Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance

1 Peter 1

New Living Translation (NLT)

Greetings from Peter

1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.^{[a] 2} God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.

The Hope of Eternal Life

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

⁶ So be truly glad.^[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. ⁹ The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
¹⁰ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. ¹¹ They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
¹² They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. ¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. ¹⁵ But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. ¹⁶ For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”^[c]

¹⁷ And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” ¹⁸ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. ¹⁹ It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. ²⁰ God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.
²¹ Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

²² You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.^[d] Love each other deeply with all your heart.^[e]
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. ²⁴ As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;
    their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
²⁵     But the word of the Lord remains forever.”^[f]

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

Footnotes:

1. 1:1 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were Roman provinces in what is now Turkey.
2. 1:6 Or So you are truly glad.
3. 1:16 Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7.
4. 1:22a Greek must have brotherly love.
5. 1:22b Some manuscripts read with a pure heart.
6. 1:24-25 Isa 40:6-8.

All about the Spirit of Christ

Today it is all about Christ, the Spirit of Christ Jesus, the Son of God.

1. Matthew 3:16
   When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
   Matthew 3:15-17 (in Context) Matthew 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Matthew 4:1
   [ Satan Tempts Jesus ] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
   Matthew 4:1-3 (in Context) Matthew 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Matthew 10:20
   for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
   Matthew 10:19-21 (in Context) Matthew 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Matthew 12:28
   But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
   Matthew 12:27-29 (in Context) Matthew 12 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Matthew 12:31
   [ The Unpardonable Sin ] “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
   Matthew 12:30-32 (in Context) Matthew 12 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Matthew 22:43
   He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
   Matthew 22:42-44 (in Context) Matthew 22 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. Mark 1:10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Mark 1:9-11 (in Context) Mark 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Mark 1:12
   [ Satan Tempts Jesus ] Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
   Mark 1:11-13 (in Context) Mark 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Luke 2:27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, Luke 2:26-28 (in Context) Luke 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. Luke 4:1
    [ Satan Tempts Jesus ] Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
    Luke 4:1-3 (in Context) Luke 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. Luke 4:14
    [ Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry ] Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
    Luke 4:13-15 (in Context) Luke 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
12. Luke 4:18
    “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
    Luke 4:17-19 (in Context) Luke 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
13. Luke 10:21
    [ Jesus Rejoices in the Spirit ] In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
    Luke 10:20-22 (in Context) Luke 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
14. John 1:32
    And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
    John 1:31-33 (in Context) John 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
15. John 1:33
    I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
    John 1:32-34 (in Context) John 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
16. John 3:5
    Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
    John 3:4-6 (in Context) John 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
17. John 3:6
    That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
    John 3:5-7 (in Context) John 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
18. John 3:8
    The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
    John 3:7-9 (in Context) John 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
19. John 3:34
    For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
    John 3:33-35 (in Context) John 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
20. John 6:63
    It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
    John 6:62-64 (in Context) John 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
21. John 7:39
    But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
    John 7:38-40 (in Context) John 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
22. John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-18 (in Context) John 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
23. John 15:26
    [ The Coming Rejection ] “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
    John 15:25-27 (in Context) John 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
24. John 16:13
    However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
    John 16:12-14 (in Context) John 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations