1 Peter 1:13-16
Verse 13 begins with the word “Therefore” indicating that the following passage hinges on the previous passage, so we need to see what the “therefore” is there for. In 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter has been speaking about God’s abundant mercy that has “begotten” us again in a second birth; a birth that is of spirit as our first birth was physical and the second birth is a spiritual birth for those who put their faith in Christ Jesus and the living hope that He gives us through His resurrection from the dead to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, but is reserved in heaven. The Apostle Peter tells us in verse 6, “In this you greatly rejoice.” We have also learned in verses 10-12 that even the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied about the coming of the Christ and the glories that would follow – even things in which angels desire to learn. So this is what the “Therefore” is there for.
As we continue through today’s lesson in 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter tells us to “gird up the loins of your mind” and is an indication that we should be of a clear mind that is not fogged by drunkenness; that is focused on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Peter tells us that we should be obedient to God as His children through our faith in Jesus, and that we should not conduct our lives according to our former lives of living willfully in sin prior to putting our faith in Christ Jesus; but as God is holy and called us to Him, we too should be holy in obedience to Him. Peter then quotes God’s instruction from the Old Testament book of Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7 as it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
This is a command to live holy lives as God is holy and desires us to be holy in obedience to Him and our faith in His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
In this first letter from the apostle Peter, he has went straight to the point; that we should live holy lives unto the Lord in obedience to Him through the gift that He has given us in the salvation that is found in Christ Jesus. That He gives us a living hope through His resurrection from the dead to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away and is reserved for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5). In this we should rejoice as the prophets of the Old Testament longed for this revelation of Christ Jesus but did not receive it in their lifetime, and even angels seek to learn more about. But God has allowed these things to be revealed to us of salvation in Christ Jesus and the obedient life that we can now live to God through what Jesus has done for us all on the cross. As we put our faith in Jesus, we should no longer live according to the lustful, sinful lives we once lived in ignorance, as Peter states in verse 14, but that we should live holy lives in obedience to God who is holy and desires us to be holy as Peter states in verses 15-16.
Dear LORD,
Thank You for the directness of the Apostle Peter in connecting our salvation in Christ Jesus to being obedient to You in the life that we should now live in holiness as You are holy and desire us to be holy. Please help us to realize that in our new life in Christ Jesus we cannot continue living according to the lusts of the sinful nature, but that we should now strive to live in obedience to the teachings of Jesus as we have repented (turned away from) the sinful nature and now rejoice in the new life You have given us – In Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.