WHO ARE PROTECTED: tous en dunamei theou phrouroumenous (PPPMPA): (1Sa 2:9; Ps 37:23,24; Ps 37:28, 103:17,18;125:1,2; Pr 2:8; Isa 54:17; Jer 32:40; Jn 4:14; 5:24; 10:28, 29, 30; 17:11, 17:12, 17:15, Ro 8:31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 Php1:6; Jude1:24)

Protected  (5432) (phroureo) is  derived from phrouros which means a sentinel. Phrouros in turn is derived from pro = before, toward + horao = behold, take special notice of, stare at more. The verb phroureo therefore means to pay attention to something, thus giving us a clear picture of the action involved in guarding or protecting.

Peter's use of this term which was used in the military implies that those who have been born again are in a war and are under enemy attack. (cp similar military metaphor in 1Pe 2:11-note)

Phroureo  is used 4x in the NT (2 Cor 11:32; Gal 3:23; Phil 4:7; 1 Pet 1:5) and in the NAS is translated guard, 1; guarding, 1; kept in custody, 1; protected, 1. Phroureo is found in the Septuagint (LXX) 4 times but only in the apocryphal books.

Phroureo has three primary nuances:

(1) to maintain a watch, guard. Phroureo was was a military term used to describe the guarding performed by posting sentries. It carries the idea of setting a protective guard. It also conveys the idea of a garrison keeping watch over a town either in order to prevent hostile invasion or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight. Phroureo described the soldiers guarding Damascus when Paul made his escape:

In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, (2 Corinthians 11:32)

(2) to hold in custody, detain, confine as in Galatians where Paul explained that...

"before faith came, we were kept in custody (phroureo) under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed." (Galatians 3:23)

This meaning was consistent with the Roman use of prisons principally for holding of prisoners until disposition of their cases, just as the Law supervised us until we could place our faith in Christ.

(3) to provide security, guard, protect, keep, this being the primary meaning in the present context.

It is encouraging to examine three of the four uses of phroureo. In the past, the Lord kept us safe until we heard the Gospel and responded to it  (Galatians 3:23). In the present, the peace of God keeps our hearts and minds at peace in troubled times (Php 4:7-note). Finally as Peter teaches, the Lord keeps us and will reveal His glory in us when Christ returns (1 Peter 1:5). The keeping power of our Lord is awesome. It is as strong as His strength and as eternal as His person. No Christian should ever doubt this providential care of the Lord.

Spurgeon expresses the encouraging truth of God's guarding providence writing that...

As sure as ever God puts His children in the furnace He will be in the furnace with them."

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) founder of the Christian Brethren movement speaking of God's protective care said that...

God's ways are behind the scenes, but He moves all the scenes which He is behind.

Phroureo is in the present tense which emphasizes our need for continual protection in our struggle in this present life as we await the next life of glory. We are constantly being kept guarded by the power of God which guarantees every believer's final victory even what may seen to them now as "against all odds"! The passive voice in the present context indicates that the "guarding" was being carried out by an outside force, specifically God, Whose power was continuously guarding us. Peter's point is that we will make it to heaven no matter what trials we experience here, so hangeth thou in there.

Barnes adds that the idea of phroureo is that

"there was a faithful guardianship exercised over them to save them from danger, as a castle or garrison is watched to guard it against the approach of an enemy (see expositional notes on Psalm 121 describing our Helper and Keeper). The meaning is, that they were weak in themselves, and were surrounded by temptations; and that the only reason why they were preserved was, that God exerted His power to keep them. The only reason which any Christians have to suppose they will ever reach heaven, is the fact that God keeps them by His own power. If it were left to the will of man; to the strength of his own resolutions; to his power to meet temptations, and to any probability that he would of himself continue to walk in the path of life, there would be no certainty that anyone would be saved." (Barnes' Notes on the Bible)

While our inheritance is being kept guarded in heaven under the watchful eye of God, we are being garrisoned about by God’s protecting care for it. The Almighty God stands sentinel over us all our days guarding our "going out and our coming in from this day forth and forever" (see notes on Psalm 121). The Guard is never changed. He is on duty 24 hrs/day ("24/7"), year in and year out until we arrive safely home. Believers are not kept by their own power, but by the power of God. Our faith in Christ has so united us to Him that His power now guards us and guides us. We are not kept by our strength, but by His faithfulness. How long will He guard us? Until Jesus Christ returns We are in His hand (Jn 10:29).

The story is told of a Scotsman, who was typically economical, leaving instructions that only one word should be engraved upon his tombstone. That word taken from this verse was the single word KEPT (KJV translation). Eternal security is not based on the faith of men, but on the faithfulness of God. Aren't we all thankful for this truth!

J Vernon McGee: in his quaint style writes...

My friend, do you think He can keep you? Oh, I am weary of the emphasis being put on the work of the flesh. We are being told that if we follow some little set of rules, we can become “adequate Christians.” I wonder if the fellows who are giving all these messages have reached some celestial level which the rest of us have not been able to attain. They ask, “Are you sufficient, are you satisfied?” My answer is, “No—I am pressing on the upward way, I am pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I am not satisfied. I have not found life sufficient.” My friend, let me add a strong statement that may startle you: You cannot live the Christian life! Perhaps you are asking, “Do you really mean that?” Yes, I do. I would challenge you to show me a verse or any Scripture where God has asked you to live the Christian life. He has never done that...The only way in the world that you can live the Christian life is by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the fact that you are kept by the power of God—right on through until the day when you will be delivered to Him in heaven. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary:  Thomas Nelson or Logos)

BY THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH FAITH: tous en dunamei theou  dia pisteos:

By the power of God - The guard on duty is not like a human guard who might fall asleep and fail to guard us from the enemy. Perhaps you might want to "refresh" your mind regarding the "Guard" Who is protecting you until the last time...

Psalm 121

1 I Will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. (See verse by verse commentary on site - Psalm 121: A Commentary)

Power (1411) (dunamis [word study] from dunamai [word study] = to be able, to have power) is the capability as well as power. Inherent power residing in something (God in this case) by virtue of its nature (His Omnipotence among other attributes)

Dunamis refers especially to achieving power, to intrinsic power or inherent ability, the power or ability to carry out some function, the potential for functioning in some way (power, might, strength, ability, capability), the power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.

Dunamis is the implied ability or capacity to perform. It conveys the idea of effective, productive energy, rather than that which is raw and unbridled.

Through (dia) refers the instrument, the intermediate or efficient cause of activating the dunamis (inherent power) of God...it is faith.

In other words this

protection is God’s response to our faith which we exercised in the Lord Jesus as Saviour and which now rests in Him as our Preserver. Our faith lays hold of this power, and this power strengthens our faith, and thus we are preserved. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

J C Philpot...

The elect are preserved in Christ, BEFORE they are called by grace. They are kept by the power of God from perishing in their unregeneracy. Have not you been almost miraculously preserved in the midst of dangers, and escaped when others perished by your side—or been raised up as it were, from the very brink of destruction and the very borders of the grave? Besides some striking escapes from what are called 'accidents,' three times in my life—once in infancy, once in boyhood, and once in manhood—I have been raised up from the borders of the grave, when almost everyone who surrounded my bed thought I would not survive the violence of the attack. Were not these instances of being kept by the power of God? I could not die until God had manifested His purposes of electing grace and mercy to my soul.

But the elect are also kept by the mighty power of God AFTER they are called by grace—for they are in the hollow of His hand, and are kept as the apple of His eye. I will not say they are kept from all sins. Yet I will say that they are kept from damning sins. They are kept especially from three things—from the dominion of sin, from daring and final presumption, from lasting and damnable error. They are never drowned in the sins and evils of the present life so as to be swallowed up in them—for it is impossible that they can ever be lost! They are therefore preserved in hours of temptation, for they are guarded by all the power of Omnipotence, shielded by the unceasing care and watchfulness of Him who can neither slumber nor sleep.

Looking back through a long vista of years, can you not see how the hand of God has been with you—how He has held you up, and brought you through many a storm, and preserved you under powerful temptations? How gently He sometimes drew you on, or sometimes kept you back? "I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand!" Having chosen us, God begets us with His word, regenerates us by a divine influence, and makes us new creatures by the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

FOR A SALVATION READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME: eis soterian hetoimen apokaluphthenai (APN) en kairo eschato: (Heb 9:28) (1Pe 1:13; 1Ti 6:14,15; Titus 2:13; 1Jn 3:2 Job 19:25)

Salvation (4991) (soteria [word study] from soter [word study] = a savior or deliverer) means safety, deliverance, preservation from danger or destruction.

Stated another way In the salvation referred to here is "future tense" (see Three Tenses of Salvation), the consummation referred to as glorification of our mortal bodies, free from corruption, free from the presence of sin, free from the pleasure of sin. Oh happy day!

The salvation spoken of here is "future tense salvation" culminating in the glorification of our bodies. We received our justification at the moment we believed (past tense salvation). We are receiving our sanctification, namely victory over sin and growth in the Christian life now (present tense salvation). We will yet receive that part of salvation which awaits us in Glory (future tense salvation). (See Three Tenses of Salvation)

Soteria - 46x in 45v - Mark 16:8; Luke 1:69, 71, 77; 19:9; John 4:22; Acts 4:12; 7:25; 13:26, 47; 16:17; 27:34; Rom 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 13:11; 2 Cor 1:6; 6:2; 7:10; Eph 1:13; Phil 1:19, 28; 2:12; 1 Thess 5:8f; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 2:10; 3:15; Heb 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28; 11:7; 1 Pet 1:5, 9f; 2:2; 2 Pet 3:15; Jude 1:3; Rev 7:10; 12:10; 19:1. NAS = deliverance(2), preservation(1), salvation(42).

As Barclay writes

Salvation is a many-sided thing. In it there is deliverance from danger, deliverance from disease, deliverance from condemnation and deliverance from sin. And it is that, and nothing less than that, to which the Christian can look forward at the end.

Ready (2092) (hetoimos [word study] from an old noun heteos = fitness)  means ready, prepared, in a state of readiness. Hetoimos is a stronger word than "about to be", or "destined to be", as it implies a state of waiting or preparedness and thus harmonizes well with "reserved"

Hetoimos - 17x in 17v - Matt 22:4, 8; 24:44; 25:10; Mark 14:15; Luke 12:40; 14:17; 22:33; John 7:6; Acts 23:15, 21; 2 Cor 9:5; 10:6, 16; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet 1:5; 3:15. NAS = accomplished(1), opportune(1), ready(15).

THE BEST IS
YET TO COME

Revealed (601) (apokalupto [word study] from apó = from + kalúpto = to cover, conceal) (See study of related word apokalupsis) means literally to remove the cover from. To make manifest or reveal a thing previously secret or unknown.

Apokalupto - 26x in 26v - Matt 10:26; 11:25, 27; 16:17; Luke 2:35; 10:21f; 12:2; 17:30; John 12:38; Rom 1:17f; 8:18; 1 Cor 2:10; 3:13; 14:30; Gal 1:16; 3:23; Eph 3:5; Phil 3:15; 2 Thess 2:3, 6, 8; 1 Pet 1:5, 12; 5:1

The veil or covering will one day be removed exposing to open view for all to see what was before hidden...our "future tense salvation" or glorification.

The world does not understand who we are as believers nor the future glory we shall experience. But one day that will all change. In the meantime "hangeth thou in there."

Note that apokalupto is in the passive voice indicating that the action is performed by an outside force, in context referring to God Himself.

The last time comprises the period between Christ’s first and second comings. "Last" (eschatos) is the source of our English word eschatology.

The assurance of heaven is a great help to us today.

As Dr. James M. Gray expressed it in one of his songs, “Who can mind the journey, when the road leads home?”  And like the Steven Curtis Chapman song says "We Are Not Home Yet!"

The idea that we are not home yet is one we all would do well to keep foremost in our mind as illustrated by the true story of Henry C. Morrison a little known "hardworking farmer" in God's missionary fields, toiling some forty years in the difficult fields of Africa. As the story is told, he became sick and had to return home to America, and as providence would have it, the boat he returned on was also carrying a well known guest. As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor there was a great crowd gathered to greet President Teddy Roosevelt who received a grand welcome-home-party after his widely publicized African Safari. Resentment seized the "hardworking farmer", Henry Morrison, and he turned to God saying "I have come back home after all this time and service to the church and there is no one, not even one person here to welcome me home." Then a small voice came to Morrison reminding him "You're not home yet." Our ultimate harvest is yet future and our future reward is out of this world! Ready to be revealed in the last time! Praise the Lord.

If we can get the truth firmly planted in our mind that suffering today means glory tomorrow, then suffering becomes a blessing to us.

The unsaved have their “glory” now, but it will be followed by eternal suffering away from the glory of God (2Th 1:3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10).

In the light of this, ponder (2Co 4:17, 18)—and rejoice!

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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Octavius Winslow - Evening Thoughts

This salvation takes in all the circumstances of a child of God. It is not only a salvation from wrath to come—that were an immeasurable act of grace—but it is a present salvation, anticipating and providing for every exigency of the life that now is, including deliverance from all evil, help in all trouble; comfort in all sorrow, the supply of all want, and through all conflicts, assaults, and difficulties, perfect safety and final triumph. The present and certain security of the believer is provided for in the covenant of grace, made sure in Jesus the covenant Head, and revealed in the glorious covenant plan of salvation. May the Holy Spirit unfold to us this great and consoling truth, that in the midst of all their weakness, waywardness, and tendency to wander, the Lord is the keeper of His people, and that they whom He keeps are well and eternally kept.

The Lord could not in truth be said to be the keeper of His people, if there were anything of self-power in the believer, any ability to keep himself—if he were not weakness, all weakness, and nothing but weakness. Of this the believer needs to be perpetually put in remembrance. The principle of self-confidence is the natural product of the human heart; the great characteristic of our apostate race is a desire to live, and think, and act independently of God. What is the great citadel, to the overthrow of which Divine grace first directs its power? what is the first step it takes in the subjection of the sinner to God? what, but the breaking down of this lofty, towering, independent conceit of himself, so natural to man, and so abhorrent to God? Now, let it be remembered, that Divine and sovereign grace undertakes not the extraction of the root of this depraved principle from the heart of its subjects. The root remains to the very close of life's pilgrimage; though in a measure weakened, subdued, mortified, still it remains; demanding the most rigid watchfulness, connected with ceaseless prayer, lest it should spring upward, to the destruction of his soul's prosperity, the grieving of the Spirit, and the dishonoring of God. Oh how much the tender, faithful discipline of a covenant God may have the subjection and mortification of this hateful principle for its blessed end, who can tell? We shall never fully know until we reach our Father's house, where the dark and, to us, mysterious dealings of that loving Father with us here below shall unfold themselves in light and glory, elevating the soul in love and praise!

What an affecting confirmation do the histories of some of the most eminent of God's saints afford to this most important truth, that the creature, left to itself, is perfect weakness! If the angels in their purity, if Adam in his state of innocence, fell in consequence of being left, in the sovereign will of God, to their own keeping, what may we expect from a fallen, sinful, imperfect creature, even though renewed? Do we look into God's blessed word, and read what is there declared, touching the power of a renewed creature to keep itself? How affecting, and at the same time conclusive, these declarations are: "Having no might;" "Without strength;" "Weak through the flesh;" "Out of weakness were made strong"! Could language more forcibly set forth the utter weakness of a child of God? An what are their own acknowledgments? "The Lord is the strength of my life;" "Hold You me up, and I shall be safe;" "Hold up my goings in Your paths, that my footsteps slip not;" "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me;" "By the grace of God I am what I am." And what are the examples? Look at the intemperance of Noah, the unbelief of Abraham, the adultery and murder of David, the idolatry of Solomon, the self-righteousness of Job, the impatience of Moses, the self-confidence and trimming, temporizing policy of Peter. Solemn are these lessons of the creature's nothingness; affecting these examples of his perfect weakness!

But why speak of others? Let the reader, if he is a professing child of God, pause and survey the past of his own life. What marks of perfect weakness may he discover, what evidences of his own fickleness, folly, immature judgment, may he trace, what outbreakings of deep iniquity, what disclosures of hidden corruption, what startling symptoms of the most awful departure and apostasy from God, does the review present! And, this, too, let it be remembered, is the history of a believer in Jesus, a renewed child of God, a partaker of the Divine nature, an expectant of eternal glory! Holy and blessed are they who, relinquishing all their fond conceit of self-power and self-keeping, shall pray, and cease not to pray, "Lord, hold You me up, and I shall be safe!" "Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall."
 

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J C Philpot - Devotional

Those who are kept by the power of God through faith, are often in their minds troubled and anxious, fearing whether this salvation will ever reach their souls--whether they may not prove castaways--whether the work upon their heart is genuine--whether they are under divine teachings. But the Lord says they are "kept by his power through faith unto salvation"--kept as in this garrisoned city, until salvation shall come in all its glory, sweetness, bliss and blessedness into their heart; preserved and encompassed by all the attributes of God from making shipwreck of faith, until they "receive the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls."

Then poor, doubting, distressed, fearing, guilty sinner--this promise is for you. Your soul is bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord your God; your character and your name are contained here. And it is a promise suitable to you--yes, it is a promise suitable to us all. Suitable to us when we meet together, suitable when absent from each other, suitable for town, suitable for country; suitable for a child of God in a state of trial and temptation, and suitable when he enjoys a temporary respite from them; suitable for him in war, suitable for him in peace; suitable for him when the cannons roar and the earth trembles, suitable for him when he seems to have no enemy near, for the enemy then may be approaching by stratagem.

Yes, could you point out a single moment when this promise is not suitable to you, that would be the very moment in which the promise would be needed by you most. Could you ever arrive at such a spot as to say, "Now I need the promise no more," that very feeling would show that you were on the brink of a fall, and therefore never needed the promise so much as then. (Devotional)

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Pastor Steven Cole...

We are securely guarded by God’s power through faith (1Pe 1:5). “Protected” is a military term (see 2Co 11:32) that implies that those who are born again are under enemy attack. Satan wants to keep us from gaining our inheritance. But we are surrounded by a garrison of troops conducting us with safe passage to the place where our eternal inheritance awaits us. But it is no vulnerable earthly army that protects us—it is the very power of God! What could be more powerful than the power of the God who spoke the universe into existence! Thus we are guarded for our salvation.

When Peter says that our salvation is “ready to be revealed in the last time,” he means that we now only enjoy a small part of what God has laid in store for us. We couldn’t even begin to comprehend it all, but we can trust God that it will be far better than we can imagine. Heaven will not be the boring picture you see in cartoons—sitting around on clouds in white robes strumming harps forever. The creative God who made such a complex universe that modern science cannot even begin to figure it out can keep us creatively engaged throughout eternity. Our salvation is ready to be revealed, like a statue waiting to be unveiled.

The word “ready” is also used in 1Peter 4:5 (note) to warn that God is ready to judge the living and the dead. The future holds one or the other for every person: Either you wait to see the veil lifted on your salvation, or you wait to face God in judgment. Both are prepared. What determines your future is seen in the phrase, “through faith.” We receive God’s salvation and live the Christian life through faith.

Maybe you’re thinking, “I only wish I could have that kind of faith, but I don’t!” Ah, but you do! You have plenty of faith. The problem is, you’re putting it in the wrong object if it is not in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross. If your faith is not in Him, then it is in yourself or in some god of your own making. If your faith is in yourself, then you’re saying, “I believe that I’m a good enough person to get to heaven by my own efforts.” That’s tremendous faith, but it’s placed on a very faulty and inadequate object. God says that no flesh will boast in His sight. If you could get to heaven by your own good works, then you could boast in yourself. But God alone is worthy of glory. So He humbles us by making us let go of all trust in ourselves. We must cast ourselves completely on His great mercy. We cannot do this in and of ourselves. He must impart saving faith to us, which humbles our pride and gives all the glory to what God has done in Jesus Christ. Thus God has ordained that we receive His salvation by faith, not in ourselves, but in Christ alone. We live the Christian life in the same manner, trusting each day in what Christ is to us and what He has done for us. Those who have tasted of His mercy will persevere in faith until that great day when faith becomes sight.

Conclusion - Many years ago a team of mountain climbers began the dangerous descent of one of the peaks in the Swiss Alps. The first man in the line lost his foothold and slipped over the ledge. The next two men were dragged after him, but the experienced climbers above braced themselves and stood firm to bear the shock. But when the rope ran its length, rather than bearing the weight, it snapped like a string. Horrified, the climbers saw their friends fall to their deaths on the glacier 4,000 feet below. For half an hour the other three stayed immobilized with fear. Finally they nerved themselves to continue their perilous descent. Hours later they arrived in Zermatt to tell their sad story. When the climbers examined the rope to find out why it failed, they were shocked. True Alpine Club rope has a red strand running through it, but this rope did not. It was a weak substitute. (“Our Daily Bread,” 6/82.) The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing strong enough to save us from our sins. If your faith is in yourself or your own goodness, the rope will snap and you will perish. If your faith is in what God has done through Christ because of His great mercy, then no matter what problems you face now, you can join Peter in proclaiming, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He has saved me according to His great mercy. Because my salvation is not from myself, but from God, I am saved unto eternity!” It’s far better than inheriting $100 million! (Read the full sermon - Mp3's also available on many sermons)

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