1st Peter 1:14-2:3

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by Lane Rogers

Contextual Reminder

1. Our Relationship with God - 1:1-2:10

a. We are Exiles - 1:1-2

b. We are Heirs - 1:2-1-3

c. We are Children -1:14-2:3

e. We are Priests - 2:4-8

f. We are a Nation - 2:9 -10

2. Our Relationship to the world. 2:11-4:6

3. Our Relationship in the Church. 4:7-5:11

This Section

1. We are Children. 1:14-2:3

a. Obedient children of holiness - 1: 14-16.

b. Redeemed children of fear - 1: 17-21

c. Purified children of love - 1:22

d. Reborn children of the Word - 1:23-2:3

We Then Should:

1. Recognize God's grace in the privilege of being his children.

2. Recognize our responsibilities as God's children.

II. We are:

Children of God. 1: 14-16.

A. Obedient Children of Holiness. 1:14-16.

1. Children of Obedience. 1:14

a. Primary duty of children is to obey. Eph. 6:1

b. One becomes God's children by Obedience. 1st Peter. 1:22

c. The Christian life ought to be characterized by continued

obedience. Matt. 7:21.

d. God's wrath comes up on all the "sons of disobedience." Eph. 5:3-6.

B. Children of Transformation. 1:14b.

a. Not conformation to fleshly lusts but transformed by God's spiritual will. Rom. 12:2

b. Not conformation to former ignorance, but transformed by the new knowledge of God's holiness. Eph 4:17-20.

C. Children of Holiness. 1:15-16

a. Review the Holiness Code of Leviticus 18-20. See what holiness means as defined by God.

b. Nature of children is to imitate the Father. Gen.1:27.

• The perfect imitation is Jesus as God's son. Jn. 14:9; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6.

III. Redeemed Children of Grateful Fear

1. Privilege of Redeemed Sojourners.

a. Children of Redemption "if you address as Father....you were...redeemed." 1:17-18.

(1) Meaning of "redeem": lutroo: free by paying a ranson, redeem a. lit...prisoners" (Gingrich-Danker).

(2) O.T. background: Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but God redeemed or freed them from captivity and adopted them as His

children. Ex. 15:13; 19:4-6.

b. Father of Redemption: "if you address as Father..."

(1) We were formerly slaves and prisoners of Satan. Jn. 8: 32-34.

(2) God freed us from captivity to sin and adopted us as His children. Rom. 6:16-23.

(3) Christians can address the Creator as their Father. What a privilege. 1st John. 3:1. (President Kennedy only allowed his son to enter his office unannounced.)

c. Judge of Redemption: "the One who impartially judges according to each mans work." (not simply on the basis of faith).

(1) A good father must also be a good judge.

(2) God judged Egypt with His wrath, when He redeemed Israel and chose him as his son. (Ex. 12:12).

(3) God judged His own people while they wandered in the wilderness. Deut. 32:36.

(4) God has impartially adopted us as His Children. Axts 10: 34-35.

(5) God will impartially judge us as we wander through the wilderness headed toward the promise land (1st Cor. 10:1-12).

d. Hope of Redemption: "during the time of our stay on earth." (1) "Stay": Greek, paroikia - "the stay or sojourn of one who is not a citizen in a strange place; also the foreign country itself...figurative of the Christians' earthly life far from his heavenly home....1st Peter1:17" (Gingrich_Danker).

(2) Paroikia is found elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 13:17 where it refers to the "sojourn" of the Israelites in Egypt. Also found in Hebrews 11:9 where Abraham is called an "Alien."

(3) But---Our citizenship is in "heaven." (Phil. 3:20); we headed toward home but we have not arrived yet.

e. Purpose of Redemption:" redeemed...from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers......so that your faith and hope

might be in God." 1st Peter 1:18-21.

(1) "Futile" (mataios )----meaning, idle, empty, fruitless, useless, powerless, lacking in truth,....worthless. (Gingrich-Danker).

(2) Futility of riches - Matthew. 16:26.

(3) Futility of bodily exercise. 1st Tim. 4:8.

(4) Futility of human glory. 1st Peter 1:24.

(5) Futility worldly pleasure. 1st Jn. 2:15-17.

(6) Futility of business pursuits. Jas. 4:13-17.

(7) Futility of ungodly behavior: E.G. narcotics, alcohol, sex, dishonesty, etc....Rom. 6: 16-23.

(8) Jesus shows us how to turn seeming futile pursuits into means of glorying God....Col. 3:23-24.

B. Redeemed from "traditions" of your fathers.

(1) Freudian philosophy has a certain truth. We are slaves to our past to some extent. Captive to the way we have always done things and the way our parents did things. It only in Christ that we have the power to overcome the past.

(2) The vain religion of your fathers. Matt. 15:3,9. Protestant error, Catholicism; Buddhism, Hinduism, Spirit ism.

(3) Vain life of selfishness and sin through ignorance and Satanic misguidance. Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-24.

(4) Redeemed so that "our faith and our hope might be in God."

a. Jesus did not merely free us from something but positively freed us for a specific goal.

b. He freed us so that our trust would be in God rather than in ourselves, riches, glory or other pursuits.

c. He freed us so that our "hope" was well as our "trust" (faith) would be in God. The hope described earlier in this chapter is the final objective of redemption freed us so we might enter "our" promised land in heaven. 1st Peter 1:4-6.

C. Price of Redemption: "not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold...but with the precious blood,as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ..."1:18-19"

(1) Freedom is never free: it often cost a nation the blood of the brave.

(2) Cost to redeem a slave: 30 shekels of silver, Ex. 21:32, the price paid for the life of Jesus, Matt. 26:14.

(3) Our Freedom was not purchased with silver or gold, which is perishable(1st Peter 1:7 and 2nd Peter 3:10)

(4) Israelite freedom in Egypt purchased with blood of the firstborn of Egypt. (man and animal) and for the Israelites with the blood of a lamb (Exodus 12:12-29).

(5) The maximum price to pay for freedom is one's own blood. Jesus Christ the "lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." Jn. 1:29

(6) The blood of Jesus is the most "precious" ever shed.

a. It was the blood of a perfect man who did not deserve to die (1st Peter 2:22)

b. It was the blood of the only man who was also God (Jn. 1:3).

c. It was the blood of the Shepard who laid down his life for His sheep who were straying (Isa. 53: 1-10).

d. It was the blood of the only man who died for His enemies as well as His friends (Rom. 5:7-8).

D. The Plan of Redemption: "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you." (Hint, the last times were 2000 years ago)

(1) The importance of anything is seen in the amount of time and effort spent to prepare for the event.

(2) God considered our redemption so important that He planned it "before the foundation of the world."

a. Jesus said that God loved Him "before the foundation of the world." Jn. 17:24 and existed with Him, Jn. 17:5.

b. The Greek word, katabolei, means "foundation, beginning" (Gingrich-Danker). Kosmos, means "the sum total of everything here and now, the orderly universe...the world as the earth, the planet on which we live...the habitation of mankind...or as all mankind" (Gingrich-Danker). Thus, God planned or foreknew our redemption before He created the world and before man had sinned.

c. God knew that man was to sin before He created Him and thus planned for His redemption from that sin. How marvelous that God valued us so much.

(3). Jesus Christ as God's plan to redeem man was thus:

a. Planned before the foundation of the world. 1:20.

b. Promised to Eve as her seed who would conquer Satan. Gen. 3:15

c. Promised to Abraham as the seed that would bless all the nations of the world. Gen. 12:3

d. Predicted by the Prophets. e.g. Isa. 53

e. Prepared by John the Baptist. Jn. 1:31.

f . Presented in the "last days" in person. Lk. 4:17-21.

g. Perfected when He returns in glory to take His people to their eternal home. 1st Peter 1:7, 13.

(4). The appearance of Jesus to save man is expressed by Paul as "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men." Tit. 2:11

E. Proof Of Redemption: "who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

(1) The reality of our redemption has been confirmed by the greatest and most convincing evidence of all history: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and His subsequent ascension to heaven to reign at God's right hand.

(2) The resurrection confirms the validity of His atoning death.

(3) The resurrection confirms the validity of His Son ship Romans. 1:4.

(4) The resurrection confirms our faith and hope in God. Acts 17:31.

VI. Responsibilities of Redeemed Children: 1:17-21 (Freedom in Christ is not freedom from responsibility; rather our freedom from sin brings even greater responsibilities to serve the king).

a. Responsibility of prayerful communication. "if you address as Father."

1. Greek word for "address" is epikaleo, which is usually translated "call upon" and is so translated here in the NIV. Gingrich-Danker say it "means to call on someone for aid" and "appeal to someone " such as "Caesar" or some divinity. In 1st Peter 1:17 this lexicon translates our phrase: "if you call on someone as Father."

2. This is the same word used in Romans 10:13, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Again in Acts 22:16, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

3. Redeemed children have the responsibility as well as the privilege of calling on God as their Father. Only an ungrateful son will fail to communicate with His father. We are to "pray without ceasing." 1st Thess. 5:17.

b. Responsibility for respectful Fear: "conduct yourselves in fear.

1. Fear of Punishment: a good father will be a good judge"who judges according to each man's works" 1:17. There should be a healthy fear of God's judgment even though we obey Him out of love. 2nd Cor. 5:11 and Heb. 10:26-31.

2. Fear of Respectful Awe: perfect love casts out fear of punishment but does include respect for God's greatness and power as well as His wrath.

3. Responsibility of Hopeful Trust: "that your faith and hope are in God" 1st Peter 1:21.

a. God freed us from sin and death and futility .

b. Having been freed from hope of material riches all which will perish at the 2nd coming, 2nd Peter 3:10, we now have the privilege to place our hope in eternal things. 1st Peter 1:13.

PURIFIED CHILDREN OF LOVE 1st Peter 1:22-23.

1. Purified Children: "Since you have in your obedience to the truth purified your souls..."

a. "Purified" in Greek (heignikotes) is a perfect active nominative plural participle.

(1) The perfect tense means that Peter's readers stood in a present state of purification because of a past completed act of purification. This past act of purification occurred, the verse says, when they obeyed the truth, and as we will see later that was baptism. Acts 2:38 or 1st Peter 3:21.

(2) The active voice and nominative plural case of this participle indicates that these Christians had actively participated in their own purification. Yes, it is true that the blood of Christ and only the blood of Christ washes away sin (Rev. 7:14; Eph. 1:7 and Heb. 9:14), the Christian participates in this purification through obedience in repentance and being baptized into the death of Christ.

b. "Purified" comes from the Greek word, hagnidzo which Gingrich-Danker defines as "purity ....or to become pure through the forgiveness of sin."

(1) The word refers to the ceremonial purification of the body in Acts 21:24,26 and to purify the soul in Jas. 4:8; 1st Tim. 4:12 and 5:2.

(2) Sin defiles the soul just like a spot dirties a garment, Mark 7:23 and nothing defiled can enter heaven (Rev. 21:27).

(3) Christ's blood removes the defiled spot from our soul.

(4) Having been cleansed by the blood of Christ at baptism, we "put on Christ." Gal. 3:27.

(5) When our souls are purified at baptism in our obedience to the truth of the gospel, we are saved by the grace of God and not of our own works. Eph. 2:8

c. Purification comes through our obedience to the gospel.

(1) Cleansing through the blood is conditional on our obedience (Heb.5:9)

(2) Deliverance from sin is conditional on our obedience "to that form of doctrine" (Romans. 6:17-18).

1. Obedience to the gospel of truth requires:

a. Faith: Acts 16:30-31

b. Repentance: Acts 17:30; 2:28

c. Baptism. Acts 2:38 and 22:16

2. Purification of Heart Requires a Pure Love: "Since you in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren.

a. Since the soul is pure, the heart which loves ought to produce a love of sincerity.

b. "Love of the brethren" is from the Greek word philadelphia, which means a special friendship love with one's brother. Since we are children of God, we are brothers to each other. Our common relationship to God as His children means we must love each other. 1st Jn. 4:20-21.

c. Philadephia love is friendship love based on the value of a brother. If my brother has been considered important by God, the nI must also consider his worth.

d. "Sincere" love is from the Greek, "anupokriton which literally means "not hypocritical."

(1) The word "hypocrite" originally meant an actor on the stage and thus came to mean figuratively those who pretend to be someone they are not. Jesus used the word "hypocrite" to refer to the

Pharisees who pretended to be outwardly religious while inwardly their hearts were filled with evil. (Matt. 23:25-33).

(2) Genuine love is not merely in word. 1st Jn. 3:18

(3) Genuine love is not merely in deed. 1st Cor. 13:1-3.

(4) Genuine love includes word, deed, and a heart of joyful desire to help our fellow man and glorify God.

(5) Since our souls are purified by the blood of Christ our hearts should be purified of any evil or insincere thought concerning our brothers and sisters.

3. Purification of our Souls requires a Fervent Love. " fervently love one another from the heart."

a. Agapao love is here commanded.

(1) Philadelphia love is based on the value of the person loved.

(2) Agapao love is based on the value of the lover, or the one doing the loving. God loved (agapao) the world, not because the world deserved His love but because of His grace and mercy. Jn. 3:16

(3) Thus, Christians are to love their brothers with philadelphia love because of their worth as a child of God, and also with apapao because as a child of God we are to imitate the character of God's love. 1st Jn. 4:7-8.

b. "Fervent" agapei love is commanded.

(1) "Fervent" is from the Greek word, ektenos, which means "stretched out."

(2) Our love is not sufficient until it is fervently stretched out toward others as did Jesus.

a. Matt. 8:3, Jesus stretched out his hand to heal a leper.

b. Matt. 14:30-31. Jesus stretched out his hand to save Peter.

c. Luke 22:44 - Jesus prayed "earnestly" (stretched out) in agony as He faced the cross: His sweat became like blood drops.

(3) Thus, love is not complete until we suffer and agonize in intense care for one another.

a. Continuing agapei love is commanded. 1st Peter 1:23.

b. While the imperative command to love is in the aorist tense, we must not think that a single act of love is being commanded. Dana-Mantey points out that the "aorist" may be ingressive, meaning an entrance into a continual state of action is commanded. (Manual Greek Grammar, page ?). Having been purified at baptism for a philadelphia (friendship and brotherly love, the newborn is now ready to enter a state of agapei love.

V. REBORN CHILDREN OF THE WORD 1st Peter 1:23-2:3

1. Meaning of the Rebirth.

a. Greek for the reborn: anagegenneimenoi (perfect passive participle from anagennao, "to beget again, cause to be born again, fig. of the spiritual rebirth of Christians" (Gingrich-Danker)

b. Usage in the N.T. found only in 1st Peter. 1:3; 23.

c. Kindred words and thoughts:

(1) Jn. 3:3---"born again" to "see the kingdom"

(2) Jn. 3:5---"born of water and the Spirit."

2. The Word's part in the Rebirth as Seed: "you have been born again not of the seed which is perishable, that is through the living and abiding word of God." 1st Peter 1:23.

a. Luke 8:11, "the seed is the Word of God."

b. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word". Romans 10:17

3. "The Living and Abiding Word of God"---- the seed of God continues to abide in the life of the Christian.

a. Proof of the living nature of God's Word is Isa. 40:6ff" all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the Word of God abides forever."

1. God's Word then can never be completely lost or destroyed.

2. By His providence He has promised to preserve His word forever. "Heaven and earth shall pass away but my Words shall not pass away." Matt. 24:35.

3. Isaiah's statement applies both to the OT and the NT. See vs. 25. "And this is the Word that was preached to you."

4. The Word's part as Milk" in the growth of the Christian. "Therefore."

1. We need to remove the filth because it impedes growth.

2. "Like New Born babies." Can't have filth around new born babies.

3. No malice, (badness, depravity etc.) guile(deceit, cunning).

4. Hypocrisy - play acting

5. Envy - a desire for someones else's property.

6. Slander - speak against.

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by Lane Rogers