For you have been born againThis phrase refers to the spiritual rebirth that believers experience through faith in Jesus Christ. The concept of being "born again" is foundational in Christian theology, emphasizing a transformation from a life of sin to a new life in Christ. This idea is also found in
John 3:3, where Jesus tells Nicodemus that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. The new birth signifies a radical change in identity and status before God, moving from spiritual death to life.
not of perishable seed
The term "perishable seed" suggests something that is temporary and subject to decay, much like human life and the natural world. In the context of ancient agriculture, seed was essential for life but was also vulnerable to the elements and time. This phrase contrasts the temporary nature of human existence with the eternal nature of the spiritual rebirth. It highlights the futility of relying on earthly lineage or human effort for salvation.
but of imperishable
"Imperishable" denotes something eternal and incorruptible. This reflects the eternal nature of the new life believers receive through Christ. The imperishable seed is a metaphor for the divine nature imparted to believers, which is not subject to decay or death. This aligns with1 Corinthians 15:53, where Paul speaks of the perishable putting on the imperishable in the resurrection.
through the living and enduring word of God
The "word of God" is central to the process of being born again. It is described as "living" and "enduring," emphasizing its active and eternal nature. The word of God is not static; it is dynamic and powerful, capable of transforming lives.Hebrews 4:12 describes the word as living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. The enduring nature of God's word assures believers of its reliability and truth across all generations. This phrase underscores the importance of Scripture in the life of a believer, as it is the means through which God communicates His will and brings about spiritual rebirth.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
PeterThe apostle of Jesus Christ, traditionally credited with writing this epistle. He addresses the letter to the "elect exiles" scattered throughout various regions, offering encouragement and instruction.
2.
Recipients of the EpistleThe early Christians in Asia Minor, who were experiencing trials and persecution. Peter writes to strengthen their faith and remind them of their new identity in Christ.
3.
The New BirthA spiritual rebirth that believers experience through faith in Jesus Christ. This concept is central to Peter's message, emphasizing transformation and renewal.
Teaching Points
The Nature of the New BirthThe new birth is a divine act, initiated by God through His word. It is not a result of human effort or lineage but a supernatural transformation.
Imperishable SeedUnlike human birth, which is from perishable seed, the new birth is from imperishable seed, signifying its eternal and unchanging nature.
The Role of God's WordThe living and enduring word of God is the instrument through which believers are born again. It is vital for spiritual growth and sustenance.
Living Out the New IdentityAs those who are born again, believers are called to live in a manner that reflects their new identity, marked by holiness and love.
Endurance in TrialsUnderstanding the imperishable nature of their new birth can provide believers with hope and strength to endure trials and persecution.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of 1 Peter 1:23?
2.How does being "born again" in 1 Peter 1:23 impact daily Christian living?
3.What does "imperishable seed" in 1 Peter 1:23 reveal about God's Word?
4.How does 1 Peter 1:23 connect with John 3:3 on spiritual rebirth?
5.How can you nurture your faith through the "living and enduring word"?
6.What steps can you take to live out the truth of 1 Peter 1:23?
7.What does "born again" mean in 1 Peter 1:23?
8.How does 1 Peter 1:23 define the "imperishable seed"?
9.Why is the Word of God described as "living and enduring" in 1 Peter 1:23?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from 1 Peter 1?
11.What does 'Word will not return void' mean?
12.What is spiritual rebirth?
13.What does being born of God mean?
14.Who wrote Pilgrim's Progress and was a Christian author?What Does 1 Peter 1:23 Mean
For you have been born again• Peter is speaking to believers who have already experienced the “new birth” promised by Christ.
• Jesus declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3).
• This new birth is:
– A spiritual rebirth that makes us “a new creation; the old has passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
– A work of the Holy Spirit, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
– An act of God’s will, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth” (James 1:18).
not of perishable seed• Earthly life begins with a seed that dies, decays, and ends in death.
• Peter earlier contrasted earthly things that “perish with use” (1 Peter 1:18) with the eternal.
• All fleshly beginnings share the same fate: “What is sown perishable, is raised perishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42) until God intervenes.
• Any hope built merely on human lineage, good works, or religious heritage will fade like grass.
but of imperishable• God’s seed never decays or loses potency.
• This is the same imperishability promised for our inheritance: “an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4).
• John affirms, “No one born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him” (1 John 3:9); the divine life implanted remains forever.
• Eternal life is therefore guaranteed, not by human effort but by God’s own indestructible nature.
through the living and enduring word of God• The channel of this new birth is the Word, described as:
– Living: “For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12).
– Enduring: “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8), a verse Peter quotes in the next lines (1 Peter 1:24-25).
• The gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
• Faith springs up when the Word is proclaimed: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
• Because the Word itself is alive, it continually nourishes and sustains the life it creates (Matthew 4:4).
summaryBelievers are spiritually reborn by God’s power, not through fragile human means but through God’s imperishable life. This miracle is accomplished as the living, enduring Word is heard and believed, planting a seed that can never die and guaranteeing an eternal inheritance.
(23)
Being born again.--Rather,
Having been begotten again. It is not part of the exhortation, as though they had still to be thus begotten, but assigns the moral grounds for the exhortation. It is logically parallel with "seeing ye have purified," and might be rendered,
seeing that ye have been begotten again. For the meaning of the word, refer back to
1Peter 1:3.
Not of corruptible seed.--That is,not of the seed of Abraham, but of the seed of God. This is the argument: "You must learn not to be selfish, or arrogant, as being of the chosen race, but to have a true brotherly feeling and earnest love for the Gentile converts, and for those who, like St. Paul, are specially working for the Gentiles, because your inheritance of the promised 'salvation' is grounded, not on your Abrahamic descent, but on your spiritual regeneration, in which matter the Gentile converts are your equals." That this was the doctrine of St. Peter is certain from his speech at the Council of Jerusalem, "God put no difference between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith;" and again, "It is only through the favour of the Lord Jesus that we hope to be saved, in precisely the same manner as they" (Acts 15:9;Acts 15:11). (Comp., for the argument,1John 5:1.)
By the word of God.--"Seed," in the beginning of the clause, is more literally the act ofsowing,orengendering,which sowing is carried on "through the living and abiding word of God," this "word of God" being the actual seed sown. The "seed" of all existence is the spoken Word of God, the expressed will and meaning of creative thought (Psalm 33:6); and so here, even when spoken mediately, through the lips of men (as explained in1Peter 1:25), it is that which begets men afresh. God creates afresh, though men speak the creative word for Him, just as "it is He that hath made us," although He does so through natural laws and human powers. The "Word of God" here is, no doubt, the preaching of the gospel, but especially, as it would seem, the preaching of the Resurrection (1Peter 1:3), or of the sufferings and glories of Messiah (1Peter 1:12), the "truth" of the last verse. The part taken by "the Word" in the sacrament of regeneration may be seen again inEphesians 5:26 andJames 1:18; in connection with the other sacrament we may also refer toJohn 6:63. "Incorruptible" (i.e., imperishable; see1Peter 1:4;1Peter 1:18) finds a more energetic paraphrase here in "living and abiding" (the words "for ever" not being part of the true text). The former epithet is a favourite with St. Peter (1Peter 1:3,1Peter 2:4-5), and is perhaps borrowed from this place by the author to the Hebrews, in connection with the "word of God" (Hebrews 4:12). The epithets serve to prepare the way for the quotation. . . .
Verse 23. -
Being born again; rather,
having been begotten again. St. Peter repeats the verb used already in ver. 3. It is the highest argument for brotherly love; the children of the one Father are all brethren; they should "love as brethren" (
1 Peter 3:8). Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. The word used here (
σπορά) means, properly, "sowing;" but, like
σπόρος (
Luke 8:11), it stands also for the seed; and here the epithets "corruptible" and "incorruptible" seem to necessitate this second meaning. In the passage quoted from St. Luke, the seed (
σπόρος) is identified with the Word. "The seed is the Word of God." Here there seems to be a distinction. God's elect are begotten again of incorruptible seed through the Word. The use of different prepositions,
ἐκ and
διά apparently implies a difference between the seed and the Word. In the conversation with Nicodemus the Lord had said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And he continues, "That which is born of the flesh [
ἐκ τῆς σαρκός, which seems to correspond with the
ἐκσπορᾶς φθαρτοῦ of St. Peter] is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" where the Greek words,
τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκτοῦ Πνεύματος, "that which is begotten of the Spirit," correspond very nearly with
ἀναγεγεννημένοι ἐκ σπορᾶς ἀφθάρτου, "those who are begotten again of incorruptible seed." Then the incorruptible seed is the Holy Spirit of God, the Source of all spiritual life; it is the Spirit that "beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God;" "To be spiritually minded is life." Comp.
1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God (
ὁγεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ) cloth not commit sin: for his seed (
σπέρμα) abideth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God"). There is a different explanation of this last passage: "God's seed, that is, his children, abide in him." But on the whole, it seems to be parallel with this verse, and to teach the same doctrine, that the first gift of the Spirit is the germ of spiritual life, and that that precious germ, abiding in the true children of God, lives and energizes "till we come... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (
Ephesians 4:13). But if the Holy Spirit of God is, in the deepest sense, the Seed of the new birth, the Word is the instrument. God's elect are begotten again
through the Word, the Word preached, heard, read, pronounced in holy baptism. The Word preached by St. Peter on the great Day of Pentecost was the means by which three thousand souls were led to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (comp.
James 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth"). Again, the Word preached derives its power from the personal Word, from him who is the Word of God. "All things were made through him" (John L 3;
Hebrews 1:2); and as the first creation was through him, so is the new creation. He is "the Beginning of the creation of God" (
Revelation 3:14); for he is our Life, the life hidden in the heart. He is the Word of life: "He that hath the Son hath life" (
1 John 5:12); "Through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (
Ephesians 2:18). It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that we receive the grace of the new birth. The words, "which liveth and abideth," may be connected with the Divine Name: "God, who liveth and abideth; "or, as in our version, with "the Word." The last connection seems most suitable here (comp. ver. 25, "The Word of the Lord abideth for ever;" and
Hebrews 4:12, "The Word of God is quick and powerful'). The most ancient manuscripts omit the words, "forever."
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
For you have been born again,ἀναγεγεννημένοι(anagegennēmenoi)Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 313:To beget again, beget into a new life. From ana and gennao; to beget or bear.notοὐκ(ouk)Adverb
Strong's 3756:No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.ofἐκ(ek)Preposition
Strong's 1537:From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.perishableφθαρτῆς(phthartēs)Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 5349:Corruptible, perishable. From phtheiro; decayed, i.e. perishable.seed,σπορᾶς(sporas)Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4701:Seed sown, a sowing. From speiro; a sowing, i.e. parentage.butἀλλὰ(alla)Conjunction
Strong's 235:But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.of imperishable,ἀφθάρτου(aphthartou)Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 862:Indestructible, imperishable, incorruptible; hence: immortal. Undecaying.throughδιὰ(dia)Preposition
Strong's 1223:A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.[the] livingζῶντος(zōntos)Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2198:To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.andκαὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.enduringμένοντος(menontos)Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3306:To remain, abide, stay, wait; with acc: I wait for, await. A primary verb; to stay.wordλόγου(logou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056:From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.of God.Θεοῦ(Theou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316:A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.
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NT Letters: 1 Peter 1:23 Having been born again not of corruptible (1 Pet. 1P iP i Pet) 
