Study
of First Peter Lesson
18
Review:
who through Him
are believers in God,
?? can you believe in God and not Jesus Christ?
who raised him
from the dead (resurrection)
- Peter's first couple of sermons dealt with this, Acts 2:22-36;
and gave him glory this refers to His resurrection, ascension
and session at the right hand of the Father, an exalted position.
His glorification brought results to the readers and to us who have
believed in Christ.
so that your
faith and hope are in God.
In 1:22-25 Our life as the
faithful ones in relationship with other believers - some principles
Peter has been dealing with our relationship with God and
now he switches over to our relationship with other believers.
In vs:22 Peter challenges us with another command,
to love other believers, and he brackets this with an emphasis on the basis for
being able to do so with 2 perfect participia clauses that present the circumstances that
surround our ability to fulfill the command.
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your
souls for a sincere love of the brethren,
If we follow the Gk text the first clause should go this way, Since you have purified your souls by obedience to
the truth.
have purified a`gni,zw
(perfect ptc) which stresses the
state that resulted from the obedience to the truth so that we're able to
fulfill the command to love other believers
by obedience to
the truth
What are we to hear and be obedient to?
The phrase through
the Spirit follows being obedient
to the truth in the majority text to indicate that fact. Unfortunately its
left out of the NASB.
Next Peter says that since you are purified, cleansed that reality should
be reflected in your interaction with others, especially other believers. So we have a result of being cleansed and in
fellowship.
for a sincere love
of the brethren,
The second word is the adjective modifying it avnupo,kritoj non-hypocritical
or without hypocrisy, genuine.
Next comes the command, fervently love one another from the heart
The last phrase, from the heart,
evk Îkaqara/jÐ kardi,aj once again we are missing a word here, katharas, which
means to be clean and pure, free from moral defilement.
This love then in view here is expressed only by a believer in fellowship
applying the truth known in that relationship, the body of believers.
This love is also based on your character, your capacity of soul, not on the object
of the love. The
strongest love.
for you have been
born again causal
participle therefore the phrase could have started with since just as vs:22 did
Again the action of this participle
must precede that of the main verb, the command of vs:22 fervently love one another from the heart
and in actuality logically must precede the other perfect participle of vs:22 Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth
This
regeneration Peter says is not of seed which is perishable but imperishable
but imperishable, that
is, through the living and enduring word of God.
The
contrast actually affirms the absolute permanent even indestructible nature of
the seed that provides us this new life!
The means of acquiring this imperishable seed is through the
living and enduring word of God.
Peter uses
two adjectival participles to describe the nature or character of the Word of God. They are both present tense which describes
the continuing nature of the Word.
First its living za,w Heb
Second its abiding me,nw remaining, enduring
The
statement is true of the Word of God in general but believe here it is focused
on the gospel which when believed is the seed that imparts life.