Begotten Again 1 Peter 1:3

Peter, the apostle, wrote to the “strangers scattered” throughout the lands of Asia, and called them the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God”. In chapter one and verse three of his letter, Peter shared how “God and Jesus” by “abundant mercy” has “begotten us again” where we read:

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,

The verse begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,...” Peter began with the word, “Blessed” which means “praised or adorable” “be the God” which refers to “the Godhead and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “and Father” or “generator male ancestor who is the originator and transmitter of anything” “of our Lord” which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding, the master and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” “Christ” which means “the anointed one and the Son of God”. The message Peter gave to the “scattered” Christians was directly from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The verse goes on to say, “...which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,...” Peter went on to say, “which according” or “down from, throughout, toward or along” “to his abundant” which means “many, much and large” “mercy” or “kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them” “has begotten us again” which in Greek is the phrase “anagennaō hēmas anagennaō” means “to produce again, be born again, born anew and to have one's mind changed so that he lives a new life conformed to the will of God” “unto a lively” which means “to live, breathe, and be among the living” “hope” or “the expectation of a good, joyful, and confident eternal salvation” “by the resurrection” or “raising or rising up” “of Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” “Christ” which means “the anointed One and the Son of God” “from the dead” which is a reference to “one who has breathed his last, lifeless, deceased, departed, destitute of life and inanimate”. By God and Jesus' “large and overwhelming kindness and goodwill”, we have the opportunity to be “born again” because Jesus was resurrected “from the dead”.

When we meditate upon Peter's words, we should be excited that the Lord Jesus by His resurrection made it possible for us to be “begotten again” or “born again”. In the gospel of John in chapter three and verse three, Jesus told Nicodemus, the Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, “You must be born again” or he would not see “the kingdom of God”. Peter assured those to whom he wrote and us that Jesus forged the way to us to be “born again” by way of His resurrection from the grave after dying on the cross. We should shout “Hallelujah!” or “Praise be to Jehovah” for His “abundant mercy” and grace.

Next time Peter will share about our “inheritance”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.