1 Kefa 1:3-12

A Living Hope

In my last post, we began to unpack his first letter to the saints. In this post, we explore what Kefa describes as A Living Hope.

³ Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, ⁴ to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven.

Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who …. This is the liturgical formula for commencing an ‘Amidah (Jewish benediction). For example, the initial b’rakhah (blessing) of the ‘Amidah begins, “Praised be you, Adonai, our God and God of our fathers ….” The who in this formula signals a list of praiseworthy things God has done. In this case, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope, to an inheritance … kept safe for you in heaven. In 1Kefa 2:9, Kefa writes that Believers are chosen people so that they may declare the praises of God, here in vv. 1–4, he makes himself an example by doing precisely that – declaring the praises of God.

Through the resurrection of Yeshua, you have been born again to a living hope. At Romans 6:4–11, 8:9–25, Sha’ul explains how it works. “Yeshua said …, ‘I AM the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever puts his trust in me will live, even if he dies; and everyone living and trusting in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (Yn 11:25) Kefa did.

 ⁵ Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the Last Time. That is when the Messiah returns (see v. 7 below).

 ⁶ Rejoice in this, even though for a little while, you may have to experience grief in various trials.

I am sure many of us have experienced various trials and tribulations, especially this year.

 ⁷ Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory, and honor at the revealing of Yeshua, the Messiah. ⁸ Without having seen him, you love him. Without seeing him now, but trusting in him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words. ⁹ And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance.

Charles Stanley advises us that “God allows trouble or pain or suffering into your life for a season for His special reasons, and no one’s situation is exactly the same. When you are experiencing negative times, it is imperative to keep the purposes described in 1 Peter 1:6-7 in mind.” [1] 

Donald Guthrie summarizes these verses:

Believers are born into a new way of life and become heirs of a heavenly inheritance (verses 3–4). But future hope is linked with present security despite trials and afflictions (5–6). These have only a refining effect on true faith, and they can, in fact, lead to inexpressible joy because faith has been fortified by love to Yeshua (7–9). ^[2]

¹⁰ The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. ¹¹ They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach HaKodesh sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things! ~ 1 Kefa 1:3-12 (CJB)

Some scholars hold that the Tanakh prophets spoke only to their own times, that they always understood the significance of what they said, and that their utterances contained only moral content and were never of predictive value or intent. These verses contradict that opinion. (see Daniel 12:4, 8–9 & Jeremiah 32). Therefore people seeking the truth, like the Jews of Berea who checked the Tanakh every day to see if the things Sha’ul was saying were true (Ac 17:11), should search the Tanakh to see if it points to Yeshua the Messiah. The Messianic prophecies already fulfilled by Him show that it does.

We will begin to unpack 1 Kefa 1:13-25 ~ Called to Be Holy in my next post.

Click here for the PDF version.

[1] A Divine Encounter in Times of Adversity: November 4 by Charles F. Stanely

^[2] New Testament Introduction.