1 Peter 1:13-16 meaning

Peter begins this section with Therefore, pointing back to the foundational truth just revealed in the previous verses (1 Peter 6-12). The previous section might be summed up this way: living in faithful obedience to Christ while suffering on earth will save you from living a wasted life and make it count for eternity.

Based on this truth, Peter makes three applications. The first application is to prepare your minds for action (v. 13).

The idea behind the original Greek words translated prepare and action is “to gird up your loins.” This is when those in the ancient world tucked their robe into their belt. This would help get them ready to work, to take vigorous action as they tucked the bottom of their robe under the rope around their waist.

This picture is applied to girding up the loins of your minds. This means to be mentally prepared to take the vigorous action needed to endure suffering. This would include thinking about the concept of suffering before glory. The inference is that it takes work, effort, to choose a perspective that suffering for Christ leads to great benefit. The admonition is for believers to be intentional in seeking to choose a perspective that is true.

There are three things humans control in this life: the actions we take, who we trust, and the perspective we choose. As we can see in this passage, the perspective we choose is intertwined with the actions we take. Peter here exhorts intentionality. He exhorts his disciples to expend effort to choose a perspective that is true, which will lead them to take actions that are beneficial to themselves, rather than harmful. We know that following sin, the world, our flesh leads to destruction and loss (Romans 1:24, 26, 28, 6:23, Galatians 6:8-9).

The second application of prepare your minds for action is to keep sober in spirit (v. 13).

These words are the translation from one Greek word “nephontes” meaning to be free from various kinds of mental distractions, to be clear-headed and alert. Suffering unjustly for the cause of Christ would naturally bring on many possible types of mental distractions. This could include worrying about the consequence of sufferings on earth. It could include anguish from enduring rejection or criticism.

To be sober in spirit is to focus on what is true. One thing that is true is that we cannot control the future with anxiety. We cannot control the actions of others with bitterness or anger. What we can control is who we trust; and we trust God. We can trust that His promises are true.

We can believe that the future glories in heaven are real and will be worth any difficulty we endure here on earth for being a faithful witness (2 Corinthians 4:17). When we choose this perspective based on believing God’s word, it leads to the kinds of actions that line up with the commands of Jesus.

Peter uses the word translated keep sober in spirit two more times in this letter (1 Peter 4:7, 5:8). This indicates that a major theme of this letter is to exhort his disciples to be robust in their mental pursuit of choosing a perspective that is real and true.

The third application of prepare your minds for action is to fix your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (v. 13).

The action of fixing your hope is the translation of one Greek word “elpisate” meaning to look forward with confidence to something in the future. Biblical hope is the confident expectation of future blessings based on the promises of God. The definition of faith in Hebrews is having confidence that what we hope for will come to pass (Hebrews 11:1). The idea of confident expectation is stressed by describing the action of hoping as completely, meaning fully, or perfectly.

The future blessing on which the believer is to be hoping completely is the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The word grace comes from the Greek “charin” meaning favor. In this context it points to all the blessings God will give faithful believers at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The phrase revelation of Jesus Christ refers to the time Jesus returns to earth and reveals Himself as king and installs His kingdom on this earth (Revelation 3:21, 5:12-13, 19:6, 20:4, 21:1). He will also judge the world and reward His obedient followers (Matthew 16:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 3:21). The concept of revelation is important to Peter, as he uses this word three times in his first letter (1 Peter 1:3, 7, 4:13). In this case, it is the unveiled glory of Jesus being revealed to the world by sight and in application.

Peter looks upon his readers As obedient children, because they have been faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Even so, he is concerned that they make good choices and not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance (v. 14).

These former lusts refer to the strong sinful desires from their sin nature (the flesh). Before his readers believed in Christ, they had limited power to resist being conformed, or guided by these sinful desires. They followed them in ignorance, not knowing that the dominance of these sinful desires of the flesh could be broken by Christ.

Now Peter’s readers have the power to overcome their sin nature through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Like all believers, they still have this sin nature (Romans 7:17-18). But now through the Spirit they also have the ability to choose to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17).

Having addressed their sinful lusts, Peter makes an appeal to live holy lives based on the holy character of God. Peter calls them to not to be conformed to lusts, But like the Holy One who called you be holy yourselves in all your behavior (v. 15).

God is called the Holy One because He is perfectly pure and righteous (Leviticus 11:44, Psalm 99:3, 5, 9, Isaiah 6:3, 40:25, Habakkuk 1:12). He has called you meaning God has summoned you as a believer for a special task (Ephesians 2:10). Peter then explains this calling: be holy yourselves in all your behavior.

Our behavior is something we control. It is up to us to choose what we do. God granted us that stewardship. Hence, Peter is exhorting his disciples to make good choices, choices that conform to God’s design for us and lead to life.

This is similar to the Apostle Paul’s assertion that the will of God is for each believer to be sanctified, set apart from the ways of the world to walk in the ways of God (1 Thessalonians 4:3). When seeking God’s will it is typical and natural to seek to know what circumstances we ought to choose in order to lead to our greatest benefit. This might include what job to take or what person to choose as a spouse. To seek God’s wisdom in such choices is good.

However, God promises He will bring good from all choices, even poor ones, to conform us to His image (Romans 8:28-29). His primary will for believers is to be holy yourselves. To be holy here is not ethereal or other-worldly. Peter’s focus on holiness is focused on your behavior. Behavior that is holy is behavior that reflects God’s design for us. This is, actually, the path to our greatest benefit. Our greatest benefit is to completely align our behavior with God’s design for us.

When a person believes in Jesus Christ, God declares this sinful person perfectly righteous in His sight (Romans 4:3). This is because all of the person’s sins have been forgiven through the death of Christ (Colossians 2:14). This guarantees our position in God as His child (Romans 8:15). Those who are in Christ have assurance they will go to heaven and be received as His child when they die. We belong to and are accepted by God as His child without condition, simply by faith.

But our Holy God desires the best for His children. He wants His positionally righteous children to increasingly be holy (righteous) in all your behavior while living on earth. While each believer is wholly accepted by God as His child based on the work of Jesus, God only approves of behavior that is good for us. He has promised to greatly reward behavior that follows His design for us, to serve Him and one another in love.

The book of Philippians similarly focuses on the power of choosing a proper perspective, a mindset that is true. Choosing a true mindset will lead to good and productive behavior. Paul exhorts his disciples in Philippi to choose a mindset, perspective, or attitude in the same way Christ chose His perspective (Philippians 2:5).

Jesus was in heaven with His Father and yet chose to obey His Father and take on the form of a human. He chose this perspective because He believed following His Father’s will was in His best interest (Philippians 2:6-8). As a result, Jesus was given the name above every name, and given all authority in heaven and on earth (Philippians 2:9, Matthew 28:18).

Jesus was given the name of “Son” and given reign over the earth as His reward (Hebrews 1:5, 13, 2:8-9). Jesus has promised that for those disciples who follow His example, He will also lead to glory as “sons” (Hebrews 2:10). He has promised that for any disciple who overcomes as He overcame, He will share with them the glory of His throne (Revelation 3:21). These great rewards depend on whether believers live righteously, set apart, holy in all your behavior.

The instruction to be holy yourselves in all your behavior echoes the Old Testament, because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY” (v. 16). Here Peter is quoting Leviticus 11:44. We can recall that the audience to whom Peter is writing is Jewish. Accordingly, they would be intimately familiar with and recognize this scripture. Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). In like manner, when believers walk in the Spirit, we fulfill the Law (Romans 8:3-4). When we fulfill the Law, we manifest the reality of loving God by loving our neighbors as ourselves (Galatians 5:13-14, Leviticus 19:18).

This command from Leviticus to be holy reflects that God in His nature is Holy. And humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). Living holy is to live as God designed us. Sin is living apart from God’s (good) design. When we live in the way God designed us to live, we overcome by faith the negative effects of the fall, when humans fell from living in God’s (good) design. Living in holiness is to live as God intended, which will lead to our greatest benefit, both here on earth as well as in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30).