kept – Ministry of Grace Church

who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

Truth to Learn

God is guarding our salvation and will not allow it to be lost.

Behind the Words

“Kept” is translated from the Greek word phroureō, which is a compound of pro, meaning “in front of or before” and horao, meaning “to stare at or to attend to.” Hence, this word means “to be a watcher in front of,” that is “to guard something” like a soldier keeps guard as a protector. This verb is expressed in the present tense, active voice, and indicative mood, which indicates current, ongoing action.

The word translated “power” is dunamis, from which we get our English word dynamite. It refers to “the ability to do something,” or “power.”

“Ready” is from the Greek word hetoimos, which refers to “a state of readiness or preparedness.”

Apokaluptō is the word translated “revealed.” It is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and kaluptō, meaning “to cover.” Thus, apokaluptō, literally means “to remove a covering” or “to reveal what was hidden,”

The word “last” is translated from eschatos, meaning “the farthest, most remote, or final.” This is a reference to the end of time as we know it when eternity will be ushered in.

Meaning Explained

The first thing we have to do with this verse is determine who Peter is talking about. The “who” of this verse is a reference to the ones identified in verse three where he said:

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Thus, we see that the “who” refers to we who are saved and “begotten” of God. This verse is an extension of the previous verse and serves to corroborate and reinforce what was said there. What Peter is telling us is that through our faith, God guards us with the end result being our salvation which will be revealed at the end of time. Since there is no one stronger than God, he will not lose us. Even we are not able to escape his guardianship ourselves. We could not walk away even if we wanted to because He is guarding us (we cannot lose or give-up this salvation which He has given us and which He is guarding.)

Compare this with what is said in the following verses:

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6)

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:18)

So we see that the first 5 verses of 1 Peter are a strong treatise on the doctrines of election and eternal security. It seems amazing to me that there are so many Christians who refuse to believe the message God has clearly given us regarding these two doctrines. We want to believe in eternal security though we don’t feel like we deserve it because we’re so sinful; and we don’t want to believe in election because we feel like it isn’t fair! The truth of the matter is that it isn’t fair and we don’t deserve it. We deserve eternal punishment in Hell. But, as Paul teaches us in the book of Ephesians:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Application

Instead of getting hung-up about the doctrines of election and eternal security, we simply need to accept these teachings by faith and humbly praise God continually for His mercy and grace!

In God's service, for His glory,

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Truth to Learn

God is the one who makes us holy and keeps us to the end.

Behind the Words

“Completely” is from holotelēs, made up of holos, meaning “all, or the whole” and telos, meaning “the end point.” Thus, holotelēs means “completely to the very last part.”

“Spirit” is translated from pneuma, meaning “a breath of air.” It is that part of man which gives life to all animal life (see Genesis 2:7; 7:15, 22).

The word “soul” is translated from psuchē (or psyche). This word refers to the affections, desires, and emotions, which distinguish mankind from the rest of the animal world.

“Body” is from the Greek word soma, which refers to the physical part of man.

The word translated “kept” is from tēreō, which means “to guard and keep from loss or injury.”

Amemtōs is the Greek word translated “blameless.” It is made up of the negative particle a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of memphomai, meaning “to find fault.”

Meaning Explained

Having finished his teaching to the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul now expresses a prayer for them (and us). He prays for complete sanctification for the saints. As we have noted a number of times, sanctification refers to the state of “being set apart from sin and its consequences.” This is not, as some churches teach, a condition in which we have so completely turned from sin in our life that we become completely sinless. Notice that we are not the ones who set ourselves apart; that is God’s doing alone. Also see that this complete sanctification occurs when our Lord comes for us.

Almost since the day Paul wrote this letter, there has been an ongoing debate among Christians as to whether man is made up of two parts (soul and body) or three parts (spirit, soul, and body). The main argument for the two-part theory is the fact that soul and body are contrasted a number of times in the Bible (Job 7:15; Psalms 31:9, 44:25; Isaiah 10:18; Micah 6:7; and Matthew 10:28), whereas this is the only verse where all three are listed. Notice, however, that in 1 Corinthians 15:44, Paul refers to our earthly body as a natural body (literally soul body) and our resurrected body as a spirit body. If the soul and the spirit are the same, then so will our heavenly body be the same as our earthly body. Also note that the writer of Hebrews indicates that the Word of God can divide the soul and spirit. Given these two facts alone, it is reasonable to conclude that man is made up of spirit, soul, and body.

Finally, notice that Paul tells us that it is God who preserves us blameless. He is the one who has declared us to be righteous (without sin), and He is the only one who can prevent the loss of that righteousness until the coming of the Lord.

Application

As we study who and what God is, and as we continue to submit ourselves to Him, we come to realize more fully how powerful and righteous He is and how weak and sinful we are. We also become more and more aware of how undeserving we are of the legal righteousness and the salvation that has been given to us.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: kept

1 Peter 1:5 – Guardian of Salvation

1 Thessalonians 5:23 – Sanctification and Preservation