1 Peter 1:23
zBeing born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by athe word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς, ἀλλὰ ἀφθάρτου, διὰ λόγου ζῶντος Θεοῦ καὶ μένοντος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
Textual key: ‘for ever’
z:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
a:
Acts 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Acts 10:37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
this may refer either:
1. To the general exhortation to holiness, 1Pe 1:14,15, and then the argument runs thus: Ye are in your regeneration become the children of God, and therefore ought to walk holily as become his children. Or:
2. To the more particular exhortation to brotherly love, 1Pe 1:22: q.d. You are by your regeneration become spiritual brethren, and therefore ought to live like brethren.
which is itself corrupted ere any thing can be generated out of it, or out of which nothing is begotten but what is corruptible; so that all such generations tend but to a mortal life.
so the word is said to be, because containing still the same, and being immutable in itself, it changes and renews the hearts of those that by faith receive it. Or: it may be understood of its being incorruptible effectively, because it leads, or tends, to an immortal life.
the same which he called incorruptible seed, which is the instrument in regeneration, as is implied in the preposition, by, going before it.
this and the following verb may be joined, either:
1. To God, the word of God, who liveth, &c.; or rather:
2. To the word, so our translation reads it, which word liveth, and abideth, &c.; and this agrees best with the testimony of Isaiah in the next verse.
The word of God is said to be a living word, because it enliveneth the hearts of those that entertain it.