1 Peter 1:14 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Peter 1:14

Comments

Of course, faith and reflection not only lift us up and give rise to rejoicing and great assurance, they also bring about holiness. ‘As obedient children’ – there is more in that than meets the eye. Faith makes us obedient. The more we appreciate and see the Lord and what he has done in our lives, the more we are moved to obey him. If I sin easily as a Christian, it is because Christ at that moment is not real to me. It is, of course, because of my own sinful heart, but if Christ were real to me I wouldn’t be able to offend him; I would instead want to please him. Because he has ceased to be real to me, because I haven’t reflected on his presence in my life, seen him in the word of God, reflected on his answers to prayer; because of all this, his reality has faded and it is easier for me to offend him, because it is as though he is not there. So you see, faith also promotes holiness – the realisation that Christ is with us.In saying this, Peter surely has this in mind the fact that we are adopted children and that makes a difference. I am a child of God – yes, but I am not naturally a child of God. Naturally, I am a child of the devil, a child of condemnation and of wrath, but I have been adopted by God’s mercy through conversion to become a child of God and a child of Christ, and therefore how much more I should appreciate my privilege. I have been taken out of a family of doom and I have been adopted, therefore all the more I should be an appreciative and an obedient child. He describes our pre-conversion life as the time of our ignorance. What exactly were we ignorant of? We were ignorant of the living God and his glory, of the incarnate Son of God and the salvation that he has brought into the world; we were ignorant of the meaning and purpose of life and of righteousness and holiness. We did not understand the deceitfulness of sin and its power over us; we foolishly thought that we could earn the favour of God, and that it was possible to please him. Peter does not mean, says Calvin, that our only problem was lack of knowledge as if the remedy of this alone would have brought life, or as if our conscience was totally inactive. The terrible truth about us is that in spite of what we knew, we still pressed ahead with our lusts and were determined to have them whatever the consequences. We were not just ignorant, but we were wilfully ignorant.

Application

The Greek word translated ‘fashioning’ is very interesting and it could equally be taken to mean, ‘not permitting yourself to be moulded according to the former lusts.’ That pattern of life had become our habit, but the habit was broken at conversion and a new principle was put within us. You have been saved; if you realise you are children, you won’t allow yourself to drift back to the ways of the world, to the clothing of the world, sometimes sexually dangerous clothing, to the expensive, fashionable, showing-off clothing of the world, to the mannerisms and the shallow, contrived, affected ways of the world in your behaviour, to the things that the world does and its entertainments. You won’t allow yourself to slip back into all that.

It's a very good thing to see obedience in children, to see a young family where the children are willingly and happily obedient to their parents. Not all children are. There were those that have very strong personalities, independent ideas, and are strong minded, and it’s more difficult for their parents to secure obedience. Maybe it's a sign of future strengths, but there are young rebels. But it is, all agree, something of particular beauty to see respectful and obedient children. This is what we are called to be. The illustration is set before us: an obedient family. We seek to make ourselves always submissive to the will of God as revealed in his word, open to him, compliant before him, ready to hear every challenge and exhortation. Day by day even, we check out the things we plan and the things we do, not allowing ourselves to be conformed to the world, so as to fit in. This is the opposite of what is often taught today. People are told, ‘Conform culturally; respect the culture; do what they do to reduce the gap between you and the worldling. Be ready to engage in conversation about worldly things. Go to the same places, the same entertainments. Merge with the culture in order to be relevant and significant. But it's the exact opposite of these solemn words: ‘not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.’ What were your former lusts before conversion? Do you watch for them and their rising influence? Do you hate them? Do you pray for power to reject them, and turn yourself to better things?

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1 Peter 1:14 Commentary and Bible Study