Sharing In God’s Holiness (preaching resource for 4/19/26, Easter 3)
This post exegetes 1Peter 1:13-21, providing context for the Epistles reading on 4/19/26, the 3rd Sunday in the season of Easter. Insights are drawn from commentary by Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") and by David Wheaton ("New Bible Commentary).
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| "Peter Preaching in the Catacombs" by Jan Styka (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
in 1Pet 1:1-12 Peter rejoices in what God reveals in the gospel: we are included in Jesus within the circle of God’s triune love and life where we share God’s glory. And now, in 1Pet 1:13, the connecting word “therefore” begins a new section in which the apostle calls forth our response to this grace, which is to share actively and purposefully in God’s holiness. Let's now read 1Pet 1:13-21:
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
It is unfortunate that God’s holiness is often thought of principally (or only) as God’s moral purity. Certainly God is pure, but his holiness is far more. It is relational, grounded in God’s being—his triune love and life as Father, Son and Spirit. Through adoption, we are included by grace within the inner circle of that relationship—the relationship that constitutes God’s “wholeness.” And now, through Peter, God exhorts us to share actively in that relationship: “Be holy for I am holy” (v16b), Of course, it is not easy to live a life of relational oneness with God, with people, and with all of God’s good creation. In this world, relationships are often fragmented and even utterly destroyed. Peter knows this, and so he offers five truths about God himself that serve as five motivations for us to both embrace and express God’s holiness.
1. Motivated by God’s hope
1Peter 1:13
Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though we live in the now, we share with God a vision of hope that looks to a future glory when Jesus will be fully revealed. Thus our present actions and decisions are not focused on present, short-term gratification and self-centeredness. Rather they are governed by a powerful, hope-filled expectation. Peter exhorts us to align our minds with this hope-filled expectation by doing three things:
a. Have a disciplined mind
“Prepare your minds for action.” Peter may well have in mind here the Passover Seder—later in this section he identifies Jesus as the Lamb (1Pet 1:19). In the traditional Passover meal, Jews remember how they ate the original Passover in Egypt in haste, ready to move (Ex 12:11). The point is that outlook determines outcome. When we look ahead with a focused mind to the full glory that awaits us, we are motivated to live in that glory even now. Abraham is a good example and Lot is a negative one (Gen 12–13; Heb 11:8–16). Abraham looked forward in faith to a future, heavenly city, so he was not fixated on the world’s real estate. But Lot, who had tasted the pleasures of Egypt, gradually moved toward the sin of Sodom. Abraham’s approach brought blessing to his home, but Lot’s brought disaster. Their outlooks indeed determined their outcomes. Of course, the outlook we are to share with a disciplined mind is the very mind of Christ himself in which we share through the Spirit.
b. Have a self-controlled mind
“Be self-controlled.” Some Christians loose control and are “carried away,” losing their spiritual balance. One area where this happens is an unbalanced view of Jesus’ return and of end-time events. Some succumb to end-time hype including “prediction addiction.” This is unfortunate because it takes what is intended encourage and engender calmness in the face of difficulty (1Pet 4:7)—and turns it into a source of division and agitation. This should not be.
c. Have a hope-filled mind
“Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Our union with Christ by the Holy Spirit gives us reason to be filled with hope and optimism. To be sure, we will experience this grace to the full only when we are glorified at Jesus’ return. But we experience it in measure today as we look forward to Christ’s return—a hope that strengthens our faith in difficult days, imparting to us more and more of God’s grace.
2. Motivated by God’s holiness
1Peter 1:14–15
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do…
Peter’s point is logical and simple: Children inherit the nature of their parents. And as God’s adopted children by grace, we are given to “participate in the divine nature” (2Pet 1:4). It is to active participation in this nature that we are called. Peter frequently uses the word “called.” We are called to be holy (1Pet 1:15). We are called “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1Pet 2:9). We are called to suffer and follow Christ’s example of meekness (1Pet 2:21). In the midst of persecution, we are called to “inherit a blessing” (1Pet 3:9). Best of all, we are called to “his eternal glory” (1Pet 5:10). It is God who calls us to all this—and it is all of grace—his lavish gift. And note here that this call is what establishes our identity. “Now, because you share this calling,” says Peter, “be who you are!”
The holiness we share with God is not merely good (holy) behavior. We should view it as a state of being rooted in God’s owns triune relationships into which we have been included through the grace of adoption. God’s holiness is about his love; and that love is ours through the indwelling Spirit. And Peter exhorts us to live in that love, “in all you do.” There is no separation here of our lives into “secular” and “sacred” compartments. All of life before God is holy. Even seemingly ordinary activities such as eating, drinking, working and playing express God’s love and life through us and in us. So Peter says to us, “in all you do, share God’s love and life—share his holiness.”
3. Motivated by God’s word
1Peter 1:16
…for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
“It is written” is a direct reference to Scripture which bears great authority in a believer’s thinking. Jesus used Scripture to defeat Satan, and so may we (Matt 4:1–11; see Eph 6:17). But Scripture is not only a sword for battle, it is also a light that guides us in the darkness of this world (Ps 119:105; 2Pet 1:19), food that nourishes us (Matt 4:4; 1Pet 2:2), and water that cleanses us (Eph 5:25–27).
Peter’s reference here is to Leviticus, “I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy…” (Lev 11:44). The Old Testament tells us much about God’s character and work, and we see in its pages gospel truths pictured in types and symbols that are then “unpacked” in the New Testament through the full revelation of Jesus who is God’s Living Word. And so we approach Scripture looking for Jesus, asking, “What does this passage of Scripture tell us about Jesus and our life in him?” God then uses the written word to lead us to Jesus who is the truth (John 7:17). And so we do not study the Bible just to get to know the Bible. We study it to get to know Jesus and his Father through the Spirit. It is this triune relationship that is the essence of God’s holiness.
4. Motivated by God’s judgment
1Peter 1:17
Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
We know God to be the loving, merciful and forgiving father of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. It was our loving Heavenly Father who so loved us (the whole world!) that he sent his one and only Son to save us (John 3:16). And because he loves us so much, he warns us away from the destruction of sin, urging us to live life as “strangers” who understand that their primary home and allegiance is in heaven and that their temporary life on earth is to be lived in a healthy “reverent fear.”
What is the judgment that Peter refers to here? It is apparently the judging of a believer’s works—Peter here reminding us that the outworking of our salvation produces good works (see Paul’s similar admonitions in Titus 1:16; 2:7, 12). When Jesus returns, and is seated on his “judgment seat” (Rom 14:10–12; 2Cor 5:9–10), he will judge and reward those works done in and through his Spirit. There is no fear of punishment in this judgment—it is a “family judgment,” in which our Heavenly Father, through Jesus our Savior and Judge, lavishly rewards his beloved children. The Greek word translated judges carries the meaning “to judge in order to find something good.” God will search into the motives for our ministry in his service; he will examine our hearts. But he assures us that his purpose is to glorify himself in our lives and ministries: “At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1Cor 4:5). What hope! And what encouragement to share in God’s holiness right now!
Of course, like any good father, our Heavenly Father does not pamper or indulge us. He is impartial (no respecter of persons) in judgment; for “God does not show favoritism” (Rom 2:11). In love he chastens his dear children when they need it (Heb 12:1–13). And when we obey and serve him as we share in his love, he notes that and prepares the proper rewards which primarily come in the future in glory.
Note that Peter reminds us that we are “strangers” or “sojourners” as we live life on this side of full glory. It’s too short to waste in disobedience and sin (see 1Peter 4:1–6). We remember that when Lot stopped being a sojourner, and became a resident in Sodom, he lost his consecration and testimony. Everything he lived for went up in smoke! And so we cultivate in our relationship with God an attitude of “reverent fear.” Please note that this is not the cringing fear of a slave before a master, but the loving reverence and trusting awe of a child before his father. It is not fear of judgment (1John 4:18), but fear of disappointing God by sinning against his triune love and grace. “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2Cor 7:1).
5. Motivated by God’s redeeming love
1Peter 1:18–21
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Here Peter gives us the highest and principal motive for sharing in God’s holiness, namely the love of God which is expressed in the greatest and costliest gift of all—our redemption through Jesus. God freed us from slavery to sin and death by sending his Son Jesus who added our humanity to his divinity and then shed his precious blood as the price to purchase us out of slavery. Jesus has set us free! And the gift was very costly for Jesus.
Peter personally witnessed Jesus’ sufferings (1Pet 5:1) and often mentions his sacrificial death in this letter (1Pet 2:21ff; 3:18; 4:1, 13; 5:1). In calling Christ “a Lamb,” Peter is reminding us of a teaching foreshadowed in the Old Testament, namely that of substitutionary sacrifice: an innocent victim standing in for the guilty. Jesus is our substitute. As the “vicarious” human, he stands in for all humanity. In Jesus, all people are adopted into God’s life and there redeemed—all are the recipients of God’s redeeming love. And now Peter exhorts all people to see, to receive, and to live into that love—to share in the holy (whole, complete and perfect) humanity of the God-man Jesus, who is our redeemer.
Peter makes it clear that Jesus’ coming as our redeemer was a divine appointment from the very beginning—it was not an afterthought (see Acts 2:23). From the human perspective, Jesus was cruelly murdered; but from the divine perspective, he laid down his life willingly and purposefully for all humanity (John 10:17–18). But he was also raised from the dead! He lives and we live in him!
As we meditate on what Jesus has done for us we are deeply moved. His redeeming love bears great meaning for us. First, it means we are free. Free from the bondage into which humankind descended in Adam. This idea of being redeemed was to the original audience of this letter a very powerful thought. Some 60 million people in the Roman Empire were slaves. And many slaves became Christians. A Roman slave could purchase their own freedom if they had sufficient money; or their master could pay the price and set them free. Jesus, our Creator and Master, paid the price for all of us to be set free—to be redeemed. What love!
His redeeming love also means that we have deliverance from an empty way of life. Peter calls it “the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers” (v18), and he describes that way of life more specifically in 1 Pet 4:1–4. Peter is exhorting us to live fully the meaningful, joyous, love-filled life that we share, by grace, with God as his redeemed children.
Conclusion
Let us not be satisfied with anything less than a full and vibrant sharing in God’s “wholeness”—his triune holiness. And let us receive from the apostle Peter, through the Spirit’s anointing, these motivations to that active participation. Let us be motivated—moved—by God’s hope, God’s holiness, his word, his judgment and, above all, God’s redeeming love showered on us in Christ from eternity past.