Today, we return to 1 Peter wherein the Apostle Peter is giving us principles which will enable us to navigate a testimony of God's power and faithfulness in this very dark world. The key to a godly life is the pronouncement of God through the yielded life of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are godly, we are only godly because of God's presence in and through our lives.
In v.14 of today's passage we read, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance."
In the Message translation of this verse we read, "As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness."
When we are being defined by the Lord, we literally will be seen as children of obedience. Found only four times in the New Testament, this word translated "ignorance" is the Greek noun "agnoia" which means "living outside of the will of God." Without knowing the truth of God in Christ, we will be the home of ignorance. When we are hearing the gospel and we are knowing God, we will not be defined by this rebellious and ignorant world. And, as we grow in our hearts ability to see the trustworthy heart of God, we will be defined by His way of thinking and His power will produce His character in and through us.
The word "conform" is written in the passive voice, meaning "to be fashioned by something outside of us." This is the identical word used in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
This command "do not conform to evil desires," literally means to make a complete break with our former way of thinking and living. The phrase "evil desires" refers to informed passions, drives, or ambitions. When we were dead to God in our sins and trespasses, we were conformed to the world's passions and drives and desires and ambitions. When we were in our ignorance, we didn't even think about the choices that we made for they were adamic to us. Our sinful desires were our default mode before we became believers in Christ. But now, since we are informed by God's wisdom and His definition of things, we recognize the foolishness of any way other than God's way. This is the result of realizing that we have the choice daily to be defined by God or by the evil one. When we allow the evil one to beckon us to be defined by sin, we score points for him.
In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy."
For a very long time when I thought of the word "holy", I thought "sinlessness." And, in the back of my mind, I have always known that sinlessness is impossible for any human. In time, I learned through a careful study of the word "holiness," I garnered a different understanding of its definition. Literally, the Apostle Peter is saying "live out of the holiness that Christ earned for you." He isn't saying manufacture the holiness, because we can't. He is saying, "experience God's holiness as you yield to Him."
Holiness in the Bible is to be "set apart." In the character of God, we see everything we have ever wanted out of life. And, due to the fact that He now lives in and through the believer in Jesus, the believer in Christ is positioned to experience the expression of all of God's characteristics in a holy way. The role we play is to be willing to allow God to express Himself in, to, and through our yielded lives.
God's holiness pervades all of His attributes. His love is a holy love. His mercy is a holy mercy. His justice is a holy justice. His wrath is a holy wrath. Holiness is what sets Him apart. When we refuse to allow the world to squeeze us into its mold, it is then God will most profoundly express Himself in, to, and through us. And, as a result, we will live out of the holiness Christ earned for us. Since holiness is God's nature, it is His holiness that completes us.
Holiness in the Bible is to be "set apart." In the character of God, we see everything we have ever wanted out of life. And, due to the fact that He now lives in and through the believer in Jesus, the believer in Christ is positioned to experience the expression of all of God's characteristics in a holy way. The role we play is to be willing to allow God to express Himself in, to, and through our yielded lives.
God's holiness pervades all of His attributes. His love is a holy love. His mercy is a holy mercy. His justice is a holy justice. His wrath is a holy wrath. Holiness is what sets Him apart. When we refuse to allow the world to squeeze us into its mold, it is then God will most profoundly express Himself in, to, and through us. And, as a result, we will live out of the holiness Christ earned for us. Since holiness is God's nature, it is His holiness that completes us.
God's holiness is not some experience for a small group of "spiritual elites." God's holiness is who God is, and, we can never have a proper, complete or satisfying relationship with God and miss His essence. We do well to think of God's holiness in terms of God being without creation. Our tendency is to bring God down to our level. But our whole God is not determined by our issues. When He sent His Son to earth, God took on human nature out of His eternal holy love, not because sin made Him do it. It is only the wholeness of God that can transform our brokenness.
God's wholeness appears everywhere in scripture. His love, for example, is a whole love which means He desires to produce in us His wholeness which tears away our insecurities. When this happens, we will be a people who are secure in His love for us. When we miss God’s wholeness, we will discover that we have missed Him. But, when we encounter God's wholeness, we will be empowered by Him to be capable of living out of His favor for us and His culture is found primarily in His word.
