Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Peter 1:3-5

"Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." — 1 Peter 1:3-5 (ASV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Oh, what a blessed hope this is—that though we fall asleep, we shall surely wake again; and when we awaken, it will be in the likeness of the great Head of the family, and we ourselves shall be heirs of an inheritance in which there will be no sin and no corruption. That inheritance is kept for us, and we are kept for it; so the double keeping makes it doubly sure. Happy are the people to whom these verses apply.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.

How full of grace every sentence is. He blesses God because God has so freely blessed us; and he abounds in thanksgiving because he sees that abundant mercy, by which believers have been begotten again – born again – made, therefore, children after a new sort, and so made heirs of an inheritance very different from that upon which we enter by nature, an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

Brethren and sisters, if you have, indeed, been born by divine grace, to what estates are you born – to what high dignities and saved privileges! Rejoice and bless the Lord.

But, perhaps, the dark fear crossed your mind that, perhaps, after all, you may perish and miss the inheritance. Now, notice the double consolation of a double keeping.

The inheritance is kept. It is reserved in heaven for you, and you are kept, too. It is kept for you, and you are kept for it, For you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

What a vast mass of meaning is packed away in these words!

Men's books, even when they are good, are like gold-leaf; a little precious metal is very thinly hammered out so as to cover a wide surface, but almost every word in the Bible seems to contain a whole mine of heavenly wealth.

Note, beloved, what Peter says concerning your new birth; you are begotten by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. At your first birth, you were born in sin; but now you have been born again, through grace, by the almighty power of God.

Notice, also, to what you are born—to a hope that is full of life, a lively hope, a hope of immortality, a hope whose root is in the grave of Christ, the empty grave from which He has risen, and which is the assurance that because He has risen, you also shall rise.

See, further, to what you have been born: to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. See, also, how that inheritance is entailed upon you, for it is reserved in heaven for you; and see, too, how you are kept for it, for you are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.