1 Peter 1:18

Contextual Overview

¹³ So prepare your minds for service. With complete self-control put all your hope in the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes. ¹³ Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ Wherfore gyrde vp ye loynes of youre myndes be sober and trust perfectly on the grace yt is brought vnto you by the declaringe of Iesus Christ ¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah -- ¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown to you. ¹³ Therefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹³ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ --

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye: Psalms 49:7, Psalms 49:8, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 7:23

corruptible: 1 Peter 1:7

vain: Psalms 39:6, Psalms 62:10, Jeremiah 4:11, Romans 1:21, 1 Corinthians 3:20

received: 1 Peter 4:3, Jeremiah 9:14, Jeremiah 16:19, Jeremiah 44:17, Ezekiel 20:18, Amos 2:4, Zechariah 1:4-6, Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:3, Acts 7:51, Acts 7:52, Acts 19:34, Acts 19:35, Galatians 1:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 12:5 - be without Exodus 30:12 - a ransom Exodus 37:4 - with gold Leviticus 1:3 - a male Leviticus 4:32 - a lamb Leviticus 4:34 - the horns of the altar Leviticus 4:35 - and the priest shall make Leviticus 12:6 - a lamb Leviticus 15:27 - General Numbers 3:46 - the two hundred Numbers 3:50 - General Numbers 7:15 - General 2 Samuel 21:4 - We will 1 Kings 15:12 - all the idols 1 Kings 20:39 - or else 2 Kings 14:3 - he did according 2 Kings 16:10 - saw an altar Job 33:24 - I Psalms 19:14 - redeemer Psalms 26:11 - redeem Psalms 31:5 - thou Psalms 34:22 - redeemeth Psalms 107:2 - Let the Psalms 111:9 - sent Proverbs 13:8 - ransom Proverbs 14:18 - inherit Isaiah 1:27 - redeemed Isaiah 29:22 - who redeemed Isaiah 35:9 - but Isaiah 44:22 - return Isaiah 45:13 - let go Isaiah 52:3 - General Isaiah 62:12 - The redeemed Isaiah 63:16 - General Jeremiah 2:11 - a nation Jeremiah 10:3 - customs Ezekiel 18:14 - that seeth Hosea 7:13 - though Zechariah 13:7 - smite Matthew 20:28 - and to Mark 7:3 - the tradition Mark 8:37 - General Luke 24:21 - General Acts 20:28 - which he Romans 3:24 - through Romans 3:25 - set forth Romans 4:25 - Who was Romans 12:2 - be not 1 Corinthians 1:30 - redemption 1 Corinthians 12:2 - even Galatians 2:16 - we have Galatians 3:13 - redeemed Galatians 4:5 - redeem Ephesians 1:7 - whom Ephesians 2:13 - are Ephesians 4:22 - former Ephesians 5:25 - loved Colossians 2:8 - after the tradition 1 Timothy 2:6 - gave Hebrews 9:12 - by his 1 Peter 2:1 - Wherefore 1 John 3:16 - perceive Revelation 5:9 - and hast

Cross-References

Psalms 19:6
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.

Psalms 19:6
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Psalms 19:6
His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit to the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Psalms 19:6
The sun rises at one end of the sky and follows its path to the other end. Nothing hides from its heat.

Psalms 19:6
It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other; nothing can escape its heat.

Psalms 19:6
His going forth [is] from the end of the heaven, and his circuit to the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from his heat.

Psalms 19:6
His going forth is from the end of the heavens, His circuit to the ends of it; There is nothing hid from the heat of it.

Psalms 19:6
The sun's rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalms 19:6
Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalms 19:6
his goynge out was fro hiyeste heuene. And his goyng ayen was to the hiyeste therof; and noon is that hidith hym silf fro his heet.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Forasmuch as ye know,.... From the Scriptures of truth, by the testimony of the Spirit, by his work upon the soul, and by the application of the benefits of redemption, such as justification, pardon, adoption, and sanctification; see Job 19:25,

that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. The redemption of a soul, which is of more worth than a world, requires a greater price than gold and silver; and those who have the largest share thereof, can neither redeem their own souls with it, nor the souls of others. The soul is immortal and incorruptible, but these are corruptible things, which may be cankered, or wear away, and perish by using; and therefore, seeing redemption is not obtained by anything corruptible, nothing corrupt in principle, or practice should be indulged. The allusion is to the redemption of the people of Israel, and of the firstborn, by shekels, Exodus 30:12. Gold and silver do not mean pieces of gold and silver, but gold and silver coined; for only by such could redemption of anything be obtained d but these are insufficient for the redemption of the soul; which is a deliverance from the slavery of sin, the bondage, curse, and condemnation of the law, the captivity of Satan, and from a state of poverty, having been deep in debt, and sold under sin. It here follows,

from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; meaning not the corruption of nature, which is propagated from father to son by natural generation, and lies in the vanity of the mind, and is the spring and source of an evil conversation; though the saints, as they are redeemed from all sin, so from this, that it shall not be their condemnation; not Gentilism, which lay in vain philosophy, in idolatry and superstition, and in evil and wicked conversation, encouraged by the example of their ancestors; but Judaism, and either regards the ceremonial law, which was delivered by Moses to the Jewish fathers, and by them handed down to their posterity; and which was vain, as used and abused by them, and was unprofitable to obtain righteousness, life, and salvation by, and therefore was disannulled by Christ, who has redeemed and delivered his people from this yoke of bondage; or rather the traditions of the elders, which our Lord inveighs against, Matthew 15:3 c. and the Apostle Paul was brought up in, and zealous of, before conversion, Galatians 1:14 as the Pharisees were. These were the inventions and decrees of them they called אבות, "fathers", to whose dogmas and decisions they paid the utmost respect. These made up their oral law, which the Jews say e Moses received from Sinai, and delivered to Joshua and Joshua to the elders; and the elders to the prophets; and the prophets to the men of the great synagogue, the last of which was Simeon the just; and from him it was delivered to another; and so from one to another to the times of Christ and his apostles and afterwards; and which consisted of many vain, useless, and unprofitable things; to walk according to which must be a vain conversation; and the saints now being redeemed by a greater price than that of silver and gold, and which is after mentioned, they ought not therefore to be the servants of men, no, not of these fathers, but of God and Christ.

d Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Beracot, c. 7. sect. 1. e Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 1, 2, &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Forasmuch as ye know - This is an argument for a holy life, derived from the fact that they were redeemed, and from the manner in which their redemption had been effected. There is no more effectual way to induce true Christians to consecrate themselves entirely to God, than to refer them to the fact that they are not their own, but have been purchased by the blood of Christ.

That ye were not redeemed - On the word rendered “redeemed,” (λυτρόω lutroō,) see the notes at Titus 2:14. The word occurs in the New Testament only in Luke 24:21; Titus 2:14, and in this place. The noun (λύτρον lutron) is found in Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45, rendered ransom. For the meaning of the similar word, (ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrōsis,) see the notes at Romans 3:24. This word occurs in Luke 21:28; Romans 3:24; Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:15, in all which places it is rendered redemption; and in Hebrews 11:35, where it is rendered “deliverance.” The word here means that they were rescued from sin and death by the blood of Christ, as the valuable consideration on account of which it was done; that is, the blood, or the life of Christ offered as a sacrifice, effected the same purpose in regard to justice and to the maintenance of the principles of moral government, which the punishment of the sinner himself would have done. It was that which God was pleased to accept in the place of the punishment of the sinner, as answering the same great ends in his administration. The principles of his truth and justice could as certainly be maintained in this way as by the punishment of the guilty themselves. If so, then there was no obstacle to their salvation; and they might, on repentance, be consistently pardoned and taken to heaven.

With corruptible things, as silver and gold - On the word “corruptible,” as applicable to gold, see the notes at 1 Peter 1:7. Silver and gold usually constitute the price or the valuable consideration paid for the redemption of captives. It is clear that the obligation of one who is redeemed, to love his benefactor, is in proportion to the price which is paid for his ransom. The idea here is, that a price far more valuable than any amount of silver or gold had been paid for the redemption of the people of God, and that they were under proportionate obligation to devote themselves to his service. They were redeemed by the life of the Son of God offered in their behalf; and between the value of that life and silver and gold there could be no comparison.

From your vain conversation - Your “vain conduct, or manner of life.” See the notes at 1 Peter 1:15. The word “vain,” applied to conduct, (ματαίας mataias,) means properly “empty, fruitless.” It is a word often applied to the worship of idols, as being nothing, worthless, unable to help, Act 14:15; 1 Kings 16:13; 2 Kings 17:15; Jeremiah 2:5, Jeremiah 2:8,Jeremiah 2:19 and is probably used in a similar sense in this place. The apostle refers to their former worship of idols, and to all the abominations connected with that service, as being vain and unprofitable; as the worship of nothing real (compare 1 Corinthians 8:4, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world’), and as resulting in a course of life that answered none of the proper ends of living. From that they had been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

Received by tradition from your fathers - The mode of worship which had been handed down from father to son. The worship of idols depends on no better reason than that it is that which has been practiced in ancient times; and it is kept up now in all lands, in a great degree, only by the fact that it has had the sanction of the venerated people of other generations.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things — To redeem, λυτροω, signifies to procure life for a captive or liberty for a slave by paying a price, and the precious blood of Christ is here stated to be the price at which the souls of both Jews and Gentiles were redeemed; is was a price paid down, and a price which God's righteousness required.

Corruptible things mean here any thing that man usually gives in exchange for another; but the term necessarily includes all created things, as all these are corruptible and perishing. The meaning of the apostle is, evidently, that created things could not purchase the souls of men, else the sacrifice of Christ had not been offered; could any thing less have done, God would not have given up his only-begotten Son. Even silver and gold, the most valuable medium of commerce among men, bear no proportion in their value to the souls of a lost world, for there should be a congruity between the worth of the thing purchased and the valuable consideration which is given for it; and the laws and customs of nations require this: on this ground, perishable things, or things the value of which must be infinitely less than the worth of the souls of men, cannot purchase those souls. Nothing, therefore, but such a ransom price as God provided could be a sufficient ransom, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the world.

Vain conversation — Empty, foolish, and unprofitable conduct, full of vain hopes, vain fears, and vain wishes.

Received by tradition from your fathers — The Jews had innumerable burdens of empty ceremonies and useless ordinances, which they received by tradition from their fathers, rabbins, or doctors. The Gentiles were not less encumbered with such than the Jews; all were wedded to their vanities, because they received them from their forefathers, as they had done from theirs. And this antiquity and tradition have been the ground work of many a vain ceremony and idle pilgrimage, and of numerous doctrines which have nothing to plead in their behalf but this mere antiquity. But such persons seem not to consider that error and sin are nearly coeval with the world itself.