1 Peter 1:24 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Peter 1:24

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The contrast between the corruptible and the incorruptible is supported with a quotation from Isaiah 40:6-8. Isaiah describes the frailty of man and the transient nature of his life after the fall and God’s curse on the earth, and he contrasts this with the abiding nature of the word of God and the impossibility that it should pass away. Rather than making a comparison between us and God directly, he puts the word of God in the place of God, for it is by his word that we come to know him and obtain life. The word of God is not only in stark contrast to us and to everything about us including what we say, but God’s word is also the means by which we obtain that eternal security and stability which we lack. When we trust it, it imparts divine life to us so that we transcend all natural human corruption. It swallows up mortality and gives to frail fallen human beings life in abundance. Flesh is the Bible’s name not just for the physical part of man but for the whole of the natural man, body and soul. The Bible never speaks of man as only a body, and yet it is the whole of man that is referred to by this term. He is called flesh because although he has an eternal soul, his sin has made him subject to death. He is called by that part of him which is most obviously subject to decay. Isaiah compares man to the most obviously transitory things in this world and things which no one expects to last. The flower of the field and the flower of grass are useful to man only because they can be consumed, or cut down to be used as dead material. If we make an object of beauty out of the flowers of the field, that beauty only lasts a short time and then has to be thrown away. As Calvin says, this corruption is not always so obvious in man since he delights to adorn himself in splendour and to convince himself that he will last forever. Even though he knows it is not true, he finds comfort in the temporary self-deception that he possesses immortality. But until we see ourselves as passing away we are not ready for the grace of God for our pride makes us feel that we are sufficient in ourselves without God. The glory of man cannot last. What is the glory of man and the glory of the flesh? It is all that man can accomplish, all his achievements, his appearance, and his fame and fortune. Man, created by God and given great gifts, can achieve some wonderful things, but they are all ephemeral; they all pass away. ‘Pride of man and earthly glory, sword and crown betray his trust; What with care and toil he buildeth, Tower and temple fall to dust. But God's power, Hour by hour, Is my temple and my tower.’ That is what the German hymn writer wrote, and it’s true. But the word of the Lord endures for ever, for every word that God utters is true for ever. Man cannot produce anything like this and denies the existence of abiding truth at all. But God knows the eternal past as well as the eternal future and he knows all things comprehensively. Nothing can arise to overthrow his word because he has already taken all things into account before speaking. His word is therefore said to abide for ever, to be something more durable and lasting than any created thing.

Application

Implicit in these few verses is a doctrine that we call the perseverance of the saints. It means that if you are truly converted and you are truly saved, an internal seed has been planted in you. New life has been brought into by the Spirit of God. You will be saved and you will never be lost. Many have chosen a new description of this doctrine, and they think it's better. They call it the preservation of the saints. Why is the perseverance of the saints a much better expression of the doctrine of spiritual security? Because it teaches how the saints are preserved: by persevering. How can you tell a true convert? Simply that he is preserved? Yes, he is, by the Lord, but that can be misleading. For a believer merely to be preserved may suggest that he can do as he likes. ‘I'm saved. Once saved, always saved. I can let things slip. I can enjoy a good deal of sinful worldly living. I can live for myself, to a large extent, and for my pride and wealth and earthly enjoyment, because, after all, I cannot be lost.’ No, here is how you tell a saint: when tempted, when drawn aside, when facing hostility or persecution, when facing great discouragement or disappointment, he perseveres in faith. There is a true work of God within him, which gives him determination. The Baptist Confess of Faith of 1689 uses almost rhapsodic language: ‘Though many storms and floods arise and beat against them [believers], yet they shall never be able to take them off that foundation and rock, which by faith they are fastened upon. Notwithstanding, through unbelief and the temptation of Satan, the sensible sight of the light and love of God may for a time be clouded and obscured from them, yet he [God] is still the same, and they shall be sure to be kept by the power of God unto salvation, where they shall enjoy their purchased possession, they being engraved upon the palms of his hands and their names having been written in the book of life from all eternity.’ What a blessing it is to be saved and to be secure, and to be given the longing and the strength to persevere.

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1 Peter 1:24 Commentary and Bible Study