1 Peter 1:4,5

“…to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

As Peter moves from verse 3 to 4, he switches to using the 2^nd person pronoun “you,” making it very personal and driving home the fact that there is an inheritance reserved specially for each believer.

When God called Abraham, He promised that He would give the land of Canaan to him as an inheritance. In Genesis 15, we see God making a covenant with Abraham about it, and in Joshua 11:23 handing over the land to Israel, dividing it between the tribes.

For the Jews, receiving a part in this inheritance was extremely important, as it meant remaining under the promise of the covenant God made with Abraham; it meant being under the blessing of God. There were laws to ensure that the land does not fall into the hands of outsiders, and God had also warned them that if they did not continue in obedience to Him, they would be chased out of it and taken as captives. This eventually came to pass, and even at the time of Peter’s writing, the land was ruled by the Romans and the Jews had to pay a tax to live in a place that actually belonged to them.

Though Israel lost its inheritance, God’s plans were not lost. Jesus is the fulfilment of all that was spoken of in the Old Testament. Galatians 3:16 says that Abraham’s “Seed” in whom the promises are fulfilled, is Christ Himself. He is “the heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). Everything the Father owns belongs to the Son. And when we are in Him, we also become partakers of His inheritance (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:26). Jesus is the Mediator of this new covenant by means of His death (Hebrews 9:15). He is now our High Priest who gives us the inheritance.

Peter is talking about this inheritance as he writes to the persecuted church. In contrast to the inheritance the Jews received, the inheritance we are promised in the New Covenant is eternal. It cannot be lost, as the Canaan land was, for it is “reserved” in heaven for us (this is a military term used to describe the guarding of the king’s treasury). Our inheritance is not preserved by our own power, but by God Himself.

It is a mistake to assume that God’s promises should all be instantly fulfilled in our lives when we decide to follow Jesus. Salvation is a journey, and has been described in the Bible using complex Greek tenses spanning over past, present and future. Salvation is our walk of faith that will culminate in seeing God coming down to reign on earth with His people, giving them an eternal inheritance that will never fade away.