I Peter 1:3 “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,”
Peter starts this verse with praise to God, who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He certainly is worthy of all our praise for what He has done for us. The “Father” concept, I believe is for our understanding that He is the Head of the Trinity, since this relationship is not one where the Father begat the Son. The Son is eternal and always has been. He never had a beginning – except when He left Heaven and became human.
Because the Father had mercy toward us sinners, we can be saved. Although we had sold ourselves to be the servants of sin, God was willing to forgive us and make us His own children: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (Jn. 1:12).
Note that the verse for today declares that God’s salvation is a “lively hope.” The word “lively” means energized, exciting, full of vigor. This is the kind of assurance of salvation that every believer should have.
The one thing that makes it “lively” is that Christ rose from the dead. His rising again proves that our sins, which were placed on Him on the cross, were completely paid for. The believer will never face them again – or any future sins, either. People that have this kind of “lively hope” can have an exciting life of faith, knowing that Heaven is sure – because of His work on the cross for us. Praise His Name!
People that believe you can lose your salvation do not have a “lively hope” – because they are never sure that they will make it into Heaven. They live with a degree of dread and fear all the time. It is not possible to call that kind of life a “lively hope.”
My friends, if you are fearful of not making it into glory, remember that Jesus came to bring eternal life. For believers, eternal life has a beginning but no end. It will be life with Him in glory – forever. Now, you either have eternal life right now – or you do not. If you have it, Christ is the One that does the keeping – not you. Can you thank Him for it today?