1 Peter 1:13-21 The Message
A Future in God
13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
17 You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.
18-21 Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
We live in a “disposable” culture.
We use things for a moment and then toss them away.
We see fashions change, buildings crumble, and even our own bodies feel the effects of time.
It is easy to get caught up in the “temporary”—the things that won’t matter in a hundred years.
But Peter concludes his first chapter by pointing us to the only two things on this earth that are eternal:
The Word of God and the souls of people.
Because these two things are eternal, they are where our focus should be.
In this passage, Peter explains that because we have been changed by an eternal Word, we must now practice an eternal love.
The Proof of Purification: Unfeigned Love (v. 22)
Peter begins with a statement of fact: you have “purified your souls.”
How did this happen?
It happened through our “obeying the truth.”
When we responded positively to the Gospel, the Holy Spirit began a work of inward cleansing.
But what is the evidence of that cleansing?
Is it how many verses we know?
Is it how long we pray?
Peter says the evidence of that purification is “unfeigned love of the brethren.”
The word “unfeigned” means “without a mask” or “not hypocritical.”
Because the Spirit has started this work, Peter gives a command:
“see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
The word “fervently” in Greek is a dynamic word; it means “stretched out” or “at full capacity.”
It’s the image of an athlete straining every last muscle to reach the finish line.
Our love for each other shouldn’t be “if I feel like it” or “if they deserve it.”
It should be an intense, deliberate, and sincere effort.
The Source of the New Life: Incorruptible Seed (v. 23)
Why are we capable of this kind of love?
Why can we love when it’s hard?
Because our nature has changed.
Peter reminds us that we are “born again.”
This isn’t any human makeover; it’s a divine miracle.
The Quality of the Seed:
Every plant grows according to its seed.
If you plant a corruptible (perishable) seed, you get a plant that dies.
But we were born of “incorruptible seed.”
That seed is “the word of God.”
The Word entered our hearts, took root, and produced a new kind of life—a life that is eternal because its source “liveth and “abideth for ever.”
Because we have “eternal DNA” in us through the Word, we have the capacity to practice “eternal love.”
The Contrast of Two Worlds (vv. 24–25)
To drive home the point, Peter quotes the ancient prophet Isaiah to show us the difference between man’s best and God’s Word.
Isaiah 40:1-8 New American Standard Bible
The Greatness of God
40 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “Speak [a]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [b]warfare has ended,
That her [c]guilt has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 The voice of one calling out,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make [d]straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [e]Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [f]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its [g]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
[h]When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
The Frailty of Man: “All flesh is as grass.”
A wise person once said, “You live in the presence of God; act accordingly.”
Those words capture the essence of God’s will: to be holy in everything we do.
Unlike a life driven by endless do’s and don’ts, a holy life is both gift and a goal.
The Bible tells us much about God’s holiness.
The Bible praises God’s infinite holiness and celebrates his steadfast love and care, making clear that we owe the Lord all praise and honor.
God’s holiness sets us apart from him and exposes our sin.
But the Father has given us Jesus, his Son, to set us free from our guilt.
God’s gift to us is a holiness we receive through faith in the Savior.
Set apart by God for service, we become “eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14).
Our goal then becomes holiness, like that of our heavenly Father.
God’s gift becomes our passion.
The psalmist asks, “How can those who are young keep their way pure?”
And God’s child willingly answers,
“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9-11).
God’s great love invites us to live in his holy presence.
We show our love by joyfully embracing a life lived before God’s face.
Is this the measure of wisdom of our life?
Consider the most powerful leaders, famous celebrities, the greatest athletes.
Peter says their glory is like a wildflower.
It’s beautiful for a day, but then the sun scorches it, and it’s gone.
Everything the world produces is subject to decay.
The Endurance of the Word:
The Works and the Word of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
But in stark contrast, “the word of the Lord endureth for ever.”
Governments fall, languages change, civilizations disappear, but God’s Word remains exactly as it has it always has been.
It does not go out of style.
It does not lose its power.
Peter brings it home:
“And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
This isn’t just an abstract “Word” in the heavens; it is the very Gospel message we heard and we believed.
The same message that saved us is the message that will sustain us forever.
Investing in What Lasts
As we arrive at the finish of Chapter 1, we are left with a choice.
Where will we invest our lives?
Will we spend our energy on the “grass” and the “flowers”—the temporary riches and reputations of this world?
Or will we invest in the eternal?
To live lives which matter, anchor our souls to the Word of God that never fails, pour ourselves out as a tall drink offering into the people who will live forever.
Purify our hearts, roll up our sleeves, love our brothers and sisters “fervently.”
When everything else has withered and fallen away, the love we shared in Christ and the Truth of the Gospel we stood upon, will be the only things still standing.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit … Amen
Praying …
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.
29 Ascribe to the Lord, [a]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due His name;
Worship the Lord in holy attire.
3 The voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over [c]many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord divides [d]flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord [e]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
11 [f]The Lord will give strength to His people;
[g]The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 