KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD

“Who are KEPT by the POWER of GOD through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” – 1 Peter 1:5

Another inherent benefit of Christ’s Resurrection is that believers are KEPT BY THE POWER of GOD: “Who are KEPT by the POWER of GOD through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet.1:5). We who believe are by God’s abundant mercy, born again “to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven” (v.3-4). Our hope is not a wish! Our inheritance is eternal – forever – and of limitless worth! The merciful God who bestows those great gifts is also actively guarding us every moment. The Amplified version of 1 Peter 1:5 reads: “Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the las time.”

We are protected and shielded by His Power! But, in order to truly maximize the reality of our Redemption, we do well to meditate on what it means to be KEPT by God’s Power, and HOW! The central theme of these opening verses of Peter‘s first epistle is: Thanksgiving for our Salvation and Imperishable Inheritance. Our inheritance is prepared and kept for us, as we are for it. What keeps it imperishable, apart from its eternal nature, is the infinite Power of God! This Power is anchored in the Triune Fullness of God: “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” (v.2a).

We who believe can count on God’s guarding and preserving Power, while earnestly awaiting the perfection of our salvation, when our spirits shall join our perfected bodies in the presence of Christ! Yes, in this process, manifold trials will manifest. The best diamonds take longer in cutting and polishing. But, after all, compared to the eternity before us, the trials are short-lived, and there is a purpose for each, including the Full Experience of Christianity – Hope (v.3), Faith (v.7), and Love (v.8).  These three blend in the Joy that is unspeakable and full of the glory! What a privilege is ours – to receive on the platform of Mercy, what the prophets enquired and searched diligently after, what angels are deeply desirous of and interested in – that glorious salvation which God has declared unto humankind in the gospel, and by which we have been redeemed (v.11-12).

To be kept by the Power of God through faith means that God is guarding our inheritance, and shielding us as in a fortress, from anything that might cause our inheritance – our eternal life with Him forever – to suffer. We’re being protected by His Power. Think if it: How powerful is God? How able is He? He is Creator of the universe. He is the God who raised Christ from the dead. He is the God of all flesh and the Father of Spirits (Jer.32:27; Heb.12:9). We’re being kept by God’s power through faith. It’s not our faith that is powerful. It is God. But it is through faith that this relationship with God began and is maintained. We trusted Him to save, and we continue to trust that He will do everything necessary to keep us in His love!

By God’s grace, through faith, we have been saved (Eph.2: 8-9), from the eternal penalty of sin. We are being saved from the power of sin, growing more and more like Jesus. And, we will be saved from the presence of sin, in Heaven. Though we have a foretaste already, our salvation will be fully revealed in His Presence. Even in trials of faith, we have every reason to rejoice. The mystery of God’s plan has been revealed to us in Christ! Our responsibility is to live like the holy ones of God we already are by obeying Him now, loving each other earnestly, and placing all of our hope in the endless life to come!