A LIVELY HOPE

1 Peter 1:2-3 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. 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.

A good example of the elect in the Old Testament was the Israelites. We know that God chose them for the special purpose of scripturally identifying the lineage through whom the Son of God, Christ Jesus, was born into the world. God elected the children of Israel as a special people and for a special work. In the New Testament, the elect are Christians that became so through obedience to the will of God. They became His chosen because they heard God's plan of salvation that was established from the beginning of time. They believed it, and obeyed it, which culminated in being baptized into the body of Christ, and, thus, became Christians - God's elect.

This letter written by Peter was addressed to the elect, the Christians that lived in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (See Vs. 1). Peter placed himself in the group with the elect because he is included in the, us, referred to in verse three -Peter and all other Christians, that are begotten ...again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Notice Peter says that God has begotten us again, referring to himself and all other Christians. They were begotten and now they were begotten again, meaning that they were physically born into the world, and were now spiritually reborn. As His creation, we were born into this world, and given physical life through the natural process God established when the world was founded. Notice what Jesus told us with the answer he gave Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Here Jesus confirms that there are two births - one physical and one spiritual, and affirms it by saying, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). In order to be included in the elect, to be a Christian, Jesus said, Ye must be born again (John 3:7).

We now know that the lively hope, noted in the lesson text, is restricted to Christians; those begotten again; those that have been born again, through acts of obedience, that culminated by baptism into the body of Christ. The hope of a Christian is active and alive as opposed to a hope that is inactive and dead. Dead hope is based on mere speculation and is without foundation. The lively hope of a Christian is based on firm conviction and has, as its solid foundation, the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The lively hope of the Christian is the resurrection unto eternal life after our departure from earth, due to physical death. Jesus' teaching confirms this hope. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29). How are we assured there will be a resurrection of the dead? Because our Savior proved it when He arose from the grave, was witnessed by a great number of people, and ascended into Heaven to spend eternity with God, His Father.

From the beginning of time, it was God's plan to provide a way of salvation for His obedient children. It is through God's power that it will take place. We have assurance of this in His holy word. The apostle Paul told the Christians at Corinth that ...God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power (1 Corinthians 6:14). In a similar manner, Paul told the Roman brethren, But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11).

Dear Heavenly Father, of all the blessings we enjoy while here on earth, we, as thy children, are most grateful for the lively hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, your Son, and our Savior.