Using our minds (1 Peter 1:13-14)

Peter has summarised the condition of his readers – they were rejoicing in the prospect of glory despite undergoing severe persecution. Their faith in God’s power was protecting them. Indeed, their trials were the divine means of maintaining and strengthening their faith. 

We might be surprised at this focus on faith. Yet we should remember that faith is what links us with God. Faith is not merely an opinion about God, it is a divine grace from God which enables us to view reality in a different way from others. Faith knows that Jesus reigns; other people do not see that. Faith knows that the Holy Spirit indwells us, but if you made that claim to an unbeliever with an x-ray machine he would tell you that he could not see the Holy Spirit inside you.

Yet faith goes up and down. Peter’s readers were strong in faith at the time of writing. But he knew that faith could diminish in some ways, so he provides practical guidance for how they can maintain a healthy faith, if we want to describe in that way. He does this throughout the letter, including the section from verses 13-21. In this section, he mentions four practical essentials for having a healthy faith. One is the correct use of their minds, the second is holy living, the third is that prayer and reverence go together, and the fourth is that they have been redeemed (purchased) by Jesus.

 

Our minds (v. 13)

Peter calls his readers to use their minds. Here, he uses the same illustration as Paul does in Ephesians 6 when he referred to the belt of truth. In Paul’s case, he referred to the way a soldier girded up his clothes and put on the belt so that his clothes would not hinder him. Here, Peter says to his readers that they must control their thoughts in a manner similar to how persons at that time controlled their clothes by gathering them up and securing them. It would be obvious when a person did not do that with his clothes, and it is obvious also when a person does not do so with his mind.

 

Why does Peter make this demand? He provides three reasons: (1) for actions, (2) to become sober-minded and (3) to think about the future. The implication is that uncontrolled thinking prevents those three outcomes. 

 

We are familiar with the proverb, ‘As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.’ Have you ever found yourself thinking about something sinful? I don’t mean a passing thought that flits through our minds – that may only be an arrow from the devil. Instead, I mean continued thinking about a sinful matter. How does that proverb apply to us at that kind of moment? What kind of person does my thoughts say I am? That proverb is a warning as well as a description.

 

Sometimes we wonder why we don’t have peace. Paul told the Philippians that the experience of inner peace was connected to what they thought about and prayed about: ‘do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 4:6-7). And he went on to tell them what they had to do to maintain that sense of peace: ‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, 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). So if we would like to have a sense of peace, we must watch our thoughts.

 

Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, expressed to them his fears about them when he wrote, ‘But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ’ (2 Cor. 11:3). His words there are a reminder to us that the devil can use our thoughts.

 

What happens at conversion? Before conversion, our minds are set on earthly things. At conversion, we are renewed in our minds and discover the truth. After conversion, there is a battle for our minds, for how we think, and we must watch carefully that our thought processes and the subjects we think about are godly. So, taking the illustration of Peter and clothes, we must take hold of our minds and make them focus on what is right.

 

The outcome will be sobermindedness. We know what a drunk person looks like – he staggers all over the place. There are many people with minds that wander all over the place, reeling from one pointless subject to another, and usually they have no recollection of what they have been thinking about. How can we tell if we are soberminded? Here are some suggestions. We will be afraid of grieving the Holy Spirit. We will desire to glorify God in every aspect of life. We will want to give a good witness to non-Christians who know us well. We will want to practice what the Bible says. We will be prayerful wherever we are. We will aim to encourage other Christians. None of these things happen automatically. Instead we have to take hold of our minds and compel them to think correctly not only about what we think but also about what we do.

 

Such disciplined thinking will have a definite outcome, described by Peter in this verse when he exhorts his readers to ‘set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ The obvious aspect of this exhortation is that it is future orientated. There are many wonders connected to that day. One of them will be that people will realise the greatness of Jesus as they see that he is the Judge of all. 

 

First, it describes what our priority should be – the word ‘fully’ indicates that it should be our priority. It is almost as if Peter is saying that all we do now should be estimated according to what it will look like when Jesus returns. Is it not a frightening thought to wonder if much of what we give priority to now will be regarded as a waste of time when Jesus returns? But living correctly in the light of his coming will then be seen as having been very wise.

 

Second, grace is going to be given to his readers when Jesus returns. This means that although they died long ago and went to heaven, they have not yet received this aspect of grace because it will be given when Jesus returns. It refers to something that will be given to his people when that day comes. That aspect of grace is final salvation, and the word for that is glorification when his people will be like Jesus in being glorified.

 

What will mean for us to be glorified? To answer the question, we can consider the place of glory, the possession of glory and the purpose of glory. The place of glory is the new heavens and new earth, the perfect creation. But the place of glory will also be in the presence of Jesus. In ways that we do not understand, we are all going to be with him physically. We are going to be in the presence of God in Christ.

 

The possession of glory concerns what we will have in our experience. Paul tells us that in this life we have the firstfruits of the Spirit, which indicates that in the next life we will have the Spirit in greater fullness, probably in an increasing manner as eternal life moves on. Believers will be sinless, of course, but they will also be increasing in knowledge of God and in the experience of God. They will learn about this from Jesus as he teaches them and shows them. The way of describing this is Christlikeness. They will constantly have the best of the better country.

 

The purpose of glorification is connected to what we will do forever. One activity is enhanced worship of God. Obviously, our worship will be more informed because we will know so much more about God and his salvation. It will also be more competent, if that is the right word, because we will be more able to respond, having constant energy and desire. The worship will also be led by Jesus as he declares the name of God to his people.

 

There is a sense in which glorification by God is the divine commendation of his people. Not that they deserved it, no matter how devoted they were in living gratefully for their Master. But they will have the privilege of serving God and worshipping him forever and ever in his presence.