1 Peter 1:13-25, recitation verse 1 Peter 1:23
The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks worshipers who worship with spirit and t
As we grow more after being born again, we come to love God more, and this is based on the knowledge of God. However, many people misunderstand about God's holiness and love that holiness and love is opposite to each other, so that their spiritual growth is hindered since this misunderstanding leans towards one side or the other. I mean, those who lean towards love cannot hear the voice of God's holiness, which admonishes sin in the Bible, and as a result, they live lives that are not free from sin. On the other hand, those who lean towards holiness cannot grasp God's love and grace in the Bible and are still bound by the law. Therefore we must understand that God's love forgives sinners but never accepts sin because of His holy love. In today's passage, 1 Peter 1:13-25, we see that our regeneration ultimately leads to a holy and loving life. So, we would like to examine what enables us to live such a life and how holiness and love are connected.
1) Today's passage begins with the conjunction "therefore" which means that this pericope should be understood in relation to the previous pericope, 1 Peter 1:1-12. In the previous pericope, Peter said that since we are born again in God’s great mercy through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can have a living hope of eternal life even in the midst of trials, because God, who raised us from the dead and brought us to new life, will protect, preserve and persevere us to the salvation of our soul and body and also through trials, our faith will be shaped stronger and will result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ returns. Therefore, since we have been born again to the assurance of eternal life, we must live the rest of our lives according to the will of the Lord, i.e., the holy and loving life.
2) Today's passage, 1 Peter 1:13-25 can be divided into two parts. In verses 13-21, Peter exhorts us to live the holy life, because our God is the Holy One and the precious blood of Jesus, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. And in verses 22-25, Peter continues to exhort us that we have to love one another by obeying the words of truth which make us purify and command us to live the life of love.
3) However, in order to understand what a "holy" life means, we must first understand the holiness as the attribute of God. The holiness is ἅγιος (hagios) in the Greek, "קָדוֹשׁ" (qā·ḏôš) in the Hebrew, and Sanctus in the Latin. God's holiness as an essence of His being and will, represents an absolute standard of purity and separation from all His creation, standing infinitely above them. This is called as His majestic holiness, while His moral holiness means being separated from evil and sin as His negative holiness, and possessing ethical excellence and perfection as a positive holiness. This divine holiness maintains God's eternal moral excellence, expresses as His hatred for sin, and results in His request for purity in His moral creatures. Therefore His holiness elicits consciousness of their own sinfulness and a sense of guilt from human souls and leads to a life of purity and morality.
4) In other words, the cause which makes His saints live a holy life is the holiness of God who called them and the purpose of this calling was to make them holy and blameless before Him. And secondly, the ability for us to live a holy life comes from the precious blood of Jesus, who is like a spotless and unblemished lamb that redeemed us from our sinful behavior as Hebrews 9:14, "His blood will cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God." And finally God's word of the truth has the power to sanctify us.
6) Through today's passage, we would like to receive few grace. First, it is the fact that cleansing our souls comes through the seed that in imperishable, which is the Word of God as John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." When the gospel is proclaimed in our hearts as seeds of the Word, we were born again. And then through meditating on and reflecting it after reading and hearking God's Word, our hearts become more and more pure, examining our hearts and actions in light of it, and we are gradually transformed and our actions become more and more holy. That’s why we believe that we must continue to live by the Word of God faithfully. And also verse 23 says that God's Word is alive and endures forever. Here that "God's Word is alive" means that as in Hebrews 4:12-13, "the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." This means that God's Word makes our thought and motives opened and be investigated and then cleaned. Furthermore, the phrase "endures forever" is the translation from the Greek word μένω (menō), which means not only to continue to exist but also to abide or stay. Therefore, God's Word not only continues to exist eternal, but it also dwells or abides within us to transform us. Therefore, Peter exhorts us to live a life of hope to God's grace, because all of these things come from God's grace. And then third, Peter exhorts that we must be sober-minded and live in fear, while serving God when we are strangers in this world. That’s why 1 Ecclesiastes 12:13 says that our duty is to fear God and keep His commands.
Key Questions as Small Group Activity
Q1 In today's Bible verses, it says that God's word is alive and abiding in us, and in Hebrews 4:12-13, it says that His word reveals all our thoughts and motivations. Therefore, as Christians, we can experience the grace of the word, and if you have had such an experience, it would be good to share with each other how you obeyed the word when it revealed your thoughts and motivations, and what the results were.
Q2 And in 1 John 3:14, it says that we can know that we were passed from death to lift, when we become to love our brothers and sisters. And also, today's scripture says that this love becomes possible when our hearts are cleansed, and it enables us to truly love one another. Thus, the word not only makes us pure but also enables us to obey the Lord's commandment to love one another. In other words, holiness and love are connected to each other. If you have experienced how the holiness and love in your life was connected to each other, it would be great to share your thoughts and experiences with each other for grace.
Love you. Thank you. God bless you.
Prayer Note
( ) God ( ) !
Thanks for ( )
Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!
Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( ),
please forgive (heal) me and help me not to ( ).
I learned that ( )
Please help me (or someone) to ( )
I pray in ( ) Jesus’ name. Amen.
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