We began our study last week of I Peter.  We found the continual theme mentioned 16 times as ‘The God of All Suffering’.  We began by way of introduction looking at verses 1 and 2.  We found there ‘The Principle’, ‘The Position’, and ‘The People of Suffering’.  Let us finish our introduction this week and look at verses 3-5 which says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

I have entitled this section ‘The Praise For Our Suffering’.  Peter begins this section with the word ‘blessed’. (Vs. 3)  It is here we have ‘The Commencement of This Praise’. The word means to eulogize.  It is made up of two words, which are ‘eu’, well, and ‘logeo’ which means to speak.  The word means to speak well of.  Instead of making suffering the center of his thoughts he begins to focus our speaking well of God the Father, God the Son, and in verses 10-12 God the Holy Spirit.   God the Father and God the Son have to be equally the same.  A Bible writer would find it blasphemy to mention one in the same sentence with God the Father who was not His equal.  Let us find ourselves in a time of suffering giving out thoughts to praising Him and not rehearsing our troubles.

We see in verse 4 ‘The Cause of This Praise’.  The word ‘according’ gives us the sense of what the triune Godhead has caused.  The word ‘according’ means a compelling and dominating restraint, which is abundant mercy.  This is His multiple and manifold withholding of what we deserve.  We are told in verse 4 that our Lord has ‘begotten us again unto a lively hope’ by this mercy.  The word ‘begotten’ is a past action of making something new over again with present results.  The words ‘unto a lively hope’ give us the results of a confidant expectation or hope.  Peter is telling us ‘don’t let your suffering consume your focus and bring you down but let the Lord give us the focus of a bright future’.  The foundation of this future is in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  The resurrection assures us of an ‘inheritance’. (Vs. 4)  The word ‘inheritance’ has the idea of the right to have all the Father has given the Son.  This inheritance is described as being ‘incorruptible’ which means un-decaying in essence or continuance.  This inheritance is reserved in heaven forever.  It is being guarded in the safety of heaven the hometown of God.  Our trouble of suffering causes us to focus on now.  Peter is turning our attention to the forever world.  There will certainly be a longer time there than is ever spent now.  Let us turn our eyes upon Him and let the suffering of this present world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

In verse 5 Peter closes this introduction with ‘The Confidence of This Praise’.  We are told that not only is our inheritance being kept, but we are being ‘kept’.  The word ‘kept’ is a military term, which means to garrison about with a guard.  We are being kept by His ‘power’. (Our word for ‘dynamo’, the power box for explosion)  This is all through ‘faith’. (Full reliance of all upon another)  We will see this clearly when time is no more.

How can we do less than praise Him in our suffering? We get all of this and heaven too.