The Preparation
The Ambassador's Handbook • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 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; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
Last week we finished looking at three big reasons we should rejoice in our salvation and appreciate what has been handed down to us. We saw how the things we have now, prophets and angels desired to be part of, so we should not treat them lightly. We then saw what this knowledge should lead us to—a preparation for action. This week continues from that command and instructs what kind of action we should be preparing for.
ii. Having obtained a new birth, Christians must purge old sins. (1:14, Galatians 3:26, Colossians 3:20, Ephesians 2:10; John 8:29, Philippians 2:5–8; Ephesians 2:2, 5:6, Colossians 3:6; 1 Peter 4:1–5, Romans 12:1–2, Colossians 3:5–8, Ephesians 4:17–24)
Peter uses a new title for his audience here: “obedient children.” This is, of course, not a term insulting their maturity or intelligence, but a reminder that they are part of the family of God.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
And what are children supposed to do?
Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
They are to be obedient like a child is obedient to his father; that is, totally. Being a child of God comes with awesome benefits, but it is not a position free of demands. We were not saved to be freed from sin and become our own masters; rather, we were saved to become obedient children and servants of God.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
You might think of this as a burden. Humans in general don’t like serving people. Even if we are doing something someone else wants, we like to think that it is us doing it and being our own masters. Doing it because someone told you to gets at something in our base instincts that rears up in rebellion.
However, as the children of God, we must be obedient. We must submit. First and foremost because Jesus, who had all authority to follow His own will, submitted to the Father.
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The title of “obedient children” should not be a burden, because it separates us from the unsaved—the “children of disobedience.”
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Whereas sinful disobedience characterizes the unsaved, productive obedience should characterize the Christian. It is our duty.
But what should we obey? What is it that we are supposed to do?
To put it simply, we must forsake sin. Obedient children who have received a precious inheritance have no business messing with the darkness that they were called from.
“Fashioning” is the same word used in Rom 12:2 for “be not conformed to this world.” It means “to fashion or shape one thing like another,” like sculpting clay.
This particular word is highlighting how the spirit of a Christian is quickened at salvation, making alive those who were dead in trespasses and sins. Our sinful nature has been crucified with Christ and no longer has power to rule over us. The outward man has been stripped of the kingship over our bodies, and the inward man has been empowered by the Holy Spirit to resist sin and serve a new king—our Father.
But there’s just one problem. Our desire to sin is still with us. The outward man was deposed, but he still lurks at the borders of the kingdom, trying to raise and army to march back and claim his former position. And too often, we just let him. The only power sin has is the power we give it, and we give it far too much power.
That’s what the word “fashioning” here is referring to, I believe. Our soul and spirit—the real “us”—has been regenerated with a desire to be obedient, and nothing can change that. Nothing can take it away. But our body—the external, transient part of us—can still be shaped toward sinful actions. These things are completely contrary to our new nature, but because our bodies are not yet redeemed, we can still do them.
Peter is saying that, because your inner man is redeemed, should not we use our bodies in a way that reflects this? As Paul says in Romans 6:2, “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Before we know God, “in your ignorance,” we did these things. But now, as obedient children of God, we must forsake our former lusts.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
For a more thorough dealing with this topic, read Romans chapters 6-8. I won’t get into it now because this is not a study of Romans, but they really dig into the relationship between a saved Christian and sin.
iii. God’s perfect holiness demands holiness in His children. (1:15–16, Isaiah 6:1–5, Psalm 99:9, Mark 1:24, Revelation 4:8; 2 Corinthians 6:17–7:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:3–7, Titus 2:11–14, 3:8, 1 Peter 2:11–12, 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9–14; Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:1–2, 20:7, Amos 3:3)
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Holiness, Holy, Holily
fundamentally signifies “separated” (among the Greeks, dedicated to the gods), and hence, in Scripture in its moral and spiritual significance, separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God, sacred.
The way he words this is very interesting, because it shows how sin is the complete opposite to God. Holiness can mean free of sin or separated to God, but really, these things are the same. To be separated to God is to be separated from sin.
God is not just holy in that He has no sin. Sin is the inverse of His entire nature. Sin is to God what the sun is to night. Sin is to God what being wet is to being dry. Both cannot be together without one destroying the other. The reason God commands us to separate from sin is because it cannot be in His presence. If we are embracing sin, we cannot be filled with His power.
Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at his holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.
Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
We really cannot comprehend how holy God is, but these passages give us a little hint. And the incredible thing is, that is the standard of holiness we are called to. It’s impossible in our own strength. And even with the Holy Spirit’s help, it is impossible as long as we are in this body. But as I mentioned last week, it is our role model to aim for. When God’s holiness is our aim, we will always have something to aspire toward.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
You see how clearly we are called to be holy. So often we try to find a puddle of sin that we think is close enough to God where we don’t have to feel bad about splashing in it. But getting wet at all means you’re not dry anymore. Sinning at all means we are not holy. We will not be free from sin until God redeems our bodies, but we can start killing sin now in anticipation of that day. If our hope is to be free from sin, why wouldn’t we want to get the process rolling now?
Christians are already holy unto God by consecration; they must be so also in their outward walk and behavior in all respects. The outward must correspond to the inward man.
The next verse gives another reason we should be holy: because it is written. This is a quote from two different passages in Leviticus.
For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
This goes back to our status as obedient children. A father and child cannot have close fellowship if they have radically different values.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
It is only natural for a child to imitate his parents, and as children of God, we are called to imitate our Father.
2. The Price (1:17–21)
i. God’s status as Father and Judge leads Christians to a reverential fear. (1:17, Matthew 6:9, 7:7–10; 2 Chronicles 19:6–7, Acts 10:34–35, Romans 2:11–16; Proverbs 14:16, 28:14, Hebrews 12:28–29, Acts 5:1–5)
This thought flows directly our of the previous verse. Let’s look at it piece by piece and then draw conclusions.
“If ye call” means “since ye call.” It’s like the phrase “if need be” that we saw earlier. It’s just a figure of speech used to establish how one thing logically follows from another.
“Call” means “appeal.” It really speaks of a plea for help, where someone is appealing to God for aid in something they are engaged in. It makes sense that these suffering Christians in Asia Minor would have been calling out and appealing to God to help them in these trials.
“On the Father” just reminds us of that parent-child relationship we have through Christ. We are the children of God, and that means we have a duty to our Father. But God is our Father, and that means He has placed upon Himself a duty to us. This is why we can call on Him.
God judges without bias, for He only takes into account only their actions and not their person. He does not play favorites or just turn a blind eye to the sin of some people whom He likes more.
And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
“Pass the time of your sojourning here” speaks of the way we use that duration of life in which we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This connects with v. 1, continuing the identity of Peter’s audience as not belonging in the world they live in. We do not live in this world; we, like Abraham, are only sojourners on the way to a promised land.
“Fear” in this context means:
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Fear, Fearful, Fearfulness
“reverential fear,” (1) of God, as a controlling motive of the life, in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere “fear” of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him, a “fear” which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence, Rom. 8:15, and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the indwelling Spirit of God,
Pulling it all together, this is what he is saying: “Your Father, to whom you appeal for help, is also the Judge of the world. He will help you, but He will not tolerate sin in anyone, so have a reverential fear of breaking His law.”
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 1:17–19
“Reverent fear” is evidenced by a tender conscience, a watchfulness against temptation, and avoiding things that would displease God.
This flows right out of the previous thoughts. We are God’s children; we are to be like our Father; our Father is perfectly holy and hates sin in our lives.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 1:17–19
Their right to call God Father leads to their obeying Him in reverent fear. So they are to live according to His absolute standards, as strangers (cf. “aliens” in 2:11) to the world’s shifting, situational ethics.
I want to stress the united duality here in our relationship with God. He is our tender Father who helps us when we call out, yes. That is absolutely true. We can rejoice and take heart that our Father knows all the hairs of our heads and values us far more than the sparrows He watches over. There is no condemnation through the sacrifice of His son.
But also, He is the fearsome judge who will execute justice on all evildoers. As I said, He abhors sin because it is His complete opposite. If sin is finding acceptance in our lives, we should have some fear of how He might chastise us. We should fear offending His holiness and brushing off His redemptive love.
A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: But the fool rageth, and is confident.
Happy is the man that feareth alway: But he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.
This account in Acts is far from the norm, but we see what happens here to two presumably born again people who harbored sin in their lives.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
We shouldn’t be in fear of God suddenly striking us dead. This was for a specific time to prevent sin from sabotaging the early church, and if God were still striking Christians dead for sin, none of us would be here. Yet it illustrations the attitude and power of God and should lead us to hate anything that would offend Him.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Chapter 1)
The believer fears God, and so has none else to fear. Not to fear God is the greatest baseness and folly.
This lessons has really just been about one thing. But it is a thing we need to hear. Sin clings to us like that one piece of tape you can’t get off your fingers. But because our spirits are quickened to be the children of a holy God, we must fight to rid ourselves of it. We should not treat sin casually, but rather like an invading army that wants to overrun our borders—because that’s what it is.
Let us remember that we are forgiven and no longer condemned, and draw encouragement from that. But let us also fear God and hate sin as we wait for the redemption of our bodies and strive to be more like Christ.
