"3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you." ~ 1 Peter 1:3-4
Today, we return to our study of the first of Peter's two epistles: 1 Peter. Yesterday, we considered 1 Peter 1:3 wherein we learned of our living hope which is a result of our new birth. Today, we consider 1 Peter 1:4 wherein we will learn through this very same new birth, our inheritance in and through Christ.
An inheritance is property or money or title that you own upon the death of the previous holder who has made you an heir. And once that person dies it's passed onto you, if you were named an heir. Usually this is done by parents for children.
The Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth and died bequeathing heaven to all who would be humble enough to believe that His sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for sin. Since the Lord Jesus Christ conquered sin and death by raising from the dead, He made it possible for all believers to be joint heirs with Him.
In Romans 8:17 we read, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. For I consider that the present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
The inheritance that the Apostle Peter is writing about is really the inheritance of the Lord Jesus, and He has chosen to share His inheritance with us who believe. This inheritance is mentioned in Revelation 21-22, where the Apostle John describes the new heaven and the new earth as a place where believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will inhabit the kingdom of God.
In the New Earth all living things will find their sustenance in the presence of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. In heaven, every longing that we have ever known will be realized. Christ's promised inheritance is guaranteed to the believer in Christ and it is secured in heaven by God's power through the resurrection of Christ! In eternity, we will fully experience ultimate fulfillment that we were created to know partly due to the fact that there will be nothing to hinder us of the pursuits of our hearts.
Peter describes this inheritance as never perishing, never spoiling, and never fading, because it is kept by God's power in heaven for us. The word "kept" means "to guard." The believer's inheritance in Christ is guarded in heaven. Here the Apostle Peter used a perfect passive participle meaning the already existing inheritance is presently under guard in heaven. And, heaven is the safest place there is because it does not suffer from the presence of sin and death.
In Revelation 21:27 we read, "Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination, and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."
Heaven will never know any invasion from any outside threat. Heaven will never know any spoiling of its treasure. Heaven will never know any laying waste, any defacing of its beauty. Heaven will never have armies marching into it to fight against its inhabitants. In heaven we will sleep with our doors unlocked and our windows wide open. As a result, our inheritance in Christ is and will be more than secure.
It is so easy for us, especially while we are suffering persecution, to lose sight of this eternal perspective that Peter is describing here. We most often lack an appreciation for the future because we so quickly forget the terrors of hell from which God has saved us through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. The earth as we know it will end in flames, and God will make a new heaven and a new earth.
As believer's we sometimes develop a myopic view of what time is in the context of the eternal. Time, with reference to eternity, is just a speck of sand. This temporal earth is, in comparison to the eternal, nothing. To be defined by the nothing as opposed to the eternal is like settling for a five hundred thousand dollar home here on earth rather than a multi-gazillion dollar home in eternity. There simply is no comparison. And this inheritance is locked up in the bank vault of heaven, guarded against every intruder who might desire to take it from us.
Finally, think of those whom you admire the most. Think of the qualities that each of these people possess. Think of why you enjoy their presence. The Lord Jesus Christ is all of those qualities and more. You see, He is our inheritance, and He is the One who will complete us. It is hard for us to wrap our minds around this concept right now, but He is everything we have ever desired and more. In heaven, we will know, in a perfect and an eternal way, an authentic and lasting union with Him. That's a prize to keep our eyes on while here on this fallen earth. This all means that heaven, although the coolest place ever, is far more than just a destination. Heaven truly is a person and His name in the Lord Jesus Christ.
