A Lively Hope

“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. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”* (1 Peter 1:3-9)

We have been “begotten… again unto a lively hope”” by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The word translated “lively” (“living” in most modern translations) carries depth of meaning. Some of the definition of the original word from the Strong’s Concordance is as follows: “To live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); to enjoy real life; having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul; to be in full vigour.” The “full vigour” of this hope consists both in its divine origin and in its factual foundation. The hope is there because of the “abundant mercy” of God in sending Jesus Christ to die and rise from the dead. This is the divine origin. Now I want to examine for just a little the factual foundation of this hope through the context of the words of scripture we have quoted.

The hope is directed “to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.” Several years ago my father-in-law died without a valid will. The transfer of the inheritance to his six surviving children was a long, tortuous legal process, involving legal matters, tax matters, the management of the property and financial assets during the two year process, with all the personalities and dispositions of the six children as well as the lawyer, accountant, and financial advisor affecting the process. The inheritance certainly suffered “corruption,” “defiling,” and “fading,” through legal fees, taxes (including penalties and interest resulting from flaws in the relationships between the family representative and the advisors), costs of administering the estate, the uncertainties of real estate markets and financial markets, and a distressing amount of wrangling over specific items of inheritance. Now considering the possibilities for disaster, the end result was really quite positive—that is, the family members still get along and a significant portion of the original value of the estate was successfully distributed to the six children. The course of the economy since that time has proven the corruptibility of the inheritance even after distribution. We knew enough (though much less than we have learned since) of the uncertainties at the time of his death to not enjoy a real, living hope about this inheritance. But now let us examine the heavenly inheritance that is spoken of above.

It is “reserved in heaven for you.” The place that it is reserved is a strong, comforting fact to make our hope vigorous. Heaven is a place without corruption, defilements, or fading. We are “kept by the power of God” now, here, because we still dwell in a place of corruption, defilements, and fading. But the inheritance is reserved for us in a secure location. Several years ago I attended a meeting at work where a vendor was presenting information about their off site secure storage for backup copies of important computer information. The marketing representative of the company spent some time explaining and defending an incident that had been widely reported in the news of a loss of backup tapes from one of their vehicles between the client’s office and the secure, offsite storage location. The representative was taking pains to try to reassure us of the minimal risk of loss and the high level of security they offered, and knew that this incident was very damaging to that image if not dealt with. In the end, I think that most at the meeting were satisfied that no vendor would be able to offer a perfectly secure process, and that this one would be “good enough.” Now “good enough” rather than “perfect” meant, and still means, that people that use these services are placing their hopes in some combination of a) no real need occurring of depending on this off-site secure storage, b) alternative sources making up for the imperfect security of this vendor, or c) the important information being not completely critical. In other words, they were and are not completely placing their hopes in this solution, but simply counting on it being “good enough,” along with additional resources, to solve the problem.

Now many people seem to address the issue of their eternal salvation in much the same way. They believe somewhat in a salvation “reserved in heaven,” but keep other “options” open, so-to-speak, so that (if they are honest enough to put it this way) somehow or other they can “muddle through” in the end. But it is impossible to succeed spiritually in this way. “No man can serve two masters.”* (Matthew 6:24) “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”* (Matthew 22:37) “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”* (Luke 14:33) “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”* (John 10:4-5) The Lord has taken pains to lay before us a salvation that can be trusted in wholeheartedly, with no reservation. “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season…” “Now” is spent in a place that can cause “heaviness through manifold temptations,” but we “greatly rejoice” because of the salvation “reserved in heaven.” The whole “lively hope” is focused on future certainties. “Praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ”; “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” The Lord taught this in praying, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”* (Matthew 6:10) Here is a place where everything can be relied upon in following God’s will. “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”* (Revelation 21:27) This “secure location” cannot be breached by anything that defiles. No corrupting influences.

God means for us to have a vigorous hope based on faith in certainties. Now there is a teaching that I grew up believing, and that most Christians through much of the history of the Church have simply accepted as a matter of faith. Yet it stands squarely against this truth, and the effort to make it “fit” with the rest of God’s truth has distorted our “lively hope” in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways. I am referring to the teaching that the devil is a fallen angel. Before some of you stop reading, concluding that we are teachers of strange, false doctrines, please prayerfully consider the following article, and for further consideration, the articles and discussions mentioned at the end of the synopsis.

With love and prayers,
The Editor