1 Peter 1:13-22 Preparing Your Minds for Action

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Preparing Your Minds for Action

1 Peter 1:13–22

Introduction: As persecution and trials became more prominent in the mid-60’s AD, Peter appropriately renamed disciples to better describe their place in this world. Elect exiles is a wonderful description that needs to be indelibly imprinted on our hearts so that we never forget who we are.

As we come to the main body of the letter in 1:13, we begin to see how the Lord’s exiles ought to live. But more than that, Peter is teaching us how to live as exiles in the midst of trials, which in their case, would become worse before it got better. 

1. Preparing for the Text
   1. “Therefore” implies a conclusion from Peter’s previous verses. The word can be translated, “For this reason.” We are to consider the facts that he has revealed so that we can “prepare our minds for action” Thus, the “therefore” must remain clearly before our minds in order to prepare our minds for action and set our hope on the grace to be revealed.
      1. God has caused us to reborn to a living hope based on Christ’s resurrection.
      2. We have an inheritance awaiting us that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
      3. We have trials that are going to result in “praise and glory and honor.” 
      4. We have a privileged position that prophets and angels have desired to see.
      5. And most importantly, we are living as elect exiles. We are strangers and foreigners in our time here on earth. Our citizenship is elsewhere. Whatever is “here” is short lived. We should be saying to ourselves, “Whatever the present is, isn’t my home, this isn’t my country, and this certainly isn’t where I will be living after a little while.”
         These are our motivations to hold our heads up as good soldiers and engage the battle. We can’t lose.
   2. Therefore, this whole section, this whole sermon is application from the first section. As verse 17 states, this is the lifestyle of exiles. Peter will give us four primary commands. In each he embeds reasons or foundations for these commands.
   3. Consider that in light of the trials these brethren are presently enduring and the trials Peter later reveals are coming, they/we are not to simply sit back and passively wait for the tidal wave to hit. To take a passive approach to coming trials would be to act as if we have no defense against the trial and say that we might as well just give up and get smashed. No, no! We are not going to get smashed, and If that were the case, Peter would not have written the letter. Peter intends for us to take action in order to endure and use the trial to the glory of God. Remember, “this is the true grace of God.” 
      1. That is such a positive reaction! It is a statement of, we are not weak so that we can be battered by Satan. It is by the Lord’s “power that we are being guarded for the salvation ready to be revealed” (5). 
      2. We must be reminded: we are not going to be defeated by this or any trial. We are not going through any hardships that are impossible for us to endure or that will be too hard for us. We are not going through any trial in which we are “alone.” God’s presence is always with us. [Hebrews 13:6, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”]
   4. Theme of this passage: the difference salvation brings to the life of the Christian. This results in four exhortations:
      1. “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you…” (13)
      2. “Be holy in all your conduct” (15)
      3. “Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile” (17)
      4. “Love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (22)
   5. Notice that Peter gives the foundation for the first three exhortations through verse 21. After giving the exhortations, he follows in verse 18 with, “knowing that.” Therefore, set you hope fully… be holy… conduct yourselves with fear… “knowing that you were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ. And then, (22) “having purified your souls…love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” 
2. Introduction to the Four Commands:
   1. “Preparing your minds for action.” The older versions translate more literally, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” Just to get a better picture of this, when Elijah prayed that it would rain, he warned Ahab to get in his chariot and ride home because of the great rain about to hit. Ahab did so, but then the scripture says, “and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his lions, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:46).
      1. When the ancients were ready for work or any other physical action it was necessary to take their robes and tuck them in their belt so they could be unencumbered. Thus, Peter is urging us to clear our minds of that which would keep us from the preparations we need to make.
      2. Further, this “girding” has to do with toughening our mental attitudes and getting ourselves reading for what God has called us to do. (Think of Israel readying themselves to enter Canaan)
   2. “Being sober-minded”: Peter uses the word two more times (4:7; 5:8), and the Greek word [nepho] is only used three other times in the NT. 
      1. It carries the idea of being “self-controlled,” that is, living with restraint, and thus the connotation of spiritual alertness. Paul said, “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober” (1 Thes 5:6).
      2. Certainly, that alertness is evident in 5:8 because the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. If we knew lions roamed our town (as in parts of Africa or Tigers in India), we would exercise a great deal of awareness and caution.
      3. I hear a lot of people in today’s culture freeing themselves of stress by simply ignoring whatever is happening in politics and the craziness of our world. Hard to argue with that! However, we cannot have that same attitude toward preparing for the trials that may be facing us. How? But putting more intentionality in preparing ourselves with the knowledge of the scripture and being more diligent in prayer. We cannot say, “Oh well,” or be ignorant of our need to prepare our minds and be sober.
   3. Now we are ready for Peter’s four imperatives. 

3. Set Your Hope Fully…
   1. “Hope” is the beginning and the end of this paragraph (1:3, 13, 21). Remember, Peter started his letter with the “living hope” the Lord has given to us. 
   2. Paul said in Romans 5:3, “And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Just consider that sentence. Biblical hope is a sure thing. It is the reason we can boast in it. Humans are foolish when they boast about what they believe may happen in the future. Boasting in the grace and glory that will be brought to us when Jesus returns is certainly counter to our nature. I’m sure each one of us would tend to shudder at boasting about the grace we are going to receive and the inheritance that is kept in heaven for us. But that is exactly what Peter says, assuring us of something we have not yet received but will certainly receive! 
   3. Also, in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 
   4. And in Romans 8:24, “In this hope you are saved.” Paul makes this statement in the midst of a discussion on trials and tribulations. Hope is what saves us through the mental and physical stress we must endure in this life.
   5. Therefore hope certainty becomes the primary motivation for the exhortations Peter gives.
   6. Most importantly, note the word fully. 
      1. It is significant that this is the first, the beginning of the four commands. Before all else, this command needs to be observed.
      2. Next, to set our hope fully on the grace to be revealed implies that we have absolute assurance that we will obtain the grace promised us at the revelation of Jesus. “Fully” means there is full assurance, no questioning, no doubt, written in stone, unchangeable. [If you took a young boy to the top of a high building and he said, “If I jump, do you think I could fly?” Your answer, “No, you would fall to the ground and die.” “How do you know?” the boy replies. And you say, “Because you don’t have wings and their is law called gravity. The law is unchangeable. It is assured. You can predict it with absolute certainty.] Same with the grace to be revealed. It is a law based on the oath of God.
      3. May I take a wild guess? You may not have perfected, Set your hope fully. 
   7. What does this have to do with overcoming trials? If our hope is fully on the grace to be revealed, nothing really matters that happens in between. How short is the time we spend as exiles in comparison to eternity? 
4. Be Holy in All Your Conduct 
   1. The command is based on the three times in Leviticus God said, “Be holy, for I am holy.” In context, it would be impossible for God to dwell with us and us be in his presence without holiness. Oh how this is disregarded! People love to think, “If God is a nice God and loves me so much, he isn’t going to condemn me if I live this way or that way or don’t obey him.” Look, here is what you are missing: you and I were condemned long ago, and our only hope for God to save us is for him to accept us into his presence. He is holy. If you attempt to come into his presence in an unholy condition, you are toast!
   2. The holiness of God is the motivation for our holy behavior. But living a moral and holy life, we are showcasing our relationship with God. Recall that there are two parts to holiness in Leviticus:
      1. Holiness in lifestyle. We must live holy lives. Who defines a holy life? God! All the crazy arguments for transgender and various sexual lifestyles beyond the marriage of a man and a woman are going to need a specific authorization from God to be holy! He made them male and female. That’s holy.
      2. Holiness in our approach to God in worship
      3. In contrast, worship to the “gods” is evidenced by worship that fits the desires of the worshiper. When we see God striking dead two of his four priests in Leviticus 10:1-10 and then making a strict warning about bring that which is common in worship before him, we must accept the stark reality that churches that follow their own desires in worship are idolatrous. 
      4. People love to go into all sorts of rationalizations as to why we should not be limited singing, praying, studying, giving, and taking the Supper, but they are missing the primary argument: God is holy, and anything beyond these needs authority from God if it to be considered holy.
5. Conduct Yourselves with Fear 
   1. If you are wondering what this word fear means, allow me to give you a detailed explanation: it means fear! There is no other way to translate it.
   2. Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” 
   3. Jesus’ words in Luke 12:4-5 are startling to this present generation: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” 
6. Love One Another Earnestly from a Pure Heart
   1. There is obviously much that could be said here, but notice four quick, obvious points in this context.
   2. What happens when trials increase pressure on our lives and especially within the relationships of the church? Indeed, during trials, people can make different choices on how they are going to deal with the trial within their own personal circumstances. There is no time that loving one another fervently could be more important.
   3. Further, when trials are severe we need our spiritual family to be our haven, the one place in our life where we feel we can flee from turmoil and find comfort.
   4. Finally, loving one another must come from a pure heart. None of this fake stuff. That implies we must make a choice in our minds! It doesn’t matter if someone has been a bit irritating or you have disagreed – whatever, whatever – love from a pure heart! 

Berry Kercheville