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1 Peter 1:13
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Christ has done all the work necessary to secure our eternal inheritance, and the same power of God that raised Him from the dead preserves our faith so that we will enter glory and the full experience of all that the Lord has in store for us (1 Peter 1:1–12). This does not mean, however, that we lapse into passivity once we have been converted to Jesus. We have truly embraced the work of the Savior only if our lives are transformed and we engage in specific actions. In today’s verse, Peter begins to tell us how we must live in light of what God has done for us in Christ.
First, we are to prepare our “minds for action” and to be “sober- minded” (v. 13). The word translated as “preparing” is the same word used to describe the gathering up of one’s robes and tucking them into a belt so that one can run freely. Peter wants us to be ready for a journey in the Christian life that involves the active use of our minds, unhindered by doubt and sin. We must think about the things of God in a disciplined way, to consider the truths of Scripture with sobriety, not frivolity, so that we can keep our footing as we run the race of faith. Christian discipleship involves the life of the mind, learning to think God’s thoughts after Him by framing our views according to His Word. Believers must love God with their minds (Matt. 22:37). Matthew Henry comments, “The main work of a Christian lies in the right management of his heart and mind.”
Our minds prepared and engaged in disciplined thinking, we then “set [our] hope fully on the grace that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). We are to fix our minds on the return of Jesus and the new creation He is bringing, living with reference to that great day. As we will see as we continue our study of 1 Peter, this entails the pursuit of holiness (vv. 14–21). Such holiness is fueled by our consideration of the Lord’s second advent, for knowing that godliness will be rewarded encourages us to say no to the world, the flesh, and the devil and to obey Jesus. John Calvin writes, “When we direct our eyes to [Christ’s return], this world becomes crucified to us, and we to the world.”
Christians, therefore, must live with a future orientation. Sin can bring temporary pleasure, but its end is death (Prov. 14:12; Rom. 6:21). We must remember that the end result of transgression is destruction and that mortifying sin is the fruit of true faith and results in everlasting life and joy (Rom. 8:12–13; Rev. 21:1–22:5).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Setting our hope on Christ’s return does not mean looking for something that may or may not happen. Dr. R.C. Sproul comments: “In the biblical usage, hope is not an uncertainty but a certainty. . . . It is that which brings stability to us. It is faith looking to the future with the full assurance that God will do what He promises He will do.” Knowing that Christ’s return is certain helps us live in holiness so that we can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
For further study
- Joshua 1:1–9
- Psalm 119:11
- Romans 12:1–2
- Hebrews 12:1–2
The bible in a year
- Ruth 3–4
- Luke 12:35–59