The Object and Curator

05.14.09

J.A. Matteson

…who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21

The God who effectually calls also sanctifies and upholds the pilgrim unto glorification. Jesus Christ is the Author and Perfector of your faith; those who call upon the name of the Lord are His workmanship through and through, placing no confidence in the flesh; by grace pilgrims gaze upon the beauty of the Savior who supplies and nourishes faith, abiding in Him while rejoicing in the bedrock assurance that He will complete in them that which He began, unto the glory of God the Father. The grace of the Savior welcomes all who come to Him by faith, He turns none away who cry out to Him with sincerity of heart, “…the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (Jn. 6:37).

What is the object of your hope for salvation? Perhaps it is the memory of a rousing evangelistic appeal made during a sermon that cut you to the quick, filling your heart with sorrow for offending the mercies of the Lord, thus redirecting your life towards the cross? Or is it a crisis turning point in your past whereby you confessed Jesus as Lord, believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead? Then again it may be your present strivings to please the One who saves from irrevocable condemnation in hell. Beloved, these are all secondary effects to faith and are indicative of the primary cause of it; viz., regeneration purposed by the Father, secured by the Son of God, and applied to your heart by the Holy Spirit, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

Note the Apostle’s Spirit inspired explanation, “…who through Him are believers in God….” The faith you possess is precious in the sight of the Lord as it finds its origin in Jesus Christ who is its Author, for He who bestowed it is faithful and will sustain and nurture it unto your glorification, “…so that your faith and hope are in God.” While likely riveting and impacting it is not the events of the past surrounding your conversion in that you look to as the basis of your hope, for that would be a misplaced hope, a hope which puts confidence in the flesh; rather your hope is in the God who supernaturally called you and gave you life, sealing you with the Holy Spirit of promise in the Beloved, so that your humble declaration before men is, “I once was blind but now I see.” And in your heart you know that this is so, for you would never assert that the basis of your spiritual sight and hope of salvation finds its origin in something resonating from within yourself, and to this end the Apostle is unambiguous, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3).

Hidden in God is the faith you exercise and the hope of your heart to spend eternity in the blessed presence of your Redeemer and Friend, for “your faith and hope are in God” who is the object and curator of both. The divine power which brought you to faith will keep you in faith securely until the Lord’s return or until He calls you home, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast….” (Heb. 6:19).

Rest, beloved, in the grace of your Lord who will never allow you to be plucked out of His hand; rest in His loving kindness towards you that endures forever; rest in His providences designed to further your sanctification as you sojourn upon the earth; rest in the redemption which He purchased for you on the cross; rest in His resurrection power knowing that as His seed abides in you your future glorification is assured, and rejoice that your faith and hope are hidden in Christ Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, forever blessed. Amen!