Sermon Notes

1 13 Therefore prepare your minds for action;[e] discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges impartially according to each person’s work, live in fear during the time of your exile. 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile conduct inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.20 He was destined before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your trust and hope are in God. 22 Now that you have purified your souls[f] by your obedience to the truth[g] so that you have genuine mutual affection, love one another deeply from the heart.[h] 23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.[i] 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 endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you.
(New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
1 13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” 17 You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. 18-21 Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. 22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. (The Message, MSG)

First Peter is classified as a “general” epistle—one of those non-occasional letters which were written to general audiences, not specific churches, within early Christianity (Hebrews, James, 1, 2, 3 John, 1 & 2 Peter). The letter derives its name from the epistolary address given in 1 Peter 1:1 where the writer identifies himself as, “Peter, an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds” (MSG), or “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (NRSVue). The term “general” or “catholic” epistles comes from the original Greek words, “kath’ holikos,” which translate as “general” or “universal.” Scholars from Alexandria in North Africa used this term to refer to 1 Peter and 1 John in the 1st century CE. Then Church historian Eusebius referred to James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude as general epistles in the 4th Century CE, although churches had differing opinions on whether they accepted or disputed their apostolic authorship.
While tradition commonly asserted the apostle Simon—whom Jesus nick-named Peter—was the author of this epistle, most biblical scholars believe the epistle was pseudonymously written in Peter’s name, after Peter’s death in 62-64 CE, by a fellow believer who assumed Peter’s apostolic authority to speak to a new generation in the late 1st Century CE. One of the primary reasons scholars doubt Petrine authorship is 1 Peter is written in a form of the Greek language that the apostle would not have spoken as a rural Galilean fisherman whose native tongue was Aramaic. Even scholars who attribute the letter to the apostle Peter assert he would have had a secretary who actually penned this work. Further, the author quotes the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from the Greek Septuagint version, not Hebrew, which a Palestinian Jew would have done. Also, the author uses the Greek version of his name, “Peter” instead of the Aramaic “Cephas.” Even when the apostle Paul wrote to Gentiles concerning Peter, he always called him “Cephas.” This evidence collectively supports the conclusion that any authorial attribution to the apostle Simon Peter is honorific.
In exploring the geographical and historical contexts of 1 Peter, the exiles to whom the author writes are scattered to churches in seven different communities of Asia Minor (contemporary Turkey) during the latter part of the 1st Century CE. By referring to the churches as exiles, or people who have been “scattered,” Peter makes the theological distinction that early Christians are similar to the people of ancient Israel and Judah who were exiled to Assyria and Babylon in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. While many of these Christians were not Jewish by birth, Peter asserts they are like ancient Israelites and Judahites because these Asia Minor Christians are experiencing widespread opposition and persecution from the dominant Greco-Roman society like their spiritual forebearers experienced under Assyrian, Babylonian, and Medo-Persian rule. For Peter, the promises that God gave to ancient Israel and Judah in the Hebrew Scriptures have been transferred to the early Christians of the 1st century CE.
With regards to theological contexts, 1 Peter has several themes that reoccur throughout the epistle and form a basis for teaching. (1) God is referred to as Creator, the only place in the New Testament to do so. (2) The author writes to encourage Christians who are enduring unjust suffering and times of great distress under Roman imperial rule. Their suffering further strengthens their relationship with Jesus Christ who also suffered and died by crucifixion at the hands of Roman imperial aggression. (3) Because Christians are exiles, they are encouraged to live morally righteous land upright lives that do not draw unnecessary or unwelcome scrutiny in a land that is neither hospitable nor just. Navigating their lives as “resident aliens” requires them to negotiate their precarious status through a carefully crafted mixture of respectability and non-violent resistance. (4) Christians are to be holy, living their living as a sanctified, set-apart people who have been chosen by a holy God to reflect Divine holiness.
In the verses immediately preceding the lesson text (1:1-12), Peter says that these Asia Minor Christians have been born into a new life because Jesus was resurrected. Because they have made a conscious decision to affirm Jesus as Lord, they have an invaluable spiritual inheritance. Any suffering they endure will only refine their faith and character because God is yet with them, and the power of Jesus’ resurrection provides them with every tool they need to defeat evil. According to the author, even the prophets spoke of the suffering of Christ and glorification that follows unjust suffering. Interpreting the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament with an eye toward their contemporary circumstances the writer of 1 Peter sees Christ in every prophetic word of the prophets, regardless of their original intent.

13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
In the opening verses of the lesson, Peter challenges the Christians of Asia Minor to lean into their lives of faith, embracing the call and challenge to holiness. Verse 13 begins with the adverb, therefore, which modifies the verbs in verse 2: chosen, destined, sanctified, sprinkled (NRSVue). In the MSG, translation, “so” of verse 13 modifies the fact that “not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus.” is the modifier of God having his eye on us.” Peter says, therefore since you have been chosen by God, kept by God, set-apart by God, and been saved because of the broke body and shed blood of Jesus, then you need to lean into the life God has called you to—holiness.
The writer says they must: (1) Roll up their sleeves. The Christian life is not a spectator sport. We must have the mindset of working—doing the work that God says must be done, not the “busywork” that we want to do. We have to be prepared to get dirty and put in the effort to become the people and Christians that God is calling us to be. (2) Get their heads in the game, meaning they need to get their minds right so they can then be ready to actively work to live out this Christian faith. We have to discipline our minds—banishing doubt, fear, and reservations—so we can do what God calls us to do without hesitation. (3) Be ready for Christ’s imminent return. Our ultimate desire must be to further flesh out the kingdom of God that Jesus inaugurated and will fully actualize upon his arrival.
Christians are to be obedient to God as we are shaped by Divine intentions, purposes, and character. We are to be holy because God is holy. Holiness is the act of being separate and apart from the world because God is separate and apart. While all of creation bears a relationship to God, because of Israel/Judah’s special covenant relationship with God, they were called to become the physical manifestation of their invisible God.
In Deuteronomy 7:6, Moses tells the people, “You are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” In the Torah (specifically Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy), the statues that God commanded clearly outlined that Israel’s holiness would stem from them maintaining their separateness from other nations—not in proximity, but in lifestyle, commitment and character. In the Holiness Code (Leviticus 18 – 20) the holiness that Israel is called to live out is summarized as separation from the other peoples of the dominant culture. In Leviticus 20:22-26, Moses explains God’s requirement for holy living:
22“You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out. 23 You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.’ 25 You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.
Further, Israel’s holiness is not solely expressed in separation of thought, culture and body. Israel is called to be separate from the wider culture by their love. Leviticus 19:17-18 says Israel should, “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (NRSVue).
Leviticus 19:33-37 further outlines how holiness expresses itself in love towards resident aliens and neighbors.
“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. You shall not cheat in measuring length, weight, or quantity. You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and observe them: I am the Lord.”
Simply stated, holiness is not only a list of things that people should not do—such as not drinking, not smoking, not cussing, or not gambling. Holiness is living in our lives in a manner that reveals the love of God towards all people.
17 You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. 18-21 Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. 22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers wilt,
God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
In verses 17- 21, Peter underscores how God, as a good parent, will not allow Christians to get away with living our lives any way that we choose. God demands that we are accountable for our actions and our witness. However, the fact that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus means God does not judge us singularly according to our actions. God always views us through the sacrifice and redeeming sacrifice of Jesus. As another of those recurring themes, 1 Peter continually emphasizes how Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection is the singular redemptive act that produces our salvation.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have hope that helps us to endure difficult times and suffering. We have a future, because Jesus’ blood bought that future for us. However, that future hope requires our obedience to the love ethic of God as expressed in Jesus Christ. In verses 22-25, the author issues one central command—to love each other. This love should fervently flow from our hearts as a result of the love that Jesus showed us on Calvary. Our rebirth into the body of Christ should result in mutual love for each other.
This holy life that God calls us to live does not isolate. Christian holiness in separateness and love, builds a community of mutual love and support, setting us apart as people who are radically different from the world. The world seeks to divide people according to white or black, rich or poor, educated or non-educated, male or female, republican or democrat, straight or gay, and on and on. However, God’s love does not do that. God’s love engenders a community—literally an ekklesia—of brotherly and sisterly love. This love that does not take advantage of each other, seeks to bring life to all people, does not focus on individualism or self-aggrandizement. This love ensures that we are in this Christian work, this Christian life, this Christian walk, together. The love God requires of us, for which we are to strive, is a lasting love which never fails.
The final verse of the lesson restates a prophecy from Isaiah 40:6-8 which the writer of 1 Peter utilizes to remind Christians that worldly things—possessions, money, and worldly commendations or titles—will all pass away, but God’s word will stand the test of time. God’s Word is reliable! The gospel which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life,” will not pass way. The question that Contemporary Christians must ask ourselves is: is are we willing to live holy lives that allow others to see God’s love in us? This is what it means to truly live holy lives.

i. Neil Elliott, “Introduction to Hebrews, the General Letters, and Revelation in Gale A. Yee’s Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Two Volume Set (Kindle Edition), 3296.