The Blessing of the Resurrection 1 Peter 1:3-4 The Blessing of the Resurrection

• Without the resurrection there would be no , no Christian church, and no Christianity. • The resurrection is the very center of our faith. • Our faith is only as strong as the object in which we place it. • Faith in a powerless God is a powerless faith. The Blessing of the Resurrection

• 1 Corinthians 15:17—If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. • Through His resurrection we can experience forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The Blessing of the Resurrection

• Philippians 3:10-11—10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. • ’ resurrection proved that He had power over death and sin. The Blessing of the Resurrection

• The resurrection is what separates Jesus from every other religious leader. • Jesus alone paid the price for our sins. The Blessing of the Resurrection

• 1 Peter 1:3-4—3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in for you. I. Praise the Father (3)

• 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ • Peter identifies God as the Father of Jesus. • The Jews of Jesus’ day would never have called God “my Father.” • He was saying that He had a special one- of-a-kind relationship with God. • He had the same divine nature as God. I. Praise the Father (3)

• They share the same life. • He was God in the flesh. • John 14:9—He who has seen Me has seen the Father. • John 10:30—I and the Father are one. • Colossians 2:9—For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. I. Praise the Father (3)

1. Peter uses the word “our.” • Our relationship with Jesus is a personal one. • He is only savior of those who personally receive Him. • John 1:12-13—12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. I. Praise the Father (3)

2. Peter uses the word “Lord.” • He is the sovereign king and ruler of the universe. • He has to be our personal Lord. • Romans 10:9—that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. I. Praise the Father (3)

3. Peter uses the word “Jesus.” • That identifies His humanity. • John 1:14—And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. I. Praise the Father (3)

4. Peter uses the word “Christ.” • He is the Messiah that was promised in the Old Testament. • He is the King that will reign on His throne for all of . II. God’s Great Mercy (3)

• God’s great mercy that was His motivation in bringing us . • There is nothing in us or about us that would cause God to show us grace and mercy. • God is a God of love, grace, and mercy. • We can’t earn grace and we can’t earn mercy. II. God’s Great Mercy (3)

• Ephesians 2:4-5—4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), II. God’s Great Mercy (3)

• Jesus did something for us that we are unable to do for ourselves. • Romans 3:23—for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, • We are unable to make ourselves good enough to get to heaven. III. Born Again (3)

• 3 (God) has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead • John 3:3—Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” III. Born Again (3)

• We can’t produce (or cause) our own spiritual birth any more than we could cause our own physical birth. • So, our spiritual life has to originate from our Heavenly Father. III. Born Again (3)

• John 1:12-13—12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. III. Born Again (3)

• When we come to Jesus, and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, the says we are born again. • Only God can make us spiritually alive. • No amount of efforts or good living, on our part, can cause us to be spiritually alive. III. Born Again (3)

• First Peter 1:3 says that once Jesus becomes our Lord and Savior, we are “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” • We know we will be raised to eternal life, because of His resurrection from the dead. III. Born Again (3)

• And, in doing so, He also proved that everything else He had said was true. • That’s why we know that God’s promise to raise us from death to a glorious life in heaven is true. • He has already proven that power by raising Jesus from the dead. IV. An Imperishable Inheritance (4)

• 4 (we are born again) to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you • Only our heavenly Father has a heavenly inheritance that He willingly gives to us. IV. An Imperishable Inheritance (4)

• Ephesians 2:8-9—8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. • Everything else we can receive in this life will eventually disappear. IV. An Imperishable Inheritance (4)

• Mark 8:36-37—36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his ? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? • What are you willing to exchange for your soul?