1 Peter 1:11-15

1 Pet 1:11 (KJB)

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

 

Searching - Examine

Signify - Reveal, manifest or bring to light

 

The ancient prophets examined the Scriptures which they penned under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit. This verse answers a question as to whether the Holy Spirit indwelled the believers of the Old Testament and He did. They were saved in the same manner that we are saved. Here He is referred to as the Spirit of Christ. It was because the Holy Spirit indwelled them that He had revealed that Christ was to suffer and because of that suffering there would be great glory to follow. We find many Messianic prophecies such as in Daniel, Psalms, Isaiah, Micah and other places where the prophets wrote of the suffering of the Messiah and His other attributes such as His eternality as found in Micah 5:2. (Micah 5:2 KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. One of the greatest glories that would follow the crucifixion of Christ was that evangelism would go to the ends of the earth and many millions would become saved as a result.

 

1 Pet 1:12 (KJB)

Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them

that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

 

This verse is telling us that what the ancient prophets had prophesied was not for themselves but the full meaning was revealed to us in the New Testament as if they were ministering to us specifically. This is not to say that what they prophesied was not useful for them but the full meaning was not disclosed until Christ came physically on the scene. Now these mysteries of the Hebrew Scriptures are now made manifest unto us by those who are truly saved by means of the truth bringing of the Holy Spirit indwelling those who proclaim the true gospel. Not only did the ancient prophets seek to look into salvation by grace, the angels themselves desired to look into those things also. The angels were not redeemed by the blood of Christ but had desired to understand this salvation.

 

1 Pet 1:13 (KJB)

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

 

Gird - Bind

Loins - Waist

Sober - Temperate or well-balanced

 

Peter uses the word ”wherefore” at the beginning of this verse telling us now that we have understanding of some great mysteries that we are not just to be academicians but we are to girds up our loins, which is a phrase describing fishermen on the job who take their long robes and bind them up to the waist so they are able to work unencumbered. We, in the same manner as the fishermen, are to gird up our loins, which means that as we continue to learn the Scriptures, we are not to make that knowledge only head knowledge, but we are to prepare ourselves for the work of the Lord. Not only are we to prepare ourselves for the work of the Lord, we must also prepare ourselves for the persecution and opposition that will come our way. Girding up our loins is a way of saying be ready at all times. We are also told in this passage that we are to be sober minded which is not speaking of alcohol but is telling us we must be temperate or level-headed in our lives. Wild imaginations or unrestrained ideas have no place in the believers mindset. We are to assess things in a clear-headed manner. (Those who fear are those who scheme.) We do this because we have hope until the end of our life when the grace, which we were saved by, will have its fulfillment at the revelation of Jesus Christ, which would be His second coming or our going to be with Him.

 

1 Pet 1:14 (KJB)

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

 

Ignorance - Lack of knowledge

Fashioning - To conform

 

We are to be obedient children to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not obedience to gain salvation but obedience because of salvation. We are not to return to our former life which we did in ignorance. When we were unsaved we were not cognizant of the ways of the Lord and we tended to do things with the knowledge that we had, whether it was right or wrong. (Rom 12:2 KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. If we intend to remain strong in the work of the Lord and in our Christian lives in general, we are not to take up the ways of the world because compromise with the world will weaken us spiritually and eventually cause us to reject the teachings of Scripture which will ultimately end up in us becoming useless for the Kingdom of God. We lived our former life in ignorance but now that we have the light of Scripture, we are able to see the things we did and the philosophies we embraced were totally wrong.

 

1 Pet 1:15 (KJB)

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

 

Manner of conversation - Conduct, behavior, or manner of life

 

God is a thrice holy God and because He has called us, saved us, and indwelled us with the Holy Spirit, we are to be holy in all our conduct in this life. The ignorance of the former life excluded holiness but holiness should be a prime characteristic of all believers. (Eph 1:4 KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: We have become children of God through salvation and as children of God one of the family traits is holiness. Holiness is to be set apart from the things of the world and be dedicated to the things of the Lord. Being holy will keep us on track but when we stray, we enter the land of the unholy and we become derailed. Our manner of life must be so that the world actually sees the difference in our lives. If you notice one thing in this verse, we are to be holy in all areas of our life, not just in church on Sunday morning.

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