Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
23. being born again ] Better, having been begotten again, the verb being the same as that in 1Pe 1:3. The “corruptible seed” is that which is the cause of man’s natural birth, and the preposition which St Peter uses exactly expresses this thought of an originating cause. In the second clause, on the other hand, he uses the preposition which distinctly expresses instrumentality. The “word of God” is that through which God, the author of the new life, calls that life into being.
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever ] The Greek order of the words leaves it doubtful whether the two predicates belong to “the word,” or to “God,” but the sequence of thought is decisive in favour of connecting them with the former. They are used to shew that the word of God, which is the seed of the new birth, is, as has been said, incorruptible. They prepare the way for the emphatic reiteration in 1Pe 1:25, that the “word of the Lord” endureth for ever, the same word being used in the Greek as for the “abideth” of this verse.
It is obvious that the word of God is more here than any written book, more than any oral teaching of the Gospel, however mighty that teaching might be in its effects. If we cannot say that St Peter uses the term LOGOS with precisely the same significance as St John (Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14), it is yet clear that he thinks of it as a divine, eternal, creative power, working in and on the soul of man. It was “the word of the Lord” which had thus come to the prophets of old, of which the Psalmist had spoken as “a lamp unto his feet,” and “a light unto his path” (Psa 119:105). St Peter’s use of the term stands on the same level as that of the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who speaks of “the word of God” as “quick and powerful a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12-13). It is, i.e., nothing less than God manifested as speaking to the soul of man, a manifestation of which either the preached or the written word may be the instrument, but which may work independently of both, and is not to be identified with either.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Being born again – See the notes at Joh 3:3.
Not of corruptible seed – Not by virtue of any descent from human parents – Doddridge. The result of such a birth, or of being begotten in this way – for so the word rendered born again more properly signifies – is only corruption and decay. We are begotten only to die. There is no permanent, enduring life produced by that. It is in this sense that this is spoken of as, corruptible seed, because it results in decay and death. The word here rendered seed – spora – occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.
But of incorruptible – By truth, communicating a living principle to the soul which can never decay. Compare 1Jo 3:9; His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
By the word of God – See the note at Jam 1:18; Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. Compare the notes at Joh 1:13. It is the uniform doctrine of the Scriptures that divine truth is made the instrument of quickening the soul into spiritual life.
Which liveth and abideth forever – This expression may either refer to God, as living forever, or to the word of God, as being forever true. Critics are about equally divided in the interpretation. The Greek will bear either construction. Most of the recent critics incline to the latter opinion – that it refers to the word of God, or to his doctrine. So Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Wolf, Macknight, Clarke. It seems to me, however, that the more natural construction of the Greek is to refer it to God, as ever-living or enduring; and this interpretation agrees well with the connection. The idea then is, that as God is ever-living, that which is produced directly by him in the human soul, by the instrumentality of truth, may be expected also to endure forever. It will not be like the offspring of human parents, themselves mortal, liable to early and certain decay, but may be expected to be as enduring as its ever-living Creator.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. Being born again] For being born of Abraham’s seed will not avail to the entering of the kingdom of heaven.
Not of corruptible seed] By no human generation, or earthly means; but of incorruptible – a Divine and heavenly principle which is not liable to decay, nor to be affected by the changes and chances to which all sublunary things are exposed.
By the word of God] By the doctrine of the living God, which remaineth for ever; which doctrine shall never change, any more than the source shall whence it proceeds.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Being born again: this may refer either:
1. To the general exhortation to holiness, 1Pe 1:14,15, and then the argument runs thus: Ye are in your regeneration become the children of God, and therefore ought to walk holily as become his children. Or:
2. To the more particular exhortation to brotherly love, 1Pe 1:22; q.d. You are by your regeneration become spiritual brethren, and therefore ought to live like brethren.
Not of corruptible seed; which is itself corrupted ere any thing can be generated out of it, or out of which nothing is begotten but what is corruptible; so that all such generations tend but to a mortal life.
But of incorruptible; so the word is said to be, because containing still the same, and being immutable in itself, it changes and renews the hearts of those that by faith receive it. Or: it may be understood of its being incorruptible effectively, because it leads, or tends, to an immortal life.
The word of God; the same which he called incorruptible seed, which is the instrument in regeneration, as is implied in the preposition, by, going before it.
Which liveth; this and the following verb may be joined, either:
1. To God, the word of God, who liveth, &c.; or rather:
2. To the word, so our translation reads it, which word liveth, and abideth, &c.; and this agrees best with the testimony of Isaiah in the next verse.
The word of God is said to be a living word, because it enliveneth the hearts of those that entertain it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. Christian brotherhood flowsfrom our new birth of an imperishable seed, the abiding word of God.This is the consideration urged here to lead us to exercise brotherlylove. As natural relationship gives rise to natural affection, sospiritual relationship gives rise to spiritual, and therefore abidinglove, even as the seed from which it springs is abiding, nottransitory as earthly things.
of . . . of . . . by“Theword of God” is not the material of the spiritual new birth, butits mean or medium. By means of the word the man receives theincorruptible seed of the Holy Spirit, and so becomes one”born again”: Joh3:3-5, “born of water and the Spirit“: as thereis but one Greek article to the two nouns, the closeconnection of the sign and the grace, or new birth signified isimplied. The word is the remote and anterior instrument;baptism, the proximate and sacramental instrument. The word isthe instrument in relation to the individual; baptism, in relation tothe Church as a society (Jas 1:18).We are born again of the Spirit, yet not without the use ofmeans, but by the word of God. The word is not the beggetingprinciple itself, but only that by which it works: the vehicle of themysterious germinating power [ALFORD].
which liveth and abideth foreverIt is because the Spirit of God accompanies it that theword carries in it the germ of life. They who are so born again liveand abide for ever, in contrast to those who sow to the flesh.”The Gospel bears incorruptible fruits, not dead works, becauseit is itself incorruptible” [BENGEL].The word is an eternal divine power. For though the voice or speechvanishes, there still remains the kernel, the truth comprehended inthe voice. This sinks into the heart and is living; yea, it is GodHimself. So God to Moses, Ex 4:12,”I will be with thy mouth” [LUTHER].The life is in God, yet it is communicated to us through theword. “The Gospel shall never cease, though itsministry shall” [CALOVIUS].The abiding resurrection glory is always connected with ourregeneration by the Spirit. Regeneration beginning withrenewing man’s soul at the resurrection, passes on to thebody, then to the whole world of nature.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Being born again,…. As they were of God, according to his abundant mercy, by the resurrection of Christ, to a lively hope of a glorious inheritance; as in 1Pe 1:3 and therefore seeing they were brethren in a spiritual relation, they ought to love as brethren; being children of the same Father, belonging to the same family and household, having the same spirit, and the same nature and disposition, and being members one of another, and heirs of the same grace and glory; and not only so, but were taught of God their Father, in regeneration, to love one another: it became them highly, therefore, to exercise that grace, and particularly since they were born,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible; referring not to seed cast into the earth, which first corrupts and dies, and then is quickened, and rises, and brings forth fruit; but to human seed, and which the Jews call , “the filthy drop” k; which is in itself corrupt, and is corrupted, and whereby the corruption of human nature is propagated; for whatsoever is born of the flesh is carnal and corrupt; and so the apostle has reference to the first birth, or natural generation of men, in which they are polluted and depraved, and confirms what the evangelist says, Joh 1:13 that regenerate persons are not “born of blood”; or become new creatures, and holy men, by their natural descent, or first birth, be it from whom it will; for all men are of one blood originally, and that is tainted with sin; nor by the will of fallen creatures, of corruptible men, themselves or others; but of water, and of the Spirit, of the grace of the Spirit of God, which is seed pure and incorruptible, having no mixture or taint of sin, nor any degree of pollution in it, and which remains so; nor can it be corrupted by all the wickedness there is in man’s heart; nor by all the pollutions of the world, or temptations of Satan; and this seed is conveyed into the heart by the Spirit of God, in regeneration, and it contains all grace in it;
by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever; for the incorruptible seed, and the ever living and abiding word, are two distinct things; though interpreters generally confound them: and by “the word of God” is either meant the essential Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; who is concerned in regeneration as well as the Father and the Spirit; by whose resurrection, and in consequence of it, the elect of God are begotten again; and who, as the Word, is able to build up all the sanctified ones, and give them the inheritance they are born heirs unto: or the Gospel, the word of truth, which is made use of as a means of begetting souls again; and the rather, since it seems to be so interpreted, 1Pe 1:25 the phrases, “which liveth and abideth forever”, may be either read in connection only with “God”, and as descriptive of him, who is the living God, is from everlasting to everlasting, in distinction from idols; and here added, to show that he can give power and efficacy to his word, to regenerate and quicken, and will continue to preserve and make it useful to all his saving purposes; so Jarchi explains the passage in
Isa 40:8 after referred to, “the word of our God shall stand for ever”;
“because he lives and abides, and it is in his power to confirm it therefore it follows, “O Zion, that bringeth good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain”; for because he lives forever, this promise is published.”
Or else with the word of God, and is true both of Christ, and of the Gospel. Christ is the Word which lives; in him, as such, is life; he has life in himself as God, as man, and as Mediator; and is the author of life, natural, spiritual, and, eternal; and abides for ever in his person, without any change; and in his offices and grace, and righteousness; he abides a priest continually, has an unchangeable priesthood, and ever lives to make intercession, and of his kingdom there is no end: the same is said of the “Memra”, or Word of God, in the Chaldee paraphrase on Ho 11:9 “I am God”,
, “my word abideth for ever”: compare Joh 12:34. The Gospel also may be said to live, in opposition to the law, which is the killing letter; and because it points out the way of life and salvation to sinners; and is a means of quickening dead sinners, and of ingenerating that faith by which men live on Christ; and of revealing to them that righteousness which is unto justification of life; and of supporting and maintaining spiritual life in them; and of reviving drooping saints; the Syriac version renders it, “the living Word of God”: and it remains, and will abide; all its promises, blessings, doctrines, and ordinances, are lasting; it will continue in the world until all the elect of God are gathered in, until the second coming of Christ, and to the end of the world; notwithstanding all the persecutions of men, and cunning, craft of false teachers, and all the ridicule and contempt it is treated with by mockers and scoffers: and will abide in the effects of it, in the hearts of the saints, to all eternity.
k Pirke Abot, c. 3. sect. 1. & Bartenora in ib. Zohar in Exod. fol. 62. 1. & 78. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Having been begotten again (). Perfect passive participle of , which see in verse 2.
Not of corruptible seed ( ). Ablative with as the source, for see verse 18, and (from to sow), old word (sowing, seed) here only in N.T., though in Mr 4:26f., etc. For “incorruptible” () see verse 1Pet 1:4; 1Pet 3:4.
Through the word of God ( ). See Jas 1:18 for “by the word of truth,” verse 25 here, and Peter’s use of in Ac 10:36. It is the gospel message.
Which liveth and abideth ( ). These present active participles (from and ) can be taken with (God) or with (word). In verse 25 is used with (word). Still in Da 6:26 both and are used with . Either construction makes sense here.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Being born again [] . Rev., having been begotten again. Compare Jas 1:18.
Of [] seed – by [] the word. Note the difference in the prepositions; the former denoting the origin or source of life, the latter the medium through which it imparts itself to the nature.
Word of God [ ] . The gospel of Christ. Compare ver. 25, and Peter’s words, Act 10:36. Also, Eph 1:13; Col 1:5; Jas 1:18. Not the personal Word, as the term is employed by John. Nevertheless, the connection and relation of the personal with the revealed word is distinctly recognized. “In the New Testament we trace a gradual ascent from (a) the concrete message as conveyed to man by personal agency through (b) the Word, the revelation of God to man which the message embodies, forming, as it were, its life and soul, to (c) THE WORD, who, being God, not only reveals but imparts himself to us, and is formed in us thereby” (Scott, on Jas 1:18, ” Speaker’s Commentary “).
Seed [] . Nowhere else in the New Testament. Primarily, the sowing of seed.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Being born again, not of corruptible seed.” Having been or now being regenerated, a state or present condition of being – not an active process of becoming regenerated. “Not of corruptible seed” means the source of regeneration was not of corrupt or depraved origin.
2) “But of incorruptible, by the Word of God.” The new birth (from above birth) has its origin in Jesus Christ who Himself was born (Gk. aphthartou) of incorruptible seed of woman – not man, begotten by the Holy Spirit Gal 4:4-5. By the incorruptible seed -the Word of God that became flesh, believers are regenerated, Joh 1:14.
3) “Which liveth” The progressive, unending -life-word regenerating one lives on, Rom 6:8. Because of this we believe we too shall live on, progressively.
4) “And abideth forever.” Even abides or remains progressively without end or cessation of life or being. Here is the believers assurance. Joh 14:19.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23 Being born again Here is another reason for an exhortation, — that since they were new men and born again of God, it behoved them to form a life worthy of God and of their spiritual regeneration. And this seems to be connected with a verse in 1Pe 2:2 respecting the milk of the word, which they were to seek, that their way of living might correspond with their birth. It may, however, be extended wider, so as to be connected also with what has gone before; for Peter collected together those things which may lead us to an upright and a holy life. The object, then, of Peter was to teach us that we cannot be Christians without regeneration; for the Gospel is not preached, that it may be only heard by us, but that it may, as a seed of immortal life, altogether reform our hearts. (18) Moreover, the corruptible seed is set in opposition to God’s word, in order that the faithful might know that they ought to renounce their former nature, and that it might be more evident how much is the difference between the children of Adam who are born only into the world, and the children of God who are renewed into a heavenly life. But as the construction of the Greek text is doubtful, we may read, “the living word of God,” as well as, “the word of the living God.” As, however, the latter reading is less forced, I prefer it; though it must be observed, that the term is applied to God owing to the character of the passage. For, as in Heb 4:12, because God sees all things, and nothing is hid from him, the apostle argues that the word of God penetrates into the inmost marrow, so as to discern thoughts and feelings; so, when Peter in this place calls him the living God, who abides for ever, he refers to the word, in which the perpetuity of God shines forth as in a living mirror.
(18) Most commentators, like Calvin, represent the seed as the word; but the construction does not admit this; the words are, “Having been begotten from a seed, not corruptible, but incorruptible, through the living word of God, and for-ever abiding.” The “seed” denotes evidently the vital principle of grace, the new nature, the restored image of God; it is the same with what John means when he says,
“
His seed (that is, of God) remaineth in him.” (1Jo 3:9.)
Then “the word” is set forth as the means or instrument by which this seed is implanted. The “living” here does not mean life-giving, as some interpret it, but stands opposed to what ceases to be valid: and “for-ever abiding” more fully expresses its meaning. The metaphor in the parable of the sower is quite different: the word there is compared to a seed sown on bad or good ground; but here the turning of a bad into a good ground is the subject; and in this process the word is employed as an instrument. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) Being born again.Rather, Having been begotten again. It is not part of the exhortation, as though they had still to be thus begotten, but assigns the moral grounds for the exhortation. It is logically parallel with seeing ye have purified, and might be rendered, seeing that ye have been begotten again. For the meaning of the word, refer back to 1Pe. 1:3.
Not of corruptible seed.That is, not of the seed of Abraham, but of the seed of God. This is the argument: You must learn not to be selfish, or arrogant, as being of the chosen race, but to have a true brotherly feeling and earnest love for the Gentile converts, and for those who, like St. Paul, are specially working for the Gentiles, because your inheritance of the promised salvation is grounded, not on your Abrahamic descent, but on your spiritual regeneration, in which matter the Gentile converts are your equals. That this was the doctrine of St. Peter is certain from his speech at the Council of Jerusalem, God put no difference between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith; and again, It is only through the favour of the Lord Jesus that we hope to be saved, in precisely the same manner as they (Act. 15:9; Act. 15:11). (Comp., for the argument, 1Jn. 5:1.)
By the word of God.Seed, in the beginning of the clause, is more literally the act of sowing, or engendering, which sowing is carried on through the living and abiding word of God, this word of God being the actual seed sown. The seed of all existence is the spoken Word of God, the expressed will and meaning of creative thought (Psa. 33:6); and so here, even when spoken mediately, through the lips of men (as explained in 1Pe. 1:25), it is that which begets men afresh. God creates afresh, though men speak the creative word for Him, just as it is He that hath made us, although He does so through natural laws and human powers. The Word of God here is, no doubt, the preaching of the gospel, but especially, as it would seem, the preaching of the Resurrection (1Pe. 1:3), or of the sufferings and glories of Messiah (1Pe. 1:12), the truth of the last verse. The part taken by the Word in the sacrament of regeneration may be seen again in Eph. 5:26 and Jas. 1:18; in connection with the other sacrament we may also refer to Joh. 6:63. Incorruptible (i.e., imperishable; see 1Pe. 1:4; 1Pe. 1:18) finds a more energetic paraphrase here in living and abiding (the words for ever not being part of the true text). The former epithet is a favourite with St. Peter (1Pe. 1:3, 1Pe. 2:4-5), and is perhaps borrowed from this place by the author to the Hebrews, in connection with the word of God (Heb. 4:12). The epithets serve to prepare the way for the quotation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. Born again Mutual brotherly love among Christians has its foundation and reason in the common spiritual birth by which they become sons and daughters together in the family of God.
Not of corruptible seed As in the way of ordinary human generation; but of incorruptible seed, namely, by the power of the Holy Spirit imparting the divine nature, through the medium of the word or doctrine of God, (parallel to truth, in 1Pe 1:22,) preached and believed. And this word liveth and abideth, for whatever God has said is eternally true.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Pe 1:23 . ] gives the ground of the preceding exhortation, by referring to the regeneration from incorruptible seed already accomplished, which, as it alone renders the possible, also demands it. Luther: “as those who are born afresh;” cf. 1Jn 4:7 ; 1Jn 5:1 . This regeneration is described, as to the origin of it, by the words which follow, and withal in such a way that here, as in 1Pe 1:18 , the position is strengthened by placing the negation first.
, ] , strictly, “the sowing, the begetting,” is not here used with this active force (Aretius: satio incorrupta h. e. regeneratio ad vitam aeternam. Fronmller: “the energizing principle of the Holy Spirit”), but it is “ seed ,” because, as de Wette says, the epithet suggests the idea of a substance. By is to be understood not the semen frugum, but the semen humanum (de Wette, Wiesinger, Weiss, Schott, Hofmann); cf. Joh 1:13 .
The question arises, in what relation do and stand to one another? The direct connection of the figurative expression ( ) with the literal ( ), and the correspondence which evidently exists between and . , do not allow of the two ideas being considered as different, nor of being taken to denote the “Holy Spirit” (de Wette-Brckner). On the other hand, the difference of the prepositions points to a distinction to which, from the fact that is a figurative, a real appellative (Gerhard, Weiss, Schott [103] ), justice has not yet been done. The use of the two prepositions is to be understood by supposing a different relation of the same thing (of the ) to the regeneration; in we have its point of departure, and not merely its “originating cause” (Hofmann [104] ); we have the word of God looked upon as the principle implanted in man working newness of life ( , Jas 1:21 ); , on the other hand, points to the outward instrumentality by which the new life is effected.
] refers back to 1Pe 1:22 : . ; the Christian is laid under obligation to continued sanctification . . . , inasmuch as he has been begotten again to newness of being, by the word of God, i.e. the word of truth.
is every word of divine revelation; here especially the word which, originating in God, proclaims Christ, i.e. the gospel. Schwenkfeld erroneously understands by it the Johannine Logos , which, indeed, even Didymus had considered possible.
On the construction of the adj. and , Calvin says: possumus legere tam sermonem viventem Dei, quam Dei viventis; he himself prefers the second combination; thus also Vulg., Oecum., Beza, Hensler, Jachmann, etc. Most interpreters give preference, and with justice, to the first , for which are decisive both the contents of the following verses, in which the emphasis is laid, not on the abiding nature of God, but of the word of God, and the position of the words otherwise , on account of the subsequent , must have stood after . The superaddition of arises from the circumstance that this attribute is deduced from the previous one, and is brought in so as to prepare the way for the passage of Scripture (1Pe 1:25 : ) (de Wette [105] ). The characteristics specified by these attributes are applicable to the word of God, not in its form, but in its inner substance. It is living in essence as in effect, and it is enduring , not only in that its results are eternal, but because itself never perishes. If the subjoined be spurious, then without it the must not be limited to the present life. [106]
[103] Weiss is of opinion that, as an explanation of the metaphor, only can be employed with , not , which belongs exclusively to the figure. This is, however, incorrect; would doubtless not have been suited to , but might very well have been used with (Cf. Joh 3:5 ), indeed, must have been so if the itself were regarded as . The two prepositions express, each of them, a different relation.
[104] Also in the passages quoted by Hofmann, Joh 1:13 ; Joh 3:5 , Mat 1:18 , indicates more than a mere causal action.
[105] Hofmann strangely enough explains the position of by assuming it to be placed as an apposition between the two predicates to which it serves as basis; he accordingly thinks the words should be written thus: , , (!).
[106] The word, as the revelation of the Spirit, is eternal, although changeable, according to its form; to the word also applies what Paul says, 1Co 15:54 : this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. Luther admirably says: “The word is an eternal, divine power. For although voice and speech pass away, the kernel remains, i.e. the understanding, the truth which the voice contained. Just as, when I put to my lips a cup which contains wine, I drink the wine, although I thrust not the cup down my throat. Thus it is with the word which the voice utters; it drops into the heart and becomes living, although the voice remains outside and passes away. Therefore it is indeed a divine power, it is God Himself.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Ver. 23. Born again ] A man shall never have occasion to curse the day of his new birth.
By the word of God ] Made prolific and generative by the Spirit, 1Jn 3:9 . It is the Father that regenerateth us originally, Tit 3:5 , the Son meritoriously and effectively, Joh 14:19 ; Eph 5:26 ; the Holy Ghost consummately and applicatorily, through faith wrought and increased in us by the word and sacraments, Jas 1:18 ; Act 22:16 ; “Be baptized, and wash away thy sins,” i.e. be renewed.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
23 .] Ground of the exhortation , carried up further than the act of above, to the state of the new life of which that was an act; even to the beginning of that new life in their regeneration by the divine word. And the begetting cause of this new birth being God’s living and imperishable word, from that fact come in new considerations, enforcing that pure love which belongs not to a transitory and shifting but to an eternal and abiding state. Being born again, not of (out of, as origin) corruptible seed ( , not in its strict and proper sense, ‘ sowing ’ (ref. 4 Kings), but in its looser one of seed . And the seed spoken of is not, as Huther, that of plants; but the semen humanum , as the sequel shews), but incorruptible, by means of (not this time. The word of God is not the begetting principle itself, but only that by which the principle works: as it were the coccus or grain which is the involucrum and vehicle of the mysterious germinating power. We are not regenerated but . But on the other hand, the word itself is no mere perishing vehicle; no mere sacramental symbol, lost in the using: but it lives by and with the divine principle of life which it conveys and expands, and abides for ever. The of origination rests in God Himself, the Father, who begat us of his own will: the of instrumentality moves on and abides for ever) the (the definite art. is necessary in English, for the very reason for which it is omitted in Greek: viz. to prevent the from becoming concrete, and keep it to its widest general and abstract reference) word of God, living and abiding ( is thrown forward, as an emphatic predicate, before . That the two participles belong to , not to , is decisively shewn by the sequel, where the abiding nature, not of God, but of the word of God, is set forth. Many, however, have taken them with ; so vulg. (“per verbum Dei vivi”), (not c. as commonly cited, for he says, on this verse , ), Beza (who however prints “per verbum Dei vivum et permanentis,” sic ), Calv. (altern., preferring this), Aretius, Grot. (expressly, alleging for it Dan 6:26 , Theod., ), al.).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Pe 1:23 . . So St. John ; cf. Eph 4:17 ; Eph 5:2 . , i.e. , of God regarded as Father and perhaps also as Sower ( cf. 1Pe 1:24 ); the two conceptions are combined in 1Jn 3:9 , . Compare Philo, Leg. All. , p. 123 M. . . , the connection of . . is doubtful; the following quotation might justify the abiding word and Heb 4:12 , the living word in accordance with Deu 32:47 cf. Deu 32:3 , . On the other hand the rendering of the Vulgate, per verbum dei vivi et permanentis , is supported by Dan 6:26 ( ) and supports St. Peter’s argument: earthly relationships must perish with all flesh and its glory; spiritual kinship abides, because it is based on the relation of the kinsfolk to God living and abiding . For the word of God as the means of regeneration, cf. Jas 1:18 , . For its identification with of the quotation, cf. Act 10:36 f.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Being = Having been.
born. Same as “begotten”, 1Pe 1:3.
seed. Greek. spora. Only here.
word. App-121.
which liveth, &c. = living (App-170.) and abiding (see p. 1511).
forever. All the texts omit.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
23.] Ground of the exhortation, carried up further than the act of above, to the state of the new life of which that was an act; even to the beginning of that new life in their regeneration by the divine word. And the begetting cause of this new birth being Gods living and imperishable word, from that fact come in new considerations, enforcing that pure love which belongs not to a transitory and shifting but to an eternal and abiding state. Being born again, not of (out of, as origin) corruptible seed (, not in its strict and proper sense, sowing (ref. 4 Kings), but in its looser one of seed. And the seed spoken of is not, as Huther, that of plants; but the semen humanum, as the sequel shews), but incorruptible, by means of (not this time. The word of God is not the begetting principle itself, but only that by which the principle works: as it were the coccus or grain which is the involucrum and vehicle of the mysterious germinating power. We are not regenerated but . But on the other hand, the word itself is no mere perishing vehicle; no mere sacramental symbol, lost in the using: but it lives by and with the divine principle of life which it conveys and expands, and abides for ever. The of origination rests in God Himself, the Father, who begat us of his own will: the of instrumentality moves on and abides for ever) the (the definite art. is necessary in English, for the very reason for which it is omitted in Greek: viz. to prevent the from becoming concrete, and keep it to its widest general and abstract reference) word of God, living and abiding ( is thrown forward, as an emphatic predicate, before . That the two participles belong to , not to , is decisively shewn by the sequel, where the abiding nature, not of God, but of the word of God, is set forth. Many, however, have taken them with ; so vulg. (per verbum Dei vivi), (not c. as commonly cited, for he says, on this verse, ), Beza (who however prints per verbum Dei vivum et permanentis, sic), Calv. (altern., preferring this), Aretius, Grot. (expressly, alleging for it Dan 6:26, Theod., ), al.).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Pe 1:23. , being born again) Hence their brotherhood.- , of sowing) The Word of God is the seed, : the preaching of the Word of God, the sowing, . Therefore of is not afterwards repeated, but the phrase, by the Word, is used.- , living and abiding) This is connected with the Word, 1Pe 1:25. The Gospel bears incorruptible fruits, and not dead works; because it is in itself incorruptible. The living Word is full of efficacy; abiding for ever, it is free from all corruption.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
born: 1Pe 1:3, Joh 1:3, Joh 3:5
not: Mal 2:3, Rom 1:23, 1Co 15:53, 1Co 15:54
but: 1Jo 3:9, 1Jo 5:18
by: 1Pe 1:25, Jer 23:28, Mat 24:35, Joh 6:63, Heb 4:12, Jam 1:18
Reciprocal: Lev 11:37 – sowing seed Psa 87:5 – of Zion Psa 119:93 – will never Psa 119:144 – righteousness Pro 21:8 – but Isa 55:11 – shall my Mat 13:24 – good Mat 13:38 – the good Mar 4:14 – the word Mar 4:26 – as Luk 8:11 – The seed Luk 17:5 – Increase Joh 1:13 – were Joh 3:3 – Except Joh 17:17 – Sanctify Act 9:17 – Brother Rom 10:8 – the word of faith Rom 10:17 – faith Rom 16:1 – our Rom 16:14 – and 1Co 4:15 – for Eph 5:26 – by Phi 2:1 – if any fellowship Phi 2:16 – the word Phi 3:3 – have 1Th 2:13 – effectually Phm 1:16 – a brother Heb 8:10 – I will put 1Pe 2:2 – newborn 1Pe 3:4 – which is not 1Jo 2:27 – the anointing 1Jo 2:29 – is born 1Jo 3:15 – hath 2Jo 1:1 – whom 2Jo 1:2 – which 2Jo 1:5 – that we
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Pe 1:23. Born again is rendered “begotten again” by the Englishman’s Greek New Testament, which is more accurate because it pertains to the father’s part of reproduction. Not of corruptible seed denotes that it is not by the fleshly reproductive germ. It is the spiritual new birth and hence the seed is the word of God. This is the same thought expressed in Jas 1:18 which shows that God has begotten the spiritual creatures. For explanation of “born” and “begotten,” see the comments at Joh 3:5 in the first volume of the New Testament Commentary. Liveth and abideth for ever is said because the seed is the word of God which can never die.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Pe 1:23. Being born again, or rather, having been begotten again. On this see also 1Pe 1:3. The tense denotes a subsisting state due to an act in the past, and, therefore, here a new life in which they stand in virtue of a decisive change equivalent to a new birth. If the three verses which follow are regarded, as they are by almost all interpreters, as making one paragraph with the preceding verse, they must be understood to enforce the exhortation to a sincere and intense brotherly love. There is some difficulty, however, in establishing a sufficient connection, specially in view of the fact that there is no reference to community of life as the consequence of regeneration, but only a reference to the nature of the life which comes from an incorruptible source, through a Word which has the qualities of life and permanence. This being the case, and the injunction to brotherly love, as given in 1Pe 1:22, being complete within itself, it is suggested to connect 1Pe 1:23-25 with 1Pe 2:1-3. We should then have an exhortation (in 1Pe 2:1-3) to a right use of Gods Word, based here on the consideration (thrown forward, as is the case with so many of Peters counsels, before the charge itself) that it is to that Word that we owe our new life. The run of thought then would be clear and simpleye are possessors now of a new life which, in contrast with the transitoriness of the natural life and its glory, is an incorruptible, permanent life; but this you owe to the power of Gods living and abiding Word; therefore use that Word well, feed on it, nourish your life by it. Following the usual connection, we shall have to regard the previous exhortation to a brotherly love of a pure and whole-hearted order as now supported by the consideration that, in virtue of Gods act of regeneration, there is the same blood running in their veins (Leighton, and virtually Schott), or that the regeneration, which alone makes this kind of love a possibility, also makes it an obligation (Huther, etc.). Or better (with Weiss and, so far, Alford), we shall have to suppose that Peter now finds a further reason for holding themselves pledged to a life of love of this tenor, in a fact of grace of earlier date than even the purification of soul already instanced, namely, the decisive deed of Gods grace in bringing them first into the new life by the instrumentality of His Word. The special qualities of the instrument of their regeneration, namely those of living and abiding, are then named as arguments for rising to that high strain of persevering, undecaying love which befits a life which itself is lifted above the inconsistency, fitfulness, and perishableness of the natural life.
not of (or, from) corruptible seed, but incorruptible. The preposition denotes the source or origin of the life, and declares it to be in that respect unlike the natural life. The latter originates in what is perishable, and is itself, therefore, transitory and changeful. The former originates in what is incorruptible, and therefore is itself unsusceptible of failure or decadence. The word here translated seed occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is taken in that sense by almost all commentators, and this seems to be favoured by the qualifying adjective attached to it. Neither is that a sense absolutely strange. It is found, though with extreme rarity, both in the classics and elsewhere (2Ki 19:29; 1Ma 10:30). The word, however, would mean naturally sowing, which sense (along with the secondary meanings of seed-time and offspring) it has in the Classics. Here, therefore, it refers to the Divine act, described as a begetting, which is the point of origin for the new life.
through Gods living and abiding Word. There is a change in the preposition now, of which some strange explanations are given. It is not because Peter now passes from the figure to a literal designation of the medium of regeneration (Schott, Weiss, etc.), nor because the Word of God is now to be distinguished as a regenerating instrument from the Spirit of God implied in the foregoing seed as the regenerating power in the Word (de Wette, Brckner), nor is it even to mark out two different aspects of the same Word, namely the Word as external instrumentality in the production of the new life, and the Word (in the character of seed) as internal principle of the new life (Huther). It is due simply to the fact, that having named the act of God, which is the originating power, Peter now names the medium through which that takes effect (cf. Jas 1:18). The Logos or Word by which God begets us is neither the Personal Word, Christ, by whom God has spoken finally, nor the written Word, the Scripture, with which Paul opens his quotations, but, as in Heb 4:12, Revelation, or the declared will of God, and here that will as declared specially in the Gospel. Though the Word of God does not assume in Peter the form to which John carries it, it may yet be fairly said that it is more here than any written book, more than any oral teaching of the Gospel, however mighty that teaching might be in its effects (Plumptre). The context shows Peter to be viewing it as a voice which penetrates mans nature like a quickening principle, a Divine, eternal, creative power, working in and on the soul of man (Plumptre), and nearly identified with God Himself, just as in Hebrews 4 there is an immediate transition from the Word (1Pe 1:12) to God Himself (1Pe 1:13). It is not quite clear which of the two subjects, God or the Word, is qualified by the adjectives living and abiding. The order in the Greek is peculiar, the noun Gods being thrust in between the two adjectives. Most interpreters agree with the E. V. in taking the Word to be the subject described here as living and abiding, in favour of which it is strongly urged that the passage which follows from the Old Testament deals not with Gods own nature, but with that of His Word. The peculiar order of the Greek is then explained as due to the quality living being thrown forward for the sake of emphasis. On this view the thing most decidedly asserted is the life which inheres in the Word, and the subsequent citation from Isaiah would be introduced to express the contrast between the Word of God in this respect and the best of all natural things. The arrangement of the terms points, however, more naturally to God as the subject described by the epithets, and in support of this, Dan 6:26 is appealed to, where God is similarly described, and, indeed, according to one of the ancient Greek translators, in precisely the same terms. Calvin, therefore, supported by the Vulgate, and followed by some good exegetes, prefers the view that these epithets living and abiding are given here to God Himself, with reference to His Word, as that in which His own perpetuity is reflected as in a living mirror. In this case we should have the same kind of connection between God and His Word as we have also in Heb 2:12-13, where the conception of the former as having all things naked and opened to Him, and that of the latter as quick, powerful, and piercing, lie so near each other; and the following citation would have the more distinct design of affirming the Word to be partaker of the very life and perpetuity which inhere in God Himself. In either case the quality of abiding is not a mere superaddition (as Huther, etc., make it), but rather so weighty an inference from the living that it alone is expounded in what follows. For the dominant idea is still the kind of love which believers should exhibit toward each other, namely, persevering, lasting love, and the general intention of the closing verses is to show that while to the unregenerate all that is possible may be a love changeful and transient like the nature of which it is born, the regenerate are made capable of, and thereby pledged to, a love of the enduring quality of that new life which, like God Himself and Gods Word, lives and therefore abides. The words for ever are omitted by the best authors.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 23
Of corruptible seed; of frail and sinful parentage.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
The Word of God is the instrument God uses to produce new birth (cf. Mat 13:20; Luk 8:11). This "seed" shares the character of its Source. It never passes out of fashion nor does it become irrelevant.
"All the way from the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, to ’Babylon the Great’ in Revelation 17-18, man’s great attempts at unity are destined to fail.
"If we try to build unity in the church on the basis of our first birth, we will fail; but if we build unity on the basis of the new birth, it will succeed." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:399.]