the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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1 Peter 1:3
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Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Blessed: 1 Kings 8:15, 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, 1 Chronicles 29:20, Psalms 41:13, Psalms 72:18, Psalms 72:19, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:17, Ephesians 3:20
which: Exodus 34:6, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Jonah 4:2, Romans 5:15-21, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:7-10, 1 Timothy 1:14, Titus 3:4-6
abundant: Gr. much.
hath: 1 Peter 1:23, 1 Peter 2:2, John 1:13, John 3:3-8, James 1:18, 1 John 2:29, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 5:1, 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:18
unto: Romans 5:4, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:24, Romans 12:12, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Colossians 1:23, Colossians 1:27, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 6:18, Hebrews 6:19, 1 John 3:3
by: 1 Peter 3:21, Isaiah 26:19, Romans 4:25, Romans 5:10, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 15:20, Ephesians 2:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:13
Reciprocal: Genesis 14:20 - blessed Exodus 18:10 - General Numbers 34:2 - an inheritance Deuteronomy 12:9 - General 1 Kings 1:48 - Blessed 1 Chronicles 16:36 - Blessed 2 Chronicles 2:12 - Huram 2 Chronicles 31:8 - blessed Nehemiah 8:6 - blessed Nehemiah 9:5 - bless Job 5:11 - exalted Psalms 72:17 - his name Psalms 108:7 - I will rejoice Psalms 119:50 - for thy Psalms 138:8 - forsake Isaiah 42:16 - and not Jeremiah 3:19 - goodly heritage Jeremiah 31:3 - with lovingkindness have I drawn Jeremiah 33:6 - and will Matthew 16:17 - Blessed Matthew 18:14 - it is Matthew 25:34 - Come Luke 1:68 - Blessed Luke 12:32 - the kingdom Luke 24:26 - General Luke 24:46 - General John 20:17 - I ascend Acts 3:26 - sent Acts 18:27 - believed Romans 5:2 - and rejoice Romans 6:23 - but the Romans 15:6 - the 1 Corinthians 8:6 - one God 1 Corinthians 15:13 - General 1 Corinthians 15:17 - ye are 2 Corinthians 11:31 - God Ephesians 1:18 - is Ephesians 1:20 - he wrought Ephesians 2:12 - having Ephesians 4:4 - as Philippians 1:6 - begun Philippians 2:13 - to will Philippians 3:10 - and the power Philippians 3:14 - the high Philippians 3:20 - our Colossians 1:5 - laid Colossians 1:6 - knew Colossians 3:3 - your 1 Thessalonians 1:5 - but 1 Thessalonians 1:10 - whom 1 Thessalonians 5:8 - the hope 2 Thessalonians 2:16 - good Titus 1:2 - hope Titus 3:5 - according Hebrews 1:9 - thy God Hebrews 6:11 - of hope Hebrews 6:17 - more Hebrews 9:15 - eternal James 3:9 - bless 1 Peter 1:13 - hope 1 Peter 3:15 - the hope 1 Peter 5:1 - a partaker Revelation 21:7 - inherit Revelation 22:5 - and they
Cross-References
See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.
See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.
Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,And He covers the depths of the sea.
"Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, And He covers the depths of the sea.
Behold, he doth stretch his light vpon it, and couereth the bottome of the sea.
Lo, he spreadeth his light around him, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Look, He scatters His light upon it, And covers the depths of the sea.
Behold, He spreads His light about Him, and He covers the bottom of the sea.
Look, he spreads lightning all over the sky and covers the deepest part of the ocean.
Behold, he spreads his light around him. He covers the bottom of the sea.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,.... The epistle begins here with thanksgiving to God, or an ascription of blessing, praise, and glory to him; for this does not mean an invoking or conferring a blessing on him; neither of which can be, for there is not a greater than he to be invoked, nor can anything be added to his blessedness: but God may be blessed by his creatures when they speak well of him, and his wonderful works of creation, providence, and grace; when they ascribe all their mercies, spiritual and temporal, to him; give him the glory of them, and express their thanks for them in heart, lip, and life; and such a blessing of God for a special and spiritual favour, the grace of regeneration, is intended here: by "God" is meant, not God essentially, but personally considered, even God the Father, as is clearly expressed: the words are rendered in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions without the copulative "and", thus, "blessed be God the Father"; and if that is retained, they, may be rendered thus, "blessed be God, even the Father"; as in 2 Corinthians 1:3 and so the latter be exegetical of the former; though both are true of Christ, in different senses; God is the God of Christ, as Christ is man; and he is the Father of Christ, as Christ is God; for, as man, he had no father, nor is he a son by office, but by nature;
2 Corinthians 1:3- :.
which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again: regeneration is the blessing thanks are given for; and if we are to be thankful to God, and bless his name, because he hath made us creatures, and hath given us a natural being; much more should we praise him for making us new creatures, and giving us a spiritual being. To be "begotten again", and so to be born again, is opposed unto, and distinguished from our first birth, when we were conceived, and shapen in sin; and designs a birth, spiritual, holy, and heavenly; it is signified by a being quickened, or made alive; so as in a spiritual sense, to see, and hear, and breathe after divine things, and to live a life of faith and holiness; by Christ being formed in the heart; by a partaking of the divine nature, and by being made new men, or new creatures: God, and not man, is the efficient cause of this, which is sometimes ascribed to the Spirit, and sometimes to the Son, and here to the Father; and it is not men's works, but his own good will and pleasure, his great love and free favour, his rich grace and abundant mercy, are the impulsive, or moving cause of it; and abundance of grace and mercy indeed is displayed in the regeneration and conversion of sinners: what they are regenerated to is,
unto a lively hope; meaning either the grace of hope, which is implanted in regeneration, and not before; for then, and then only, is a good hope through grace given; and it may be said to be "lively", or "living", inasmuch as it is fixed, not on dead works, but on a living Christ, on his person, blood, and righteousness; and is not the hope of a dead sinner, of a lifeless hypocrite, and formal professor, that has a name to live, and is dead, but of a living believer, one made truly alive by the spirit of life, from Christ; and is what is sometimes, at least, in lively exercise, and makes the heart of a believer cheerful, brisk, and lively; and is what is lasting and durable, and will never be lost, but will be held fast unto the end: or else the thing hoped for is intended, the hope laid up in heaven; the blessed hope regenerate ones are born unto, and are looking for, even eternal life and happiness; and the Syriac version renders it, "unto hope of life": that is, or eternal life; and so reads one of Stephens's copies. Saints are both begotten again to the grace of hope, and to the glory which that grace is waiting for: the means is,
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; which may be connected either with the act of begetting again; for Christ's resurrection is the virtual cause of regeneration, or regeneration is in virtue of Christ's resurrection; had he not risen from the dead, none would have been quickened, or made to live, or have been raised to newness of life: his resurrection is the exemplar of regeneration; there is a likeness between them; as his resurrection was a declaration of his sonship, so regeneration is a manifestation of adoption; and as Christ's resurrection was his first step to glory, so is regeneration to eternal life; and both are wrought by the same almighty power: or the clause may be connected with the foregoing, "unto a lively hope"; for the resurrection of Christ is what is the means of, and lays a solid foundation of hope, both of the saints' resurrection from the dead, of which Christ is the meritorious cause, pledge, and pattern, and of eternal glory and happiness, since he rose for our justification, with which glorification is inseparably connected.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - See the notes at 2 Corinthians 1:3.
Which according to His abundant mercy - Margin, as in the Greek, “much.” The idea is, that there was great mercy shown them in the fact that they were renewed. They had no claim to the favor, and the favor was great. People are not begotten to the hope of heaven because they have any claim on God, or because it would not be right for him to withhold the favor. See the notes at Ephesians 2:4.
Hath begotten us again - The meaning is, that as God is the Author of our life in a natural sense, so he is the Author of our second life by regeneration. The Saviour said, John 3:3 that “except a man be born again,” or “begotten again,” (γεννηθῆ ἄνωθεν gennēthē anōthen,) “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Peter here affirms that that change had occurred in regard to himself and those whom he was addressing. The word used here as a compound (ἀναγεννάω anagennaō) does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament, though it corresponds entirely with the words used by the Saviour in John 3:3, John 3:5,John 3:7. Perhaps the phrase “begotten again” would be better in each instance where the word occurs, the sense being rather that of being begotten again, than of being born again.
Unto a lively hope - The word lively we now use commonly in the sense of active, animated, quick; the word used here, however, means living, in contradistinction from that which is dead. The hope which they had, had living power. It was not cold, inoperative, dead. It was not a mere form - or a mere speculation - or a mere sentiment; it was that which was vital to their welfare, and which was active and powerful. On the nature of hope, see the notes at Romans 8:24. Compare Ephesians 2:12.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead - The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the foundation of our hope. It was a confirmation of what he declared as truth when he lived; it was a proof of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul; it was a pledge that all who are united to him will be raised up. See the 1 Corinthians 15:1-20; 2 Timothy 1:10 note; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 note. On this verse we may remark, that the fact that Christians are chosen to salvation should be a subject of gratitude and praise. Every man should rejoice that any of the race may be saved, and the world should be thankful for every new instance of divine favor in granting to anyone a hope of eternal life. Especially should this be a source of joy to true Christians. Well do they know that if God had not chosen them to salvation, they would have remained as thoughtless as others; if he had had no purpose of mercy toward them, they would never have been saved. Assuredly, if there is anything for which a man should be grateful, it is that God has so loved him as to give him the hope of eternal life; and if he has had an eternal purpose to do this, our gratitude should be proportionably increased.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father — Ευλογητος ὁ Θεος και Πατηρ· Blessed be God even the Father, or blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The και, and, is omitted by the Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, and the AEthiopic. But if we translate και, even, a meaning which it frequently has in the New Testament, then we have a very good sense: Let that God have praise who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who deserves the praise of every human being for his infinite mercy to the world, in its redemption by Christ Jesus.
Begotten us again unto a lively hope — I think the apostle has a reference here to his own case, and that of his fellow apostles, at the time that Christ was taken by the Jews and put to death. Previously to this time they had strong confidence that he was the Messiah, and that it was he who should redeem Israel; but when they found that he actually expired upon the cross, and was buried, they appear to have lost all hope of the great things which before they had in prospect. This is feelingly expressed by the two disciples whom our Lord, after his resurrection, overtook on the road going to Emmaus, see Luke 24:13-24. And the hope, that with them, died with their Master, and seemed to be buried in his grave, was restored by the certainty of his resurrection. From Christ's preaching, miracles, c., they had a hope of eternal life, and all other blessings promised by him by his death and burial this hope became nearly, if not altogether, extinct; but by his resurrection the hope was revived. This is very properly expressed here by being begotten again to a living hope, εις ελπιδα ζωσας, as some MSS. and versions have it, εις ελπιδα ζωης, to the hope of life; which one copy of the Itala, with Augustine, Gildas, Vigilius of Tapsum, and Cassiodorus, have considered as meaning eternal life, agreeably to the context; and therefore they read vitae aeternae.
The expressions, however, may include more particulars than what are above specified; as none can inherit eternal life except those who are children in the heavenly family, and none are children but those who are born again: then St. Peter may be considered as laying here the foundation of the hope of eternal life in the regeneration of the soul; for none can legally inherit but the children, and none are children of God till they are spiritually begotten and born again.
It is the Gospel alone that gives the well grounded hope of eternal life; and the ground on which this hope rests is the resurrection of Christ himself. The certainty of our Lord's resurrection is the great seal of the Gospel. Without this what is vision, what is prophecy, what is promise, what are even miracles, to that unbelief which is natural to man on such a subject as this? But the resurrection of the human nature of Christ, the incontestable proofs of this resurrection, and the ascension of our nature to heaven in his person, are such evidences of the possibility and certainty of the thing, as for ever to preclude all doubt from the hearts of those who believe in him.
