1 Peter 1:16

Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. Scripture is the source of all authority in questions of doctrine and practice. BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM It is ME you have to do with Ye are mine We are too prone to have respect unto men BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM. It is ME you have to do with. Ye are mine. We are too prone to have respect unto men (Calvin). Since I am the fountain of holiness, being holy in my essence, be ye zealous to partake of holiness, that ye may be as I am (Didymus). The creature is holy only in so far as it is sanctified by God. God, in giving the command, is willing to give also the power to obey, through the sanctifying Spirit ()....

13-16 As the traveller, the racer, the warrior, and the labourer, gathered in their long and loose garments, that they might be ready in their business, so let Christians do by their minds and affections. Be sober, be watchful against all spiritual dangers and enemies, and be temperate in all behaviour. Be sober-minded in opinion, as well as in practice, and humble in your judgment of yourselves. A strong and perfect trust in the grace of God, is agreeable with best endeavours in our duty. Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. It must be in all affairs, in every condition, and towards all people. We must especially watch and pray against the sins to which we are inclined. The written word of God is the surest rule of a Christian's life, and by this rule we are commanded to be holy every way. God makes those holy whom he saves....

BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN, BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY - Leviticus 11:44. This command was addressed at first to the Israelites, but it is with equal propriety addressed to Christians, as the professed people of God. The foundation of the command is, that they professed to be his people, and that as his people they ought to be like their God. Compare Micah 4:5. It is a great truth, that people everywhere will imitate the God whom they worship. They will form their character in accordance with his. They will regard what he does as right. They will attempt to rise no higher in virtue than the God whom they adore, and they will practice freely what he is supposed to do or approve. Hence, by knowing what are the characteristics of the gods which are worshipped by any people, we may form a c

EXPOSITIONS 1 PETER 1:1 PETER. It is the Greek form of the name, which the Lord Jesus himself had given to the great apostle; first, by anticipation, in the spirit of prophecy (John 1:42); and again when the prophecy was already in a measure fulfilled, and Simon was proving himself to be indeed a stone, built upon the Rock of Ages, which is Christ (Matthew 16:18). It was his Christian name; he must have prized that name as the gift of Christ, reminding him always, of his confession and of the Savior's promise, urging him to maintain throughout life that rock-like steadfastness which was indeed characteristic of him, but in which he had more than once very sadly failed. The us

BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN,.... In Leviticus 11:44 BE YE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY: an argument the apostle knew must have weight with these persons, who were chiefly Jews, scattered abroad among the Gentiles, and had a value for the Scriptures of truth; and therefore, as the argument for holiness of life, from the nature and perfections of God, is strong, it must receive additional strength from this being the declared will of God, even their sanctification on this account; and though holiness, equal to God, is never to be attained to by a creature, yet so far as it is capable of it, it is desirable, because agreeable both to the nature and will of God, by all such who are truly his children, who love his name, adore his perfections, give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, fear his goodness, and obey his will....

1 Peter 1:1. _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._ The first Christians were not so afraid of the doctrine of election as some are now-a-days. Peter was not ashamed to address the saints as the elect of God, for so, indeed, they are, if they be saints at all. It is he that chose them, not because they were sanctified, but that they might be sanctified chose them to eternal life through sanctification. Oh! happy are they who by grace have made their calling and election sure, and now ascribe all the glory of their salvation to the sovereign choice of God. «Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied.»...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. THE SUFFERING OF BELIEVERS AND EXHORTATIONS TO HOLY LIVING CHAPTER 1:1-21 _ 1. The introduction and doxology (1 Peter 1:1)_ 2. Suffering and the coming glory (1 Peter 1:6) 3. As revealed in the prophets (1 Peter 1:10) 4. Exhortations to holy living (1 Peter 1:13) 1 Peter 1:1 As stated in the introduction, Peter writes to believing Jews in the dispersion throughout the provinces mentioned in the first verse. There is at once pointed out a contrast between them as true bel

Here the practical aim of the epistle becomes at the earliest possible moment clearly manifest. The writer finds in the central reality of the Christian faith the example, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the truest source of good conduct. He reminds them that all this has taken place that they may be sharers in the character of God. Hope in God can have no other logical issue than conformity to His will. 1 PETER 1:13. GIRDING UP: a metaphor derived from a necessity of Eastern costume, and perhaps with special reference to the Passover. It is found also on the lips of Jesus (Luke 12:35). 1 Peter 1:14. in the time of your ignorance: one of the proofs that the communities were originally Gentile.

BE YE HOLY, &C. Quoted from Leviticus 11:44. See also Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7....

_because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy_ Literally, YE SHALL BE HOLY, the future, as in the Ten Commandments, having the force of the imperative. The words, which occur frequently in the Levitical code (Leviticus 11:44; Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:26), were applied sometimes to the priests as such, sometimes to the whole nation as a kingdom of priests. We see from ch. 1 Peter 2:5, that the Apostle's thought is that all members of the Church of Christ have succeeded to that character, and are sharers in the priestly function, offering spiritual sacrifices....