What It Means to Have Living Hope

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. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” —1 Peter 1:13–16

Biblical Indicatives

Peter begins this new section with the linking word “Therefore,” which ties what he’s about to say to what he’s just finished saying. He has reminded his friends that despite their current difficulties, they’re in the best position they can possibly be in because Christ has redeemed them and blessed them with all the rights and privileges that accompany salvation. Now he explains how believers are to live in response. Christians are God’s dear children, and with this great privilege comes great responsibility.

You might have heard pastors talking about the imperatives and the indicatives of Scripture. An imperative is a definite must-do, a requirement. The Bible, in both Testaments, is filled with imperatives. This might be depressing, were it not for all the indicatives. Indicatives in the Bible are declarations of wonderful promises and truths for God’s people. Here in verses 13–16, some of these wonders are made clear. First, the “grace” we experience now is a foretaste of the blessed grace to come (1 Pet. 1:13). Second, Jesus will return for us, and we will see him in all his glory (1 Pet. 1:13). Third, we are God’s children (1 Pet. 1:14). And as God’s children, we’ve been equipped to imitate our heavenly Father (1 Pet. 1:15–16). These joyful truths (the indicatives) equip us to live out the instructions (the imperatives): guarding our thought life, resisting the pull of the flesh, and pursuing holiness.

Peter’s directive in verse 13 concerns hope. As suffering believers set their thoughts on all he’s been telling them, the pain they endure actually produces hope. It arises from trusting that God is working eternal glory for them through the difficulty. While it is quite natural to hope for relief in suffering, to set our hope on immediate relief—better circumstances of whatever sort—is actually to set it on something less good than what our all-knowing God intends. Hope in the future grace we’ll receive when Christ returns is the only hope guaranteed not to disappoint.

The way we keep our hope set on the fullness of grace yet to come is through taking charge of our thought life. Social media posts and an endless news cycle compete for our attention, not to mention the distractions of daily tasks and responsibilities. It’s easy to fix our minds on what we can see all around us rather than on the invisible yet weightier reality of God’s kingdom. A literal translation of Peter’s words “preparing your minds for action” is, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” The image Peter uses here doesn’t fit easily into our Western way of thinking, but it made sense to the first recipients of his letter because it had to do with the clothes they wore. In those days people clothed themselves in long robes, and when they had to move quickly, they’d tuck those robes into a belt around their waist to avoid tripping. That’s what Peter has in mind. In the same way people back then prepared for fast walking, Christians prepare their minds to stay focused on Christ.

What we think largely determines our beliefs, our emotions, and the choices we make. God’s word in both the Old and New Testaments stresses the influence our thoughts have. Here is a sampling:

You keep him in perfect peace
     whose mind is stayed on you,
     because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3)

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Rom. 8:5–6)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:2)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil. 4:8)

Apart from Christ, we remain ignorant of spiritual realities.

There is only one sure hope, and as we govern our thoughts and think clearly about reality from an eternal perspective—what Peter calls “being sober-minded” (see also 1 Pet. 4:7 and 1 Pet. 5:8)—we recognize where true hope lies, and we won’t be tricked into setting our hope elsewhere, on things that can’t deliver.

Peter has shown how hope grows. Now we see the part believers play in sustaining it. Obedience to God is vital in this regard. Obedience is also how faith is worked out visibly. Peter touches on an important aspect of obedience in verse 14: Christians are to guard against the pull of the flesh, what he calls “the passions of your former ignorance.” Without regeneration and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, we don’t recognize that sin is vile, destructive, and ugly, and we see no compelling reason not to indulge in it. Apart from Christ, we remain ignorant of spiritual realities. In Christ, we’ve been delivered from the penalty and power of sin. Even so, we will battle its presence until we’re finally home in heaven. Peter’s readers needed this reminder—and so do we! Holiness is the goal we must aim for, seeking to reflect the character of Christ in all we think and do (1 Pet. 1:15–16). Peter’s call to holiness comes from God’s command to his covenant people in the Old Testament: “I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). God’s children in every age are commanded to be holy because he is holy. In this way we reflect the family likeness as “obedient children” (1 Pet. 1:14).

This article is adapted from 1 Peter: Hope for Exiles by Lydia Brownback.

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