1 Peter 1 - Gird Up Your Loins?
- Chad Werkhoven
- Oct 10, 2022
- 2 min read
Prepping your mind to understand theological tension will help alleviate the daily tension of life.
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1 Peter 1 (ESV)
1 Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
in the sanctification of the Spirit,
for
obedience to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is
imperishable,
undefiled,
and unfading,
kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God’s power are being guarded
through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice,
though now for a little while,
if necessary,
you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that
the tested genuineness of your faith—
more precious than gold
that perishes
though it is tested by fire—
may be found to result
in praise
and glory
and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though
you have not seen him,
you love him.
Though you do not now see him,
you
believe in him
and rejoice with joy that is
inexpressible
and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation,
the prophets
who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours
searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them
was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ
and the subsequent glories.
12 It was revealed to them that
they were serving not themselves
but you,
in the things that have now been announced to you
through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
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.
14 As obedient children,
do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
15 but
as he who called you is holy,
you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 since it is written,
“You shall be holy,
for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on him as Father
who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds,
conduct yourselves
with fear throughout the time of your exile,
18 knowing that you were ransomed
from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb
without blemish or spot.
→ 20 He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world
but was made manifest
in the last times
for the sake of you
21 who through him are believers in God,
who raised him from the dead
and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls
by your obedience to the truth
for a sincere brotherly love,
love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
23 since
you have been born again,
not of perishable seed
but of imperishable,
through the living and abiding word of God;
24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Previous DIG DEEPER posts on 1 Peter
1 Peter 1 Summary
We need to be reminded often not to skip over the introductions to epistles (letters) like 1 Peter. There's a ton of good, useful theology in them, especially in Peter's intro. Check out last year's DIG DEEPER post for a review of how these verses explain the doctrine of election, and why it's so important.
This chapter is a textbook example of an idea that's central to our faith, a doctrine simply known as Already, Not Yet. In a nutshell, this means that you are already fully saved and the benefits of salvation are yours, but these benefits are not yet fully realized in your life here and now.
Peter gives a perfect example of this tension:
ALREADY: you are born again to an inheritance... so rejoice!
NOT YET: the inheritance is kept in heaven... while for a little while you have various trials.
Dig Deeper
Verse 13 contains one of the most awesome commands of the Bible:
Prepare your mind for action...
Literally translated, that sentence looks like this:
Gird up the loins of your mind by putting it fully under control...
It quickly becomes clear why most English versions don't translate it this way. Girding up our loins just sounds weird.
The phrase is one that would have been familiar to Roman soldiers whose tunic resembled more of a kilt (see the picture above). In order to run, the hem of the kilt needed to be lifted (or girded) up around his waist (or loin).
In the same way, as a Christian, your mind needs to be in shape and ready to rumble.
We often approach our time in church or reading the Bible with completely the opposite attitude: to find rest from the mental stress we face all week long.
That's not necessarily wrong, but consider how much stress you would avoid if your mind was being continually strengthened by strong doctrine and theology that would help you make more sense of the broken, fallen world that you live in. Often (but certainly not always) it's theological ignorance that fuels anxiety.
Do the hard work of preparing your mind for action in the Kingdom of God.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our God and Father has given us His great mercy and caused us to be born again (v3)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and desire to prepare your mind for action.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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