Grace Thoughts
Teaching Notes: Holiness!! (Part One)
Teaching Notes are Bible studies we taught before GraceLife Ministries began publishing articles online in 1995. Some were presented as sermons, others as group studies.
Our hope is that these older studies will be a blessing to you in your life and ministry. Please use them in any way God leads you.
These teaching notes are from a series of studies from 1 Peter.
[These notes are from more than 45 years ago.]
I. Suffering
Let’s read 1 Peter 1:1-16 together:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1 Peter 1 deals with suffering in light of future inheritance. Peter deals with the hopes, the trials, and the joys of Christians. He reminds the readers of the sure salvation of the Messiah and then exhorts them to holiness. Look with me at verses 13-16.
A. The “wherefore” of verse 13 is equivalent to, “in view of the fact that even though you are undergoing many kinds of trials, yet because of your heavenly inheritance awaits you,” gird up the loins of your minds. Wuest’s expanded translation reads, “Wherefore, having put out of the way, once for all, everything that would impede the free action of your mind.”
B. We are exhorted to “be sober.” It means to be calm and collected in spirit. It speaks of the proper exercise of the mind — to be self-controlled — to see things without the distortion caused by worry, fear, and related attitudes.
C. Peter exhorts the believer to “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The word “end,” teleios, is an adverb which qualifies the verb “hope” and describes it. It is a “hope” that is to be “teleios” — complete, perfect, wanting nothing, being in its character an assured expectation.
D. The words “as obedient children” are literally “as children of obedience.” The motive principal of the child of God should be obedience.
E. The believer is exhorted not to “fashion” himself to former lusts. The word “fashion” refers to the act of assuming an outward appearance expressing something not representative of his true nature.
IN OTHER WORDS … the believer and child of Christ is to be on the outside what he or she professes to be on the inside. So many believers today claim the name of Christ, but act like a child of the devil. I’ve seen so many Christians who are practical atheists. By this I mean that they live and act like God doesn’t really exist. It’s not all in the mouth, friend, it’s what you live that really counts. If you preach faith, but don’t live faith, then you are fashioning yourself after former lusts. If you preach holiness, but live impurity of lifestyle, then you are fashioning yourself after former lusts. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God’s true children in America would just live like God’s children ought? We would have a genuine revival in America if Christians just lived what Jesus commanded. If we would live holy lives, all of the world would take notice that God is alive and real in His people. Probably the major reason that millions do not flood the church to be saved is because God’s people have fallen into the deadly “hypocritical syndrome.” One of the first things to be done is clean up the house of God. We need once again to fall in love with the precious Lord Jesus. We need once again to fall in love with the Word of God. We need once again to perform the first works!! We need to put aside all the worldliness and creeping carnality that has found its way into the church and perform as never before the WILL OF GOD! And what is this will of God?
F. Look with me at verse 15. The word “as” refers to domination. Dominated by God’s holiness, we are to be holy in our behavior and living. God’s will for us is to be holy! We have been called to be a holy people!!
G. Peter quotes from Leviticus 11:44 — a direct commandment from God to the nation Israel and now restated for the holy nation, Christ’s children — “Be ye holy!”
Next Time
In the next part of our Teaching Notes series we will answer a question. What is holiness?
[Thank you for reading these teaching notes from more than 45 years ago. My prayer is they will be a blessing to you and your life and ministry.]
Apostle PeterChristianityGod's HolinessHolinessJesus Christ
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Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts
