1 Peter
1:15–16 is not a new command to self-create holiness
Many
traditional interpretations of 1 Peter 1:15-16 as a performance command ("be ye
holy" as an imperative) is incorrect ,flawed due to bad translation which
has given rise to poor interpretation and religious layering on the text as
well as misrepresenting the passage as a command for self-produced holiness.
Instead,
Peter emphasizes that holiness is not achieved through personal efforts or
performance, but is a gift received at the new birth, as supported by
Philippians 2:13, which states it is God who works within us to do His good
pleasure.
Peter
intended to declare a present, received state of holiness already conferred in
Christ, not to hand believers a checklist of moral tasks to earn holiness.
So you see,
holiness was never meant to be something you produce.
It is God
who works in you or is working in you to do His good pleasure. It's not you.
It’s not your performance.
It is something you received at the moment of the new birth.
Holiness, as
presented in 1 Peter 1:15-16, is often misunderstood due to a conflation of Old
and New Testament ideologies.
If you study
properly, in the New Testament the Greek term 'hagios' which means to ‘set
apart’, signifies more than mere separation; it reflects a deeper, intrinsic
nature of God's holiness that transcends the idea of being set apart.
Because what
did God need to set Himself apart from in order to be Holy, when he had not
even created the universe yet?
The bible
makes it clear that He was holy from time, from the dateless past.
God has
always been holy when nothing else was created.
So it's not
a set apart thing.
That definition goes beyond that.
In the New
Covenant, holiness cannot merely be defined through the Old Testament lens, as
God's essence predates creation, revealing a fundamentally different
understanding of holiness.
And so the
word hagios is building out this understanding.
Now that
word hagios means blameless, undefiled, undefilable and then whole, complete,
not lacking in anything.
God has
always been undefilable even before creating anything in the world.
He has
always been complete, whole, even before making anything.
So, Holiness
is not about avoiding sin or anything like that.
The
definition or understanding of holiness goes far beyond that.
New
Covenant Holiness
The
definition of holiness in the new covenant transcends mere avoidance of sin,
establishing that believers are inherently holy and blameless, a status
conferred by God rather than achieved through performance. The Greek term used
in scripture indicates a present reality of holiness, emphasizing that holiness
flows from God's nature and is not a command to strive for. This understanding
liberates individuals from the burdens of religious expectations, affirming
their identity as already made holy in Christ.( 1 Thessalonians 3:13, Ephesians
5:25-27).
God himself
has brought you to that state in Christ.
Holiness
in Christ
Believers
are made holy and complete in Christ through the finished work of the new
birth, not by their deeds or moral efforts. This holiness is a result of God's
grace and the baptism of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, distinguishing it
from man-made definitions of holiness. Emphasizing the importance of
understanding new creation truths and avoiding religious misconceptions, the
speaker encourages listeners to grasp the true essence of what God has
accomplished for them in Christ.
So do you
see, God made Christ to be our sanctification, our holiness.
It is
already done.
Understanding
our identity as already holy in Christ profoundly influences our way of life,
shifting our perception and direction without the need for striving. This
transformation occurs through the renewal of our minds and a recognition that
we do not need to conform to worldly standards. Peter's message is a reminder
that we are made holy, urging us to live with this consciousness rather than
following a checklist of religious do's and don'ts.
So you have
been made holy, blameless, undefilable, complete, whole in all manner of your
work and dealing with God because it is written, ‘you are holy because I am
holy’.
Notice, not
try to be holy, not act holy, but you have been made holy.
1Peter 2:9-
says you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar
people.
Notice how
Peter himself reinforces this statement by saying, ‘you are’, (present tense)
‘a holy nation’.
Not that you
should try to become, but ‘you are’.
That is the
verdict of scripture.
You are in
Christ, you are already holy.
Let's be
absolutely clear on what the apostle Peter is telling us here.
There are
three unmistakable truths.
Number
one, we are holy
because Yahweh our father is holy.
And that's
what he says in first Peter chapter one verse fifteen and sixteen.
This is not
about us at all.
Our holiness
is inherited, derived from our father.
It flows
from who our father is, not from what we do.
We are holy
because he is holy.
Just the
same way we inherited his love nature.
We've also inherited his holy nature in Christ.
Truth number
two, he made us holy.
He made us
blameless, undefilable, incorruptible, complete in our spiritual essence.
And this
happened in Christ and we received it at the point of the new birth.
It is a
finished work.
Colossians
2:10- ye are
complete in him which is the head of all principalities and power.
You are
complete, you are not lacking in anything.
You are not
deficient in any way. Whole, holy, complete, undefilable.
Hebrews
10:14- for by one
offering you have perfected forever them that are sanctified.
Praise God!
We were made
holy in the finished work of Christ.
And we
receive this through the new birth, not by what we do, not by performance, not
by religious works, not by good works, not by moral achievements. Not by
climbing up some ladder, some hypothetical imaginary ladder of holiness,
preaching up man-made holiness.
Number
three is, you are
not made holy by thoughts, your actions or your morality.
You are holy
because your father who is holy made you so.
Full stop.
That's it.
No
asterisks, no footnotes, no performance clauses.
Hear this,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He
saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit or of
the Holy Ghost as the King James says.
So you see
‘by the washing of regeneration’ here means the baptism of regeneration.
So the new
birth is a baptism. And then he says, ‘and the renewing of the holy spirit’.
That is a
poor translation of this text.
How can we
renew ‘The Holy Spirit’?
Does Holy
Spirit get old?
What he is
actually talking about is the newness or the new birth which the Holy Spirit
brings about.
Do you
understand?
The renewing
that the Holy Spirit brings about in the new creation man!
That's just what it means.
Now you
might be wondering why this matters.
All of this
explanation, that we're already holy. God our father has already made us holy
in Christ and all of that.
Now the
reason it matters is because understanding who and what you already are, is
what changes how you live.
When you are
governed by the consciousness that we are already holy, that we are different
from the world, that we carry the nature of our father, his love, his goodness
and so forth.
It changes
your perception and as such the direction of your life.
It
transforms the way you live organically without striving.
Look at the
way Paul put it, “and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind”.
You see,
this truth transforms by the renewing of your mind.
So when this
truth renews your mind, you find yourself not conforming to this world.
Praise God!
This
transformation comes from beholding, from knowing and understanding your true
identity in Christ, not from striving, not from struggling.
A man who
knows his reality does not need to be told not to act like a beggar.
The
knowledge itself governs his or her way of life.
This is what
Peter is disclosing here.
He is not
issuing a command.
He's not
telling us to act holy or handing us a checklist of do's and don'ts in order to
get holy. He is simply issuing a reminder that we are to walk in the reality of
our identity in Christ.
You have
been made holy.
Live with
this consciousness.
Hallelujah!
Translation
and Greek terms
The KJV
phrase "be ye holy" comes from the Greek genesthe (γενοῦσθε), which is the aorist/continuous
form of the verb meaning "to become".
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