The Power of the Christian Life (1Peter1:3-5; Psalm 34: 4-7, 8, 18)

The Christian Life as it Ought to be Lived

The Power of the Christian Life

To Sinners (2:12)
To Sovereigns (2:13-17)
As Servants to Masters (2:18-25)
To Husbands (3:1-6)
To Wives (3:7)
To One Another (3:8)
To Every Man (3:15)

It takes Peter 4 chapters to get back to the subject he begins in chapter 1 verses 3 to 5: The Power of the Christian Life.
There are many difficulties amongst believers today.
Most of those difficulties can be traced back to the issues in hand tonight.
The reality of the resurrection life of Christ in our life.
Not just an "I believe in the resurrection" - this is the resurrection that comes into my life with real power and reality

Prophesied in OT scriptures (1:10-12)
Provides Power for the Christian Life (1:3-5)
Proven by the availability of a risen Saviour with whom we can communicate (2:1-3)
It is responsible for the Progress, the building of His Church (2:5ff)
Evidenced by power in the Proclamation of the Gospel (3:18ff) - by His resurrection the Saviour has first bound the strong man (3:19), the proclamation of the Gospel brings an end to Satans Dominion, and opens up souls to Christs Deliverance. The resurrection of Christ has brought power to the proclamation of the Gospel - the Power of Changed Lifes, the Power of Progress of the Gospel

There are 152 mentions of the English word "power" in the NT and 140 mentions of "dunamis" in the NT.
Power was very much part and parcel of NT Christianity, yet it would hardly be the first word that would come to mind as we would think about Christians today!
This power was never intended to be a purely NT phenomenon, it is not some 'dispensational' truth:

Rom1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek"
Rom15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
1 Co1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
1Co1:24 "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
Eph3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."
Phil3:10 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection..."
1Thess1:5 "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost..."
Pauls prayer for the Colossians, that they might be: "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness." (Col1:11)
Of great concern to us, Pauls prophecy concerning the later days in 2Tim3:5, that false teachers will arise, "having a from of godliness but denying the power thereof" - POWER in the Christian life is not an optional extra! Powerlessness was a mark of the false teachers!

Am I destined and doomed for the rest of my Christian life to live a powerless Christianity?
What is the source of this power? That is the subject of 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Note the power and vitality of the Christian life:

1:3 - 'Born Again' - Regeneration - This is a life with a beginning: "born again" - don't confuse the end with the beginning.
1:3 - 'Living Hope' - Expectation - a hope kept alive by a living Saviour, through my relationship with a Living Saviour!
1:3 - 'Resurrection of Jesus Christ' - Resurrection
1:5 - 'Kept by the Power of God' - Preservation

That power comes from v3: "The resurrection of Jesus Christ" - ie. I have a Saviour presently alive and accessible, who is able to help, sustain and minister to my need, He supports and carries me through until I grasp hold of that hope.
We have a living Saviour!
That ought to come out in our preaching - don't leave Christ at the Cross!
That ought to come out in our Living!

The Power of Christ and His Resurrection is Seen in:

Our Conversion / Salvation (1:3) - Our New Nature

"Begotten Again" (1:3)
The Christian life is not the same as the life of the ungodly with a few meetings and a bit of Bible reading, thrown in for good measure. It is different and new
It is a new beginning, a new birth, don't make the mistake of seeing it as an end in itself! It is the beginning of a journey not the end of it!
It was the activity of the Spirit of Christ in our life that brought us to:

It was Christ who saved us (1:20-21)
One of the subthemes of 1 Peter is the nurturing and molding of that new nature; through persecution and trial and affliction, the Lord will bring out the spiritual character of the believer:

If all that sounds familiar - well it is! The same virtues were being developed in the believers at Thessalonica in 2 Thess chp1 through their persecution and trials.
I'll never enjoy the power of that Resurrection life of Christ if I continue to live according to the old life with the:

We cannot have the best of both worlds.
"One thing that has confirmed to me the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago is the transformation of the lifes of millions of people when they became related by faith to the person of Jesus." - Josh McDowell: 'Evidence that Demands a Verdict.'

Our Preservation (1:5) - Our Nurture

"Kept by the Power of God" (1:5)
Gods Power has been dramatically evidenced over many years in preserving His Church
Voltaire the French atheist, died 1778, predicted that within 100 years the end of Christianity. Within 50 years of his death the Geneva Bible Society had bought his house and printing press, were publishing Bibles with his press and storing them in his house! Prophecy wasn't his strong point!
Thinking here personally rather than generally however!
We look back at times of fear, doubt and trial and we see that Lords hand in it! We recall scripture given to us, ministry that helped at those times, twists of circumstances and events working to Gods sovereign plan.
We are able to perceive in it all the power of Gods preserving hand.

Our Relationship with Him (2:1-4) - Our Nutrition

Power is maintained by our relationship with Christ (2:1-5)
Here lies the root of our problem, the root cause of our powerlessness - a weakness in our relationship with Christ.
We must feed the new nature.
That which we feed the most will grow the most.
This feeding will not occur: at work, in front of the TV, whilst watching DVDs, whilst listening to music, whilst out shopping, whilst on the golf course, whilst undertaking our favourite sport, hobby or past time.
Nothing else will provide that substrate for spiritual growth - only Christ and Christ alone.

Compare Psalm 34: The Manifestation of Divine Power

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