1 Peter 1:22

St Peter continues his exhortation, which has been interrupted by a reminder to his readers of their high privilege (1 Peter 1:18-21).

ἡγνικότες. The adjective ἁγνός in the O.T. means (a) ceremonially pure, free from defilement; (b) morally pure, which is its only meaning in the N.T. The verb ἁγνίζειν is nearly always used in the ceremonial sense in the O.T. and four times in the N.T., but here and in James 4:8; 1 John 3:3 it denotes moral purification. In accepting baptism, St Peter implies, you symbolized your cleansing from defilement, you consecrated yourselves to God’s service. The perfect participle denotes the abiding consequences of a past action. You profess to be men who have purified and consecrated themselves.

ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς�, in virtue of your obedience which is prompted by the truth; cf. 1 Peter 1:2, ἐν ἁγιασμῷ … εἰς ὑπακοήν. Your old life was one of ignorance (1 Peter 1:14). Now God has revealed the truth to you, and the possession of that truth, telling you of your sonship to God, sets before you a standard of obedience, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Your self-consecration consists in and depends on your obedience to that standard. It is meaningless unless you are τέκνα ὑπακοῆς.

εἰς φιλαδελφίαν. Self-consecration as obedient children of God necessarily pledges you to (εἰς) love of the brethren. φιλαδελφία does not mean merely “brotherly love,” but love of the Christian brotherhood; cf. 1 Peter 2:17, and 1 John 5:1. There can be no true sonship of God without true brotherhood with the other children of “Our Father.”

ἀνυπόκριτον. This love of our brethren in Christ must be no mere cant phrase, no unreal pretence. Cf. Romans 12:9; 2 Corinthians 6:6. It must spring from the heart and must be intense (ἐκτενῶς), not fitful or capricious, but steady and strenuous. For ἐκτενής, applied to love, cf. 1 Peter 4:8, and to prayer cf. Luke 22:44; Acts 12:5; cf. also Acts 26:7.