The Christian life is a miracle transformation wrought in our lives by the True, Living, Eternal God by means of His grace provided through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ and applied to our lives through faith. Peter tells us in this passage that this divine work is the distinguishing character that separates genuine salvation from counterfeit gospels or redemptive philosophies in this world. If we seek to live the Christian life without daily seeking God’s power and strength, we are not living the Christian life, we are living some weak imitation of the Christian life.

In light of the imminent return of Jesus and His judgment seat, we are admonished to recognize the seriousness of our task and the short time we have to complete it. Knowing that our enemy is Satan, and he is destroying this old world, we find ourselves in an urgent situation that calls for action. Paul admonishes us today to wake up!

In 1Peter 4 we were challenged to pray for each other, to love each other and to show hospitality to each other. As we strive to incorporate these actions into our church life, let’s consider what Peter has to teach about going into our hearts and tapping Christ-like qualities that the Holy Spirit has brought to us when He moved in at salvation. Last time we considered what to do on the outside, today let’s focus on bringing what’s inside, out.