1 Peter 1:3

Peter thought about all that God has done for people through Jesus. Then he *praised God. The more that people understand what a wonderful *salvation God has planned for them, the more they will love him. Then they will realise how great and good he is.

‘*Lord Jesus Christ’ is the full title of Jesus. ‘*Lord’ means that he has complete authority. He is head over everything. ‘Jesus’ is his human name. The name Jesus means ‘God is the one who saves’. Jesus saves people from their *sins (Matthew 1:21). ‘Christ’ is the *Greek word for the *Hebrew word *Messiah, which means ‘the one whom God has anointed’. To ‘anoint’ means to mark a person with oil. It is a sign. It shows that God has chosen that person for some special service. In the *Old Testament they anointed kings (1 Samuel 16:13) and *prophets (1 Kings 19:16) and priests (Exodus 28:1) with oil. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). Jesus is King over all kings (Revelation 17:14). He is the great chief Priest (Hebrews 7:8). He is God’s great *Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15; Luke 13:33; Acts 3:22).

Many of Peter’s readers were suffering because they were Christians. So he reminds them of the reasons why they should *praise God. God has shown them great *mercy. Before they knew God, they lived a bad life. They deserved punishment. God shows *mercy when he forgives bad people instead of punishing them. Then he brings them into his family. He does this because he loves them very much.

When God gives people new life, they come alive in their spirit. They become members of God’s family. They are Christians. Sometimes the Bible calls this process ‘the new birth’. In John 3:1-21 Jesus explained this to a man whose name was Nicodemus.

To have *hope in God is to expect all that God has promised to Christians for the future. We cannot guess what God will do. We have to trust him. This *hope is a living *hope because God raised Jesus from death. Christians believe that God will raise them from death too.