(CHOSEN) ACCORDING TO THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER: kata prognosin theou patros: (Acts 2:23; 15:18; Ro 8:29,30; 9:23,24; 11:2) (see EBD; Torrey's Topic Counsels and Purposes of God)

God planned long ago to choose you by making you His holy people."

You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father" (TEV),

God the Father chose you according to His Own purpose”

In just a few strokes of his pen, Peter paints the grand picture of our salvation as orchestrated from start to finish by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit...

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY
and
THE MARVEL OF SALVATION

Foreknown by the Father

Sanctified of the Spirit

Sprinkled with the blood of the Son

All members of the Trinity work to bring about our salvation and provide a threefold assurance to believers.

Vincent agrees that this section speaks of

The foreknowledge of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ the Son. The Father foreknowing, the Son atoning, the Spirit applying the Son’s work in sanctifying.

God the Father elects the sinner to salvation (Ep 1:4-note), God the Spirit brings him to the act of faith (2Th 2:13), and God the Son cleanses him from sin (Ro 5:6, 7, 8, 9, 10 - see notes 5:6; 5:7; 5:8; 5:9; 5:10) having given

Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father to Whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. (Gal 1:4, 5)

C. E. B. Cranfield comments on chosen according to the foreknowledge of God writing that

 If all our attention is concentrated on the hostility or indifference of the world or the exiguousness (excessive scantiness) of our own progress in the Christian life, we may well be discouraged. At such times we need to be reminded that our election is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. The Church is not just a human organization—though, of course, it is that. Its origin lies, not in the will of the flesh, in the idealism of men, in human aspirations and plans, but in the eternal purpose of God.

In this section Peter presents truth to undergird the faith of the "elect sojourners" by emphasizing that the entire Godhead is active in their salvation experience (Click and scroll down to MacArthur's excellent summary of six "Advantages of God's Election").  (See J C Philpot - Meditations on First Peter Chapter One)

Peter begins by explaining to his readers how they became "the chosen". Remember that the "chosen" are those individuals who have been picked out of all mankind by and for God Himself. God's choosing anyone for salvation is a reflection of His sovereign unmerited favor (grace). Furthermore, God chose us in Christ even before the foundation of the world (Ep 1:4-note). In eternity, before the universe came into existence, God had the elect in His heart for salvation! Believers are not an afterthought, but a forethought of God. Dearly beloved, be greatly encouraged by this incomprehensible, profound truth.

Next Peter explains that this salvation is according to the Father's foreknowledge. According to is the Greek word katá which means "down" and in the context of this verse conveys the idea of domination. In other words God's choice was "dominated" (or controlled or determined) by the foreknowledge of the Father.

What does the "foreknowledge of God the Father" imply? Some mistakenly reason that the elect are chosen because God knew beforehand that they would receive Him. The reasoning is that God looked down through the ages and in His omniscience saw what each person would do in regard to His Son, and then He chose or didn't choose individuals based on whether or not they believed. This might sound plausible but it is not how Scripture defines God's election and foreknowledge. So let's do a "simple" (actually somewhat technical) word study of foreknowledge to help understand.

Foreknowledge (4268) (prognosis from verb proginosko [word study] from pro = before + ginosko = know) literally means to know in advance or beforehand.

Related Resource: Foreknowledge as God's Attribute 

In the classic use foreknowledge simply indicates a previous knowledge of someone or some event, as in Acts 26:5 where Paul says "they have known about me...previously" and in 2Peter 3:1 (note) where Peter reminds the saints that they "know beforehand" that there are those who will distort the Scriptures. As discussed below God's foreknowledge means that He planned before, not that He observed before (cf. similar idea in Ex 33:17; Jer 1:5; Amos 3:2; Matthew 7:22; 7:23 [notes]).

John Macarthur comments on foreknowledge  that

A common explanation of election is that the elect are chosen because God knew beforehand what they would do. That defines foreknowledge as foresight. I've heard it explained that God looked down through the eons of history, saw by virtue of His omniscience what you and I would do, and then chose or didn't choose us based on whether we did or didn't believe. That at first sounds like a good explanation--but it's not the truth. There are several reasons for wanting to believe that God's foreknowledge means foresight. Our fallen nature desperately want some responsibility for our salvation. Likewise our fallen perspective makes God's sovereign choice appear unfair. But because our minds are polluted by sin, we are in no position to exalt our pride and call ourselves virtuous, or pull down the justice of God and call Him unfair."  (Read Dr Macarthur's interesting explanation of why many men want to believe that foreknowledge is simply foresight. Scroll down to the section entitled "Man's Decline") (Bolding added)

 In other NT uses both prognosis and the verb root proginosko are used in relationship to God and acquire an additional meaning as explained in the next section.

The first occurrence of either prognosis or proginosko related to God and the usage which is the pattern for the usage of both words in other places in the New Testament is found in Acts 2:23, where prognosis is used.

Acts 2:23 (Context: Peter is preaching to the unsaved Jewish audience and declares): "this Man (Jesus), delivered over (betrayed by Judas, to the power and will of His enemies) by the (definite article "te" in Greek placed before both the following nouns connected by "and" = kai) predetermined plan and (Greek = kai) foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death."

The words "the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23), are a Greek construction governed by the Granville-Sharp rule. This grammatical rule simply states that when two nouns are joined by the word “and” (the Greek kai) and the first noun has the article (article = "the") in front of it and the second does not, both nouns refer to the same thing.

In Acts 2:23, this rule shows that the word foreknowledge refers to the same act as does the phrase predetermined plan and is an additional description. The Greek word “plan” (boule), means to have an interchange of opinions, a mutual advising or the exchange of deliberative judgment. "Plan" refers to the results of a consultation between individuals.

Predetermined (perfect tense - past completed act with ongoing effect) refers to the past act of putting limits upon something with the present result that some certain thing has been appointed or decreed. It describes this consultation as one that had as its purpose the fixing of limits upon, thus determining the destiny of someone, in this case of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, in eternity (2Ti 1:9-note; Re 13:8-note), the Trinity, determined that the Lord Jesus Christ should be given over into the hands of godless men to be crucified. The word foreknowledge (prognosis) refers to the same act, and therefore includes in it the truth indicated by the predetermined plan. Foreknowledge, however, adds the idea of the foreordination or appointment in advance of the Person whose destiny was decided upon in the plan referred to. Stated succinctly the Granville Sharp rule  in Acts 2:23 equates foreknowledge to a predetermined plan. According to Peter, God's foreknowledge is a deliberate choice. God foreknew not by prior observation, but by bringing into reality His predetermined plan.

Spurgeon writes that...

With God there are no contingencies. The mighty charioteer of Providence has gathered up all the reins of all the horses, and He guides them all according to His infallible wisdom. There is a foreknowledge and predestination which concerneth all things, from the motion of a grain of dust on the threshing-floor to that of the flaming comet which blazes athwart the sky. Nothing can happen but what God ordains; and therefore, why should we fear? (Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon)

Prognosis is used again by Peter explaining that Christ "...was foreknown (prognosis) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you." (1Pe 1:20-note) In eternity past, before Adam and Eve sinned, God did not just know it would happen but also planned the redemption of sinners through Jesus Christ.  In this verse as in 1 Peter 1:2, "foreknown" does not simply refer to awareness of what is going to happen, but conveys the added nuance of a predetermined relationship in the knowledge of God. In other words, God brought the salvation relationship into existence by decreeing it into existence ahead of time and believers are foreknown for salvation in the same way Christ was predetermined (or foreordained) before the foundation of the world to be a sacrifice for sins (see discussion of Granville-Sharp rule above in reference to Acts 2:23)

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary says it this way --

God’s foreknowledge is much more than foresight. God does not know future events and human actions because He foresees them; He knows them because He wills them to happen. Thus God’s foreknowledge is an act of His will. (Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

John Piper warns of...

An increasingly popular movement afoot today is called "open theism," which denies that God has exhaustive, definite foreknowledge of the. entire future. (Desiring God) (See Piper's online book Beyond the Bounds - in which he confronts the unsound doctrine of Open Theism)

See also: John Piper's Resources on The Foreknowledge of God

Wiersbe adds that

Foreknowledge does not suggest that God merely knew ahead of time that we would believe, and therefore He chose us. This would raise the question, “Who or what made us decide for Christ?” and would take our salvation completely out of God’s hands. (Ed note: To say that God made a decision based on His prevision would mean that there was a time of indecision!) In the Bible, to foreknow means “to set one’s love on a person or persons in a personal way. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

Regarding foreknowledge, John Macarthur writes that

God pre-thought and pre-determined or predestined each Christian’s salvation...God predetermined to set His love upon certain people. If you are a Christian, you were foreknown by God as a part of that plan. God's foreknowledge of Christ serves as a model of God's foreknowledge of you. Christ is the elect stone--chosen and precious (1Pe 2:6-note)."

William MacDonald writes that foreknowledge is

knowledge with a purpose that could never be frustrated. It is not enough to say that God foreknew those whom He realized would one day repent and believe. Actually it is His foreknowledge that insures eventual repentance and belief! (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)

J I Packer said it this way God

knows, and foreknows, all things, and His foreknowledge is foreordination; He, therefore, will have the last word, both in world history and in the destiny of every man.

D. Edmond Hiebert writes that proginosko (foreknowledge)

does not imply mere intellectual apprehension; it also indicates an active and affectionate desire to bless.

Kenneth Wuest writes that foreknowledge

is to be understood less as a passive ‘knowing in advance’ than as an active ‘taking note of’ or an eternal intention to bless. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

William Kelly writes that God's

foreknowledge is of persons, not of their state or conduct; it is not what, but whom He foreknew.

The discerning believer like all good Bereans needs to be aware that not all well known Christian scholars agree with the preceding interpretation of foreknowledge. Although this website follows no particular school of interpretation (other than the natural, literal approach), you should be aware that those who hold to the "Calvinist" school insist that God knows all events precisely because He sovereignly determines what is to happen in human history. Therefore in the Calvinist mindset, foreknowledge is closely related to foreordination (or predestination).  Most Calvinists assert that men are still responsible for their choices and are not merely victims of  "blind fate".

Those known as Arminian distinguish foreknowledge from the foreordination. While salvation and human history are predetermined by God, Arminians argue that individual response to God is not so predetermined. Hence, God can foreknow an event without directly decreeing that event to take place. There are other differences between these two schools of theology but you will need to consult other resources for more in depth discussion.

Scripture teaches both God’s foreknowledge of all things and the man's responsibility and these truth are like two parallel train tracks that never intersect. Both are true even if they cannot be resolved by our finite minds. To alter either of these truths is to not rightly handle the interpretation of the Word of Truth.

The verb proginosko is used 5x in the NT, two of those uses (Acts 26:5, 2 Peter 3:17-note) simply referring to previous knowledge that anyone might have.

Below are the other three of uses of proginosko that convey the meaning not just that God knew before, but that He also foreordained or appointed in advance.

Romans 8:29 (note) For whom He foreknew (proginosko), He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren."

Comment: As discussed above "foreknew" is not just a reference to God’s omniscience—that in eternity past He knew who would come to Christ but has the added notion of His predetermined choice to set His love on us and established an intimate relationship.

Romans 11:2 (note) "God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew (proginosko) (Amplified adds " [whose destiny] He had marked out and appointed and foreknown from the beginning). Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?" 

Comment: The situation was similar to that which existed in the time of Elijah when most of the nation had turned away from God to idols. Conditions were so bad that Elijah prayed against Israel instead of for it! Paul's point is that even Israel's gross disobedience and turning away of most of the nation did not nullify God’s predetermined love relationship with her!

1 Peter 1:20 (note) "For He was foreknown (proginosko) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

Comment: The Fall of man in the Garden of Eden did not take God by surprise. Christ’s work for us was no afterthought on God’s part. The Redeemer was destined to die for us before the creation of the world. Christ's sacrificial death was a set appointment not a serendipitous accident and began to be worked out in Ge 3:7 vs. Ge 3:21, when God killed animals that He might clothe Adam and Eve. The ram dying as a substitute for Isaac (Ge 22:13), the Passover lamb being slain for each Jewish household (Ex 12), and the One "like a lamb...led to slaughter" (Isaiah 53:6, 7), all pictured the predetermined and foreknown plan which culminated in John the Baptist's presentation of the Messiah as "the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

C. H. Spurgeon in his inimitable style described God's actions in salvation:

"Before Salvation came into this world, Election marched in the very forefront, and it had for its work the billeting [assigning of lodging especially to soldiers] of Salvation. Election went through the world and marked the houses to which Salvation should come and the hearts in which the treasure should be deposited. Election looked through all the race of man, from Adam down to the last, and marked with sacred stamp those for whom Salvation was designed. 'He must needs go through Samaria,' said Election; and Salvation must go there.

Then came Predestination. Predestination did not merely mark the house, but it mapped the road in which Salvation should travel to that house; Predestination ordained every step of the great army of Salvation; it ordained the time when the sinner should be brought to Christ, the manner how he should be saved, the means that should be employed; it marked the exact hour and moment, when God the Spirit should quicken the dead in sin, and when peace and pardon should be spoken through the blood of Jesus. Predestination marked the way so completely that Salvation doth never overstep the bounds, and it is never at a loss for the road. In the everlasting decree of the Sovereign God, the footsteps of Mercy were every one of them ordained" from the sermon "The Things that Accompany Salvation"

BY THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF THE SPIRIT: en hagiasmo pneumatos: (1Th 5:23, Acts 26:18, Heb 10:14, 1Co 1:30, 6:11) (See Torrey's Topic Sanctification)

As explained in more detail below, sanctification sometimes refers to the work of the Spirit in a person AFTER we are saved (and is synonymous with a walk of holiness or "present tense salvation") but below are verses which use sanctification to refer to the initial born again experience (as used in this passage by Peter)...

He 10:10 By this will we have been sanctified (perfect tense = set apart at the time of initial salvation with ongoing effects or results - this also speaks of the permanence of salvation or "eternal security" of the believer) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Acts 26:18 to open their (in context of Ac 26:17, the Gentiles) eyes (by proclaiming the Gospel) so that they may turn from darkness (cp Col 1:13-note) to light and from the dominion (exousia = the "right" and the "might") of Satan (He 2:14, 15-note) to God, that they may receive forgiveness (aphesis) of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (perfect tense = see He 10:10 above) by faith in Me.’

1 Corinthians 6:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God

2Th 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek sentence has no word for "work" so that Young's Literal version accurately reads...

in sanctification of the Spirit (As explained below the idea is "made a holy people by God's Spirit"), to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ

Wuest expands the verse paraphrasing it as...

those chosen out to be recipients of the setting-apart work of the Spirit resulting in obedience [of faith] and [this resulting] in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. [Sanctifying] grace to you, and [tranquilizing] peace be multiplied.

What is Peter saying? The phrase sanctifying work of the Spirit means that a person cannot be saved anytime they "decide" and any way they "want" (cp Jesus' words in Jn 3:7,8 and Jn 1:12, 13, especially the phrases "nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God"!). A person must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God the evidence of this sanctifying work being that the person now chooses to obey God (cp the Divine enablement of one who has been born again in Php 2:13-note, He 8:10, 11-note and the "new" responsibility of this regenerate individual in Php 2:12-note). This is not an exaltation of works in which we could ever boast, but instead is exaltation of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is the work of God -- God chooses and the Holy Spirit sanctifies, even as taught in Peter's opening "doxology"...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who (on what basis did He choose to save us?) according to His great mercy (Wuest = "who impelled by His abundant mercy") has caused us to be born again (NIV = "In His great mercy He has given us new birth") to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation (future tense salvation) ready to be revealed in the last time.

Fallen mankind have always sought a way to "earn" salvation as evidenced by this question to Jesus...

They said therefore to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (Jn 6:28, 29)

Comment: He is not referring to a "meritorious" work by man. Man cannot do any works that please God. So this is not referring to "work" in the sense of something man conjures up and wills himself to do to earn God's salvation. As Ryrie says "The only "work" that a man can do that is acceptable to God is to believe in Christ (cf. 1Jn 3:23)." This is the picture of a drowning man going under but raising his hand out for help. The point is he can do nothing to save himself except cry out. That is not a work on his part that earns any favor with God. The "works of God" (Jn 6:28) are impossible to attain, requiring absolute obedience to God's law (Dt 27:26; Jas 2:10) to be acceptable to God. Only Jesus, in His perfect humanity, was able to accomplish this, but His righteousness is imputed to all those who believe on Him apart from works (Ro 4:5-note). This is possible only because He, perfectly righteous Himself, could then voluntarily and in love bear "our sins in his own body on the tree" (1Pe 2:24-note). Jesus had just cautioned His audience (and all men of all ages) to work "not for the food which perishes, but for that meat which endures" (Jn 6:27). He was not trying to "trap" them but to get them to understand that the only "work" acceptable to God is belief in His Son.

By - This preposition is actually the Greek preposition "en" which is literally "in" which in this verse is used as what is referred to as the "locative of sphere". Wuest explains that in this verse the locative of sphere means that it was in the sphere of the sanctifying or...

setting apart work of the Spirit that the sinner was chosen. That is, God the Father chose the sinner out from among mankind to be the recipient of the setting-apart work of the Spirit, in which work the Holy Spirit sets the sinner apart from his unbelief to the act of faith in the Lord Jesus. The act of faith is spoken of here by the word “obedience,” which is not the obedience of the saint, but that of the sinner to the Faith, for this act is answered by his being cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus. In Acts 6:7 we read that “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Thus, the second step in the salvation of a sinner is taken by the Holy Spirit who brings the one chosen to the act of faith in the Lord Jesus as Saviour. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans) (Bolding added)

Barclay elaborates on the Spirit's "sanctifying work" writing that

"It is the Holy Spirit Who awakens within us the first faint longings for God and His goodness. It is the Holy Spirit Who convicts us of our sin and leads us to the Cross where that sin is forgiven. It is the Holy Spirit Who enables us to be freed from the sins which have us in their grip and to gain the virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is Lord. The beginning, the middle and the end of the Christian life are the work of the Holy Spirit." (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

Marvin Vincent notes Peter's interesting use of prepositions in close proximity...

"Note the three prepositions: according to (kata) the foreknowledge; in (en) sanctification; unto (eis) obedience. The ground, sphere, and end of spiritual sanctification."

Wiersbe sums up salvation in this section as follows...

We have been chosen by the Father, purchased by the Son, and set apart by the Spirit. It takes all three if there is to be a true experience of salvation.

Sanctifying (38) (hagiasmos [word study] from hagiazo = sanctify from hagios = holy, set apart, consecrated)  literally means sanctification and includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication and holiness. The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the secular and sinful and setting apart for a sacred purpose, for God’s special use, all made possible by the atoning work of Christ. Hagiasmos does not denote the state of holiness but rather the process of being made holy, of becoming more and more in character and conduct that which God desires us to be.

Wuest puts it this way

The word “sanctify” in the Greek means “to set apart,” and the word “sanctification” refers to the setting apart process. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Hagiasmos is used twice in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ezekiel 45:4, Amos 2:11) and 10 times in the NT...

Romans 6:19 (note)  I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

Romans 6:22 (note) But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

1Thessalonians 4:3 (note) For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;

1Thessalonians 4:4 (note)  that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor

1Thessalonians 4:7 (note) For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

1 Timothy 2:15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

Hebrews 12:14 (note) Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.

Hagiasmos was used in the Greek pagan religions to describe  buildings, altars or offerings set apart for religious purposes. The object set apart was thus declared sacred, holy, devoted to religious purposes. It applied also to the worshippers. They were set apart persons, thus religious devotees of the temple.

As explained below, hagiasmos can refer either to a state of being set apart from sin and the world unto God (equating with our initial salvation) or secondly can refer to the process by which a saint becomes progressively more set apart to God. Thus sanctification in one use takes place at a moment in time (salvation) but in the other use sanctification is a continuous process until we are glorified. Peter uses hagiasmos primarily with the former meaning. The Holy Spirit is crucial both aspects of sanctification.

Wuest adds that

This pre-salvation work of the Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as the sanctification of the Spirit. It is the setting-apart work of the Spirit in that He sets the unsaved person apart from his unbelief to the act of faith, from his standing in the first Adam which brought him sin and death, to a new standing in the Last Adam which brings him righteousness and life. This we call positional sanctification." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology has a note that helps illustrate the meaning of hagiasmos: "The generic meaning of sanctification is

“the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose." (Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology . Baker Book House)

The College Press NIV Commentary states that...

"The concept of sanctification can be understood by comparing the sanctification of people to the sanctification of the temple or its utensils. A sanctified building, lampstand, or pot is designated to be used only in service to God. A sanctified person has also been set apart for service. The Holy Spirit both marks us for God’s service and empowers us to render that service." (1 & 2 Peter: The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing).

As discussed, Peter uses hagiasmos to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration or the new birth, by which a sinner is taken out of Adam and placed into Christ, thus equating sanctification in this context with salvation.

Writing to the Thessalonian believers (whose faith had been shaken by false teachers cf 2Th 2:1, 2, 3, 4) Paul reminds them of the source and security of their salvation, explaining that they are

brethren beloved (perfect tense = their permanent state) by the Lord, because God has chosen you (election -- middle voice = for Himself) from the beginning for salvation through sanctification (hagiasmos) by the Spirit (God's part) and faith (man's part, realizing that even faith is a gift) in the truth (believers need to stay "in the truth" for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ). (2Thessalonians 2:13)

The Spirit uses the Word of Truth (the Gospel) to convict men of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come (Jn 16:8), to point them to safety in the "Ark" of Christ and to set them apart from the world.

Using the verbal root of hagiasmos (hagiazo), Paul declared to the Ephesian elders

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance ("imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven" - 1Pe 1:4-note) among all those who are sanctified (hagiazo - perfect tense pictures their having been set apart occurring at a definite point of time in the past -- the moment they were born again by faith -- with the present result that they are still set apart, that blessed condition continuing throughout this life and the one to come!). (Acts 20:32)

John Macarthur comments on 1 Peter1:2 explaining that

Election becomes a reality for the elect in the sphere of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit...While the elect are elect from eternity, they are saved in time..."Sanctifying" refers to the new birth--salvation, regeneration, faith, repentance-- that the Spirit produces in the life of a believer. It includes the concepts of being hallowed, consecrated, and separated from the world. As Christians we are all elect from eternity. But we were once part of the mass of unredeemed humanity. We existed in that unredeemed condition until the Holy Spirit set us apart ("sanctified us") for salvation...the Spirit sets a believer apart ("sanctifies") from sin to God, from darkness to light, and from unbelief to faith...The Father planned our salvation and Christ purchased it for us, but it is the Spirit Who applies it. (parentheses and bolding added)

The reader needs to be aware that sanctification can be a confusing term because some uses of "sanctification" (sanctify, sanctified) in Scripture refer primarily to our initial salvation ("positional sanctification") whereas other uses refer to an ongoing process in the believer's life.

John Macarthur notes that

Sanctification includes all aspects of the life of a believer. It is a synonym for salvation, the critical work of the Holy Spirit at conversion whereby we are set apart--born of the Spirit. Once that has taken place, the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to make us more holy. That is the process of sanctification, and it continues throughout our lives.

SANCTIFICATION:
USED TWO WAYS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

(1) Our initial salvation experience:
A POINT IN TIME EVENT
OUR POSSESSION
OUR ETERNAL POSITION IN CHRIST

(2) Our daily growth in Christ-likeness:
A PROCESS
OUR DAILY PRACTICE
PROGRESSIVE

When we are initially saved, the Bible sometimes refers to this as sanctified and so we Paul writes that...

we were sanctified (hagiazo - aorist tense = past action completed the moment we believed!) (1Co 6:11-see note. cp Acts 20:32 where here the speaks of our being set apart at a specific point in time in the past [the moment we believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ Mk 1:1, Ro 1:9-note, Ro 15:19-note, 1Co 9:12, 2Co 2:12, 9:13, 10:14, Gal 1:7, Php 1:27-note, 1Th 3:2-note, 2Th 1:8] and with the results continuing into the present = we remain positionally set apart.)

At the moment we confessed "with (our) mouth Jesus as Lord, and (believed) in (our) heart that God raised Him from the dead" (Ro 10:9-note) we were saved, sanctified or set apart from sin, Satan and this present evil age (Gal 1:4) and unto God for His good pleasure (2Cor 5:9, Ep 5:8-note, Ep 5:9, 10-note, 1Th 2:4-note, He 13:20, 21-note) and use (2Co 4:7, 2Ti 2:20, 21-note).

The epistle to the Hebrews records that

by one offering (of His Own Body on the Cross) He (Christ, our Great High Priest) has perfected (perfect tense = speaks of the permanence or eternality of this perfection) for all time those who are sanctified (present tense, passive voice {"divine passive" = God enables this progressive setting apart in believers} = more literally = "are continuously being sanctified" = speaks of the process of sanctification as discussed below). (He 10:14-note)

Having been saved, sanctified or set apart in the past, now daily we are being saved, sanctified or set apart from the world and unto God. (See topic Three Tenses of Salvation - see also the lengthy discussion by Lehman Strauss re Regeneration, Justification and Sanctification) The first sanctification is a one time event, never to be repeated. The second sanctification is a daily event and represents an ongoing process by which the Spirit is continually conforming us into the image of God's Son by producing internal transformation.

Paul says it this way...

THE BELIEVER'S
"POWER SOURCE"
ENABLING
PROGRESSIVE
SANCTIFICATION

work out (present imperative = As the general direction of your life) your salvation (equates with progressive, stepwise sanctification = increasing in holiness = growth in Christ-likeness) with fear (1Pe 1:17-note, 2Co 7:1-note) and trembling for it is God who is at work (energeo in the present tense = continually) in you, both to will (His indwelling Spirit gives us the "want to" [cp He 13:20, 21-note] - our fallen flesh does not "want to" obey God's word! Never!) and to work (energeo in the present tense = continually) for His good pleasure. (Php 2:12, 13-See notes Php 2:12; 2:13)

Note that the process of sanctification although enabled by the Spirit is the believer's  responsibility and that holiness is not produced by personal passivity or just letting go and letting God as some have erroneously taught. We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to make us holy...His sanctifying work alone saved us the first time and His sanctifying work alone saves us every day and both are activated by faith, a faith that obeys His still small voice without hesitation. That's "walking in the Spirit". Walking is just learning to place one foot in front of the other and then repeating that process. That's what it means to be continually "filled with the Spirit". That's what it means to continually be under the control of the Holy Spirit. (see related resources Walking in the Spirit ; Filled with Spirit - Ephesians 5:18 or see exposition of Ephesians 5:18)

Hagiasmos is used to the process of sanctification in Romans 6:19  Paul writing to the Romans saints...

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh (because of their intellectual difficulty in grasping divine truth which often needs to be illustrated to be fully intelligible). For just as you presented (paristemi = yielded, surrendered) your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present (paristemi in the aorist imperative = once for all, yield - this necessitates a deliberate decision on the believer's part) your members (your faculties, the parts of your physical body, the headquarters from which and through which sin operates, members might also include mental faculties) as slaves to righteousness (right being and doing right), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos). (Ro 6:19-note)

In Romans 6:22  Paul goes on to explain

but now having been freed from sin (because of our union with Christ [= "in Christ"] Who broke the tyranny, dominion and controlling power of sin, Ro 6:2-note, Ro 6:11-note - not referring to the believer’s daily struggle with sin but to a one-time, past completed event - now we are “in Christ” and He died in our place and we are counted dead with Him) and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit (reward, fruit - if you present yourselves as slaves to God voluntarily, you can anticipate the sweet fruit of progressive sanctification - holiness - and fullness of eternal life cf. Jn 10:10; 17:3), resulting in sanctification (hagiasmos - here referring to progressive, daily setting apart from the world and unto God = a process which is not automatic but requires a daily, moment by moment, decision of our will to live for God, not the world, this process being enabled by the Holy Spirit), and the outcome, eternal life. (Ro 6:22-note)

In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul reminds us that our salvation is all of God for it is by His

doing (Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow - the Initiator, Sustainer and Completer of our salvation!) you are in Christ Jesus (see in Christ and in Christ Jesus), Who became to us wisdom from God (Ro 11:36-note), and righteousness (2Pe 1:1-note, Therefore, let us proclaim with the Psalmist - Ps 71:15-note, Ps 71:16-note) and sanctification (hagiasmos - set apart to belong to God and to serve Him - this reference is to positional sanctification = "in Christ" our eternally secure position!) and redemption." (1Cor 1:30)

Another example of Paul's use of sanctified in reference to the initial salvation experience is in his description of the "before" and "after" picture of some of the Corinthian saints --

Such were some of you (see 1Cor 6:9; 6:10); but you were washed, but you were sanctified (hagiazo, aorist tense = at a definite point in time in the past = moment of salvation), but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1Cor 6:11) 

Hagiasmos is used in Hebrews to describe progressive sanctification, the author charging saints to

Comment: Don't misunderstand this command to pursue holiness -- the writer is not saying that we can work our way to heaven. To the contrary those who have been sanctified by the Spirit {genuinely saved} will be enabled and empowered by the same Spirit to daily pursue holiness with the result that the lost will see the Lord in their holy lives. Mt 5:16-note) (See also J C Ryle's sermon on Hebrews 12:14.)

Easton's Bible Dictionary writes that...

Sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Ro 6:13 [note]; Col 3:10 [note]; 1Jn 4:7; 1Cor 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1Cor 6:11; 2Th 2:13).

Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Gal 2:20-note) and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience "to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.

Wuest summarizes sanctification, positional and progressive, beginning with the

"initial act of faith (that) brought ... justification, the removal of the guilt and penalty of sin and the impartation of a positive righteousness, Jesus Christ Himself, an act which occurs at the moment of believing, and a position that remains static for time and eternity; sanctification, positional, the act of the Holy Spirit taking the believing sinner out of the first Adam with his (Adam’s) sin and death, and placing him in the Last Adam (Jesus Christ, cp 1Co 15:22) with His righteousness (2Co 5:21) and life (Jn 14:19, 20:31, 1Jn 5:11, 12, Col 3:4-note), an act that occurs at the moment of believing. Sanctification progressive, the process by which the Holy Spirit eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His fruit, gradually conforming him into the image of the Lord Jesus, a process that goes on all through the life of a Christian...In progressive sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit producing in the lives of believers, a set apart life consistent with their new position. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Hodge writes that...

"The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves."

Luther said:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him." It is the Holy Spirit who awakens within us the first faint longings for God and goodness. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and leads us to the Cross where that sin is forgiven. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to be freed from the sins which have us in their grip and to gain the virtues which are the fruit of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is Lord. The beginning, the middle and the end of the Christian life are the work of the Holy Spirit.

TO OBEY JESUS CHRIST: eis hupakoen:  (See "obey" in 2Th 1:8, 9, See Torrey's Topic "Obedience to God")

THE IMPORTANCE
OF OBEDIENCE

Paul emphasizes the crucial importance of obedience in his vivid description of the return of Jesus Christ written to encourage the persecuted saints at Thessalonica...

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction (thlipsis) those who afflict (thlibo) you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted (thlibo) and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed (apokalupsis - see table on Second Coming) from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God (cp Jesus' haunting declaration that He did not know them in Mt 7:21-note, Mt 7:22, 23-note) - Vincent - "To know God is to know Him as the One, true God as distinguished from false gods; to know His will, His holiness, His hatred of sin, and His saving intent toward mankind. Two words are used of such knowledge, eido [used here] and ginosko... Eido [is used elsewhere], of heathen, Jn 16:3, 8:55, Ga 4:8;1Th 4:5-note") and to those who do not obey (hupakouo - present tense = as their general lifestyle. Speaks of direction [of one's life], not perfection! cp Jn 3:36,1Pe 4:17-note, Acts 6:7 Ro 1:5-note, Ro 2:8-note, Ro 15:18,19-note, Ro 16:26-note Ga 5:7, Heb 5:9-note, He 11:8-note) the gospel (euaggelion) of our Lord Jesus (Note Paul's link between knowledge and obedience. The Pharisees knew but did not obey and the same is true of modern day "Pharisees"!). And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction (They owed a debt - Ro 3:23-note, Ro 6:23-note), away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory (doxa) of His power (ischus), when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed (pisteuo)-- for our testimony to you was believed. (2Th 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

Comment: Obedience does not save us. Only faith in Christ saves us. But faith that is genuine produces obedience. In other words, faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone! (See Jas 2:14-16-see notes )

Related Resource: See notes on the relationship of obedience and faith in 1 Peter 1:14; 1 Peter 1:22; Romans 1:5 Romans 15:18; Romans 16:19, Romans 16:26

to be obedient to Jesus Christ (Amp)

unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (ASV, KJV)

with a view to their obedience and to their being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ (Weymouth)

for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood (ESV),

resulting in obedience [of faith] and [this resulting] in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (Wuest)

Marvin Vincent insightfully observes Peter's successive use of

three prepositions: according to (kata) the foreknowledge; in (en) sanctification; unto (eis) obedience. The ground, sphere, and end of spiritual sanctification.

To (eis) is a preposition which depicts motion or direction toward or into some thing or some place, in context into or toward obedience. Even from this simple understanding you can glean that a faith that is not manifesting a tendency toward obedience to Jesus Christ, is a faith that is at best suspect and at worst a counterfeit. 

Kenneth Wuest conveys the sense of the Greek preposition --

resulting in obedience [of faith]. 

The interpretation relates back to the fact that Christians are chosen...to be obedient. The people whom God chose and set apart are to be obedient.

Obedience from a new heart, motivated by love (not cowering fear) is the by-product of the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Immediately after explaining to the Ephesians that they were saved by grace through faith apart from works (Ep 2:8, 9-notes) Paul declares that believers

are (God's) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (see study of Good Deeds), which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10-note)

Salvation calls us to a life of obedience. Because we are elect, we have been set apart by the work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ. No believer always obey as he should, but nevertheless obedience is to be the general direction (cf., eis = toward) of our life.

Obey (5218) (hupakoe from hupó = under + akouo = hear) (Click study of related verb hupakouo) literally means "hearing under", that is, listening from a subordinate position in which compliance with what is said is expected and intended. 

Hupakoe  is used only once in the Lxx (2Sa 22:36) and 15 times in the NT ...
 

Romans 1:5 (note) through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith (see study of Obedience of faith) among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake,

Romans 5:19 (note) For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Romans 6:16 (note) Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey (present tense = habitually), either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Romans 15:18 (note) For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

Romans 16:19 (note) For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil.

Romans 16:26 (note) but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

2 Corinthians 7:15 And his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

2 Corinthians 10:6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

Philemon 1:21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

Hebrews 5:8 (note)  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

1 Peter 1:2 (note) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.

1 Peter 1:14 (note) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,

1 Peter 1:22 (note) Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

Hupakoe speaks of the one hearing as being under the authority of some one else. Thus, hupakoe comes to mean compliance (disposition to yield to another) with the demands or requests of someone over us. Obedience is submission or hearkening to a command. Obedience is the carrying out the word and will of another person, especially the will of God.

Illustration - A missionary translator was endeavoring to find a word for “obedience” in the native language. This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament. As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came running at full speed. An old man, seeing this, said, admiringly in the native tongue, “Your dog is all ear.” Immediately the missionary knew he had his word for obedience. (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations by Paul Lee Tan)

Hupakoe conveys the picture of one listening and following instructions. Submitting to that which is heard involves a change of attitude, forsaking the tendency of the fallen nature to rebel against Divine instructions and commands and seeking God's will, not self will. Someone has said that a "proof" that we are of the elect is not an empty prating about how secure we are once we believed, but rather how sensitive we are to the principle and practice of obedience to Jesus.

Paul uses hupakoe to describe the goal of his apostleship which was

to bring about the obedience of faith ("the obedience that comes from faith" NIV) among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake." (Ro 1:5-see notes for discussion of the phrase obedience of faith ; see related topic Relationship of faith and obedience)

A similar truth is expressed by Luke describing

the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient (verb form - hupakouo) to the faith (here meaning "the gospel"). (Acts 6:7) 

To become obedient to the faith, is to obey the requirements of the gospel. The point is that genuine, saving faith always produces obedience and submission to the gospel of Christ. A person who claims faith in Jesus Christ but whose pattern of life is utter disobedience to God’s Word has never been redeemed and is living a lie. Faith that does not manifest itself in obedient living is spurious and worthless (Jas 2:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 , 21, 22, 23 ,24, 25, 26-see notes ).

In the closing lines of Romans Paul again emphasized that the purpose of the gospel was to lead men "to the obedience of faith (the obedience which springs from faith)" (Ro 16:26-note).

Faith and obedience are inseparable. There is no true faith that does not produce obedience (Ro 15:18-note; Ro 16:19-note; 2Co 7:15). (See related study Obedience of faith)

In sum, Peter is saying that the purpose of our election is obedience to Jesus Christ. Peter then goes on to use hupakoe two more times in this same chapter to help his readers understand what this obedience looks like in our daily walk --

(1) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance (1Pe 1:14-note)

(2) Since you have in obedience to the truth (referring to their conversion upon believing the Gospel) purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart (1Pe 1:22-note)

AND BE SPRINKLED WITH HIS BLOOD: kai rantismon haimatos Iesou Christou:

Sprinkled (4473) (rhantismos from rhaino = to sprinkle)  means a scattering of drops of some liquid (usually blood, oil or water in Scripture) The corresponding Hebrew word (nazah) stresses the purpose whereas rhantismos stresses the process of sprinkling.

The only other NT use of rhantismos is in Hebrews where the author writes that the readers who have accepted Messiah as Savior have come to

"Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel." (Heb 12:24-note [cf. Heb 9:13, 14-notes])

Rhantismos is found four times in the Greek translation of the Hebrew (Septuagint) to describe the "water of sprinkling" (Nu 19:9). Over Israel's almost 40 year period of wilderness wandering, approximately 1.2 million people died because of God’s judgment. The Israelites were continually coming into contact with dead bodies, which led to ceremonial uncleanness. Therefore, the Lord provided a means of purification ("water for impurity...sprinkled" Nu 19, 13, 20, 21) so that those who came into contact with dead bodies might be cleansed.

In addition to the sprinkling of water for impurity, the Old Testament frequently speaks of sprinkling blood around the altar as a ritual purification or as an act of consecration (e.g., click for 20 uses of sprinkled blood in Leviticus). In the present context Peter clearly is not speaking of a literal sprinkling of blood but is using the term figuratively. However, it must be stated at the outset of this discussion that a definitive interpretation of Peter's original intent is difficult and it is best to avoid being too dogmatic.

Here the blood of Jesus speaks of His atoning sacrifice for

in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. (Ep 1:7-note)

Similarly Paul says that

through Him (Christ)...all things (are reconciled) to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col 1:20- note)

Scripture is the best commentary on Scripture, so in order to try to accurately interpret Peter's figure of the sprinkled blood of Jesus, we first note that although there are other sprinklings in the Old Testament, there are only three situations in which men were sprinkled with blood (see below).

Sprinkling of Individuals with Blood in the Old Testament

(1). Ratifying the Mosaic covenant (Ex 24:8; Heb 9:19, 20-note)
(2). Consecration of family of Aaron to priesthood (Ex 29:21)
(3). Cleansing from leprosy (Lev 14:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Peter's statement rendered literally from the Greek reads

"to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ".

As discussed above, obedience speaks of human response and clearly the blood of Jesus Christ pictures the divine provision. Although there is no clear consensus, looking at the three possible OT situations to which Peter may have been alluding, the most reasonable appears to be Moses’ sprinkling of sacrificial blood on the people of Israel symbolically  sealing their covenant to obey God. In Exodus we read that as Moses

took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Ex 24:7,8).

Notice that in this text the people declare their commitment to obedience and then Moses sprinkles sacrificial blood on them to ratify their covenant. Peter also refers to obedience and the sprinkling of blood in the same order.

The Nelson Study Bible comments that

Any of these three cases could be the one that Peter has in mind here. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. The Nelson Study Bible: NKJV.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Charles Ryrie writes that

sprinkled with His blood signifies the personal application of the sacrifice of Christ. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)

The Geneva Study Bible has an interesting note writing that

"In the worship of the Old Testament, the death of the victim establishes a covenant, and the sprinkling incorporates the worshipers as participants, making them publicly liable for the covenant’s benefits and responsibilities (Ex 24:8)." (New Geneva Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

William MacDonald writes regarding the interpretation of the sprinkled blood that

"We must not take this with absolute literalness and insist that when a person is saved, he is actually sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. This is figurative language. What it does say is that as soon as a person obeys the gospel, he receives all the benefits which flow from the shedding of Christ’s blood on Calvary. The Savior’s blood was shed once for all over 1900 years ago; it will never be shed again. But we receive forgiveness, redemption, and the other innumerable blessings that flow from that crimson tide as soon as we believe on Him." (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)

John Macarthur says that

"This phrase (sprinkled with His blood) is based on Moses’ sprinkling sacrificial blood on the people of Israel as a symbol sealing their covenant as they promised to obey God’s Word. Likewise, in the New Covenant, faith in the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross not only activates God’s promise to give the believer perfect atonement for sin, but also brings the believer into the covenant by one’s promise of obedience to the Lord and His Word." (The MacArthur Study Bible. Nashville: Word Pub)

Stated another way, one could say that the new covenant is established by the blood of Christ (Mt 26:28) and evokes the obedience of faith.

In his interpretation David Guzik incorporates all three OT uses where blood was sprinkled on men writing that

"since all the elect fall short of perfect sanctification and obedience, there is cleansing from sin provided for them through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. There were only three circumstances in the Old Testament where blood was sprinkled on people. First, at the establishment of a covenant (Ex 24:5, 6, 7, 8). Second, at the ordination of Aaron and his sons (Ex 29:21). Finally, in the purification ceremony for a cleansed leper (Lev 14:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). The sprinkling of the blood of Jesus on us accomplishes the same things. First, a covenant is formed, then we are ordained as priests to Him, and finally we are cleansed from our corruption and sin. Each one of these things is ours through the work of Jesus on the cross." (See Commentary)

William Barclay is similar to Guzik (Note Barclay has definite liberal tendencies but his comments on culture, history, Greek words, etc are often valuable...just be a Berean and read critique on Barclay)

(a) When a leper had been healed, he was sprinkled with the blood of a bird (Lev 14:2–7). Sprinkling with blood is, therefore, the symbol of cleansing. By the sacrifice of Christ, the Christian is cleansed from sin. (Ed note: compare "how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Heb 9:14)

(b) Sprinkling with blood was part of the ritual of the setting apart of Aaron and the priests (Ex 29:21; Lev 8:30). It was the sign of setting apart for the service of God. The Christian is specially set apart for the service of God, not only within the Temple, but also within the world. (Ed note: Believers are a royal priesthood [1Pe 2:9-note] "not redeemed with perishable things... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." - 1Pe 1:18, 19-notes)

(c) The great picture of the sprinkling comes from the covenant relationship between Israel and God. In the covenant, God, of his own gracious will, approached Israel that they might be his people and that he might be their God. But that relationship depended on the Israelites accepting the conditions of the covenant and obeying the law. Obedience was a necessary condition of the covenant, and failure in obedience meant failure of the covenant relationship between God and Israel. In (Ex 24:1, 2, 3,4, 5,6 , 7, 8)

Moses "took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!" So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." 

Believers have entered into a New Covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ (Mt 26:28 = Mk 14:24), the Mediator of a "better covenant (than that described in Ex 24) which has been enacted on better promises." (He 8:6-note).

The writer of Hebrews also reminded his persecuted potentially wavering readers, that as believers they had

"come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels...and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel." (Heb 12:22, 23, 24-note)

A T Robertson writes that "sprinkled blood" is a

Reference to the death of Christ on the Cross and to the ratification of the New Covenant by the blood of Christ as given in Heb. 9:19f.; 12:24 with allusion to Ex 24:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Paul does not mention this ritual use of the blood of Christ, but Jesus does (Mt 26:28 = Mk 14:24). (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Finally, just as the "holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar" were symbolically purified by sprinkling of blood sevenfold on the day of atonement (Lev 16:19) the Savior's blood today provides daily cleansing from personal impurities

The apostle John amplifies the eternal efficacy of the Blood of Christ writing that...

If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son (continually) cleanses us from all sin." (1Jn 1:7) for "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9)

In summary, from the above discussion one can see that "sprinkled with His blood" has several possible interpretations and it is best to avoid being too dogmatic.

MAY GRACE AND PEACE BE YOURS IN FULLEST MEASURE: charis humin kai eirene plehtuntheie (APO): (Torrey's Topic Spiritual Peace & Peace)

C H Spurgeon well says that...

Blessed men scatter blessings. When the benediction of God rests upon us, we pour out benedictions upon others. (The Second Coming)

Guy King (in his expositional commentary on Philippians, Joy Way,1952 - online version) writes that...

"Grace and peace" - just the customary greeting:

"grace", the Western (or Greek)
"peace", the Eastern (or Hebrew)

but when the HOLY SPIRIT led Paul to combine them here, we may be sure that He intended their use to be something so much more than formal and usual; both writer and readers would be led to see in them very deep and rich meaning.

Wilson Cash makes the interesting suggestion that

"Paul combines both Jewish 'peace' and Gentile 'grace' in one salutation as a pledge of unity between East and West, between Jew and Gentile, in the one Saviour, who unites all in the one fellowship of His Body".

Dr. Hugh Michael, in the Moffatt Commentary, speaks of

"the enrichment of the commonplace by the new faith of CHRIST, which elevates a salutation into a benediction".

How arrestingly that is seen in the transmutation of everything, however lowly, that He touched - a common Name, a despised City, a humble workshop, even a felon's Cross.

Dr. Johnson said of Oliver Goldsmith,

"He touched nothing that he did not adorn: how infinitely truer of the Master. So here the common greeting is invested with uncommon beauty."

What are these things that the apostle desires for his friends, and which are no less desirable for ourselves?

(a) Grace - a quality which is, at once

(i) an Attitude, which He adopts towards us, as in Ep 2:8 (note);

(ii) an Activity, which He exerts for our help, as in 1Corinthians 15:10; and

(iii) an Accomplishment, which He works in, and out from, us, as in Acts 4:33.

Paul ardently, and prayerfully, desires for his converts everywhere - for he uses the words in all his church letters - that they may experience to the full this "grace", which the late Bishop Handley Moule describes as "love in action".

Then comes:

(b) Peace - the "God of all grace" is the "God of peace", 1Pe 5:10 (note); Ro 15:33 (note); and it is only by, and after, His grace that we can enjoy His peace.

- Peace of heart - no condemnation before GOD

- Peace of conscience - no controversy with GOD

- Peace of mind - no anxiety about life

- Peace of action - no grit in the machinery

This gift is an immensely precious boon; and it may be the possession, should be the possession, of every believer. Paul will have some deep things to say about this later.

These two joys come, says Php 1:1-note, "from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" - the Father is the Source, from whom they come; the Saviour is the Medium, through whom they come. Not from the world arise such blessings, nor from our circumstances, however affluent and pleasant, nor from our own inner being, however much we strive, but only from Him, through Him, and "all the fulness of the Godhead . . . and ye are complete in Him" (Col 2:9, 10-notes) (King, Guy, Joy Way,1952 - online version)

Wuest sees this grace not so much as that associated with our salvation (see notes Ephesians 2:8; 2:9) but that grace necessary for day to day living this supernatural life called Christianity (see note 2 Peter 3:18)...

[Sanctifying] grace to you, and [tranquilizing] peace be multiplied (Wuest)

Spurgeon comments...

So may it be to all of you who are gathered here; grace first, and peace next; but may both grace and peace be multiplied unto you! Much grace, and much peace, may you have, brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus!

Be in fullest measure (4129) (plethuno [word study]) means to cause to greatly increase.

Be in fullest measure is in the optative mood (optative of wish) which expresses a wish and in the NT almost always indicates a prayer. The passive voice indicates that the multiplication of the grace and peace comes from an outside source, clearly from God's throne of grace. The passive voice is the divine passive (the grace and peace are from God).

Plethuno - 12 times in the NT - Matt. 24:12; Acts 6:1, 7; 7:17; 9:31; 12:24; 2 Co. 9:10; Heb. 6:14; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 1:2; Jude 1:2. NAS = fullest measure(1), increase(2), increased(1), increasing(1), multiplied(4), multiply(1), surely multiply(1).

Peter prays for the multiplication of grace and peace so that the trials through which these saints are about to pass may be accompanied by manifold grace and peace from God. Peter's salutation is peculiar by the addition of be multiplied, which occurs (2Pe 1:2-note; Jude 1:2).

Paul normally began His epistles with "grace and peace" (Ro 1:7-note), but Peter begins with grace times peace. Stop for a moment and ponder the glorious implication of infinite grace (2Cor 8:9) multiplied by infinite peace (Php 4:7-note). The product surely includes eternal fulness of joy (Jn 15:11), abundant life (Jn 10:10) and an ever flowing river of "living water" (Jn 7:38).

Grace (5485) (charis)  in simple terms is God's unmerited favor and supernatural enablement and empowerment for salvation and for daily sanctification. Grace is everything for nothing to those who don't deserve anything. It is what every man needs, what none can earn and what God Alone can and does freely give. Grace addresses man's sin while mercy addresses man's misery. The gift of grace makes men fit for salvation, making strangers into God's sons.

Grace is used in every chapter of 1 Peter (10 times - 1Pe 1:2, 10, 13; 2:19, 20; 3:7; 4:10; 5:5, 10, 12, cp 2Pe. 1:2; 3:18).

Grace is God’s generous favor to undeserving sinners and needy saints. When we depend on God’s grace, we can endure suffering and turn trials into triumphs. It is grace alone that saves us (Ep 2:8, 9, 10-see notes Ep 2:8; 9; 10).

God’s grace can give us strength in times of trial (2Cor 12:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, cp 2Ti 2:1-note).

Grace enables us to serve God in spite of difficulties (1Cor 15:9,10).

D L Moody said

Whatever begins with God’s grace will always lead to glory (Ps 84:11 [Spurgeon's note]; 1Pe 5:10-note). First Peter shows how the three themes of suffering, grace, and glory unite to form an encouraging message for believers experiencing times of trial and persecution. These themes are summarized in 1Pe 5:10 (note) a verse we would do well to memorize. 

Grace is not license to do as we please, but power to do as we should. God’s grace insures that those who have been truly regenerated will persevere until the end of life. This entire work is called sanctification, (See Torrey's Topic "Sanctification") a work of God “whereby we are renewed in the whole man and are enabled more and more to die daily unto sin and to live unto righteousness” as stated by the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Ro 12:2 note; Ep 4:23-note; Col 3:10-note; 2Cor 4:16).

Saving grace is God's provision for the believer's sinful past and enabling grace His portion for daily Christian living. The result of receiving God's grace is peace with God or the state of well being that flows from the experience of the sinful creature being reconciled and forgiven.

Wuest characterizes "grace" as follows:

"In its use among the pagan Greeks it referred to a favor done by one Greek to another out of the pure generosity of his heart, and with no hope of reward. When it is used in the New Testament, it refers to that favor which God did at Calvary when He stepped down from His judgment throne to take upon Himself the guilt and penalty of human sin. In the case of the Greek, the favor was done to a friend, never an enemy. In the case of God it was an enemy, the sinner, bitter in his hatred of God, for whom the favor was done. God has no strings tied to the salvation He procured for man at the Cross. Salvation is given the believing sinner out of the pure generosity of God’s heart. The Greek word referred to an action that was beyond the ordinary course of what might be expected, and was therefore commendable. What a description of that which took place at the Cross! The grace spoken of here is sanctifying grace [Ed note: Grace is the Spirit of Christ indwelling me & enabling me to overcome sin. I cannot overcome it...it will overcome me if I try. All attempts to defeat the flesh in my own power will fail ] that part of salvation given the saint in which God causes him to grow in Christ-likeness through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Wuest explains that the grace which Peter prays would be multiplied is not justifying grace (the grace by which we were initially saved through faith) but is "sanctifying grace" which he defines as

"the enabling grace for daily Christian living which is given to the saint yielded to and dependent upon the Holy Spirit." He adds that sanctifying grace is "that part of salvation given the saint in which God causes him to grow in Christ-likeness through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Sanctifying grace (is) the work of the Holy Spirit producing in the yielded believer His own fruit." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Denney said that

“grace is the first and last word of the Gospel; and peace—perfect spiritual soundness—is the finished work of grace.”

Without the grace of God, we could never know peace with God or the peace of God as explained below.

The godly Puritan writer Thomas Watson has the following on the meaning of grace...

This word "grace" has various acceptable uses in Scripture:

Grace is sometimes taken for the favor of God. Genesis 6:8: "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." God cast a gracious aspect upon him.

Grace is taken for beauty, as when we say something is graceful. James 1:11, "The flower fails—and the grace of the fashion of it perishes."

Grace is taken figuratively—and improperly, for the show of grace; as we call that a face in a looking-glass which is but the idea and resemblance of a face. So John 2:23: "Many believed in His name." That believing was but a show of faith.

Grace is taken in a genuine and proper sense, as in our text: "May grace be multiplied to you." It may admit this description: grace is the infusion of a new and holy principle into the heart, whereby it is changed from what it was—and is made after God's own heart. Grace does not make a moral change only—but a sacred one; it biases the soul heavenward—and stamps upon it the image and superscription of God....

I shall show you twelve rare excellencies in grace. I shall set this fair virgin of grace before you, hoping that you will be enticed to fall in love with it. (Click the following link to read these "twelve rare excellencies in grace - The Beauty of Grace)

Peace (1515)(eirene from verb eiro = to join or bind together that which has been separated) literally pictures the binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or divided and thus setting at one again, a meaning convey by the common expression of one “having it all together”. It follows that peace is the opposite of division or dissension.  Peace as a state of concord and harmony is the opposite of war. Peace was used as a greeting or farewell corresponding to the Hebrew word shalom - "peace to you".

Eirene can convey the sense of an inner rest, well being and harmony. The ultimate peace is the state of reconciliation with God, effected by placing one's faith in the gospel. In eschatology, peace is prophesied to be an essential characteristic of the Messianic kingdom (Acts 10:36).

Peace is a condition of freedom from disturbance, whether outwardly, as of a nation from war or enemies or inwardly, as in the current context, within the soul. Peace implies health, well-being, and prosperity. 

Here are the 91 uses of eirene in the NT (Mt. 10:13, 34; Mk. 5:34; Lk. 1:79; 2:14, 29; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5, 6; 11:21; 12:51; 14:32; 19:38, 42; 24:36; Jn 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26; Ac 7:26; 9:31; 10:36; 12:20; 15:33; 16:36; 24:2; Ro 1:7; 2:10; 3:17; 5:1; 8:6; 10:15; 14:17, 19; 15:13, 33; 16:20; 1Co 1:3; 7:15; 14:33; 16:11; 2Co 1:2; 13:11; Gal 1:3; 5:22; 6:16; Ep 1:2; 2:14, 15, 17; 4:3; 6:15, 23; Php 1:2; 4:7, 9; Col 1:2; 3:15; 1Th 1:1; 5:3, 23; 2Th 1:2; 3:16; 1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:2; 2:22; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3; He 7:2; 11:31; 12:14; 13:20; Jas 2:16; 3:18; 1Pe 1:2; 3:11; 5:14; 2Pe 1:2; 3:14; 2Jn 1:3; 3Jn 1:14; Jude 1:2; Re 1:4; 6:4)

Eirene is found some 192 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge 15:15; 26:29; Ex 18:23; Lv. 26:6; Nu 6:26; 25:12; Dt 20:10; Jos. 9:15; Jdg. 4:17; 6:23, 24; 8:9; 11:13, 31; 18:6, 15; 19:20; 21:13; 1Sa 1:17; 7:14; 10:4; 16:4, 5; 20:7, 13, 21, 42; 25:5, 35; 29:7; 30:21; 2Sa 3:21, 22, 23; 8:10; 11:7; 15:9, 27; 17:3; 18:28, 29, 32; 19:24, 30; 1Ki 2:5,6, 13, 33; 4:20, 24; 5:12; 20:18; 22:17, 27, 28; 2Ki. 4:23, 26; 5:19, 22; 9:11, 17, 18, 19, 22, 31; 10:13; 20:19; 22:20; 1Chr 4:40; 12:17, 18; 18:10; 22:9; 2Chr. 15:5; 18:16, 26, 27; 19:1; 34:28; Ezra 4:7, 16, 17; 5:7; 9:12; Esther 3:13; 8:12; Job 11:18; Ps. 4:8; 14:3; 28:3; 29:11; 34:14; 35:27; 37:11; 38:3; 41:9; 55:18; 72:3, 7; 73:3; 76:2; 85:8, 10; 119:165; 120:6; 122:6, 7, 8, 125:5; 128:6; 147:14; Pr 3:2, 17, 23; 4:27; 12:20; 16:7; 17:1; Eccl 3:8; Song 8:10; Isa. 9:6, 7; 14:30; 26:3, 12; 27:5; 29:24; 32:4, 17, 18; 33:7; 39:8; 41:3; 45:7; 48:18; 52:7; 53:5; 54:10, 13; 57:2, 19; 59:8; 60:17; 66:12; Je 4:10; 6:14; 8:15; 12:5, 12; 14:13, 19; 15:5; 16:5; 23:17; 25:37; 28:9; 29:7, 11; 30:5; 33:6, 9; 34:5; 38:4; 43:12; La 3:17; Ezek 7:25; 13:10, 16; 34:25, 27, 29; 37:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:6, 26; Da 4:1; 6:25; 10:19; Mic 2:8; 3:5; 5:5; Nah 1:15; Hag 2:9; Zec 8:10, 12, 19; 9:10; Mal. 2:5, 6). Here is the first use of eirene in the LXX...

Genesis 15:15 "And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

Eirene is the root the English "serene" (= clear and free of storms or unpleasant change, stressing an unclouded and lofty tranquility!) and "serenity".

I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
---Charles Wesley.

The picture of eirene is reflected in our modern expression "having it all together." Everything is in place and as it ought to be. When things are disjointed, there is lack of harmony and well being. When they are joined together, there is both. Thus Hamlet cried,

“The times are out of joint. O, cursed spite that I was ever born to set them right.” 

Peace is the opposite of war or disturbance (), a term which accurate describes man's relationship with the Almighty prior to salvation

Peace is defined by Cremer as

"a state of untroubled, undisturbed wellbeing.”

Peace contrasts with strife and thus denotes the absence or end of strife.  Peace for a believer is not the absence of danger but is the presence of God (cp Psalm 27:1 - See Spurgeon's note). Peace is not a hallowed feeling that comes over us in church but is the supernatural fruit of a heart set deep in God and His trustworthy Word. And so peace is the conscious possession of adequate resources for God's Name is "I Am ____________." (Fill in the blank with your need... not your greed, but your need!) Peace rules your day when Christ (and His Word) rules your mind, because peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.
 

I hear the words of love,

I gaze upon the blood,

I see the mighty sacrifice,

And I have peace with God.
Horatius Bonar
(Play Hymn)

Eirene includes both the concept of an agreement, pact, treaty or bond and of an attitude of rest or security.

Webster defines peace as a state of tranquility or quiet, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions, harmony in personal relations, a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity, state of repose in contrast with or following strife or turmoil.

Five great enemies to peace: greed, ambition, envy, anger and pride. - Petrarch

Hampton Keathley has an interesting discussion of various aspects of peace:

The Peace of Reconciliation, Peace with God - Peace with God refers to the peace of salvation wherein the barriers, like man’s sin and God’s holiness, which separate man from God are removed through faith in God’s gracious work in Christ. (Ep 2:14, 15-notes; Ro 5:1-note)

The Peace of Fellowship, the Peace of a Conscience Void of Offense - This is the personal peace which God gives to the individual through fellowship with the Lord, or through walking in concord with God with all known sin confessed and turned over to God’s grace. (1John 1:9; 3:21; 3:21; 1Ti 1:5; Acts 24:16; 2Ti 1:3-note)

The Peace of Assurance, the Peace of God - This is the peace or rest of soul that comes from being confident of God’s supply and that God is in control of all the affairs of life. This is the peace that settles our nerves, fills our minds, and allows us to relax even in the midst of the uproar around us. (Php 4:6, 7, 8, 9-notes; Ps119:165-note; Pr 3:13, 14, 15, 16, 17)

The Peace of Harmony, Peace with Others - This is the peace of unity and oneness in the body of Christ; oneness of mind and purpose (Ep 4:3-note; 1Th 5:13-note)

The Peace of State, Public Peace - This is the peace of righteous rule and comes through good rulers or governments acting in accord with the principles of the Word and through a strong nucleus of godly citizens who apply and live by the truth of Scripture (cf. the early chapters of Isaiah). (Ro 13:1, 2, 3, 4-notes)

Global or World Peace - This is the peace of a world without war and disharmony which can only occur with the return and reign of the Lord (cf. Re 20:4, 5, 6-notes). Until then, there will be wars and rumors of wars (Mt 24:1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).

The Peace of Orderliness - This is the peace or tranquility that we experience when we do things decently and in order. (1Co 14:40)

The Peace of Blessing - The wish expressed to others in a greeting for spiritual and physical prosperity, security, and safety as seen in the expression, “Peace, friend” or “Shalom.”

Do you lack peace in some area of your life?

Do you have peace with God with Christ as your Savior?

Do you have the peace of God so you are resting in God’s supply?

Do you have the peace of fellowship with a conscience that is void of offense (void of known sins, sins that have not been confessed)?

Do you have peace in your home, with your fellow believers?

When we do not have peace, it is because somewhere we are not appropriating or resting in God’s grace.

Remember, peace does not mean the absence of pain or hurt. It means that in our pain our hurt, we have peace because we know the Lord and we know He is in control.

Again let’s remember Peter’s words, “but grow in the grace” and Paul’s words, “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2Pe 3:18-note)

We are never told to pursue happiness, but the author of Hebrews does tell us to pursue peace and warns us against the danger of coming short of God’s grace.  (He 12:14, 15-note; 15) (see the complete article - Grace and Peace By: J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M)

Peace in the Hebrew mindset (especially as implied in the Hebrew word shalom - click discussion of "Jehovah Shalom" the LORD our Peace) implies health, wholeness, soundness, welfare, health, well-being, prosperity and peace as opposed to war.  For example in the Greek translation of the Hebrew (Septuagint = Lxx) of (2 Ki 5:22) the phrase "All is well (shalom)" is translated by eirene. In (Jdg 18:15-note) we have the phrase "asked him of his welfare (shalom)" where "welfare" is translated by eirene.

Eirene is used in the famous Aaronic blessing

Jehovah lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace (shalom > eirene in Lxx). (Nu 6:26)

Peace floods the soul
when Christ rules the heart

Eirene not surprisingly is associated closely with the Messiah, the Source of all peace, the One Who is Himself Peace. In that sense, there will be no universal peace until the Prince of peace appears.

The psalmist prays

May peace (shalom = eirene in Lxx) be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. (Ps 122:7 - See Spurgeon's Note)

Comment: This is a most appropriate prayer for Jerusalem ["city of peace"], whose name means peace and is to be the future residence of the God of peace, the Messiah.

Isaiah prophesied of this future "Prince of Peace" declaring...

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isa 9:6)

Isaiah later prophesied that Messiah would become the substitutionary sacrifice so that men by faith in this "good news" could find eternal peace...

(The Messiah, the Lamb of God) "was pierced through (note how he speaks as if it had already happened!) for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being (shalom = eirene in Lxx) fell upon Him ("the punishment that brought us peace" NIV) and by His scourging we are healed. (Isa 53:5)

The birth of the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, was announced by the angelic hosts...

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Lk 2:14)

Psalm118:26 (note) prophesied Messiah's triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of the week in which He was crucified. This psalm was quoted and sung as the Jewish pilgrims made their way into Jerusalem in Luke 19...

saying, "BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38)

Although the Jews sang of their Messianic King, their actions showed that most rejected His rule in their lives and thus Jesus pronounced a judgment on the unbelieving Jews...

saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. (Lk 19:42)

Speaking to His disciples just before He went to the Cross, Jesus promised that they would have peace declaring...

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (Jn 14:27).

These things (Jn 14-16) I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (Jn 16:33)

Comment: Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is always with us.

In Adam all men are dead in their trespasses and sins, hostile toward and at war with God so that our peace with Him is disturbed. Paul explained that

just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (see note Ro 5:12)

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. (1Co 15:22)

Isaiah put it bluntly...

"There is no peace (shalom) for the wicked," says the LORD.  (Isaiah 48:22)

Paul also summed up the state of all men in Adam writing...

AND THE PATH OF PEACE HAVE THEY NOT KNOWN." (Ro 3:17-note)

Paul  then went on to explain the path of peace with God writing that all who believe in the gospel have...

"been justified by faith (and) have peace (eirene) with God through our Lord Jesus." Christ." (see note Romans 5:1)

having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION (foundation) OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE (see note Eph 6:15)

In Colossians, Paul explained how this peace was made possible for all men (all of whom are born into Adam), writing that

it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him (Christ) to reconcile all things to Himself (God the Father), having made peace through the blood of His (Messiah's) cross... (see notes Col 1:19;  20)

Wuest adds that...

by His (Messiah's) death, (Jesus) satisfied the just demands of the law which we broke, thus making it possible for a righteous and holy God to bestow mercy upon a believing sinner and do so without violating His justice. Our Lord thus bound together again the believing sinner and God (in an indissoluble, living union), thus making peace. There is therefore a state of untroubled, undisturbed wellbeing for the sinner who places his faith in the Saviour. The law of God has nothing against him, and he can look up into the Father’s face unafraid and unashamed. This is justifying peace." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

The peace Paul describes here is not a subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, but an eternal, objective reality. So the first great result of justification is that the sinner’s war with God is ended forever, Paul explaining that

although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach  (see notes Col 1:21; 22).

Justification by faith brings reconciliation and restoration of peace with God just as Adam experienced in walking in the Garden with God before the Fall!

Here in first Peter, the peace that Peter is asking God to "multiply" refers to that subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, the peace of God, for through their election, the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ (and their justification by faith as described above by Paul) the born again readers have a permanent possession of peace with God.

Wuest further explains that the peace of God which Peter prays for is

sanctifying peace, that state of untroubled, undisturbed tranquility and well being produced in the heart of the yielded saint by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-note). We have this peace to the extent that we are yielded to the Spirit and are intelligently conscious of and dependent upon His ministry for us." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

In Romans 8 Paul describes this peace associated with our daily sanctification, as believers, controlled by the Spirit, walk in the Spirit and habitually make choices that "hit God's mark" (sin being the missing of His mark which good and acceptable and perfect) and thus please God...

for the mind set on the flesh (the mind inherited from Adam which is controlled or dominated by the evil nature opposed to God) is death, but the mind set on (possessed by, controlled by, dominated by, yielded to) the Spirit is life and peace, ("if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace" NLT) (See notes Romans 8:6)

In his unveiling of the mystery of the Church Paul explains that

"now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off (Gentiles) have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who made both groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new (qualitatively - one that never existed before) man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body (the church) to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away (Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (Jews) for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father." (see notes Ep 2:13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18)

Paul explains the nature of Messiah's Kingdom writing that...

the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (See note Romans 14:17)

Five times in the New Testament we encounter the beautiful name the God of Peace, the Source of true peace (which parallels the OT name Jehovah Shalom) -- (See Ro 15:33-note; Ro 16:20-note; Php 4:9-note; 1Th 5:23-note; He 13:20-note)
 

Like a River Glorious
play

     Stayed upon Jehovah,

     Hearts are fully blessed;

     Finding, as He promised,

     Perfect peace and rest.
--Frances Ridley Havergal
 

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!

The peace of God will keep us from sinning under our troubles and from sinking under them. - Matthew Henry

Do you know the God of Peace as your Lord and Savior? If not consider reading Billy Graham's online book entitled how to have Peace With God.

Outside of Christ there is no peace
Only those in Christ know peace

Objectively saints in Christ Jesus are at peace with God (Ro 5:1-note). The war between the believer and God is over and the peace treaty was "signed" in blood, the precious blood of Christ. Because of this great transaction, believers can be at rest and secure in experience or practice as well as in position. Speaking of the experiential peace now available to all believers, Paul writes

Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (see note Philippians 4:7)

Paul prays for experiential peace (peace of sanctification, sanctifying peace, peace of God on a moment by moment basis) for the saints at Rome, asking

"the God of hope (to) fill you with all joy and peace in believing (i.e., peace experienced in the sphere of habitually believing and which [enabled by the Spirit] is demonstrated in one's obedient thoughts, words, and deeds), that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (see note Romans 15:13)

Paul intercedes on behalf of the believers at Thessalonica to experience God's peace associated with sanctification (peace of God)...

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (see notes 1Thessalonians 5:23; 24)

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord [be] with you all!" (2Th 3:16)

Comment: Have you ever prayed Pauline prayers like those above for other believers? If not why not? Remember that Paul never prayed for physical needs for believers but for the deeper needs of the soul and spirit. The church must return to these types of prayers and can do so in full confidence that God is "obligated" to answer them according to His good and acceptable and perfect will. Pray this prayer for your pastor, your elders, your church members, your family. It will take about 5 seconds to pray it each day for the next year or less than 30 minutes for the entire year! And of course pray it in faith with a pure heart and clean hands and not as a rote, mechanical act. God will answer it although you may not always see His answers. Walk by faith, not sight!

The peace Paul is praying for is not that resulting from cessation of tribulations and distresses, but is the calmness of heart that is independent of circumstances because it arises out of a belief that the sovereign God is with you and in control of the circumstances.

John Macarthur adds that

"At the individual level this (experiential) peace, unknown to the unsaved, secures composure in difficult trouble (cf. Jn 14:1), dissolves fear (Php 4:7-note) and rules in the hearts of God’s people to maintain harmony (Col 3:15-note). (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word Pub)

The greatest reality of this peace will be in the messianic kingdom (Ezek 37:26; Hag. 2:9) when the Prince of peace, Who is the Lord of Peace and the God of Peace reigns in the City of Peace.

As noted above, peace flows out of grace and both together flow forth from God our Father and were made effective and attainable  through the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we lose inward peace, we lose more than a fortune can buy. - C. H. Spurgeon

It is in the way of truth that real peace is found. - C. H. Spurgeon

We must not be so in love with the golden crown of peace as to pluck off the jewels of truth.  - Thomas Watson

Peace is a free gift and flows from the pure mercy of God. - John Calvin

Peace flows from purity. - Thomas Watson

Few things more adorn and beautify a Christian profession than exercising and manifesting the spirit of peace. - A. W. Pink

Barclay explains that eirene or peace

"in contemporary colloquial Greek...had two interesting usages. It was used of the serenity which a county enjoyed under the just and beneficent government of a good emperor; and it was used of the good order of a town or village. Villages had an official who was called the superintendent of the village’s eirene, the keeper of the public peace. Usually in the New Testament eirene stands for the Hebrew shalom and means not just freedom from trouble but everything that makes for a man’s highest good. It is interesting to note that Chara (Grace) and Eirene (Peace ~ "Irene") both became very common Christian names in the Church." (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

Ray Ortlund encourages us to

Set no limits where God himself sets no limits. It is not possible to have too much grace and peace. We have not exhausted the possibilities. Most of us don’t even think in terms of the possibilities of what God can do for us. But the Word of God greets us here with this open-ended encouragement: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance! May they be multiplied to you!”

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A REAL LIFE ILLUSTRATION OF "PEACE" - Jim Walton was translating the NT for the Muinane people of La Sabana in the jungles of Colombia. But he was having trouble with the word peace. During this time, Fernando, the village chief, was promised a 20-minute plane ride to a location that would have taken him 3 days to travel by walking. The plane was delayed in arriving at La Sabana, so Fernando departed on foot. When the plane finally came, a runner took off to bring Fernando back. But by the time he had returned, the plane had left. Fernando was livid because of the mix-up. He went to Jim and launched into an angry tirade. Fortunately, Walton had taped the chief's diatribe. When he later translated it, he discovered that the chief kept repeating the phrase, "I don't have one heart." Jim asked other villagers what having "one heart" meant, and he found that it was like saying, "There is nothing between you and the other person." That, Walton realized, was just what he needed to translate the word peace. To have peace with God means that there is nothing--no sin, no guilt, no condemnation--that separates us. And that peace with God is possible only through Christ (Ro 5:1-note). Do you have "one heart" with God today?

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J H Jowett Devotional
April The Eighth
MY INHERITANCE IN THE RISEN LORD
1Peter 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

IN my risen Lord I am born into “a living hope,” a hope not only vital, but vitalizing, sending its mystic, vivifying influences through every highway and by-way of my soul.

In my risen Lord mine is “an inheritance incorruptible.” It is not exposed to the gnawing tooth of time. Moth and rust can not impair the treasure. It will not grow less as I grow old. Its glories are as invulnerable as my Lord.

In my risen Lord mine is “an inheritance ... undefiled.” There is no alloy in the fine gold. The King will give me of His best. “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him.” The holiest ideal proclaims my possibility, and foretells my ultimate attainment. Heaven’s wine is not to be mixed with water. I am to awake “in His likeness.”

And mine is “an inheritance ... that fadeth not away.” It shall not be as the garlands offered by men—green to-day and to-morrow sere and yellow. “Its leaf also shall not wither.” It shall always retain its freshness, and shall offer me a continually fresh delight. And these are all mine in Him!

“Thou, O Christ, art all I want.”

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PEACE OF PARDON—Not a Mere Forgetfulness - I have spilled the ink over a bill and so have blotted it till it can hardly be read, but this is quite another thing from having the debt blotted out, for that cannot be till payment is made. So a man may blot his sins from his memory, and quiet his mind with false hopes, but the peace which this will bring him is widely different from that which arises from God's forgiveness of sin through the satisfaction which Jesus made in his atonement. Our blotting is one thing, God's blotting out is something far higher.— Spurgeon in Feathers for Arrows

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Augustine, after years of tossing to and fro, found peace with God by hearing a little child say, "Take up, and read." I suppose that the child was singing to itself, and hardly knew what it was saying as it repeated to itself the two words—"Tolle, lege; tolle, lege; tolle, lege." "Take up, and read." That voice struck the ear of the perplexed thinker as though it were the voice of God, and he took the Scripture, and read the Scripture, and no sooner had he read it than he found Christ. I would entreat each one of you to do this, in order that you may find rest for your soul. Believe what is revealed in Holy Scripture. — Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon

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