“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3 – 5).
Peter is speaking about heaven, the place of all the saved.
This inheritance the apostle is telling about is something most are accustomed to hearing about. People inherit money, houses, cars, library’s etc. An inheritance usually is the result of a person’s life, what they left for their family.
Imagine all that is a person seen in things that do not last.
A widow inherits what her husband had accumulated for her and their children, can be swindled out of her inheritance. A bad investment can wipe out everything a person leaves, or a bad decision with something else and all person worked a lifetime for can be gone.
The heritage of which Peter speaks is quite different. Look carefully at how Peter describes this inheritance. Peter says it is: Incorruptible. Neither time nor circumstances can destroy or even diminish the glory of this inheritance.
It alone is eternal. Things on earth give way to decay and ruin, but not the heavenly inheritance.
Undefiled - An earthly inheritance might be found to be obtained by fraudulent means, but not this one. The word used here means unstained, unsoiled; it is used to describe the undefiled characteristic of Jesus in Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Fadeth not away – So many things in this life fade away, dreams of bigger homes, special vacations, sometimes are just dreams. Heaven our inheritance is not a dream it is a reality. One commentator of this statement wrote this, “the feebleness of conception characteristic of us with reference to that which awaits in the next world is indicated by the sacred writer, in describing some of its features, could only explain that it is not like the things of which we are familiar here.”
Reserved in heaven - The inheritance is reserved in heaven, not for the earth. There is a place for every redeemed soul.
God has prepared a place for the saved. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” (Matt. 25:34). “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor.
5:1). “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe als o in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1 ff).
Heaven is such a wonderful place that has been prepared for those who will seek to obey God.