The following words of the apostle Peter beautifully emphasize God’s part in securing the fulfillment of our Christian hope:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3

5. Why did first-century Christians have good reason to bless Jehovah?

⁵ The Christians to whom these words were directed had good reason to bless Jehovah God, and also to speak well of him or to praise him. They had been brought forth as children of the Most High by a second birth, as it were. (John 1:12, 13; 3:5-8) This “new birth” came about through the operation of the holy spirit toward them.

6. What are some aspects that make the Christian hope a “living” one?

⁶ As heirs, they had the hope of receiving an inheritance. That hope, as Peter shows, is a “living hope.” It is “living” in more than one way. Like God’s message or word, which is “alive and exerts power,” the hope is living and powerful. (Hebrews 4:12) Primarily, this is because it is a hope divinely given by the living and eternal God, and it is centered in his Son who ‘dies no more.’ The Son has the power of an indestructible life and is able to save completely those putting their trust in him. (Jeremiah 10:10; Habakkuk 1:12; Hebrews 7:16, 25; 1 Peter 1:23) Jesus Christ is himself the “living bread” sent by God and “if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever.” (John 6:50, 51, 57) The Son gives “living water” that becomes in those receiving it a “fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.” (John 4:10, 14) So, too, the “living hope” given as a result of the “new birth” is capable of carrying its possessors onward to the realization of their reward and life eternal.

7. How does the “living hope” affect its possessors?

⁷ There is vitality in that hope. It is an invigorating, energizing force in the life of those cherishing it. This hope affects their whole life, makes itself evident in the way they use their life. Like true faith, such a hope cannot be dead, with no fruitage, no activity to demonstrate its existence. (James 2:14-26) It is a spirited hope that enlivens us, and we are encouraged, supported and strengthened by its comfort and by its unshakable certainty of fulfillment.

8. Because it is a “living hope,” what can be said about its being fulfilled?

⁸ Far different, then, from the hopes of those putting their trust in imperfect, dying men, this hope is not a dead hope that will come to disappointment because of lacking any solid basis. It cannot fail to be realized. Jehovah’s unchangeable promise, coupled with his matchless power to fulfill it, serves as a sure foundation for the Christian hope.​—Compare Isaiah 55:10, 11; Hebrews 6:13-20.

9. What has made this “living hope” possible?

⁹ The apostle Peter links this “living hope” with “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” When God’s Son was impaled on the stake and his disciples saw him die, their hope virtually died with him. But when the evidence of his resurrection reached them, their hope was revived, took on new life, ‘caught fire’ and impelled them to bear witness. (Luke 24:13-34; Acts 4:20) Because he was raised to spirit life, the Son of God could present the value of his sacrifice, the redemption price, to the Father. Had Jesus Christ not been resurrected, no one could have been redeemed from sin and death. (1 Corinthians 15:14-19) Apart from his resurrection, there could have been no “living hope.”