An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. -1 Peter 1:4
A couple things strike me as I read this passage.
FIRST-
We have been given an inheritance by Jesus Christ. The place where we receive that inheritance is HEAVEN.
How is it that so many have missed this point? The great emphasis of many in the Church today is on worldly wealth and prosperity. One would almost think that Jesus came into the world to increase our bank accounts! We can see from reading our Bibles that there were some in the Early Church who also had this mindset. We can also see that the Apostles taught against it!
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. -1 Timothy 6:8-10
I hate to break it to you if you have believed a gospel that preaches worldly wealth, but the goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls. It has nothing to do with money!
Now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. -1 Peter 1:9
The goal of our faith is an eternity spent in the presence of God. We have an inheritance that is waiting for us, and the place that it is being kept is in HEAVEN.
The focus and expectation of a Christian is supposed to be set on Heaven, not on Earth.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. -Colossians 3:1-2
SECOND-
The riches of God are given to us as a gift.
Inheritance has nothing to do with merit. We receive an inheritance simply because we were included in the will of someone who died.
When I think of my mother’s death, and the inheritance I received, I’m perfectly clear that it was nothing that I deserved, but it was given to me as a gift.
All the things my mother had worked for and accumulated during her life were due to her hard work and efforts not mine. I was the beneficiary of a lifetime of work that she had done. It had nothing to do with me!
And yet, after her death, I was freely given undeserved blessings that she had spent a lifetime working for!
She didn’t have to put me in her will, but she did.
I reaped the benefits of her hard work without me doing a single thing other than receiving what she decided to give me!
And so it is with Christ.
He did all the work, and out of love for me, He left me in His will. Because He did that, I get all the benefits of what He did!
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 6:23
THIRD-
There’s something else that I would like to mention about this verse from 1st Peter.
The inheritance that we receive in Jesus is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading”.
We live in a world that is fixated on the temporary, but as children of God, we have been given something that is ETERNAL.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:18
As Christians we should not be like the rest of the world whose desires are caught up in that which is temporary and quickly fading.
The Bible says that our citizenship is in Heaven. Our God and Savior is also in Heaven. The life of the Christian, in the words of the Apostle Paul, is “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.
The entire trajectory and aim of the Christian is HEAVENWARD.
The inheritance that Christ has for us is not something that is given to us down here on Earth. We are told that it is “kept in heaven” for us- and it must be so, because it is ETERNAL.
Peter uses the word “imperishable” to describe our inheritance. It’s a good choice of words, because the nature of everything on Earth is that it’s subject to decay. Heaven isn’t like that, and Peter wants us to know that what God has for us is going to last forever!
FInally-
As a final note, I’d like to point out one of the most beautiful things about this passage from 1st Peter.
We’re told that the inheritance that has been kept for us in Heaven is UNDEFILED.
I think that’s absolutely beautiful!
What God has stored up for us in Heaven has none of the corruption of the world on it. The treasures of Heaven carry nothing of the defilement of earthly treasures. For a child of God this is one of the most wonderful things imaginable. We get all the good with none of the bad attached to it!
Let’s be thankful then and fix our eyes on Jesus, looking forward to the world that is to come.
In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? -John 14:2