Well spoken of is God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ out from the dead, unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, in a state of being guarded in the heavens for us, the ones who are guarded by an inherent ability of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3–5).
We have been saved to a living hope. Hope is always based upon a promise (Romans 8:24). Our hope involves the completion of our salvation. Initial salvation begins in the spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). We are washed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5); thereby, we become legitimate children of God (1 John 3:2). Because we have a living hope, and faith is the substance of that which is hoped for, this promise impacts our everyday life (Hebrews 11:1). In Christ, we have access to eternal life. We therefore partake of a quality of the Divine nature, through which we can escape the corruption of this world through its strong desires (2 Peter 1:3–4). Eternal life is God’s quality of life, manifested through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), when a saint is filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and thus walks by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).
Because of God’s mercy, we have been born again. Mercy is the relief from the effects of sin. When God’s fondness for man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we had done, but by His mercy we were washed and regenerated (Titus 3:4–5).
This inheritance is reserved in the heavens because we are now children of God (1 John 3:1). It is in a state of being kept by God’s inherent ability. Because it is incorruptible, undefiled, and protected by God, it cannot be taken from the saints. Our salvation is nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11). Therefore, let us live according to the happy hope of the appearance of our great God even Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).
