1 Peter

Chapter 1

vs 13

Therefore - hearkening back to the previous ideas. Now this is an interesting one. The most natural reading grammatically is, in my opinion, also the most unnatural to our feeble, modern brains. Peter is basically saying "Because the prophets have served you in bringing you the message of the gospel, you should be ready for action!" Huh? But I think that is the proper reading, because verse 14 refers to our lives of ignorance - that is, pre-gospel. But I will also acknowledge that he could be referring more broadly to the larger idea of the previous chunk, which is about the hope, inheritance and faith that we have, or even on the fact that trials and persecutions are happening.

In any case, the idea is that we be ready for action. Notice we must prepare our minds. I heard a great talk by John North just last weekend talking about the fact that the battleground on which we fight the devil and temptation is our mind. So preparing your mind for action is preparing for spiritual warfare as much as intellectual warfare. Self control factors into this, because if your actions are innapropriate, they can undermine your mind. And we should fix our hopes on the grace of God through Christ. That's the foundation of your faith, because if your hopes are built on anything else, you're not Christian.

vs 14

The suggestion of this verse, like many in the NT, is that somehow our desires for evil stuff can just go away, can just be dealt with, because we are no longer ignorant about God and his grace through Christ. And yet we tend to preach a gospel of "you will constantly fail, but just praise God for his grace and keep going". While the experiential truth is that we will always be sinful while we're here on broken-creation, I think we shoot ourselves in the foot with this statement, because we ignore the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to change people. The simple gospel fact is that when you become a Christian, you aren't the person you were before that change. Surely our focus as Christians should be on the miracle of life-change that God offers (and does!) and not on the remnant life that we seem to train our beady eyes on?

There was a time where I wouldn't have made that statement, but two things changed my mind. First was the confession of an old, wise, godly man who was an elder of my first church, Eric Reed. This man was to me the best model for godliness I have seen. Once at a men's Bible study, whilst being interviewed for the encouragement of the group, he was asked the question "At your age and maturity, how do you struggle with sin?" His answer was, quite simply, "I don't really." He went on to explain that while old age does a fair amount to slow you down (so he wasn't out chasing tail at age 85), by far it was his attitude of focusing fully on the grace given him through Jesus Christ. Needless to say, it wasn't the answer we were expecting.

Second was a recent reading about the early church, which was far stricter about its membership and its lifestyle. Before Constantine, the church was suffering under great persecution, and so you only really joined a church if you were convicted of the need to follow Jesus. But when the church became open, it was flooded with people who only half-believed, who were in it for personal gain, who used it for political power etc. And the church changed its attitude from exclusive to inclusive. Now true, the state control of the church at this point was also a weakness of the church, but I think it highlights our modern church's lack of focus on the transformed life. I feel like if we were living it, then other people would see it and want to live it too.

vs 15-16

Here's the reasons why we should live it. Holiness is that which separates God from his creation - it's what makes him different. Holiness for us is not just being pure. We are called to be holy like God is holy. That means we should be noticeably different from those that aren't holy.

vs 17

Peter builds on this idea. We're strangers here. Different to the locals. Interestingly, God will judge your works, and will do so impartially. And the knowledge of that judgement is to lead us to an attitude of reverent fear. It's not all "God has prepared a place for me, woohoo!" There is also an attitude of "Better watch what I do, God will judge me for it". True, the time of judgement will pale in comparison to the eternity of glory, but we're told to take note of it anyway.

vs 18

A commentary on our strangerhood. The currency of this world isn't what has saved us from the screwed up worldview passed down by our society (although Peter writes like a Jew, remember lots of the people who got this letter were gentiles).

vs 19

The currency of heaven - perfect blood of the eternal. Sounds like an emo band.

vs 20

A reference to God's plan for salvation pre-creation, that is, pre-Adam. Revealed at what we must suppose was the perfect time - certainly good for those reading the letter originally.

vs 21

Peter once again is focusing not on Christ, but on the God who sent him, raised him, and glorified him. But don't think for a second that Peter is trying to say Jesus isn't God - this is the same Peter who make the confession "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". These statements are probably more to combat the heresy of docetism or early gnosticism that was running around the church at this time which saw our relationship with Christ alone, because he was a sort of demigod and the true God was unapproachable. Peter counters that idea by showing that our relationship, our hope and our faith, all rest on God the father.

vs 22

This makes it sound like our purification has already taken place. Perhaps a reference to baptism? I'm not sure, I've got baptism on the brain at the moment. Whatever he means, he is sure that it leads to sincere love for your Christian siblings. But then he goes on to tell you that you should love each other. Sincere in the greek I am told means "not fake" (the English does too I guess). Perhaps he means that through your Christianity you are given love for your brothers (like a thing), and so now you should use it on your brothers (like an action). Almost like you are given the ability to love one another by God, now you are to use it.

vs 23

Again our new birth is stressed. Not from a perishable seed (probably human birth) but an imperishable one (rebirth into hope) through Christ, who is the living word of God.

vs 24-25

Peter uses some Isaiah here to make the point about imperishable seed, and also points out that this is what was preached to you. Probably not meaning that verse (certainly not only that verse), but more likely a reference to the words of the prophets generally which were preached to them, as in verses 10-12.