1 Peter 1:3-4 NASB
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born from above INTO a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] INTO an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled (can’t be spoiled) and will not fade away (unfading), reserved in heaven INTO you,
This is an accurate word for word translation of verses three and four of 1 Peter 1, and I want you to notice the three times that the preposition INTO is used. Twice the Holy Spirit says we have been placed into something, and then once He says that the thing we have been placed into has been placed into us. It kind of sounds like being in Christ, and Christ being in us, doesn’t it? The mutual indwelling of our union with the resurrected Lord is the great mystery revealed in the gospel, and I believe that is what is so beautifully unveiled in this section of 1 Peter 1.
Fallen mankind’s condition was so desperate and so destitute, that there was no way we could climb our way out of the spiritual and moral condition we were in. God had to do it all, and He did it in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Of course, we play a part through our faith in His finished work, but make no mistake, our salvation has nothing to do with any work that we could accomplish. Only His great mercy caused us to be born from above INTO HOPE, and INTO our INHERITANCE in Christ. It happened through the resurrection of Jesus, because through our union with Christ the condemned and sin enslaved self was crucified and buried, and in the resurrection of Jesus a whole new creation, free from the condemnation of sin, and the enslavement to sin was raised up. Sadly, many Christians believe that they are new creations because Jesus died for their sins and was historically resurrected; but it is imperative that we realize, that we are new creations only because we were in Christ at the Cross, and the old humanity came to an end, and in His resurrection a new person was raised up in union with the resurrected Jesus. THAT IS THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST, and our inclusion in his death and resurrection, and our faith in Him and His finished work results in our personal new birth. Because of His death and resurrection we don’t just have the life that He gives; we have the Life that He Lives, and He lives that life in us as the resurrected Lord. Some people view 1 Peter 1:4 as a Scripture referencing what’s waiting for us in heaven one day, and it certainly does include that, for what we see in part, and experience and manifest in part now, we will fully experience when we see Him face-to-face, but I believe verse 4 is primarily speaking of the continuum of life in Christ now that is eternal life, both in the quality of heavenly life, and chronologically as the heavenly life in union with Christ is experienced in fulness forever. It says that we were born from above into a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead into an inheritance, and that inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, and is reserved into us in the Heavenlies. Look again at what Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has (past tense) blessed us (that is plural, which means everyone of us) with every (in the Greek the word every means EVERY) spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,” and Ephesians 2:6 says that we have already been raised up with Jesus, and seated together with Jesus in the heavenlies, in Christ.
The inheritance that we have been born from above into, is all the spiritual blessings that are in Christ that Ephesians 1:3 refers to, and verse 6 of chapter 2 Ephesians makes it clear that our journey into heaven has already begun. Everything that Jesus has, and everything that Jesus is, we have as our inheritance because we have been born from above into it, through our union with the resurrected Lord. No wonder we are told that we are born into a living hope. Romans eight says that we are co-heirs with Christ which is much different than just being an heir of Christ. If a man should die and he owns a thousand acres of land, and he has four children that he’s leaving the land to as his heirs, then each child will receive 250 acres, but if they are co–heirs then each child owns the whole 1000 acres. To be a co-heir means that every believer, each has inherited all that Jesus is and has, and that inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, can’t fade away, and is guarded, and placed INTO you. AMAZING!! Alleluia Christ is risen!