1. The Glory That Shall Be Revealed. In studying 1 Peter recently, I saw an emphasis that I had not really noticed before. I would like to show you that emphasis, and then show how Peter uses this theme to exhort the saints.

2. First, let me collect the verses that state the point emphasized. “A salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:5). “May be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:7). “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1:9).

3. “Set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:13). “But inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy” (4:13). “Who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed” (5:1).

4. “When the chief shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (5:4). “And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you” (5:10).

5. “A salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:5). God has created us to be new creatures who have a real hope, a hope that is fresh and true each day, no matter what else has happened that day, a living hope (1:3).

6. He has provided for us an inheritance that is incorruptible. In other words it is imperishable. Look at the other six occurrences of the word in the New Testament.

7. God (Rom. 1:23). Context is a contrast between “corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:23). Which man, or bird, or four-footed beast, or creeping thing upon earth is imperishable? Yet men will choose to worship these rather than the imperishable God.

8. The crown that Christians receive (1 Cor. 9:25). Paul compares the games on earth that men participate in. The prize – a wreath of laurel, that will dry out, wither, and crumble away. But the crown we shall receive is incorruptible.

9. The resurrected bodies of believers “The dead shall be raised incorruptible” (1 Cor. 15:52). The contrast here is between our present bodies that lamentably get old, and perish. They return to the dust (Gen. 3:19).

10. The King eternal (1 Tim. 1:17). The word is translated here as immortal, and it has for company in the context eternal and invisible. In other words this is the God who is a Spirit (John 4:24), and He does not perish or decay.

11. The word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). “Having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.” The context contrasts the incorruptible nature of the word of God with flesh which withers away as the grass (1 Pet. 1:24-25).

12. A woman’s meek and quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:4). This spirit is the incorruptible apparel that will never perish or decay as will her body, her physical beauty, or as her jewels and clothes. Our incorruptible inheritance will never perish or decay.

13. Our inheritance is also undefiled. It cannot be contaminated, polluted, or soiled. It cannot be compromised or made in any way less wonderful.

14. Our inheritance fadeth not away. It cannot be used up. Its superb quality can never be diminished or dimmed.

15. It is reserved or kept for the elect (1:1). For those who are guarded by the power of God through faith. It is God whose power keeps us and our inheritance intact, but it is also through our faith. In other words we are required to maintain our relationship with God. That relationship is also emphasized throughout the letter.

16. A salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Eternal salvation. Thayer expresses the idea beautifully: “The benefits and blessings which Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.”

17. This salvation will be deliverance from sin, from death, from the wrath of God, and it will be the glory in which we will be manifested with Christ (Col. 3:4; 1 John 3:2).

18. “May be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:7). What may be found? The proof of your faith. The idea is personal faith, our personal conviction that God is, and that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).

19. It is only a sincere, real, genuine faith that will lead one to that final salvation. The proof of your faith means the evidence that it is sincere, real, and genuine.

20. How is that proof given? By remaining faithful even through the manifold trials of life. Not giving up. Having remained faithful, we shall receive praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).

21. “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1:9). This salvation of our souls is the end, the goal, of our faith. This is that salvation “ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:5).

22. Actually receiving that final salvation requires: –Meeting the test (1:6-7). –That we believe in the One whom we have not seen (1:8; John 20:29). –That we love the One whom, not seeing, we love (1:8).

23. “Set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:13). Our hope is the hope of salvation and eternal life. Our hope is to have the grace of God at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

24. We are to set our hope perfectly on that grace (1:13). Here is one of the best places to emphasize the great theme of 1 Peter: “Set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought.” In other words, set your hope perfectly upon that final salvation.

25. Instead of focusing upon one’s suffering, or upon one’s trials, concentrate upon that ultimate glory, that final salvation that will be manifested to the saints in the last day. The context emphasizes that this “focusing” does not involve just day- dreaming about the glory of the last day. It involves living as children of obedience (1:14-16).

26. “But inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy” (4:13). By now you will perceive that a great deal of 1 Peter addresses the suffering of the saints.

27. In this passage he points out that we should rejoice that we partake of Christ’s sufferings, because we shall also rejoice exceedingly at the revelation of His glory.

28. The reason for our rejoicing is that we will be a partaker of His glory then, just as we are partakers of His suffering now. The context here also emphasizes the quality of life we should live as Christians. Our suffering must never be because of wrong-doing.

29. “Who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed” (5:1). Peter begins chapter 5 with some facts that he has in common with the elders whom he exhorts. –He is a fellow elder. –He is a witness of the sufferings of Christ. This fact he does not share with his fellow elders. –He is a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.

30. One can see that the ideas in this verse also are the foundation for his statement in 4:13. Peter enjoyed the comfort that he would be a partaker in that glory, the glory of Christ.

31. “When the chief shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (5:4). Peter, who was a shepherd, an elder, addressed his comments to those who were elders, and referred to the One who is their Chief Shepherd.

32. When this Chief Shepherd was manifested refers to the return of Christ at the last day, and this return is a prominent theme in 1 Peter. Just as this the inheritance of the saints did not faint away, so this crown of glory would not fade away.

33. “And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you” (5:10). In 2 Cor. 1:3, God is referred to as “the God of all comfort.” Here, as the God of all grace.

34. There is no grace anywhere else. All of the grace that results in our blessedness, and in our comfort, and in our salvation is from God. God has called us to His eternal glory in Christ. This “eternal glory” is what in other contexts Peter has called our final salvation.

35. Also, as he has done in other contexts, he mentions the necessity of suffering, after which comes the perfecting, the establishing, and the strengthening of us.

36. Conclusion: In this first epistle, Peter shows that there is an exceedingly great salvation prepared for us. He acknowledges the necessity of present suffering, and assures us of our final glory. He also stresses the vital need to live as children of God.