A Risen and Glorified Saviour the Ground of Hope and Confidence
J. Leifchild. 1 Peter 1:17-21 And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work… The apostle presents Christ under three grand aspects. I. AS RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY THE POWER OF GOD THE FATHER. The resurrection of Christ is a fundamental article of our religion. 1. The resurrection of Christ was necessary. The graves of earthly princes are the end of their glory, the termination of all their conquests; the grave of Christ becomes the scene of His divinest achievement. 2. The resurrection of Christ is established, as a fact, on the surest basis. Divine wisdom seems to have taken particular care to guard it against all reasonable grounds of suspicion and doubt. 3. The resurrection of Christ was the acknowledged work of a Divine power. II. AS GLORIFIED BY THE FATHER SUBSEQUENTLY TO HIS RESURRECTION. 1. The resurrection imparted to Him the glory of a Divine nature in the conviction of mortals. (1) This it effected by removing the disgrace which death attached to Him, in the professed character of a Divine deliverer, and attesting Him to be the Prince of Life. (2) The resurrection gave Him this glory also by putting the stamp of the Divine approbation on all His assertions. 2. He was glorified with the investment of sovereign power in the nature in which He rose from the dead. This is what is called His mediatorial glory. III. AS THE GROUND AND OCCASION OF A LIVELY FAITH AND HOPE IN US TOWARDS GOD. "That your faith and hope might be in God." 1. In His willingness to save sinners for His Son's sake. 2. Our faith and hope are in God, through Christ, in relation to the possession of a future and blessed state in reserve for believers after death. 3. Our faith and hope are in God, through Jesus Christ, in relation to the restoration of our bodies at the last day from the gloom and dishonour of the grave. (J. Leifchild.) Parallel Verses KJV: And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: WEB: If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear: