1 Peter 1:3-9

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 100:1-5
• Hymn — To God Be the Glory (#55)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Hymn — Great Is Thy Faithfulness (#32)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-9
• Sermon
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

---

Sermon Title: The Wonder of the Believer's Salvation

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-9

I. The Father Gives Us a New Life in the Son (vv. 3–4)

A. God causes the new birth — regeneration is entirely God's work

1. Just as our physical birth was caused by another, so also the new birth is caused by God; we are passive, God is active
2. To be born again is to be born from above — a heavenly, spiritual birth wrought by the Holy Spirit in dead sinners (John 3:3)

B. The new birth is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ

1. Union with Christ in his death and resurrection is the basis of the new birth
2. Romans 6:6-11 — we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
3. Thomas Goodwin's imagery: Adam is the old "giant man" onto whose hooks we are born; Christ is the new heavenly man — by union with him we are transferred from the old Adam to the new

C. The inheritance secured by the new birth (v. 4)

1. In ancient Israel, inheritance was tied to birth — born into Adam we receive a perishable, defiled, fading inheritance; born into Christ we receive the opposite
2. Imperishable — not subject to death or decay (Matthew 6:19-20)
3. Undefiled — can never be corrupted or polluted
4. Unfading — eternal, it will never pass away
5. Suffering is often caused by the fading of earthly joys; 1 Peter 1:4 should be memorized for times of suffering — what is kept in heaven is imperishable

II. The Father Gives Us a New Faith in the Son (vv. 5–7)

A. God guards his people by his power through faith (v. 5)

1. The Greek word for "guarded" is a military term — a watchman outside city walls keeping enemies at bay
2. God does not guard apart from faith; faith is the instrument through which God's power protects his people
3. Spirit-wrought faith is God's power in action — the two are not separate
4. Ephesians 6:16 — Paul commands soldiers to take up the shield of faith; Peter reveals its heavenly source — two perspectives on the same battle

B. God brings trials to test and refine faith (vv. 6–7)

1. Distinction: God brings trials (testing), not temptations — James is explicit that God tempts no one
2. Examples: God's testing of Adam in the garden (the serpent brought the temptation); God's testing of Abraham in Genesis 22 with Isaac
3. No suffering in the Christian's life is arbitrary — every trial from the sovereign Lord is purposeful, to sharpen, mold, and refine faith and produce Christian character and living hope
4. Illustration: Everybody Loves Raymond — God does not want us content with the "babysitter" (this world); he uses trials to awaken hope for the new heavens and new earth

III. The Father Gives Us a New Joy in the Son (vv. 8–9)

A. Present, inexpressible joy in believing without seeing (v. 8)

1. Peter shifts pronouns — from "us" (he saw Christ) to "you" (they have not seen Christ)
2. Peter commends the faith of those who have not seen — echoing Jesus' words to Thomas in John 20:29: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe
3. Encouragement to believers today: rather than beating ourselves up over weak faith, receive Christ's commendation — "blessed are you who believe and have not seen"
4. The joy is inexpressible — it cannot be fully articulated; it is visible in the tears of a new believer

B. The joy is filled with glory because it participates in the heavenly inheritance

1. Unless one is born again, one cannot see or grasp the joy of the kingdom (John 3:3)
2. Earthly-minded people cannot understand the heavenly joy of the believer

C. The present reality of salvation — the "already" (v. 9)

1. "Obtaining the outcome of your faith" is present tense — we are already saved, already seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2)
2. The already/not-yet: we are already saved and yet await the consummation at Christ's return
3. The goal of faith is the salvation of souls — not the renovation of culture, not social justice theory, not critical race theory
4. The gospel produces wonderful horizontal effects (reconciliation among peoples), but those effects must never be conflated with the gospel itself
5. The pure gospel is the proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified for dead sinners headed for hell — this must remain the primary message