Hope Series Week 2 : Day 5
Hope: Devotional series
Week 2: Verses from 1 Peter 1:3-21
Day 5
Welcome to day 5, the last day of the 2nd week in our series about Hope.
Today we focus on 1 Peter 1:20&21 where Peter continues to write about the Christ:
“He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake. Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
We finish this week where we started: The foundation of our faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We talked about Jesus as the Christ, God’s anointed King. On what grounds do we believe this? We stand on resurrection ground when we claim that Jesus is King of everything: every home, every place of work, and every community.
We also talked about the resurrection of Jesus as the beginning of God’s new creation. Peter says that the Christ was revealed at the “end of times”.
Why call the time of the revelation of Christ the “end of times”? Consider this: something is drawing to an end because something else is beginning.
The beginning of the day is also the end of the night. In the same way, the resurrection of Jesus is like the morning star. It heralds the dawn of new creation while calling time on how things were before. The old is passing away because the new has come. Of course, we still await the final renewal of everything when Jesus comes again. That will be like the rising of the sun. But the resurrection of Jesus already marks the beginning of God’s new creation.
And, by the way, this is why joy and hope go together in the New Testament! Joy and hope because what God promised through the prophets has begun, and the end of a lot of the bad things that the world is still experiencing is in sight. We stand on resurrection ground when we announce Jesus is King and new creation has begun.
The resurrection of Christ is also how we enter into New Creation. Through God’s grace, Christ died a death that included us, so we could also be included in His resurrection. Never underestimate the fact that you confess Jesus as Lord and believe that He was raised from the dead. This is the first sign that new creation power, by the Holy Spirit, is already at work in you. This is all through grace and no earning. Next week we will focus more on the partnership in bringing this hope to our world. But for now, let’s place our faith and hope in God, trusting Him to complete the work He has started, also in us.
And so, we pray: We praise you almighty Father, Creator and the One who makes all things new. Thank you for the faith and hope you work in us through the resurrection of Jesus. And thank you that we can trust you to complete what you have started in us and in our world. In Jesus' name. Amen
