Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

In the name of God the Father, who created us and preserves us day by day; in the name of God the Son, who took on flesh to earn our salvation; in the name of God the Holy Spirit, who called us from the darkness of unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ:

Grace, mercy, and peace from Him to you all,

Are you a hopeful person? Is the glass always half-full for you? Sometimes we are hopeful people. It seems that when things are going well for us, we are full of hope. But when we are suffering, when everything seems to be going wrong, when one hope after another has been crushed, we may begin to feel like all hope is lost.

On the first Easter Sunday, the disciples were thinking that very thing about Jesus. The two Emmaus disciples said, “We had HOPED that (Jesus) was the one to redeem Israel.” (Luke 24:21) They had hoped Jesus was the one who had come to redeem them—to set them free. But like so many of us, the hope of those Emmaus disciples was crushed. When Jesus died on the cross and was buried, their hope died and was buried with Him.

But you and I know the Emmaus story doesn’t end there. Unlike the hope we have in the things and people of this world, the hope found in Jesus never disappoints, never dies. Jesus lives and our hope lives with Him.

On this Trinity Sunday, listen to how the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gives us LIVING HOPE. Peter writes of this living hope to a group of Christians who were suffering. He calls them “exiles of the Dispersion.” Persecution had scattered these Christians from their homes and families. He speaks of them “suffering various trials.” We can imagine that many of their hopes had been crushed. However, listen to the living hope that the Triune God had given them and given us. 1 Peter, chapter 1, beginning with the first verse:

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (ESV)

So far the Word of God.

As Peter begins his letter he addresses those “elect…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” What does it mean to be “the elect?” We Americans know a thing or two about elections. With our elections we choose the individuals that we think will best represent us in government.

God’s election was a choice as well. God chose who would be His children. But this choice was not based on the merits of the candidate. It couldn’t have been. In Psalm 14 we read that God looks down from heaven to see if there are ANY who understand, who seek after God. Are there any good candidates to be His children, His representatives on earth? What did God find as He reviewed the candidates? “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalms 14:3)

No, this election wasn’t based on anything we had done. Paul says in Ephesians 1 that it was all according to His grace—His undeserved love. Peter says it was “according to the FOREKNOWLEDGE of God the Father.” God the Father, before He created anything, before Genesis 1:1, elected you, chose you in love to be His child out of His amazing grace.

This election from eternity, God the Father then carried out in time. Notice again that this is HIS work. Verse 3, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” God, of His great mercy, who chose us CAUSED us to be born again—He gave us new life. Our first birth was a birth of sin and death. We were lost in our trespasses and sins and without any hope of heaven. But praise be to the Father, He has given us living hope through Jesus’ resurrection.

Next, Peter writes of how God the Holy Spirit was also involved in giving you a living hope. Peter calls this work of the Holy Spirit “sanctification.” To sanctify something means to set it apart for God. While we may not use the word “sanctification” very much in our daily conversation, we understand what it means to set something apart. Maybe Mom made chocolate chip cookies for her family. While the kids are eager to eat all those cookies, we need to make sure we set aside one for Mom. When we receive a paycheck, we set part of it aside for specific things—some is set apart for God in our offerings, some for groceries, some for taxes, and some for retirement. The work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify us—to take us and set us apart for God, to make us God’s people.

Evidence of your election and sanctification can be found in what you believe about Jesus. Take a look at verse 8, “Though you have not seen him (that is, Jesus), you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” How is it that you love someone you’ve never seen? How is it that you believe and rejoice in Jesus? This is the work of God the Holy Spirit in your heart, giving you faith, love, and joy in Jesus Christ. Now, you want to obey Christ, as Peter says in verse 2. You want to live a “sanctified life”—a life that is set apart for God and that glorifies Him. This is the work of God the Holy Spirit who gives you living hope in a living and resurrected Jesus Christ.

Last, but certainly not least, God the Son was very much involved in giving you a living hope. In verse 2, Peter mentions “sprinkling with His blood.” That takes us to the cross, doesn’t it? We’re very accustomed to talking about the blood of Jesus on the cross, so accustomed that we don’t really stop to think about what we’re saying. The blood shed on the cross is not the blood of any mere man, but the blood of the eternal and almighty Son of God. This is the One through whom entire galaxies were created. This is the one whom angels worship.

And He sheds His blood for you. Jesus is true God and true man. His blood is so holy, so precious that it washes away all your ugly sins and makes you clean in God’s sight. And that gives us hope! Since our sins are forgiven, then we are reconciled and made right with God. Cleansed by the blood of His Son, we have hope that God won’t punish us for all the sinful things we’ve said, the horrific thoughts we’ve had, or loveless deeds we’ve done.

Cleansed from our sins by His blood, His resurrection from the dead then gives us that living hope, Peter continues, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Everything we hope for in this world perishes and fades away, as will each of us. But not that living hope from the Triune God. The inheritance of heaven that Christ died and rose to give you will never perish, it will never be defiled, and it will never fade away. And notice that glorious phrase at the end of verse 4, “kept in heaven FOR YOU.” The living God is keeping, literally guarding, this glorious inheritance undefiled in heaven FOR YOU! What a hope!

While we aren’t there yet, God has more promises to keep your hope alive. God is keeping this inheritance for you “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready in the last time.” Until that day, until the day when you can claim the inheritance God is keeping in heaven for you, God is using His divine power TO GUARD YOU. The word here for guarding is different than “keeping” in verse 4. The guarding here in verse 5 is like that of sentinel keeping watch over the city. The Triune God is doing just that for you. Jesus is sitting on the Father’s right hand ruling over all creation for your good. The Holy Spirit is actively using the message of the Gospel to keep you in the faith—for the “obedience of Christ,” as Peter calls it earlier.

This is what the Triune God is doing for you. He chose you. He caused you to be born again. He set you apart for God. He sprinkled you with His blood to cleanse you from your sins. He is right now keeping your heavenly inheritance undefiled for you. And He is now, at this very moment, using this Word of Scripture to guard you through faith until you receive that inheritance.

This is our hope—our hope that lives for Jesus rose from the dead. This is a hope that sustains us during the trials and suffering we face in this life. No wonder Peter breaks out in a hymn of praise, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Yes, blessed be the Triune God for giving us a living hope! Amen.

—Pastor Nathan Pfeiffer

Berea Ev. Lutheran Church
Inver Grove Heights, MN

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.