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1 Peter Ch. 1
We encourage the reader to first read the entire chapter of First Peter. He will find, after a brief introduction, how Peter “blesses God” for his many graces bestowed upon man, resulting in an incorruptible inheritance (vv. 1-9). He then shows that salvation was something the prophets dealt with and that was to be found in Christ (vv. 10-13). Next comes an exhortation to holiness (vv. 13-16) because God is holy. All this results in three things dealt with in the balance of the chapter, and these things now arrest our attention. What are they? What had happened to Peter’s readers since they had become Christians?
First, they had been redeemed (v. 18). After saying they had been redeemed, he then gives the cause behind it, and that is the of Christ. To be redeemed is to be bought back again at a price. Hence, in order for man to be redeemed from sin and Satan a price had to be paid. Peter first deals with that price in a negative way; i.e. how they had not been redeemed. This included their material possessions, such as silver and gold; these were an insufficient price for man’s redemption, not only from sin, but from the traditions of their fathers which were no longer valid. This redemption was in the mind of God from eternity – “before the foundation of the world” (v. 20). If the redemption price was eternal, so was the plan that brought man to that price. So first Peter assures his readers they had been redeemed – redeemed by the of Jesus Christ. Second, they had been purified (v. 22). As with the matter of redemption, Peter also tells them the source of their purification, and that was through their obedience to the truth. No man was ever purified in his life apart from obedience to God’s will. In this context, Peter states a specific end in view, that being “unto unfeigned love of the brethren.” That love, says Peter, must spring from “pure hearts.” John calls upon men to be “pure, even as he (God) is pure” (1 John 3:3). If a man has the hope of one day being like God (1 John 3:2), he is going to have to be pure. Just as God is the pattern in holiness (1 Pet. ), so he also is the pattern in purity. This love for brethren is not to be superficial, but “fervently.” The word has to do with warmth or heat. Love is not a cool, aloof thing, but one that pulses with warmth.
Third, they had been born again (v. 23). Again, as in the first two instances, Peter sets forth the cause of that birth, that being “the word of God.” Since he speaks of a spiritual birth, there then must be a spiritual conception (cf. John 3:1ff), springing from an incorruptible seed. A fleshly seed and birth is not under consideration. Peter says those are transitory – “all flesh is as grass,” and as such will wither away. But not so with the eternal seed; the word of God (Lk. ). That is why he could say in verse 4 that the Christian’s inheritance was one that was incorruptible and that did not fade away. So Peter closes the chapter with the same concept of incorruptibility that he began with.
And so – three things. Redeemed – by the of Christ. Purified – by obedience to the unchanging truth of God, and then born again – by an incorruptible seed. How great are God’s blessings! What a prospect of a life beyond this mundane sphere they give us! – Bill Moseley
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