1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… These two terms, "begotten again" and the "incorruptible inheritance," are made for each other, like the two halves of a seashell. They shut accurately upon each other, but upon nothing else. Our inheritance by the first birth is neither undefiled nor unfading. To escape the curse of the first birthright we must have another birth. The new creature in Christ is joint heir with Him- heir of all things. The inheritance is — (1) Incorruptible. It is not liable to complete dissolution, like a dead body that returns to dust. It is — (2) Undefiled. It is not liable to have all its beauty dimmed by some unclean spot falling on its form. Often an earthly inheritance, while its substance abides the same, loses all its attraction for the owner. The eldest son, perhaps, for whom it was fondly cherished, has thrown away his good name. Henceforth the father cannot look with complacency on his green fields and waving woods. A glance at the landscape makes him shudder. His inheritance is defiled. Not so the heritage to which the children of God have, in the regeneration, been served heirs. The inheritance is — (3) Unfading; its bloom will never wither. The Lamb is the light thereof, and there shall be no night there. The silence of Scripture, especially in contrast with the coarseness of earth born systems, is sometimes as emphatic a testimony to its Divine origin as its positive revelations. Lights on the shore flash far over the ocean, and conduct the voyager to the land; but they do not reveal to him while at sea the particular features of the landscape; it is thus that the Bible exhibits lights sufficient to guide inquirers safe to heaven, but not sufficient to reveal its interior beauties. Those who reach the better land will discover its glories after they arrive. (W. Arnot.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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, |
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