1 Peter 1:21

1:17-25 Holy confidence in God as a Father, and awful fear of him as a Judge, agree together; and to regard God always as a Judge, makes him dear to us as a Father. If believers do evil, God will visit them with corrections. Then, let Christians not doubt God's faithfulness to his promises, nor give way to enslaving dread of his wrath, but let them reverence his holiness. The fearless professor is defenceless, and Satan takes him captive at his will; the desponding professor has no heart to avail himself of his advantages, and is easily brought to surrender. The price paid for man's redemption was the precious blood of Christ. Not only openly wicked, but unprofitable conversation is highly dangerous, though it may plead custom. It is folly to resolve, I will live and die in such a way, because my forefathers did so. God had purposes of special favour toward his people, long before he made manifest such grace unto them. But the clearness of light, the supports of faith, the power of ordinances, are all much greater since Christ came upon earth, than they were before. The comfort is, that being by faith made one with Christ, his present glory is an assurance that where he is we shall be also, Joh 14:3. The soul must be purified, before it can give up its own desires and indulgences.

And the word of God planted in the heart by the Holy Ghost, is a means of spiritual life, stirring up to our duty, working a total change in the dispositions and affections of the soul, till it brings to eternal life. In contrast with the excellence of the renewed spiritual man, as born again, observe the vanity of the natural man. In his life, and in his fall, he is like grass, the flower of grass, which soon withers and dies away. We should hear, and thus receive and love, the holy, living word, and rather hazard all than lose it; and we must banish all other things from the place due to it. We should lodge it in our hearts as our only treasures here, and the certain pledge of the treasure of glory laid up for believers in heaven.

1 Peter 1:21 . Δἰ αὐτοῦ , by Him ) by Christ , in whose resurrection all the argument and efficacy of faith and hope centre.—[ πιστεύοντας , who believe ) by the power of that manifestation.—V. g.]— ὥστε ) that so .— πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα , your faith and hope ) These two are most intimately joined together, and yet they differ with respect to the present and the future. [ Faith is derived from the resurrection of Christ: hope from His glorification .—V. g.]— εἰς Θεόν , in God ) alone, ch. 1 Peter 3:5 , who hath exalted Jesus, and prepared an anchor for us; Hebrews 6:19 ; Romans 8:34 ; whereas, apart from Christ, we could but have feared Him. Now we clearly believe and hope.

Who by him do believe in God; both as revealing God to you, Matthew 11:27 John 1:14 ; and making way for you to God, who, out of Christ, is a consuming fire, so that there is no coming to him but by Christ, John 14:6 Ephesians 2:18 3:12 Hebrews 7:25 . Gave him glory; viz. in his resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of God, &c., Philippians 2:9-11 Hebrews 2:9,10 . That your faith and hope might be in God; that seeing Christ raised and glorified, ye might be fully confirmed in the belief of a thorough satisfaction made to Divine justice for sin, and perfect reconciliation wrought (for had not Christ fully paid the price of redemption, his Father would never have let him out of the prison of the grave, in which his justice had shut him up); from which faith ariseth a hope, which looks to the resurrection of Christ your Head, as the certain pledge and earnest of your resurrection to life and glory. Christ’s resurrection and glory are the great grounds of faith, 1 Peter 3:21 Acts 2:32,33 5:31 10:40 Romans 4:24,25 1 Corinthians 15:14,17 .

1 Peter 1:21 . διʼ ὑμᾶς , for the sake of you Gentiles, i.e. , ἵνα ὑμᾶς προσαγάγῃ τῷ θεῷ , 1 Peter 3:18 . The resurrection of Jesus and His glorification are the basis of their faith in God and inspire not merely faith but hope.— διʼ αὐτοῦ . Compare for form Acts 3:16 , ἡ πίστις ἡ διʼ αὐτοῦ and for thought Romans 5:2 ; Ephesians 2:18 — πιστοὺς εἰς θεόν . This construction occurs not infrequently in the Bezan text and is simply equivalent to π . with the Dative ( Acts 16:15 ) corresponding to נאמן ל֙ . But π . keeping construction has changed its meaning. Already it is semi-technical = believing, sc. in Jesus and here πίστιν … εἰς θεόν follows immediately. So the verb πιστεύοντας is a true gloss; the addition of εἰς θεόν corrects the common conception of faith, which ultimately gave rise to a distinction between belief in Christ and belief in God.— δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα , so e.g. , the prophecy ( Isaiah 52:13 ) ὁ παῖς μου … δοξασθήσεται σφόδρα was fulfilled when the lame man was healed by St. Peter and St. John; ὁ θεὸς Ἁβραὰμ … ἐδόξασεν τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν ( Acts 3:13 ). But the glory is primarily and generally the glorious resurrection and ascension, in which state Jesus sent the Holy Spirit ( ἦν τὸ πνεῦμα ὅτι οὔπω ἐδοξάσθη , John).— ὥστε … θεόν . καὶ ἐλπίδα may be part of the subject of εἶναι εἰς θεόν , so that your faith and hope are in God, or predicate so that your faith is also hope in God .

21. by him—Compare "the faith which is by Him," Ac 3:16. Through Christ: His Spirit, obtained for us in His resurrection and ascension, enabling us to believe. This verse excludes all who do not "by Him believe in God," and includes all of every age and clime that do. Literally, "are believers in God." "To believe IN (Greek, 'eis') God" expresses an internal trust: "by believing to love God, going INTO Him, and cleaving to Him, incorporated into His members. By this faith the ungodly is justified, so that thenceforth faith itself begins to work by love" [P. Lombard]. To believe ON (Greek, "epi," or dative case) God expresses the confidence, which grounds itself on God, reposing on Him. "Faith IN (Greek, 'en') His blood" (Ro 3:25) implies that His blood is the element IN which faith has its proper and abiding place. Compare with this verse, Ac 20:21, "Repentance toward (Greek, 'eis,' 'into,' turning towards and going into) God and faith toward (Greek, 'eis,' 'into') Christ": where, as there is but one article to both repentance and faith, the two are inseparably joined as together forming one truth; where "repentance" is, there "faith" is; when one knows God the Father spiritually, then he must know the Son by whom alone we can come to the Father. In Christ we have life: if we have not the doctrine of Christ, we have not God.

The only living way to God is through Christ and His sacrifice. that raised him—The raising of Jesus by God is the special ground of our "believing": (1) because by it God declared openly His acceptance of Him as our righteous substitute; (2) because by it and His glorification He received power, namely, the Holy Spirit, to impart to His elect "faith": the same power enabling us to believe as raised Him from the dead. Our faith must not only be IN Christ, but BY and THROUGH Christ. "Since in Christ's resurrection and consequent dominion our safety is grounded, there 'faith' and 'hope' find their stay" [Calvin]. that your faith and hope might be in God—the object and effect of God's raising Christ. He states what was the actual result and fact, not an exhortation, except indirectly. Your faith flows from His resurrection; your hope from God's having "given Him glory" (compare 1Pe 1:11, "glories"). Remember God's having raised and glorified Jesus as the anchor of your faith and hope in God, and so keep alive these graces. Apart from Christ we could have only feared, not believed and hoped in God. Compare 1Pe 1:3, 7-9, 13, on hope in connection with faith; love is introduced in 1Pe 1:22.

21 . who by him do believe in God …] Literally, who through him are faithful (or believing) towards God ; the adjective expressing a permanent attribute of character rather than the mere act which would be expressed by the participle in Greek, and the present indicative in English. that raised him up from the dead …] The prominence given to the Resurrection as the ground of Faith and Hope is eminently characteristic of St Peter ( Acts 2:32-36 ; Acts 3:15 ; Acts 4:10 ). The redemptive act was completed in the shedding of the “precious blood,” but the Resurrection and the “glory” of the Ascension were the foundation of man’s confidence that the work had been completed. The “in God” expresses the Credo in Deum rather than Credo Deo ; faith and hope were to find their object in God, be directed towards Him.

Verse 21. - Who by him do believe in God ; or, according to two of the most ancient manuscripts, who through him are faithful towards God . Through himself, not only through his incarnation and atoning death, but through his grace and abiding presence. He was manifested for your sake who through him are faithful; for all the faithful, whether Jews or Gentiles; "for your glory," St. Paul says ( 1 Corinthians 2:7 ). The thought shows the greatness of God's love for his elect. The eternal Son was manifested for their sake; it gives an additional stimulus for Christian effort. That raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory. St. Peter returns to the "after-glories," which he had mentioned in ver. 11. The death of Christ is the atonement for sin; his resurrection and ascension are the grounds of our confidence and hope. They throw back a halo of Divine glory upon the awful cross; they bring out the beauty and the dignity of the atoning sacrifice; they show that it is accepted, that the work of our redemption is complete. The Resurrection held a very prominent place in the preaching of St. Peter, and, indeed, of all the apostles ( Acts 2:32-36 ; Acts 3:15 ; Acts 4:10 ; comp. also Acts 4:33 ; Romans 1:4 , etc.).