1 Peter 1:13 - Meaning and Application

Here the apostle begins his calls to duty after describing the believer’s glorious standing. This reminds us that Christianity is a faith that leads to godly living. It is meant to make us not only wiser, but better.

He first urges them to self-control and holiness. “Gird up the loins of your mind” means to gather in your thoughts and ready your heart for action. A traveler, runner, soldier, or worker tightens loose clothing to move freely, and Christians should do the same with their minds and desires. We must not let our thoughts drift carelessly. We should restrain what pulls us off course and press on firmly in obedience.

He also says, “Be sober,” meaning watchful, careful, and moderate in all things. That includes food, drink, clothing, recreation, business, and all conduct. It also means being sober-minded in what we think, with humble judgment about ourselves. We need this warning because spiritual dangers and enemies are always near.

“And hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Some take this to mean the final judgment, but it is more natural to read it as “hope fully” for the grace brought by the gospel. In that sense, Christ’s revelation in the gospel brings life and immortality to light. We are to trust that grace without doubt, and keep hoping until the end.

This teaches that the Christian’s main work is the right care of the heart and mind. It also shows that even the best Christians need reminders to be sober. God’s children still need to hope for more grace and keep pressing forward. Strong trust in God’s grace fits perfectly with serious effort in duty.

Next he says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions you once had in your ignorance.” This can be read as both a command and a reason. Believers should live like God’s children, since they have been adopted into his family and given new life by his grace. They must not go back to the old pattern of sinful desires that ruled them before they knew God.

The children of God should show who they are by their obedience. That obedience should be present, steady, and complete. Even God’s children once lived in lust and ignorance, shaping their whole lives around sinful wants. But conversion brings a real change in a person’s inward life, speech, behavior, and way of living. Sinful desires are both the fruit and the sign of ignorance.

“But as he who called you is holy, be holy in all your conduct.” This is a high command, but it is backed by strong reasons. God called us by his grace, and that calling should move us toward holiness. The Bible also says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” God’s holiness should stir us to seek the highest holiness we can reach.

This holiness must be broad and complete. It should touch every part of life, religious and ordinary, in good times and hard times, with friends and enemies alike. It should also follow God’s own pattern. We can never equal his holiness, but we are to imitate it. The written word is our sure rule, and the Old Testament command to be holy still binds believers in the New Testament.

Finally, “If you call on the Father” assumes that these Christians truly pray to God as their Father. Since they do so, they should live the time of their stay here in fear. This does not mean terror, but reverent awe. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world, traveling toward our true home.

All our time on earth should be lived before God with reverence. Thinking of God as Father and Judge fits together well. Loving confidence in him and holy fear of him belong together. In fact, seeing him as Judge can make us value him all the more as Father. His judgment will be fair and show no favoritism, but will be according to each person’s work.

No outside connection to God will protect anyone. A Jew may call God Father and Abraham father, but God does not show favoritism. He will not side with people for personal reasons, but will judge each person by what he has done. In the great day, people’s works will make clear who truly belongs to God. We are called to faith, holiness, and obedience, and our actions will show whether we have answered that call.

The apostle has urged them to spend their time on earth in reverent fear of God because they call on the Father. He then adds a second reason: they were not redeemed, or bought back, with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. This reminds them, first, that they have been redeemed by a ransom paid to the Father. It also shows what the price was, and from what they were redeemed, namely, a useless way of life handed down by tradition. And they knew this, so they could not claim ignorance about so great a matter.

We should always remember our redemption, because it is a strong reason to live holy lives and fear God. God expects Christians to live in a way that fits what they know, so we need to be reminded of truths we already understand (Psalm 39:4). Neither silver nor gold, nor any other passing thing in this world, can redeem even one soul. These things often become traps, temptations, and barriers to salvation, but they cannot buy it. They pass away, and so they cannot redeem an immortal soul.

The blood of Jesus Christ is the only price of human redemption. This redemption is real, not just a figure of speech. We are bought with a price, and that price matches the worth of the purchase, because it is the precious blood of Christ. It is the blood of an innocent person, a lamb without blemish and without spot, which the Passover lamb pointed to. It is also the blood of an infinite person, the Son of God, and for that reason Scripture calls it the blood of God (Acts 20:28).

Christ shed his most precious blood not only to save us from eternal misery later, but also to rescue us now from a useless way of life in this world. A life is useless when it is empty, shallow, foolish, and does not serve God’s honor, the good of religion, the witness of unbelievers, or a person’s own conscience. So it is not only open evil that is dangerous, but also the emptiness and uselessness of our conduct.

A person’s way of life may look religious and may be defended by age, custom, and tradition, and still be utterly useless. The Jews had much to say from those claims, with all their outward forms, yet their way of life was so empty that only Christ’s blood could redeem them from it. Old customs are not a sure test of truth, and it is not wise to say, “I will live and die this way because my ancestors did.”

After speaking of the price of redemption, the apostle turns to things connected with both the Redeemer and those redeemed (1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 1:21). The Redeemer is described not only as a lamb without spot, but also as one who was foreordained, that is, chosen beforehand, before the foundation of the world. When Scripture speaks of God knowing beforehand, it means more than seeing events ahead of time. It includes a purpose and a decision that the thing will happen (Acts 2:23). God did not merely know that his Son would die for people, he determined and decreed it before the world began.

Christ was then made known in these last days for them. He was shown to be the Redeemer God had foreordained, through his birth, his Father’s testimony, and his own works, especially his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). This happened in the last days of the New Testament and the gospel, for you, that is, for Jewish believers, sinners, and afflicted people. You have the comfort of Christ’s appearing if you believe in him.

He was raised from the dead by the Father, who gave him glory. As an act of power, the resurrection belongs to all three persons of the Trinity, but as an act of judgment it is especially the Father’s work. The Father, acting as Judge, released Christ, raised him from the grave, and gave him glory. He declared him to the whole world to be his Son by raising him from the dead, lifted him into heaven, crowned him with glory and honor, gave him all authority in heaven and on earth, and glorified him with the glory he had with God before the world began.

The redeemed are also described by their faith and hope, and Jesus Christ is the cause of both. Through Christ you believe in God, with Christ as the one who begins, encourages, supports, and finishes your faith. Your faith and hope can now rest in God, because God has been reconciled to you through Christ the Mediator, the one who brings God and people together.

From this we learn that God’s plan to send Christ as Mediator was made from eternity, and it was both just and merciful. That does not excuse human sin in crucifying him (Acts 2:23). God had special purposes of grace for his people long before he showed that grace openly to them. The last days are far happier than earlier ages of the world. Light is clearer, faith has greater support, ordinances are more effective, and comforts are greater since Christ was revealed. Our gratitude and service should match such great blessings.

Christ’s redemption belongs only to true believers. Some argue for a general provision, and others deny it, but no one claims that Christ’s death is applied to the salvation of all. Hypocrites and unbelievers will still be lost forever, even though Christ died. God in Christ is the final object of a Christian’s faith, and this faith is strongly supported by Christ’s resurrection and the glory that followed.

The apostle then urges brotherly love. He assumes the gospel had already worked in them by purifying their souls as they obeyed it through the Spirit, and that it had produced at least a sincere love for fellow believers. From that, he urges them to grow in it and love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22). It should not be doubted that every true Christian purifies his soul. The apostle takes that for granted: “Seeing you have...” To purify the soul means that there was great uncleanness and defilement in it before, and that this defilement has been removed.

Neither the purifications required by the law, nor the outward washings of hypocrites, can do this. The Word of God is the great tool God uses to cleanse a sinner’s life: “you have purified your souls by obeying the truth.” The gospel is called truth because it stands against the old symbols, shadows, errors, and lies. This truth cleanses the soul only when it is obeyed (John 17:17). Many hear the truth, but it never purifies them, because they refuse to submit to it and obey it.

The Spirit of God is the great one who works this cleansing in the soul. The Spirit shows the soul its uncleanness and gives the graces that both beautify and purify, such as faith (Acts 15:9), hope (1 John 3:3), the fear of God (Psalm 34:9), and love for Jesus Christ. The Spirit also stirs up our efforts and makes them effective. But the Spirit’s help does not replace our own effort. These believers purified their own souls, yet they did so through the Spirit’s work.

Christians must have their souls purified before they can truly love one another sincerely. Human nature has so many sinful desires and unfair likes and dislikes that, without God’s grace, we cannot love God or one another as we should. There is no true love unless it comes from a pure heart. So it is every Christian’s duty to love one another honestly and warmly. That love must be real, strong, steady, and wide in its reach.

Peter also urges believers to love one another from the truth that they share a spiritual family. They have all been born again, not from perishable seed, but from imperishable seed. From this we learn that all true Christians are born again. The apostle speaks of this as something common to all serious believers, and by it they are brought into a new and close relation with one another. They become brothers and sisters through their new birth.

The Word of God is the great means God uses for new birth (James 1:18). The gift of new life comes through the gospel. This second birth is far better and more desirable than the first. Peter shows that by contrasting imperishable seed with perishable seed. Through the one, we become children of human parents; through the other, we become sons and daughters of the Most High.

Calling the Word “seed” teaches us that, even if it seems small at first, it has great power. It may lie hidden for a while, but it grows and finally produces good fruit. Those who are born again should therefore love one another with a pure heart and with strong feeling. Brothers and sisters by birth should love each other, but the duty is even greater where there is a spiritual bond. They are under the same rule, share the same privileges, and are involved in the same cause.

The Word of God lives and remains forever. It is a living word, or a life-giving word (Hebrews 4:12). It gives spiritual life, begins that life, preserves it, and keeps stirring us up in our duty until it brings us to eternal life. It also lasts forever. It remains true forever, and it lives in the hearts of the regenerate forever.