MONDAY
In our current campaign we are going through the book of 1 Peter and unpacking his theme of becoming a resilient Christian. The first week we discovered that the Christian life is one of an elect exile in covenant relationship with God. Last week we found that because God has caused us to be born again into hope and an inheritance and he is preserving our salvation, we can rejoice even in trials. In this current section, all the way through 2:12, Peter’s primary point is to link the Christians he is writing to with the people of God in the Old Testament.
This week we are going to cover 1:13-2:3. There are five main verbs in this section that divide up the text nicely for our five days of the week. So each day we are just going to take one section at a time.
1 Peter 1:13 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The therefore here, is linking what he is about to say to everything Peter has said in 1:3-12. In our text for these weeks, he is going to get into some practical application of how Christians are to live. Yet, before we move too quickly to the application we must not forget the theology that it is built on. As pastor and New Testament scholar Edmund Clowney wrote in his commentary on 1 Peter, “The imperatives of the Christian life always begin with ‘therefore.’” God has caused his people to be born again into a living hope and an inheritance. He is preserving his people for a salvation ready to be revealed at the return of Jesus. Because of this Christians should live a certain way.
The first way Christians should live is to “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The Christian hope is to be set on the grace of God at the return of Christ, when our inheritance will be received in full. This is the new creation.
This hope is not a “wish” or a “blind hope against all odds” as we tend to use the term today. It is a confident assurance of that which we long for. This assurance is rooted in the resurrection of Christ from the dead (living hope from last week). So our hope is on solid ground.
Our hope is to be fully on the grace to be revealed in Christ. Not partially. Fully! This means our hope isn’t to be partially in Christ and partially in our political system or political party. It isn’t to be partially in Christ and our wealth. It isn’t to be partially in Christ and our abilities to adapt and succeed. It is to be fully in Christ and nothing or no one else. Christ alone is where our hope is to placed.
We are to do this by preparing our minds for action by being sober-minded. This is my favorite example of why we need good English translations of the Bible. The Greek here is an idiom that literally read, “gird up the loins of your mind.” Didn’t expect to see loins in your Bible study this morning, did you? In this day, the men would wear a long toga as an outer garment. Not great for moving with haste. So, before running, one would tie up their garment around their thighs to free up their legs. The modern equivalent would be, “roll up your sleeves.”
We prepare our minds for action by being “sober-minded.” He doesn’t only mean “free from alcohol,” although that is likely the figurative illustration. He means showing restraint, moderation, avoiding excess in passion. He wants his audience to think with clarity and show self-control.
Additional Content
1 Peter 1:13-2:3 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Reflection
A resilient Christianity has her hope solely in Jesus. Reflect on the other areas of your life where you tend to place your hope: your family, your job, your wisdom and abilities, your political party, your financial investments, etc. Reflect on the angst you experience when those hopes fail you. Resolve today to put your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the return of Jesus. This will free up from the attachments to the things of this world and allow you to live more fully for the Kingdom of God.