1. 1 Peter 1:4 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Do Peter’s readers, reborn as they are, already have their inheritance?

1 Peter 1:4 (ESV)

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

When God’s people were delivered from the restrictions of their slavery in Egypt, they did not immediately receive their inheritance in the Promised Land. Instead, God led them for several years on a desert journey. In parallel fashion, those whom the Lord has delivered through rebirth from the restrictions of their original narrow view of reality through Jesus’ resurrection do not immediately enter the Promised Land; instead, they are strangers, exiles (1 Peter 1:1) for a period of time in the desert of this life. The inheritance is “kept in heaven for you.” In heaven, of course, rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in to steal (Matthew 6:20). As the reborn journey the road of life, their vision extends far beyond the narrow limits of a this-worldly womb to include the certain hope of an inheritance already waiting for them in heaven, all because Jesus’ resurrection broke through the limitations of death.