1 Peter 1:13-25 Lesson 446

1 Peter 1:13-25
Lesson 446

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

Simon Peter

In this lesson:

Don't backslide (1:14).
Live a godly life (1:15-16).
Love each other (1:22).
A new life (1:23-24).

"The word of the Lord endureth forever."

By Korean artist Myung-bo Sim

The way to salvation:

First, acknowledge that we have all sinned.
Second, repent and confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord and that He died for our sins and was resurrected.
Lastly, pray and make Jesus Christ a part of your life.

Forgiveness of sins and salvation comes through the Son of God.

The First Epistle of Peter

The King James Bible

1 Peter 1:13-25
Be holy

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Margin notes:

"Wherefore." (1:13) - A connecting word linking what Peter said in verses 1:10-12 (salvation comes from Christ) to what he is about to say.

"Gird up the loins of your mind." (1:13) - "Prepare your minds." In Peter's day, men prepared hard physical labor by gathering the hem of their long garments and tucking it into their belts. Peter uses that analogy to teach his readers to prepare their minds. This message is reinforced in 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

"Not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." (1:14) - "Don't chase your old sins and live as you did when you were ignorant (of God)." See also Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:17-18.

"Be ye holy in all manner of conversation." (1:15) - "Be holy in all matters of life."

"It is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1:16) - "It is written, you must be holy, for I am holy." Written in Leviticus 11:44-45 and 19:2. "Holiness means unsullied walking with the feet, unsullied talking with the tongue, unsullied thinking with the mind - every detail of the life under the scrutiny of God." ("My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio)

"Who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work." (1:17) - "Who is impartial and judges each person according to their life."

"Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." (1:17) - "Live your life on earth with respect (towards God)." To fear God does not mean to be frightened of Him. It means to respect the almighty creator of the universe.

"Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold." (1:18) - "You were not ransomed (from the slavery of sin) with perishable things, like silver or gold." Jesus bought your salvation with His precious blood (1 Corinthians 6:20; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:12).

"Your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers." (1:18) - "Your empty (religious) life handed down from your fathers." This refers to the empty rites and ceremonies prescribed by Mosaic Law and practiced by Jews for centuries. However, Peter's criticism wasn't reserved for Jews; many Gentiles also practiced meaningless rituals.

"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1:20) - "Who truly was chosen before the world began." God knew that mankind would fall into sin and developed His plan of salvation before He created the universe.

"But was manifest." (1:20) - "But was revealed."

"Last times." (1:20) - The time from the birth of Jesus to His second coming.

"Purified your souls." (1:22) - "Cleansed your souls."

"In obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren." (1:22) - "By obeying the truth of the Holy Spirit you have genuine love for your brethren."

"See that ye love one another." (1:22) - An often repeated command in the Bible.

"Which liveth and abideth for ever." (1:23) - "Which lives and endures forever."

"For all flesh is as grass..." (1:24) - Verses 1:24-25 are a paraphrase of Isaiah 40:6-8. They tell us how fleeting material possessions and life is. In time everything will end, except for the word of God.

To learn more about being holy, read Ephesians 4:22-24.

New Living Translation

1 Peter 1:13-25
A Call to Holy Living

13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

14 So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then.

15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

16 For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy."

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as "foreigners in the land."

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.

19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

24 As the Scriptures say,

  "People are like grass;
      their beauty is like a flower in the field.
   The grass withers and the flower fades.

25 But the word of the Lord remains forever."

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. What is meant by corruptible (perishable) seed and incorruptible (unperishable) seed? (1:23)

"Prayer is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble: prayer is a life attitude."

Walter A. Mueller

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Being born of corruptible (perishable) seed refers to our physical birth, which ends in death. Being born of incorruptible seed is our spiritual birth in Christ which leads to eternal life.

Application thought for the day:

How many commands can you find in this passage?
How can you apply them to your life?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2023 evolke

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