Living The New Life - The New Life Begun

1 Peter 1:1-12 - (C) 2009

Here we find the beginning of the new life in Christ. Peter explains to the strangers scattered the beginning of spiritual life. Every believer knows about this beginning. He knows that he was once dead and now he is alive. He knows that he has been spiritually resurrected from the dead and that he lives in the Spirit of God.

Peter in these verses gives us some theological insight regarding the beginning of our new life. He speaks, first, of election. The word election means chosen. We who are saved have been chosen. Notice Eph. 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: This election, or God's choosing us before the world began, has to do with his foreknowledge, knowing his people intimately beforehand.

The Spirit of God has been sanctified, or set apart, for the purpose of bringing us to conviction and faith in Jesus Christ: John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: . This was not done, however, without the obedience of Christ in sprinkling his blood from the cross, washing our sins in that precious blood so that he could bring us to God (See Rev. 1:5; 1 Peter 2:18-19).

He has begotten us again (verse 3) unto a lively, or living, hope by his resurrection from the dead. Because Jesus Christ is no longer dead, neither are we dead but have been resurrected unto new life to an inheritance, one that does not corrupt, is not defiled, and that does not fade away. However, that inheritance is reserved in heaven for we who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, and it will be revealed in due time.

Because of all that God has done for us, we are to rejoice greatly even though we have many temptation. If the preamble to this book does not ring loud and true in your ears, then you will not be prepared for the trials that will most certainly come your way; because the trial of our faith is more precious than gold. These trials must be tried; otherwise, they are not trials. These trials are to bring glory and praise to God at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Though we have not seen Jesus, yet we love him: we believe in him, for salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Now, even though we have trials, we rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable but is full of glory to God.

The prophets inquired into this salvation and searched diligently to know more about it, but the mysteries of this salvation were for us, not them. The Spirit of God was in those prophets (See Numbers 27:8 and Nehemiah 9:30), and they prophesied about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow those sufferings.

The angels desire to look into the mysteries of salvation, but salvation does not pertain to them; it pertains only to God's chosen. This should make us, his chosen, very grateful and humble.

The new life has begun; now we must live it. It is to God that we live it, not to ourselves. We shall see many ways in which we can live this new life taught to us by the apostle Peter.