Sermon 240331

我们有活泼的盼望 We Have a Living Hope

彼前 1 Peter 1:3–5

We have a living hope

Praise the work of God
Because of God the Father’s mercy and Jesus’ resurrection, we have new life (resurrected life).
It gives us living hope, inheritance from heaven, and future salvation
Conclusions: live a resurrected life

Slides 3 to 5 show John 20:11–18 in Chinese.

John 20:11–18

John 20:11–18 (ESV)

¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

All 4 gospels objectively, clearly, and accurately recorded Jesus Christ’s resurrection

(Matt 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20, as well as Acts and other NT books)

All witnessed Jesus Christ’s resurrection, as well as interpreted the meaning of the resurrection

Luke 24:1–6

Luke 24:1–6 (ESV)

¹ But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,

The truth of Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.

Therefore, we can say that our faith (belief) is a faith based on the resurrection. The heart of our faith is Jesus Christ, the one who rose from the dead.

If Christ was not resurrected, our belief is fake, the gospel that we preach will also be a fake gospel (fake good news).

If Christ was not resurrected, his death on the cross was a complete failure, showing that God has no salvation for sinners.

If God can fail, then he can’t be God.

From the whole Bible, we can see that the OT prophesied Christ’s resurrection, the NT fulfilled and witnessed Christ’s resurrection. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is an unshakable historical fact.

In the book of Acts, there’s a passage that echoes the OT:

Slides 10 and 11 are the Chinese version of Acts 2:25–32

Acts 2:25–32 (ESV)

²⁵ For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; ²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. ²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. ²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ ²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Today, while we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, at the same time, we need to think about what the resurrection means to us personally. We need to think about the affect the resurrection have on our lives.

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 1:3–5

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)

³ 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, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Summary:

Peter began by praising what God the Father had done.

Believers are reborn through God the Father’s mercy and the redemption of Jesus.

And thus, we have this wonderful blessing, including a living hope, a heavenly inheritance, and salvation on the last-day.

Under what circumstance did Jesus say that his God and father is also the God and father of the believers? (John 20:17)
How did Jesus compare the treasures that are from this world (treasures that will rot, go bad, temporary), with heavenly treasures (that will not go bad and are permanent) (Matt 6:19–21; Luke 12:33)

Praise the work of God the Father

1 Pet 1:3a

Directly translated is “God the Father should be praised.”

In the OT Greek translation, it mentioned many times “Praise be to the LORD God,” or “Praise be to the Lord.” (Exo 18:10; Psalm 68:19)

There are some differences with how the OT uses praise.

First, calling God the Father as “the God and Father of Jesus Christ,” there’s a conjunction “and,” not quite the same as 1 Pet 1:2.

It’s to emphasise that God is the father of Jesus Christ, and that he’s also the God of Jesus Christ.

Second, it’s calling Jesus as Lord.

“Lord” was how the Jews respectfully refer to God. In the church, the word “Lord” (kyrios in Greek) was used for Jesus Christ. In the NT, the terms “Lord Jesus” or “Lord Jesus Christ” appeared over 100x.

During Pentacost, Peter’s sermon to the people said (Acts 2:36)

…God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified

二: We are new life because of God’s mercy and Jesus’ resurrection

See 1 Pet 1:3b.

This one of the few occasions in the NT that speak of “new life.”

See also 1 Pet 1:23; John 3:3–7; Titus 3:5

Even though the CUV translates it as “new birth,” it’s not the full meaning of what this word expresses.

In John 3, the earliest that Jesus spoke of new life is in the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3–7). In Titus 3:5, Paul pointed out that God saved us, “through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

“Great mercy” (in 1 Pet 1:3) means “rich mercy” or “abundant mercy.” God’s character is that he has great and abundant mercy. In the OT, whenever it describes the love of God, the Greek translation often translates it as “mercy”.

The 2nd time when God annoucned to Moses (in Exo 34:6)

Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

This description was used very often in the OT (Deut 4:31; Psa 86:15, 103:8, 145:8; Joel 2:13; Nahum 4:2).

In Exo 34:6, “abounding in steadfast love” and “merciful and gracious” are compound words.

A reborn life is a new life, one that’s living, and is obtained through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There 3 meanings:

1. Showing the reality of a new birth. God already let Jesus Christ to be resurrected, and it’s a resurrection from death. Here we have a comparison betwen death and resurrection, as well as a comparison with the “living” below, showing that a believer’s new life is real.

2. It shows the power of God in giving people new birth or new life. Life comes from God, and we can have new life because of the great power of God. This power was already shown when Jesus was resurrected.

3. It shows that our rebirth is connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. New life comes from God, and it’s also a reality because of Jesus Christ. His death removed the punishment of sin: death; his resurrection shows victory over death: life.

In the resurrected life of Christ, believers’ rebirth is guaranteed.

When Peter said “given us new birth,” his meaning is that this “us” includes Peter;

And also to say that we can have new birth only through the mercy of God and the resurrection of Christ from death. This is also Peter’s own experience. Peter’s experience was very dramatic.

When the resurrected Christ appeared before the disciples, they saw him and was glad (John 20:20). From that time on, Peter and the others also became alive.

Before Christ’s resurrection, the disciples were as timid as rabbits.

But after the resurrection and ascension, they received power from the Holy Spirit, and they became as brave as like lions, daring to preach about the Jesus Christ who was resurrected from death (see Acts 1–5.