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The apostle Peter said Christians are born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading that is kept in heaven. So does that mean that heaven is our inheritance? No.
At the beginning of his letter, Peter told his Christian readers God has brought them into a hope that is alive. A living hope. So what makes it alive? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. The new-body hope that God has given Jesus-followers is literally already in existence because Jesus Christ already has a new, literal, physical body. And his new body is imperishable, unfading, and undefiled. It’s perfect.
The hope of the Christian lies within Jesus’ new body. If the final hope of the Christian can be compared to a sprawling tree, then Jesus’ new body is the first stem. Right now, as you listen to me, he is stationed in heaven, and that is why Peter said our inheritance is kept in heaven. Not that heaven is our inheritance. Jesus is our inheritance. And in him, we have the promise of resurrection and immortality. His new body already gives expression to his promise. Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive. We, too, will have new, perfected bodies just like him. By his own power according to his own will, He will give them to us. One day Jesus will leave heaven and return to the earth to complete his new creation plan and project. That is the hope of new-creation Christianity.
The New Testament scholar, Dr. Tom Wright, gives a great illustration about Peter’s meaning in this passage. And I want to offer a similar one. Imagine I’m selling my Hyundai Sonata to a buyer who lives here in Frisco. He makes the offer and wins the bid on Ebay. I tell him to swing by Saturday morning to pick it up. When he arrives, I tell him the car is parked in the garage. Now, does that mean the buyer is limited to enjoying and using the vehicle only in my garage? No! That’s merely where the car is located. We’ll go into the garage and get it, but he will drive it out of the garage to enjoy it and use it. Similarly, that’s what Peter means when he says our inheritance is in heaven. The garage is not the point. The car is. Heaven is not the inheritance. It’s where our inheritance is currently located.
Peter tells his readers that their inheritance is kept by God in heaven for them. Then, immediately afterward, he says they are being preserved and guarded by God’s power through faith. He says God is preserving their faith to ensure they receive their inheritance, or salvation. That salvation will be revealed in a future stage of history. One day, Jesus will leave heaven. He will return to the earth in a public and powerful way. Our inheritance will pour out of heaven and will be revealed in us when we receive new bodies and the final and full salvation of our souls.
Of course, the Bible has a lot more to teach about the future. For now, however, I wanted to explain that Peter doesn’t teach our inheritance is heaven, but it is in heaven. The Christian’s inheritance is Jesus, and since we are connected to him, we will receive new bodies like him and, one day, a new earth fit for our new bodies.