The Great Salvation.—1 Peter 1:10-16

Notes

1. Have Inquired.—The holy men of old certainly knew the salvation of Christ personally. (See Gen. 49:18; Ex. 15:2; Ps. 9:14; 51:12.) In fact, the whole inspired psalmody of Israel breathes of the salvation of God, both present and future. Yet they did not understand the plan of salvation in its fuller development, as did and do those of the Christian era. This is expressly declared in the scripture (verse 12), in the prophets themselves (Dan. 12:4, 9), by Christ (Matt. 13:16, 17), by the apostles (Rom. 16:25, 26; Eph. 3:5); but this understanding was not necessary, for God by his Spirit spoke through them things which they did not know nor understand. They were the instruments; it was the Spirit of Christ which was in them that testified, not the prophets themselves. The Spirit of God knows the mind and thoughts of God (1 Cor. 2:11), and therefore it was necessary that the Spirit of God must give the words which should convey the thoughts of God to future generations (2 Sam. 23:2; see also 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. The Revised Version gives a thought in the rendering of this verse which ought to be considered in its study; it reads: "Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is being brought [marginal, Greek] unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Note, the "girding" is not a single act, but a constant work, a binding up with the truth of God (Eph. 6:14), as that truth is constantly revealed in the onward path of the Christian (Phil. 3:15, 16). And note also that this grace is not all future, but is constantly flowing from a full fountain to which we have access by faith (Rom. 5:2), as Christ is revealed to us more and more in his word; for to the faithful Christian student of the word is constantly revealed new manifestations of the glory of the Master (2 Cor. 4:6), which will increase from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18), until the day of the revealing of the glory of his presence (2 Thess. 1:7, 10; 2:8), when his people shall be made like him (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2).

3. Be Ye Holy.—The Revised Version puts the expression both as a command and declaration. "Like as He which called you is holy, be yourselves also holy in all manner of living, because it is written, Ye shall be holy, for I am holy." See Lev. 19:2. God commands impossibilities for us of ourselves. He says, "Be ye holy;" but of ourselves we have no holiness about us. "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6); but he who called us is holy, and as he called us in our uncleanness to holiness (1 Thess. 4:7; Eph. 1:4), Christ sanctified or made holy himself that we might be holy (John 17:19), and to those who submit to him, he cleanses from all their pollution and gives a new heart and new spirit (Eze. 36:25-27), created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24); and being made free from the power of sin, we have, by God's grace, fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life (Rom. 6:22), so the expression, "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy," is a pledge of God's holiness and power that, if we will but submit to him, we shall be established unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 3:13). Our part is to submit to God's plan, to yield to his holy conditions; God, by the Spirit of holiness and his word, does the work.