First Peter 1:5

The Bible says in First Peter 1:5, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The last several verses of First Peter have been reminding us of the great salvation that has been given to us through faith in Christ. We might be suffering now as “strangers scattered,” but we have a wonderful future with God forever. What is the certainty of this future? That is, how certain can we be that we will be a part of God’s eternal home in heaven? The answer to that can be found in the phrase “kept by the power of God.” If I was to be kept by my own power, then I would not have any certainty at all. But because I am kept by the power of God, I have total certainty because, of course, God’s power is unlimited. God will overcome any failure on my part. God will overcome any sin on my part. God will overcome any ruse by the devil or his minions. That is because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

There is no trap, there is no failure, and there is no weakness that will prevent a saved soul from being “kept.” The important thing to be sure of is that you have experienced the salvation that First Peter 1:5 is talking about. The one thing that you must have in order to have this salvation is “faith.” We “are kept by the power of God through faith.” Notice that we are not kept by the power of God through our good works, or through our church membership, or through any other thing that you can think of. We put our faith in Christ, and then we are kept by the power of God. That is the whole reason for putting our faith in Christ: we know that we cannot save ourselves, and so we bow before Jesus to receive His forgiveness and to make sure that we are relying upon Him instead of upon ourselves.

The last phrase of First Peter 1:5 says that the salvation is “ready to be revealed in the last time.” The book of First Peter gives the best answer of all to Christians who are called to suffer in this world: at least you have heaven to look forward to, and the wonders of heaven will far outweigh the sufferings of this life. But sometimes we are tempted to think that the salvation is a long way off. I might be tempted to get depressed thinking that it might be many, many years before the wonders of heaven are given to me. First Peter 1:5 is reminding us that the great salvation may not be as far off as some think. It is “ready to be revealed in the last time.” It could be revealed at any moment. That is the blessing of the concept of the imminent return of Christ.

The next great prophetic event to take place according to revealed scripture is the return of Christ. There are no intervening events that must take place first. There are no signs that must happen before Christ returns and raptures His believers out of this world. That is why the salvation is “ready” to be revealed. The Bible says in First Thessalonians 4:15-18, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

First Peter 1:5 says that the salvation is “ready to be revealed in the last time.” If you want to be a student of the Bible who really understands prophesy, then notice carefully the phrase “in the last time.” This period of time called “the last time” started in the days of the ministry of the apostles. And we are still in the last time. The last time continues from the days of the apostles until the return of Christ. The last time is not a future time period. It is the time period that we are now going through. In Second Timothy 3:1-5 the Bible says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” The reason that we see these characteristics in the people around us is that we are in the last days. The reason that Paul told Timothy to turn away “from such” was that they also were already in the last days.

We see this same teaching in the epistle of First John. The Apostle John wrote in First John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” You cannot get any clearer than that. The Holy Spirit spoke through the Apostle John to say that John was already in the last time, and we are still in the last time. The last time is not a short period of time the way that men count shortness of time. It has already lasted over 2,000 years. One thing to know about this last time period is that the entire time period has certain characteristics that are the same all the way through the time period.

We already saw that the depraved characteristics of godless people are the same throughout this time period. We can see in the teachings of Jesus that other characteristics of the last time are also the same throughout the length of the time period. The Bible says in Matthew 24:4-14, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” All of these things that Jesus listed in these verses are not signs that the last days are almost here. Instead these things are characteristics of the last days that we are already experiencing. We already are having wars and rumors of wars, and we already are having famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes because we are already in the last days just as the apostles were during their ministries.

Peter wrote in First Peter 1:6, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” This verse makes it clear that we should be rejoicing concerning our home in heaven that Jesus purchased for us and not because of the things that happen to us in this life. If we become too focused on this life, then we will only be able to rejoice when good things happen to us in this life. All of the world does that. This world is all that the lost souls have, so it is no wonder that they do that. Believers are actually living like lost people when the things of life determine what causes them to rejoice.

The truth is that there will be trials for believers. The word that is translated “temptations” in this verse means literally “trials.” Sometimes the trials are very difficult to bear. Notice the words “heaviness” and “manifold.” These are heavy trials that come against Christians, and there can be many heavy trials. One trial follows another. Think of the things that Christians have suffered over the centuries. Believers in the first few centuries were tortured for Christ. Some were dipped in pitch, nailed to poles, and set on fire as lamp posts. Others had to watch what happened to their own loved ones.

If you are going through a trial, it means that you are being tried. There is much more going on than just being called upon to suffer for Christ. You are being put to a test, you are being proved to see how you will respond. It is not so important what happens to you, whether it be good or bad, as it is important how you respond to what happens to you. Jesus was betrayed, and tortured, and crucified by wicked men. That was terrible, but He responded by praying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” How do you respond to your trials?

If you are a Christian, whatever trials you are having are actually trials of your faith. If you have the faith that you need to have, then you will get through the trial just fine. That is why First Peter 1:7 says, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Christianity is all about faith, not works. The faith that you have is what is important. God wants you to have faith, and then to grow in faith. “Grow in faith and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” “The just shall live by faith.” “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” When the apostles did not demonstrate the faith that Jesus knew they should have, Jesus rebuked them and said, “O ye of little faith.” There is nothing more important than your faith. Do what you can to make your faith stronger. You are going to need it. God wants you to grow in faith. One of the reasons that He allows these trials into your life is so that you will benefit from them: and so that once the trial is over, your faith will be even stronger. But if your faith is weak, a great trial may sweep over your life as a consuming fire and leave nothing but aches in its wake. Let it not be said of you that your faith is “shipwreck.” It is possible that you could stand at the end of your life and have nothing, being naked and alone and destitute. But if your faith in Christ is still strong, then in reality you will have everything, and you will have defeated all of the trials and woes and sorrows that life and providence brought your way.

First Peter 1:7 says that faith is more precious than gold. First Peter 1:7 implies that Jesus will judge each one of us at His appearing based upon how well each of us went through our own trials with faith. First Peter 1:7 says that a person whose faith survives in spite of the trials will receive “praise and honor and glory.” What a contrast this verse is to what we often hear from religious leaders in these days of apostasy. People heap praise and honor and glory on each other for works that they have done. Human beings can only see the works that others do. God sees the heart where faith abides. Many of the religious people who received praise and honor and glory from man will not receive it from Jesus Christ at His appearing. This verse makes it clear that the judgment of Christ on believers will be based upon how each believer responded by faith to the trials of life.

When speaking of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit put upon Peter’s mind to write the following in First Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” This verse emphasizes the principle of faith as well as the central theme of all true faith. Jesus is at the center of all true faith. Unless your faith is centered on Jesus, you do not have faith. Many people talk about faith in God, but unless they go on to emphasize faith in the person of Jesus Christ, they are not talking about true Biblical faith.

We do not see Jesus, but we believe in Him. If you have been born-again, your born-again experience came by bowing at the feet of Jesus and beginning your life of faith in Him. You did not see Jesus, but you knew He was there by the eyes of faith. This kind of faith is based upon historical events that are recorded in the written Word and that are witnessed to by the apostles and other believers of the first century.

To those who have faith in Jesus, there are great benefits that apply to this life and the next life. The benefit in the next life is above all going to heaven instead of going to hell. The benefit in this life is primarily knowing that you will go to heaven instead of going to hell. That is why no matter what are your trials and sorrows, you can still look to Jesus and what He has done for you and “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

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