- As you pray for your study today, ask God to use His Word in your life as the writer of Hebrews prayed in Hebrews 13:20-21: “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
- Read 1 Peter 1:13-16
- 1 Peter 1:13 contains a colorful description of the Christian mind. First, the Christian is to be “preparing your minds for action.” A more literal rendering of the original Greek words that lie behind our English translation, says “gird up the loins of your mind.” In the first century, a person might wear a long tunic that hung down past their knees. A person would wear this tunic down until it was time for work or war. At that point, they would “gird up” their tunic and tuck it into their belt so they could work or fight without being tripped up or encumbered by their robes. This was a common expression for someone’s clothing. What do you think Peter meant here when he encourages Christians to gird up their minds?
- 1:13 seems to be a clear call to action for the Christian to be vigilant with their thought life. Are there thoughts that consistently trip you up and prevent you from having hope and/or being obedient to Christ in this life?
- Additionally, Christians are called to be sober-minded in 1:13. This is the opposite of being drunk, where someone loses control of their thoughts. To be sober-minded, means to remain self-control and focused on the things of God. Specifically, Christians are to maintain focus on the hope found in the revelation (or second coming) of Jesus Christ. In what way would having a future hope in Christ help you to maintain focus and commitment towards obedience to Christ?
- 1:14 calls Christians obedient children (not ignorant conformers). The idea is that we are born again (as we saw last week) in Christ, and have a new identity tied to a Heavenly Father who has a new future. Since we have all this, we should live a life marked by our new family resemblance, not marked by the old patterns of the world. What are some areas of your life you are tempted to live life contrary to God’s best for you, despite your new identity in Christ?
- Throughout this passage, God is described as “holy” and we are challenged to be “holy.” What do you think this word means?
- The call to be holy is a call to obedience in practice, not just orthodoxy implanted in our brains — to live out, not just to know in. Reflecting further on this Warren Wiersbe says, “We do not study the Bible just to get to know the Bible. We study the Bible that we might get to know God better. Too many earnest Bible students are content with outlines and explanations, and do not really get to know God. It is good to know the Word of God, but this should help us better know the God of the Word.” Getting to know the “God of the Word” as Wiersbe indicates, will let us know that God is holy, therefore, following Him leads us into holy living. When you read the word of God, do you typically read it to get to know God, or to impress God (and others) with what you know?
- How does knowing God challenge you to make changes in your life today?
To link to the entire “True Grace” Study of 1 Peter for download, click here.