“You will be holy”
Download discussion questions: 1 Peter 1:13-25
Jump to beginning of 1 Peter Discussion Group Blog
I encourage you to look at the passage in 1 Peter before you read this Blog entry. What do you see in the text yourself? What questions come to your mind? How would you interpret what the writer says? After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.
Our discussion began with one person’s observation that the passage describes a flow: prepared (v. 13), purified (v. 21), and born again (v. 23). Indeed, that flow describes three themes that Peter repeats throughout this passage and through his entire epistle.
Version Variations
There was an early question about the unfamiliar translation (Lexham English Bible, LEB[1]) used in the handout this week. For anyone interested in some specific details related to this passage, there are brief notes here, but it may be more productive to see the comments interspersed in our discussion below.
Instructions or Expectations?
An immediate difference arose between the LEB and the NIV (1984) as well as several other English translations.[2] The opening part of verse 13 is frequently translated as a series of three commands, i.e., imperatives:
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled, set your hope… (NIV 1984)
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope…(KJV)
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope (NASB)
The LEB (and a few others), show only one actual command (“put your hope”):
Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action by being self-controlled, put your hope … (LEB)
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope … (ESV)
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope…(NIV 2011)
Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope…(YLT)
What’s going on here? Is the preparing (lit., “girding up”) and sober mindedness something commanded that we need to work on? Or does Peter assume (or know) that his readers have already reached those milestones? How are we to respond?
As we have discussed before, translating any thought from one language to another is seldom simple. Trying to describe the process of spiritual formation in any language is not simple. Peter is explaining and exhorting his readers to “rejoice greatly” while distressed by various trials” (v. 6). We might want simple solutions, but Peter’s language is very precise. The grammar of the passage uses different verb forms. Think of a simple sentence in English:
“Having left the house, go to the store.”
The main point of the sentence is the command, “go to the store.” The “having left”[3] modifies[4] the main command, i.e., when to go to the store. The first part of the sentence can be taken as an assumption or an expectation (“Since you left the house, now go to the store.”). OR, if you are still at home, it could be taken as a part of the command (“Leave the house and go to the store.”) The point is that fulfilling the command by going to the store will only happen after you have left the house.
Bear with one more example (you’ll thank me later):
“While going to the store, buy some mangos.”
Once again, there is a main verb (a command), “buy” and a clarifying verb (a participle), “while going.” The command “buy” is to be carried out at the same time, “while,” as the “going.” And, likewise, if you are not going to the store, the participle takes on the force of the command: “Go to the store and buy some mangos.”
Now back to Peter’s text.
-
- “Having prepared” (ἀναζωσάμενοι, anazōsamenoi) is a participle in a past tense (aorist), so the action (preparing) takes place before the command to “put your hope…”
- “Being self-controlled” (νήφοντες, nēphontes) is a participle in the present tense, so the self-control takes place at the same time as the main command, “put your hope…”
- “Put your hope” (ἐλπίσατε, elpisate) is the main verb, the command Peter gives his readers. As in the simple English examples, the two participles take on the force of commands, if needed.
You begin to see a bit more of the complexity that has gone into our English translations (or any other language). We often look for cut-and-dried translations to give us step-by-step instructions. Spiritual formation is seldom that tidy. Peter’s primary point throughout his letter so far has been the amazing things God has done. Now he resumes his opening word of hope (v. 3), calling his audience to that hope in the face of suffering. He makes it clear that this hope grows from serious preparation and thoughtful self-control. Difficulties may wrench our emotions, but joyful hope matures in mental and rational consideration of God’s character and His work. Hope is not the result of trying hard to be positive, but of serious preparation and self-control in the face of hopelessness. Hope grows out of knowledge and conviction of a Father’s promised inheritance.
Holiness and Fear
Another point of discussion over translations was verse 16:
for it is written, “You will be holy, because I am holy.” (LEB – a future statement)
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (NIV 1984, 2011 – a command)
because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (NASB)
The NASB (both 1995 and 2020) preserve the future idea of “shall” with the implication of a command (as in, “You will make your bed” in the voice of a mother). In the context of a divine statement, the command also has the sense of providential certainty. God sovereignly enables what He commands.
And all my hope is nowhere but in Your exceedingly great mercy. Give what You command, and command what You will. You command us to be self-restrained. ‘When I knew,’ says one, ‘that no man can be self-restrained unless God grants it, and this also was a part of wisdom to know whose gift it is.’[5]
Holiness and self-control are intolerable burdens under the Law. God’s gracious work in our lives make them gifts to be desired and eagerly sought.
Peter gets this Old Testament quotation from multiple occurrences (Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7). He “deliberately cited a theme suffused throughout all of Leviticus.”[6] Peter’s text uses the future tense based on the Greek version of the Hebrew Scripture. (Did I mention translation between any two languages is an art?)
The Old Testament often uses a future tense as a command (a “Hebraism”[7] which Peter follows). He duplicates that grammar in Greek using a future tense verb that can be (and probably should be) interpreted as an imperative. At the same time, the future tense gives a sense of certainty (another theme Peter repeats) that God’s declared will – our holiness – is determined in His providential rule. He uses human agency (e.g., our self-control) to accomplish His purpose.
Peter follows the affirmation about holiness with a serious exhortation.
…conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence (v. 17b)
Someone in our group pointed out that “temporary residence” (LEB) seemed more helpful than other translations, such as “time as foreigners” (NIV) or “your time of exile” (ESV). For most of us, “temporary residence” best expresses Peter’s emphasis on the short time of our present distress. We probably can identify more readily with “temporary residence” more than other expressions as “foreigners” or “exiles.”
But what about the “fear” part? Several translations use “reverence” (NET) or “reverent fear” (NIV, NLT), while most use “fear” (φόβος, phobos, as in “phobia”). While “fear” seems harsh, “reverence” seems (at least to some people) weak, “watered down.”[8] One member of our group pointed out what likely is the problem. Neither “fear” nor “reverence” seems to include a relational dimension. “Awe” was suggested as an alternative, including a sense of relationship, but with a degree of what one writer (in a different context) calls “gravity and fear.”[9] There is a relationship, but it is serious as well as happy. There is a blend of joy and weightiness. There is a Holy Judge, yet that judge is our Father.
Peter, therefore, does not call us to soul-destroying dread. The Judge is our Father, who has begotten us to be his children and given us a sure hope as heirs of his blessing.[10]
That relational dimension of “gravity and fear” is key in knowing Him and being obedient children (v. 14).
Fear of God is not inconsistent with loving him or knowing that he loves us… Rather, fear of displeasing our Father is the obverse side of loving him.[11]
In fact, fear of the Lord seems to be integral to Peter’s exhortations to holiness and avoiding the “former desires” (v. 14) and “futile way of life” (v. 18). Consider the words of Moses to Israel when God gave the Law:
Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:20, ESV)
Fear of God, that awe or reverence or gravity in relationship with Him, is liberating. Fear of God minimizes any other fear. Testing is His training ground to eliminate other fears that might lead us into sin (fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of shame, etc., etc.)
This fear is not cowardice: it doth not debase, but elevates the mind; for it drowns all lower fears, and begets true fortitude and courage to encounter all dangers, for the sake of a good conscience and the obeying of God.[12]
The deeper our relationship with God and the wider our understanding of Who He is, the less we will respond to those other fears, the less we will be distracted or drawn to other counterfeit sources of relief or satisfaction or comfort.
Another writer points out an important distinction. Peter’s call to holiness from Leviticus is not a call back to the Law.
Peter’s differentiated application of Leviticus is interesting in that it preserves the authority of God’s word to ancient Israel as binding on Christians, but it does not prescribe the specifics of the Levitical code as the way of life to be followed by his Christian readers. The apostle recognizes continuity of authority and principle between the OT and Christians but also differences in the particulars because his readers live after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well as in a different time and place than ancient Israel. Christians are no less God’s people than was ancient Israel, and no less accountable to God than Israel was, but their holiness is expressed in ways that are appropriate to their own historical moment.[13]
In the rest of his letter Peter will emphasize relational holiness: displaying the character of Christ in all our interactions with others (verse 22).
Obedience to the Truth
As one person observed at the beginning of our discussion, part of the flow of the passage (and the whole letter) involves purification, as in verse 22:
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart,
Someone noted that several statements in the passage are in the past tense, not the present, such as “Having purified” and that God has “called” us (v. 15), Peter’s continuing reminders of what God has already done.
Another person commented on the similarity between the wording of verse 22 and verse 13 discussed earlier, and the beginning of verse 23:
when you have prepared your minds (v. 13)
having purified your souls (v. 22)
you have been born again, (v. 23)
Each of the statements describes something that is assumed to have already happened.[14]
But what does Peter mean by “obedience to the truth” for that purification? The “truth” Peter mentions is likely the gospel itself, so that “obedience to the truth” means believing and accepting the gospel.
“Moreover, the phrase (lit.) ‘by obedience to the truth’ (en hypokoētēs alētheias) probably refers to the truth of the gospel. Often in the NT the gospel is designated as ‘the truth.’”[15]
(That author provides a list of references connecting the gospel to “truth.”)
It is a mistake to use that verse (“purified by obedience”) to imply any kind of works-righteousness or law-keeping requirement. As mentioned, the fact of purification that Peter describes is in the past, not an ongoing process. He makes the immediate parallel between that purification and the new birth (also in the past). Both “purification” and “born again” are in a form (“perfect tense”) that indicates actions completed in the past and having continuing results. Peter continues to emphasize what God has already done, His completed work as the basis for the inexpressible joy in believers.
Fervently
As mentioned above, that obedience is not behavioral conformity to the Levitical Law. Peter redirects any potential legalism in verse 22.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart….
He describes a key purpose for our believing the gospel (“obedience to the truth”) with the word “for” (εἰς, eis, lit. “to, toward, into”[16]). Becoming a believer immerses us into relationships. Christians often refer to a relationship with Christ, but Peter emphasizes the immediate practicality of relationships with other believers, the family of God. Much of the rest of his letter will deal with those practicalities (beginning in the next paragraph that starts chapter 2).
The word Peter uses to describe those relationships, “fervent” (ἐκτενῶς, ektenōs), is used only two other times in the New Testament.
-
- Jesus praying in Gethsemane: “And being in anguish, he began praying more fervently and his sweat became like drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)
- The church praying for Peter in prison: “Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him.” (Acts 12:5)
That intense commitment and intentional care for one another does not grow from obligation to a set of rules or steps for spiritual growth. That kind of relationship grows from an “imperishable seed” (v. 23a), the “precious blood of Christ” (v. 19), as revealed in “the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23b). That supernatural source enables the fervent love we are called to.
Those personal interactions describe the call to relational holiness. Behavioral obedience is important, but external conformity to rules is easier (and easier to counterfeit) than heart-felt relationships. Brotherly affection (φιλαδελφία, philadelphia) and deep, fervent love (ἀγάπη, agape) are the closest human imitation of the infinite love the Father has for the Son in the Spirit and the love they have for us. Imitating that love is our calling: love God, love others.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Lexham-English-Bible-LEB/
https://lexhampress.com/product/6162/lexham-english-bible-leb-with-audio-new-testament
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Peter%201%3A13
[3] A participle.
[4] In grammatical language, the participle is subordinate to the main verb, which is imperative.
[5] Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine (New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1996), Book 10, p. 277-278, emphasis added.
[6] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 81.
[7] Greg W. Forbes, 1 Peter, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 40.
[8] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 82.
[9] Russ Ramsey, Van Gogh Has A Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2024), 179;
That author used the phrase in reference to God’s call on his life as a pastor, but I thought the combination of “gravity and fear” was helpful in the context of 1 Peter as well.
[10] Edmund Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 65.
[11] Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 1988), 82.
[12] Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 1988), 82; quoting R. Leighton, 1684; emphasis added.
[13] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 116.
[14] Aorist tense participle in v. 13; perfect tense participle in v. 22 and v. 23.
[15] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 95;
Schreiner’s footnote 177: 2 Cor 6:7; Gal 2:5, 14; 5:7; Eph 1:13; CoI1:5; 2 Thess 2:10, 12, 13; 1 Tim 2:4; 3:15; 4:3; 6:5; 2 Tim 2:15, 18, 25; 3:7, 8; 4:4; Titus 1:1, 14; Heb 10:26; Jas 1:18; 5:19; 2 Pet 1:12; 2:2;
for the text of those examples, see 1 Peter 1:22 “Truth.”
http://www.goodnotsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1-Peter-1_22-Truth.pdf