All Articles For I Peter

The passage of Scripture which we will consider in this essay reads as follows: “Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In our former article on I Peter 1:13 we noticed that the Apostle exhorts the pilgrim strangers unto hoping perfectly for the grace to be brought unto us in the revelation of Jesus Christ, that is, in the day when Christ shall be revealed fully to be the Son of God in power and glory.

The Word of God from the pen of Peter in these verses reads as follows: “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (living); Because it is written: Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Since it is sometime ago that we called attention to the setting and meaning of this particular portion of holy writ from I Peter, and, no doubt, the exact text is not clearly before our mind any more, I shall write out this particular passage in full. The text reads as follows: “as children of obedi­ence, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust in pour ignorance: but like He Who has called you is holy so be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written: Ye shall be holy for I am holy.”

We continue our exposition of I Peter in this es­say. This time we intend to make a few remarks concerning verse 17 of this Chapter. This passage is very rich in instruction and exhortation and, there­fore, worthy of our believing and prayerful attention. The text in question reads as follows: “And if ye call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear.”

In our former article we called attention to I Peter 1:17. We noticed that our confession and walk must be in perfect harmony. Always it is the order of Confession and walk. These belong together. The moment the former is minim­ized in respect to the latter it is impossible to retain either one of the two. They who play out our walk over against our Confession as an antipole, rather than presenting them as root and fruit, certainly have no Christian walk left.

Repeatedly we have called attention in these series of the apostle that the Church, the believers in Christ Jesus stand in a new Status Quo to Christ, and therefore to all things. Old things are passed away and all things have become new for us.

It was with more than usual pains that we prepared ourselves to write some expository thoughts on this last section of this chapter, the verses 22-25. The reason for this careful study and preparation is due to two reasons. The first is, that in this passage various concepts call for a rather careful analysis and study. It is of the utmost importance to know the meaning of a term before we can say anything positive and constructive about it.

In our former article we were occupied with the grand truth that this Scripture passage from I Peter 1:22-25 is a precept of the gospel to the reborn church of God. We ended by asserting that Peter does not admonish the Church to become what she is not, but rather the Church is admonished to live out in holy fear and trembling what (she has been made to be in Christ. More and more we must love one another fervently from the heart. That is conversion.

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and fill of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: