1 Peter 1:3-5

“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--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5, NIV.

Are you going to heaven? When you die, are you going to heaven? I corresponded with someone this past week who said that worrying about eternity is not as important as dealing with the here and now. But eternity is a lot longer than the here and now. I do believe we should live in the here and now, but are you going to heaven?

If you answer is, “Yes!”, my question is “how or why?” I want to show you the Christians perspective on this from 1 Peter 1:3-5. There is a progression of blessing in this passage.

The response to this passage is praise. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Don’t be afraid to praise. So many of us are fearful of speaking good about God in public or in private places. If you can tell others how wonderful the bagger was at the grocery store, you should be able to credit God with the good he has done you. Let’s look at some things that might be on that list.

First, God has great mercy. If we go to heaven, we won’t deserve it. There is nothing wrong, however, in embracing gifts. We are not entitled to whatever God gives us. It is because of his great mercy we receive what we receive.

Second, in his mercy he has given us new birth. We call this “regeneration.” This new birth, this new life is produced from the Holy Spirit who comes in us. What a blessing to have a new life. “Things are different now. Something happened to me. When I have my life to Jesus. Things are different now. I was changed it must be. When I gave my heart to him. Things I loved before have passed away. Things I love far more, have come to stay. Things are different now I was changed it must be. When I gave my life to Him.”

Third, this new birth produced a living hope. The mark of a Christian is hope. But hope is not wishful thinking. This hope is a living hope. When we look towards the horizon of our lives, we see light ahead. We don’t know about today or this week. We are unsure of next month or next year. But we know that God makes all things beautiful in his time. This hope keeps us going.

Fourth, this hope is based on the resurrection of the dead. Jesus died and was buried. But it was not the end. It is not the end for us, either. Jesus rose again. But that was not the end. He was glorified and raised up into heaven. That is our hope. One day we will not only rise from the dead, but we will be in a better place with better bodies, with better people with better conditions, with better blessings.

Fifth, the blessings are our inheritance. God doesn’t need to die for us to receive our inheritance. This is what we receive after we die! We have receive the promise of it now, but it will be ours in the future.

Sixth, this inheritance is kept in heaven. It is not ours yet, except in promise. But just as a person may wait for their 21st birthday in order to receive the proceeds from the trust fund placed in their name, so we will need to go to heaven to receive this inheritance that is promised to us.

Seventh, this inheritance is given to people of faith. These are people whose faith is in Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus died for their sins, was buried, and rose again. They believe that his work on the cross was sufficient to bring them to God.

Eighth, these people of faith are shielded by God’s power. Shielded from what? Shielded or guarded or protected from anything that would stop them from receiving their inheritance.

What could stop someone from receiving their inheritance? Someone might say, “A really horrible sin.” But I say to you, “God will shield you from doing whatever sin might keep you from getting your inheritance.” That is the blessing, the teaching in this passage.

Someone else might say, “What if I lose my faith?” This verse tells me that when you have real faith, you will be shielded from losing enough faith to stop you from claiming your inheritance. Your faith might be buffeted, but you will be protected by God’s power.

Ninth, we are protected until we get our inheritance. We have been saved, but there is a part of that salvation yet to come. It is the salvation from the sin in our bodies and in our world. We have been saved from God’s wrath, we are being saved from sin’s power. But there is coming a day when there will be no more sin. When that salvation is revealed, we will receive it.

Tenth, the reason you will receive your inheritance is because you are protected by God’s power. God’s power is going to shield you. How powerful is God’s power? It’s stronger than yours. Some people have tried to run from God. “You can run, but you can’t hide.” You are protected by a powerful God.

People might ask me, “How do you know you are going to heaven?” My answer is, “Because I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.” But deeper than that is this truth. I will go to heaven because those who have faith in Jesus Christ are protected by God’s power.

What is this power God has? I believe that this power that Peter speaks about is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit who gave us new life, who indwells us, in whom we are immersed, to guard us until God’s salvation is fully revealed.

This work of the Holy Spirit is also described as the “sealing of the Holy Spirit.”

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22, NIV.

“13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14, NIV.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30, NIV.

A seal is an official tag. It was often made of wax and would have the king’s ring punched into it to make a distinctive mark. They put one on the tomb where Jesus was buried so that no one would dare open it. To open the seal without permission would be to ignore the command of the government to keep it shut.

God has promised us an inheritance. Instead of putting a seal on a letter, he put a seal on us. That seal is the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit is God’s stamp on us that we will receive an inheritance. The Holy Spirit in us is even described as a down payment of our inheritance. He is like a deposit in us. He is the down payment of what we will have. The good changes that have come since you believe in Christ are just a foreshadowing of how it will be when we get to heaven.

And we will get there. Jesus paid it all on the cross. And the Holy Spirit seals the deal. He will keep us till the end.

I did this series because I wanted you to know what happened spiritually to you when you believed in Christ. The Holy Spirit came in and you received your spiritual ribs.

You were Regenerated, Indwelt, Baptized and Sealed by the Holy Spirit. All this took place the moment Christ came into your life. You have new life, the presence of the Holy Spirit in you, an immersion into the Holy Spirit and the knowledge that the Holy Spirit will guard you to ensure that all God’s promises are delivered to you.

Think on this, meditate on this, embrace your spiritual RIBS.