Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Peter 1:25
But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
But the word of the Lord – In Isaiah Isa 40:8 the word of our God. The sense is not materially varied.
Endureth forever – Is unmoved, fixed, permanent. Amidst all the revolutions on earth, the fading glories of natural objects, and the wasting strength of man, his truth remains unaffected. Its beauty never fades; its power is never enfeebled. The gospel system is as lovely now as it was when it was first revealed to man, and it has as much power to save as it had when first applied to a human heart. We see the grass wither at the coming on of autumn; we see the flower of the field decay; we see man, though confident in his strength, and rejoicing in the rigor of his frame, cut down in an instant; we see cities decline, and kingdoms lose their power: but the word of God is the same now that it was at first, and, amidst all the changes which may ever occur on the earth, that will remain the same.
And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you – That is, this gospel is the word which was referred to by Isaiah in the passage which has been quoted. In view, then, of the affecting truth stated in the close of this chapter, 1Pe 1:24-25 let us learn habitually to reflect on our feebleness and frailty. We all do fade as a leaf, Isa 64:6. Our glory is like the flower of the field. Our beauty fades, and our strength disappears, as easily as the beauty and vigor of the flower that grows up in the morning, and that in the evening is cut down, Psa 90:6. The rose that blossoms on the cheek of youth may wither as soon as any other rose; the brightness of the eye may become dim, as readily as the beauty of a field covered with flowers; the darkness of death may come over the brow of manliness and intelligence, as readily as night settles down on the landscape and our robes of adorning may be laid aside, as soon as beauty fades in a meadow full of flowers before the scythe of the mower.
There is not an object of natural beauty on which we pride ourselves that will not decay; and soon all our pride and pomp will be laid low in the tomb. It is sad to look on a beautiful lily, a rose, a magnolia, and to think how soon all that beauty will disappear. It is more sad to look on a rosy cheek, a bright eye, a lovely form, an expressive brow, an open, serene, intelligent countenance, and to think how soon all that beauty and brilliancy will fade away. But amidst these changes which beauty undergoes, and the desolations which disease and death spread over the world, it is cheering to think that all is not so. There is that which does not change, which never loses its beauty. The word of the Lord abides. His cheering promises, his assurances that there is a brighter and better world, remain amidst all these changes the same. The traits which are drawn on the character by the religion of Christ, more lovely by far than the most delicate coloring of the lily, remain forever. There they abide, augmenting in loveliness, when the rose fades from the cheek; when the brilliancy departs from the eye; when the body moulders away in the sepulchre. The beauty of religion is the only permanent beauty in the earth; and he that has that need not regret that that which in this mortal frame charms the eye shall fade away like the flower of the field.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. But the word of the Lord] The doctrine delivered by God concerning Christ endureth for ever, having, at all times and in all seasons, the same excellence and the same efficacy.
And this is the word] , What is spoken, by the Gospel preached unto you. “This is a quotation from Isa 40:6-8, where the preaching of the Gospel is foretold; and recommended from the consideration that every thing which is merely human, and, among the rest, the noblest races of mankind, with all their glory and grandeur, their honour, riches, beauty, strength, and eloquence, as also the arts which men have invented, and the works they have executed, shall decay as the flowers of the field. But the Gospel, called by the prophet the word of the Lord, shall be preached while the world standeth.”-Macknight. All human schemes of salvation, and plans for the melioration of the moral state of man, shall come to naught; and the doctrine of Christ crucified, though a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles, shall be alone the power of God for salvation to every soul that believeth.
As the apostle, on 1Pet 1:7, mentions gold, and gold chemically examined and tried; and as this figure frequently occurs in the sacred writings; I think it necessary to say something here of the nature and properties of that metal.
Gold is defined by chemists to be the most perfect, the most ductile, the most tenacious, and the most unchangeable of all metals. Its specific gravity is about 19.3. A cubic foot of pure gold, cast and not hammered, weighs 1348lbs. In its native state, without mixture, it is yellow, and has no perceptible smell nor taste. When exposed to the action of the fire it becomes red hot before it melts, but in melting suffers no alteration; but if a strong heat be applied while in fusion, it becomes of a beautiful green colour. The continual action of any furnace, howsoever long applied, has no effect on any of its properties. It has been kept in a state of fusion for several months, in the furnace of a glass house, without suffering the smallest change. The electric and galvanic fluids inflame and convert it into a purple oxide, which is volatilized in the form of smoke. In the focus of a very powerful burning glass it becomes volatilized, and partially vitrified; so that we may say with the apostle, that, though gold is tried by the fire-abides the action of all culinary fires, howsoever applied, yet it perisheth by the celestial fire and the solar influence; the rays of the sun collected in the focus of a powerful burning glass, and the application of the electric fluid, destroy its colour, and alter and impair all its properties. This is but a late discovery; and previously to it a philosopher would have ridiculed St. Peter for saying, gold that perisheth.
Gold is so very tenacious that a piece of it drawn into wire, one-tenth of an inch in diameter, will sustain a weight of 500lbs. without breaking.
One grain of gold may be so extended, by its great malleability, as to be easily divided into two millions of parts; and a cubic inch of gold into nine thousand, five hundred and twenty-three millions, eight hundred and nine thousand, five hundred and twenty-three parts; each of which may be distinctly seen by the naked eye!
A grain and a half of gold may be beaten into leaves of one inch square, which, if intersected by parallel lines, drawn at right angles to each other, and distant only the 100th part of an inch; will produce twenty-five millions of little squares, each of which may be distinctly seen without the help of glasses!
The surface of any given quantity of gold, according to Mr. Magellan, may be extended by the hammer 159,092 times!
Eighty books, or two thousand leaves, of what is called leaf gold, each leaf measuring 3.3 inches square, viz. each leaf containing 10.89 square inches, weigh less than 384 grains; each book, therefore, or twenty-five leaves, is equal to 272.25 inches, and weighs about 4.8 grains; so that each grain of gold will produce 56.718, or nearly fifty-seven square inches!
The thickness of the metal thus extended appears to be no more than the one 282.020th of an inch! One pound, or sixteen ounces of gold, would be sufficient to gild a silver wire, sufficient in length to encompass the whole terraqueous globe, or to extend 25,000 miles!
Notwithstanding this extreme degree of tenuity, or thinness, which some carry much higher, no pore can be discerned in it by the strongest magnifying powers; nor is it pervious to the particles of light, nor can the most subtile fluids pass through it. Its ductility has never yet been carried to the uttermost pitch, and to human art and ingenuity is probably unlimited.
Sulphur, in the state of a sulphuret, dissolves it; tin and lead greatly impair its tenacity; and zinc hardens and renders it very brittle. Copper heightens its colour, and renders it harder, without greatly impairing its ductility. It readily unites with iron, which it hardens in a remarkable manner.
The oxigenated muriatic acid, and the nitro-muriatic acid, dissolve gold. In this state it is capable of being applied with great success to the gilding of steel. The process is very simple, and is instantaneously performed, viz.:-
To a solution of gold in the nitro-muriatic acid add about twice the quantity of sulphuric ether. In order to gild either iron or steel, let the metal be well polished, the higher the better: the ether which has taken up the gold may be applied by a camel hair pencil, or small brush; the ether then evaporates, and the gold becomes strongly attached to the surface of the metal. I have seen lancets, penknives, c., gilded in a moment, by being dipped in this solution. In this manner all kinds of figures, letters, mottoes, &c., may be delineated on steel, by employing a pen or fine brush.
The nitro-muriatic acid, formerly called aqua regia, is formed by adding muriatic acid, vulgarly spirit of salt, to the nitric acid, formerly aqua fortis. Two parts of the muriatic acid to one of the nitric constitute this solvent of gold and platina, which is called the nitro-muriatic acid.
Gold was considered the heaviest of all metals till the year 1748, when the knowledge of platina was brought to Europe by Don Antonio Ulloa: this, if it be a real metal, is the hardest and weightiest of all others. The specific gravity of gold is, as we have seen, 19.3 that of platina is from 20.6 to 23: but gold will ever be the most valuable of all metals, not merely from its scarcity, but from its beautiful colour and great ductility, by which it is applicable to so many uses, and its power of preserving its hue and polish without suffering the least tarnish or oxidation from the action of the air.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever; not only absolutely in itself, and in respect of its perpetual verity, Psa 119:160; Mat 24:35; but relatively, as received by and dwelling in believers, 1Jo 3:9, who always experience the effects of it in themselves in their regeneration, receiving a solid and lasting being from it, (the new nature), which is likewise preserved by it, in opposition to that flux and mutable being they had by their first birth.
And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you; this word, of which Isaiah speaks, and which he so much magnifies, is the very same word of the gospel, which is preached unto you by us apostles.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. (Ps119:89.)
this is the word . . .preached unto youThat is eternal which is born ofincorruptible seed (1Pe 1:24):but ye have received the incorruptible seed, the word (1Pe1:25); therefore ye are born for eternity, and so are bound nowto live for eternity (1Pe 1:22;1Pe 1:23). Ye have not far tolook for the word; it is among you, even the joyful Gospel messagewhich we preach. Doubt not that the Gospel preached to you byour brother Paul, and which ye have embraced, is the eternal truth.Thus the oneness of Paul’s and Peter’s creed appears. See myIntroduction, showing Peteraddresses some of the same churches as Paul labored among and wroteto.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever,…. Though men die, and ministers of the word too, and everything in the world is uncertain, unstable, fleeting, and passing away, and whatever change has been in the ordinances of divine service; yet the word of the Lord, the Gospel of Christ, is settled for ever, and will never pass away:
and this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you; this is the apostle’s application of the passage in Isaiah, showing that the word of the Lord there is the same with the Gospel preached by him, and the other apostles, at that present time; and is no other than that good tidings Zion is said to bring; see Isa 40:9 the selfsame Gospel the Prophet Isaiah preached the apostles did, though with greater clearness, and more success; see Ro 10:8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Word of the Lord [ ] . Compare ver. 23, and note that rJhma is used for word, instead of logov; and Kuriov, Lord, instead of Qeov, God, which is the reading of the Hebrew, and of most copies of the Septuagint. The substitution indicates that Peter identifies Jesus with God. No very satisfactory reason can be given for the change from logov to rJhma. It may be due to the Greek translation, which Peter follows.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But the Word of the Lord endureth forever.” But the rhetoric (Gk. hrema) saying of the Lord endures, continues, remains true into the ages or forever. His spoken written and living Word should therefore be respected regarding life and death. Mat 24:35; Isa 40:8.
2) “And this is the Word.” This is even or also the saying (of finality) in authority.
3) “Which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Which by the good news of the Lord is preached to you. The full salvation for which man’s heart yearns, a better life hereafter has actuality of being in Jesus Christ alone, by regeneration, by faith in the Incorruptible Son of God. This message we witness and preach. Rom 1:16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25 But the word of God The Prophet does not shew what the word of God is in itself, but what we ought to think of it; for since man is vanity in himself, it remains that he ought to seek life elsewhere. Hence Peter ascribes power and efficacy to God’s word, according to the authority of the Prophet, so that it can confer on us what is real, solid, and eternal. For this was what the Prophet had in view, that there is no permanent life but in God, and that this is communicated to us by the word. However fading, then, is the nature of man, yet he is made eternal by the word; for he is re-moulded and becomes a new creature.
This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, or, which has been declared to you. He first reminds us, that when the word of God is mentioned, we are very foolish if we imagine it to be remote from us in the air or in heaven; for we ought to know that it has been revealed to us by the Lord. What, then, is this word of the Lord, which gives us life? Even the Law, the Prophets, the Gospel. Those who wander beyond these limits of revelation, find nothing but the impostures of Satan and his dotages, and not the word of the Lord. We ought the more carefully to notice this, because impious and Luciferian men, craftily allowing to God’s word its own honor, at the same time attempt to draw us away from the Scriptures, as that unprincipled man, Agrippa, who highly extols the eternity of God’s word, and yet treats with scurrility the Prophets, and thus indirectly laughs to scorn the Word of God.
In short, as I have already reminded you, no mention is here made of the word which lies hid in the bosom of God, but of that which has proceeded from his mouth, and has come to us. So again it ought to be borne in mind, that God designed by the Apostles and Prophets to speak to us, and their mouths is the mouth of the only true God.
Then, when Peter says, Which has been announced, or declared, to you, he intimates that the word is not to be sought elsewhere than in the Gospel preached to us; and truly we know not the way of eternal life otherwise than by faith. But there can be no faith, except we know that the word is destined for us.
To the same purpose is what Moses said to the people,
“
Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, etc.; nigh is the word, in thy mouth and in thy heart.” (Deu 30:12.)
That these words agree with what Peter says, Paul shews Rom 10:6, where he teaches us that it was the word of faith which he preached.
There is here, besides, no common eulogy on preaching; for Peter declares that what is preached is the life-giving word. God alone is indeed he who regenerates us; but for that purpose he employs the ministry of men; and on this account Paul glories that the Corinthians had been spiritually begotten by him. (1Co 4:15.) It is indeed certain that those who plant and those who water, are nothing; but whenever God is pleased to bless their labor, he makes their doctrine efficacious by the power of his Spirit; and the voice which is in itself mortal, is made an instrument to communicate eternal life.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) The word which by the gospel is preached.An incorrect rendering of the original tense. It literally runs, And this is the word which was preached unto you. The whole magnificent peroration of this paragraph, as of the last, leads up to this: that, in the opinion of St. Peter, the Gospel, as delivered by St. Paul and his followersthe Gospel of equality, or rather of unity between Jew and Gentile in Jesus Christwas the living and supreme abiding revelation of the will of God! Well may the Tbingen school wish to disprove the genuineness of this Epistle!
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. And now comes the special application: the gospel, which was preached unto you by the first missionaries, and is now diffused among you, by which you were brought into a new spiritual life, is the very word of God that endureth forever. It surely follows that the faith and hope of the Christian rest upon a secure foundation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And this is the word of good tidings which was preached to you.’
And this ‘word (rema) of the Lord’ is the very word of good tidings that had been preached to his readers and had brought their response. By this incorruptible seed they have been begotten again to incorruptible life. They are no longer ‘flesh’. They are renewed flesh which contains within it the seed of resurrection life. In terms to be used later (1Pe 3:18; 1Pe 4:6) they are ‘spirit’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Pe 1:25. The word of the Lord endureth for ever. The word of God is said to be incorruptible, to be alive, and to endure for ever, because it teaches men the way to life; or, if complied with, begins a life of happiness, which will, to the faithful, never end; which is the seed or principle of a spiritual and incorruptible, of a glorious and happy life, which will endure for ever. See Joh 3:36; Joh 5:24; Joh 5:47; Joh 6:27; Joh 6:63. Rom 8:6. 1Jn 2:17. The connection of St. Peter’s discourse in these verses is as follows: “Though you by your natural birth are born mortal, and, in consequence thereof, must fade away in respect to this life, like grass or flowers; yet, by being born again into the family of Christ, or the Christian brotherhood, (1Pe 1:22-23.) by the immortalizing seed of the word of God, you are born to an immortal life of glory and happiness: and the gospel is that word of God, which, if you be faithful, will render you immortal; namely, that gospel which I preach unto you.”
Inferences.Are we desirous of rendering it apparent to ourselves, and all around us, that we are indeed elect of God? Let it be, by a humble application to the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, on the one hand, and by the evident fruits of the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, on the other.
The abundant mercy of God has begotten real Christians to the lively hope of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance, reserved in heaven for them: let us keep it steadily in view, and earnestly pray, that God would preserve us by his mighty power through faith unto salvation. While we are waiting for this salvation, it is very possible, yea, probable, that affliction may be our portion; but let us remember, it is, if need be, that we are in heaviness through manifold temptations. Our faith, and our other graces, are as it were thrown into the furnace, not to be consumed, but refined; that they may be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearance of Jesus Christ. Even at present, may this divine faith produce that love to an unseen Jesus, which is here so naturally expressed by the apostle; and though now we see him not, yet may that love be eminently productive of joy, even that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory: and in the lively and vigorous exercise of these graces, may we all receive the end of our faith, even the everlasting salvation of our souls!
Let what we are told in this chapter of the prophetic writers, be improved as it ought, to confirm our faith in that glorious gospel, of which these holy men have given in their writings such wonderful intimations and predictions: writings, for the understanding of which we have advantages superior to those which even they themselves had. What exalted ideas should we entertain of a dispensation introduced by such a series of wonders, preached by the inspired prophets; and by the Holy Ghost in his miraculous gifts and salutary influence sent down from heaven: a dispensation into the glories of which the angels desire to pry; how much more worthy then, the attention of the children of men, who are so nearly concerned in it, who are redeemed by the blood of the Son of God? O! let us review it with the closest application, and improve it to the infinitely gracious and important purposes for which it was intended. Then will grace and peace be multiplied to us; and however we may now be dispersed and afflicted, pilgrims and strangers, we shall ere long be brought to our everlasting home, and meet together in the presence of our dear and condescending Saviour; where, having a more lively sense of our obligations to him, and beholding his glory, we shall love him infinitely better than at this distance we have been capable of, and feel our joy in him increased in a proportionable degree.
Again. Let it be a matter of our daily delightful meditation, that, while we clearly discern the uncertainty of all human dependencies, which wither like the grass, and fall like the flower of the field, the word of God abideth for ever. Let us cheerfully repose our souls upon it. And if we have indeed experimentally known its efficacy and power, so that our souls are purified by obeying the truth, let us carefully express our obedience to it by undissembled, fervent brotherly love: and, animated by our glorious and exalted hopes as Christians, even that divine and illustrious hope of the grace to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, let us set ourselves to the vigorous discharge of every duty, as knowing that we should be children of obedience, having the excuse of ignorance no longer to plead for the indulgence of our lusts, but by a holy God being called with a holy calling, and instructed to invoke him, at once, as our gracious Father and impartial Judge.
It is worthy of our special remark, that the blessed apostle urges us to pass the transitory and limited time of our sojourning here in fear, from the consideration of our being redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, which is a price of infinitely more value than all the treasures of the universe. And certainly there is a mighty energy in the argument; for as it is a very amiable, so it is also a very awful consideration. What heart so hardened, as not to tremble at trampling on the blood of the Son of God, and frustrating, as far as in him lies, the important design of his death? And, while we are reflecting on the resurrection and exaltation of our Redeemer, as the great foundation of our eternal hopes, let us dread to be found opposing him whom God hath established on his own exalted throne; and with the utmost reverence let us kiss the Son, in token of our grateful acceptance of his mercy, and cheerful and humble submission to his authority. (Psa 2:12.)
REFLECTIONS.1st, This epistle opens with,
1. The writer’s name and title: Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, by his immediate appointment, and sent especially to the circumcision.
2. The persons to whom it is addressed: To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia; dispersed by various providences through these provinces, and now called to the faith of Christ;to the elect, the converted Jews and others to whom he is writing, (see the introduction and annotations,) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, discovered in the prophetical writings, which foretold of these blessings to be conveyed to them by the Messiah, who also is said to be foreknown before the foundations of the world, prophesied of from the beginning (Gen 3:15.) but manifested in the last times for them, 1Pe 1:20 through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, this blessed author of all grace, having converted their souls to the love and practice of true holiness, and brought them to the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ for pardon and peace with God, which only by the sacrifice of the Redeemer could be obtained.
3. The salutation: Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied; may the pardoning, sealing, sanctifying, comforting, preserving grace of our God be with you; and peace, the blessed effect thereof, be diffused in the Church, in your families, and in your own souls. Note; We need nothing more to make us happy, than grace and peace; and if we possess all the world beside, and lack these, we are poor and miserable. 2nd, The apostle proceeds, 1. To thanksgiving for the inestimable blessings which, through the gospel, they enjoyed. 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, when we had nothing in prospect before us but misery and despair, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification, that we, beholding in him the justice of God satisfied, might be emboldened to approach a reconciled God, and not only by his grace be quickened to newness of life here, but be entitled also to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, yea, for all the faithful saints of God, who are kept, not by their own natural strength or sufficiency, but by the power of God, engaged to protect them from all their enemies, and to preserve them through faith of his operation in their hearts, unto salvation completed in glory, and which is ready to be revealed in the last time, when Jesus shall appear, and take his faithful followers to their eternal mansions of blessedness above. Note; (1.) We can never be thankful enough, when we remember the abundant mercy of our God and Father in Jesus Christ to our sinful souls. (2.) Every blessing flows from boundless and unmerited grace.(3.) The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the grand foundation of our hope; and it is a lively hope, animating the soul to patience and purity. (4.) Whatever enemies, snares, dangers, temptations, beset us in our way to heaven, we shall be more than conquerors, if we perseveringly cleave to Jesus Christ in faith and love.
2. Having mentioned the salvation which was in prospect, he shews how that afforded comfort and support under all their trials. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, looking forward and upward to your glorious hope, though now for a season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, which though ye cannot but feel as men, you can rejoice under them as Christians; and they are sent, 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 honour and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ; and in the mean time its purity, genuineness, and excellence, shall be brightened and strengthened by all the conflicts it hath sustained in the Saviour’s service, whom having not seen, ye love with fervent and supreme affection, faith realizing his amiableness to your souls; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, the lively foretaste of eternal bliss; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, begun already, and to be completed shortly in glory for every faithful soul. Note; (1.) A Christian has cause to rejoice in God and the hope set before him at all times; and, even in the midst of grief and trouble, this consolation the world cannot take away from the righteous. (2.) Though our lot as Christians in this world is through manifold temptations, and our own nature cannot but more or less feel the burden, yet we must remember there is a need be for every pang we feel, and that should reconcile us to them. (3.) The bitterest afflictions to flesh and blood are often the most profitable medicines to our souls; and if we come to glory, we shall see that these were indeed blessings in disguise. (4.) The trial of our faith tends to its confirmation and establishment; and like gold, when tortured in the furnace, we come forth from our troubles the brighter, and leave the dross of corruption behind. (5.) Fidelity will be crowned when Jesus shall appear, and all the trials of the saints will then end in immortal honour and eternal glory. (6.) Jesus is precious to the believing soul; and the realizing views of him, which faith presents, bring down the foretastes of heavenly blessedness.
3rdly, The salvation of the gospel, on which their faith fixed, was that which the blessed prophets had foretold, and after which they earnestly inquired. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired, and searched diligently into the meaning of their own prophecies which by inspiration they delivered, digging deep into the golden mine, that themselves might share the treasure; who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you through the incarnate Saviour: searching, with eagerness, what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ for the sins of the world, and the glory that should follow, when, having offered his one atonement, he should ascend to the throne of Majesty on high. They wished to know the exact time, and what would be the state of the world, when this great event should come to pass. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister; the events predicted were not to be fulfilled in their days, but ours; and they foretold 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, who by his miraculous operations, and by the communication of his gifts and graces, bears his sacred testimony to the truth of our report: which things the angels desire to look into, bending forward as the cherubims over the mercy-seat, with wonder and delight contemplating the wonders of gospel-grace, admiring and adoring. Note; (1.) The mysteries of gospel-grace were not only the subjects which engaged the holy prophets’ researches, but they afford matter for angelic contemplation, wonder, and praise. (2.) The word of God must be searched, and diligently examined: there are treasures hid in it which will abundantly repay our pains. (3.) The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven still continues to make the gospel effectual to salvation, and on his mighty operation all the success of our preaching depends.
4thly, From the foregoing considerations the apostle,
1. Enforces the practice of true godliness in sundry particulars. Wherefore, (1.) Gird up the loins of your mind, be disentangled from every thing in the world which would retard you in your heavenly course, and be strong in the Lord and the power of his might to fight the good fight of faith. (2.) Be sober, temperately using every creature-comfort, and with holy vigilance preparing for the Master’s return. And, (3.) Hope to the end, never dismayed nor discouraged by any temptations to which you may be exposed, but patiently persevering, and confidently waiting for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, when the work of grace shall be completed, and an eternity of glory succeed, for all the faithful; the hope of which, as an anchor of the soul, should enable us to ride out every storm. (4.) Behave as obedient children to your heavenly Father, dutiful in observing his commands, and submitting to his disposal and correction; not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts, in your ignorance, not conformed to the corrupt manners, maxims, and pursuits of a world which lieth in wickedness, among whom we all had our conversation in time past, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and knowing not the dreadful ruin which hung over our heads. To these ways let us never return; but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, proposing to yourselves nothing short of his complete and perfect image, and in every state, condition, and circumstance, desiring that your hearts, lips, and lives, may exactly correspond with his holy will: because it is written in that word which is our only rule of duty, Be ye holy, for I am holy.(5.) Maintain a holy jealousy over yourselves. And if, as becometh your profession, ye call in ceaseless prayer on the Father for that grace which alone can enable you for all that he commands, who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every man’s work, and thereby proves whether they are obedient children or notpass the time of your sojourning here in fear, in filial fear of offending God, and holy jealousy over your own hearts, knowing that your present state is your pilgrimage, and that, if you are faithful, you shall shortly reach the happy rest, where all your fears will end, and your felicity be completed for ever.
2. To encourage and engage them to the practice which he recommends, he suggests the most powerful motivesyou should thus live to God, forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, from the foolish traditions and corrupt manners and ways received by tradition from your fathers: to redeem you from which, all the perishing treasures of this world would be a price too despicable to be mentioned: but an infinitely greater hath been paid for you; you are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who offered himself as your ransom to God, pure from all defilement, a Lamb fit to bleed on God’s altar, and of such transcendant dignity in his person as to add infinite value to his sacrifice. Who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, to be the one propitiation; but was manifest in these last times for you, (becoming incarnate, and making the brightest displays of the glory of his grace,) who by him do believe in God as your reconciled and covenant God, that raised him up from the dead in testimony of his acceptance of the sacrifice which he had offered for our justification, and gave him glory, exalting him to the Mediatorial throne; that your faith and hope might be in God, assured through the divine Messiah of present favour and acceptance with him, and expecting, according to his promise, all the blessings of grace here, and of glory hereafter.
5thly, The apostle proceeds,
1. To inculcate the exercise of fervent love. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, and have so graciously begun to advance in all holiness of heart and temper, being led by him especially unto unfeigned love of the brethren; see therefore that, under his blessed influences and according to the gospel word, ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; with still increasing and more enlarged affection; being born again, and made partakers of a divine nature, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever, unchangeably the same, and communicating a dignity and honour to which the highest human pedigree cannot pretend. Note; (1.) The gospel truth, through the Spirit embraced and obeyed, is the effectual means of purifying the soul. (2.) Unfeigned love of the brethren is among the surest evidences of the Spirit’s work upon the heart. They who have made the highest advancements in the divine life, have need to be exhorted to increase more and more.
2. He sets forth the vanity of man. All flesh is as grass, weak and perishing; and all the glory of man, his pomp, wealth, affluence, wisdom, and endowments of every kind, are as the flower of grass, that soon fades and decays. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; one stroke of sickness, or accident, or the ravages of age, make all human greatness droop; and death carries it to the grave: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever, and they who are begotten by it have in their hearts eternal life begun; and if they perseveringly improve it, they shall flourish in glory everlasting. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, whose effects are so everlastingly blessed to the faithful saints of God. Note; A deep sense of the vanity of man, and of his present state of corruption, will serve greatly to draw off our minds from the trifles of time, to look to the abiding glories of eternity which in the gospel are revealed unto us.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
Surely we have reason to bless God for the dispersion of his people, in that so much grace is manifested, and hath been manifested in their recovery. All which proves the original and eternal election of the Church by God the Father, the purchase of their redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, and their regeneration and sanctification by the Holy Ghost. And that sweet promise is confirmed in every instance of a child of God brought back by sovereign grace, Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel, will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock!
And, Reader! shall we not both join the Apostle’s hymn, in the conscious recovery of our poor fallen nature, by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and in the assurance of that inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, to which all his redeemed are begotten, and which is reserved for them in heaven, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation; shall we not bless God for his unspeakable gift! And though in the way to our possession of this secured inheritance, there is a needs-be to meet with manifold temptations, yet, even these temptations, under divine grace, minister but to greater glory; and every exercise of faith becomes more precious than gold that perisheth!
Precious Jesus thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. And though we see thee not by sight, yet do thy people love thee, the fairest and the loveliest of ten thousand. Thy salvation, the Prophets spoke of, guided by thy Spirit within them. Thy finished redemption, the Holy Ghost hath given thy Church grace to believe, in the preaching of the Gospel, in thy presence and power, sent down from heaven. And while angels desire to look into these things, by way of discovery of their wonderful nature and extent, it is the unspeakable happiness of thy people to be taught of God, and to believe in God, that their faith and hope might be in God.
Oh! Lord the Spirit! thou who hast given to thy Church this sweet scripture, give to them the knowledge and apprehension of all its blessed contents in their hearts. And, since, by thy sovereign work of regeneration, thy people are born again, and brought into the knowledge and love of God in Christ, give them also grace to live in the daily enjoyment of their high privileges. May they have such a daily sense of the electing love of God, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the redeeming, cleansing, and renewing efficacy of the blood of Jesus, as to believing in the sweet communion and fellowship of the whole, as to be found, unto the praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Ver. 25. The Lord of the Lord, &c. ] This sentence is the motto of the Dukes of Saxony. (Manlii, loc. com.) See Psa 119:89 . By the word of the Lord understand that which is written in cordibus, non in codicibus; in the heart, not in the book.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25 .] but the word (the change from to may be on account of the citation. Yet it is not easy to see why it would have been more difficult to change to than to . is rather the word uttered, the ‘ dictum :’ , the word, uttered or unuttered, single or manifold, concrete or abstract) of the Lord (LXX, : changed here probably on account of the application which follows, as De W.) remaineth for ever. And (the applies what has gone before: the contrast being between the general truth and the particular identification) this ( predicate , logically considered, not subject , as Wies., al.: “The word which was &c. is this very here spoken of”) is the word which was (Angl. has been) preached to you (in the declaration of the gospel. , not merely the dative commodi , but as addressed to you and diffused among you: see reff. The logical inference to be drawn is, ‘and consequently the word preached to you is imperishable and eternal, and demands of you that you earnestly and intently follow up that new life which by it has been implanted in you.’ Hence the connexion of ch. 1Pe 2:1-3 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Pe 1:25 . comes from of Isa 40:9 which the Targum explains as referring to the prophets.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
word. Greek. rhema. See Mar 9:32.
LORD. App-98.
endureth. Greek. meno. Same as “abide”, 1Pe 1:23.
for ever. App-151. The above is quoted from Isa 40:6-8. App-107.
which . . . preached. Literally evangelized, as 1Pe 1:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25.] but the word (the change from to may be on account of the citation. Yet it is not easy to see why it would have been more difficult to change to than to . is rather the word uttered, the dictum: , the word, uttered or unuttered, single or manifold, concrete or abstract) of the Lord (LXX, : changed here probably on account of the application which follows, as De W.) remaineth for ever. And (the applies what has gone before: the contrast being between the general truth and the particular identification) this (predicate, logically considered, not subject, as Wies., al.: The word which was &c. is this very here spoken of) is the word which was (Angl. has been) preached to you (in the declaration of the gospel. , not merely the dative commodi , but as addressed to you and diffused among you: see reff. The logical inference to be drawn is, and consequently the word preached to you is imperishable and eternal, and demands of you that you earnestly and intently follow up that new life which by it has been implanted in you. Hence the connexion of ch. 1Pe 2:1-3).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Pe 1:25. , the Lord) The Septuagint has .-, preached in the Gospel) 1Pe 1:12.- , unto you) in whom immortality is thereby implanted.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the word: 1Pe 1:23, Psa 102:12, Psa 102:26, Psa 119:89, Isa 40:8, Mat 5:18, Luk 16:17
this: 1Pe 1:12, 1Pe 2:2, Joh 1:1, Joh 1:14, 1Co 1:21-24, 1Co 2:2, 1Co 15:1-4, Eph 2:17, Eph 3:8, Tit 1:3, 2Pe 1:19, 1Jo 1:1, 1Jo 1:3
Reciprocal: 2Sa 21:15 – and David waxed faint Isa 64:6 – we all Mat 24:35 – my Luk 21:33 – General Rom 10:8 – the word of faith 1Th 2:13 – the word of God 1Jo 2:17 – abideth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Pe 1:25. The reader is not left in any uncertainty as to what is meant by the spiritual seed of reproduction. It is the word that was brought into the world by the Gospel, hence the new birth does not consist of some mysterious operation of God upon sinful man. It is the simple matter of believing and obeying the Gospel.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
That is, the word of God, the mind of Christ, contained in, and revealed by, the gospel, shall abide and last for ever, and never be abrogated; the word of God is everlasting truth, it is so in its nature, and also in its effects upon the regenerate, it abideth for ever, and so doth their estate who are begotten again by it. The word of God is the incorruptible seed, or principle of regeneration: it is called the word of eternal life, because it brings those that love and obey it to eternal life, Joh 6:68.
Observe lastly, That the same word of God is now preached unto us which was so highly commended by the prophets, apostles, and by Christ himself: This is that word, the same word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 25
The word of the Lord; that is, the incorruptible seed, mentioned in 1 Peter 1:23, as that through which the believer is born again.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:25 {15} But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
(15) Again lest any man should seek that spiritual force and virtue in feigned imaginations, the apostle calls us back to the word of God: teaching us furthermore, that there is no other word of the Lord to be looked for than this that is preached, in which we must trust alone.