The first twelve verses of 1 Peter 1 are deep and full of complications. These verses cover matters on the divine side, whereas verses 13 through 25 cover matters on the human side. An example of the profound matters covered by Peter in 1:1-12 is the foreknowledge of God. According to 1:1 and 2, we were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. Can you explain what the foreknowledge of God is? This matter of God’s foreknowledge is deep and profound.
In 1:3 Peter says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is Himself God. How, then, can God be His God? This is another profound matter in these verses.
In the first twelve verses of this chapter the points concerning the divine side are deep and profound. The matters on the human side covered in 1:13-25 are more detailed. This chapter, therefore, can be divided into two portions: verses 1 through 12 covering the divine side, and verses 13 through 25 covering the human side.
Verses 13 through 25 cover two main points: a holy manner of life and brotherly love. Verse 15 says, “But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also become holy in all your manner of life.” Verse 22 says, “Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth unto unfeigned brotherly love, love one another from the heart fervently.” In these verses Peter is concerned that the believers would have a holy manner of life and brotherly love.
We have emphasized the fact that the first twelve verses of this chapter unveil profound matters on the divine side. Some of these matters are the foreknowledge of God the Father, regeneration unto a living hope, and an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, and kept in the heavens for us. Verses 13 through 25 are mainly concerned with the development of a holy manner of life and brotherly love. These are the issues, the results, of the full salvation of the Triune God.
Let us now consider verses 13 through 25 one by one. Verse 13 says, “Wherefore, girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, set your hope completely on the grace being brought to you at the unveiling of Jesus Christ.” Verses 3 through 12 are one long sentence of blessing, of well-speaking, of God the Father, disclosing to us His marvelous and excellent salvation, beginning from the regeneration of our spirit (v. 3) and consummating in the salvation of our soul (v. 9), accomplished through the sufferings of Christ and His glories (v. 11), and applied to us by the Holy Spirit (v. 12). Based upon this, verse 13 begins an exhortation to those who are participating in the full salvation operated by the Triune God according to His economy.
To gird up the loins of our mind means not to be loose in our thinking. However, most of us are very loose in our thinking. Our thoughts jump from one thing to another. In a few seconds, in our mind we can travel around the world. We may think about one thing and then suddenly think about something else. For example, while praising the Lord at the Lord’s table, we may suddenly begin to think of something we have just purchased from the store. Because our thoughts can travel so fast, we need to gird up the loins of our mind.
Here Peter seems to be saying, “Brothers, I have just presented you a number of marvelous, divine items. You have read my well-speaking concerning the Triune God. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has regenerated us unto a living hope. I have spoken of God’s selection according to His foreknowledge, of Christ’s redemption, and the Spirit’s application. Now I urge you to gird up the loins of your mind. Don’t let your mind be loose.”
In verse 13 Peter also speaks of being sober. To be sober is to be calm and clear in mind, able to realize God’s economy in His salvation, as revealed in verses 3 through 12, without being disturbed by fear, anxiety, or any care.