-filled faith.
Peter leaves no stone unturned in his search for ways to communicate that our inheritance is absolutely invincible. It is (1) reserved (2) in heaven (3) for you (4) who are protected (5) by the power of God (6) through faith. It is deadbolted, guarded, lashed down, hidden, stored away, infinitely protected, eternally secure. When all else is uncertain, this is certain. Though friends disappoint and circumstances waver, this is unchanging. And as your body and your belongings and your home and your investments and your family and your dreams and your plans and your ambitions and your earthly hopes falter and fade and ultimately fail, this stands firm. You have an inheritance awaiting you. God has promised.
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ElderChild/Francisco – Thanks for your comments. I’m not sure if your main argument is that the Septuagint isn’t legitimate, that “Jesus” should be translated “Joshua” in the NT, or something else. And I’m not sure how your comments relate to the post, but I have several comments in response.
(1) There’s no such thing as “pagan greek.” The OT Scriptures are holy, but not because of the Hebrew language. And since the Hebrew language isn’t inherently holy, other languages aren’t inherently pagan. If they are, why should I trust any of your comments written in pagan English?
(2) If the Septuagint was “the Hebrew to pagan greek translation of the Old Testimonies,” why do the NT authors explicitly quote it instead of the Masoretic text at times? For instance, sometimes the author of Hebrews specifically quotes the Greek of the Septuagint instead of translating the traditional Hebrew text for himself. This evidence pretty well shuts the door on simplistic attacks against the legitimacy of the Septuagint.
(3) The choice to translate “iesous” as Joshua in several NT passages and “Jesus” in all others is not “arbitrary.” It’s quite reasonable based on the contexts. You’re quickly deflating your own credibility by making over-the-top accusations like saying that “seduction, deception, perversion, and every evil work” are behind the translations of “iesous” in the NT.
(4) The KJV translators’ misstep in Acts 7:43 and Hebrews 4:8 is unfortunate but doesn’t really advance your point.
(5) You’re desperately out-of-bounds to call anyone a child of the devil who thinks that the Greek word “iesous” can (and does) represent either the OT Joshua or the NT Jesus. The fact is that “iesous” represents exactly these two people at different times. That’s how language works. Not much different than how “ioannes” in the NT represents both John the Baptizer and John the Apostle.
(6) You mentioned that the actual name “Jesus” wasn’t spoken until 1500 years after the resurrection. I assume that this is supposed to function as more evidence that the name “Jesus” is illegitimate. First, that doesn’t follow unless you want to deny the legitimacy of all translation anywhere. Second, there are other languages in which the Messiah’s name has never even been translated, because they don’t know about Him. The Apostle Paul would call you to put your energy in taking His name to those places instead of focusing on “myths and endless genealogies,” “mere speculation,” and “fruitless discussion” (1 Timothy 1:3-7). Or worse, proving yourself to have “a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction” (1 Timothy 6:4-5).
There is undeniable proof that the pagan ‘jesus’ was not
The Messiah’s GOD given birth Name! and proof exists
in all the pagan greek manuscripts from which catholic
and christian translators created their “bibles”!
First, the greek word “iesous” was used by those who
translated the greek septuagint, which was the Hebrew
to pagan greek translation of the Old Testimonies. The
pagan greek word “iesous” represented Joshua, son
of Nun, so named by Moses.(Numbers 13:16)
And so it was established that the pagan greek word
for the Hebrew Yehowshuwa'(Joshua) is “iesous”!
Then in the New Testament the greek word “iesous” was
translated correctly as Joshua in Acts 7:43 and Heb 4:8
and then for reasons of seduction, deception, perversion
and every evil work, “iesous” was arbitrarily translated as
the pagan ‘jesus’ in all other New Testament writings ;-(
However, in the original kjv(aptly named as king james’
version) the translators decided to rename Joshua and
declared the Joshua of the Old Testimonies to be their
pagan ‘jesus’ both in Acts 7:43 and Heb 4:8!
Now if one wishes to take liberty and change the name
of the Old Testament “Joshua” to the pagan ‘jesus’, well
that is their choice, yet a sad choice indeed and Truth ;-(
And worse yet you could accept the lie that the pagan
greek word “iesous” represents both “Joshua” and
the pagan catholic and christian ‘jesus’ which makes
you a child of “the author of confusion”, he who is
“the father of lies”, ‘d’evil spirit whose domain is this
wicked world!
Truth is that the pagan name of ‘jesus’ was not spoken
for more than 1500 years after “The Only True GOD
raised The Messiah from among the dead”! Prior to
that time there was no letter ‘j’ in the english language.
Sadly, “The Way of Truth is evil spoken of” because of
the “imag”ined catholic and chrisitan pagan ‘jesus’ ;-(
And so it is i am but sad for you ;-(
Yet there is hope!
For Miracles do happen!
Hope is there would be those who would experience
The Miracle that is receiving “a love of The Truth”!
Truth IS, Yahshua(Joshua in modern day english) is
The Messiah, The Son of The Living GOD!
Peace, in spite of the dis-ease(no-peace) that is of this
wicked world, for “the WHOLE world is under the conrtol
of the evil one” indeed and Truth……. francisco