“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Peter 1:2 Mean?
Peter addresses believers with one of the most theologically dense greetings in the New Testament: elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
All three persons of the Trinity are involved in your salvation: the Father's foreknowledge elects, the Spirit's sanctification transforms, and Christ's blood cleanses. Salvation is Trinitarian from beginning to end.
"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God" — your election was not random. It was according to foreknowledge — God's prior intimate knowing of you. You were known before you were chosen, and chosen before you responded.
"Unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood" describes the goal: not just belief but obedience, and not just forgiveness but the ongoing cleansing that Christ's blood provides. Election leads to transformation, not just rescue.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does knowing the Trinity is involved in your salvation — Father, Spirit, and Son — change your sense of being cared for?
- 2.What does 'elect according to foreknowledge' mean for your sense of being known?
- 3.How is sanctification by the Spirit different from self-improvement?
- 4.What does 'unto obedience' as the goal of election mean for how you live?
Devotional
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Before you chose God, he knew you. Before you responded, he foreknew you. Before you believed, he elected you. The entire process started with the Father.
Through sanctification of the Spirit. The Spirit takes what the Father chose and transforms it. Sanctification — the ongoing process of becoming holy — is the Spirit's work in you. You do not sanctify yourself. The Spirit does.
Unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. The destination of election is not a comfortable afterlife. It is obedience — a changed life. And the means of that change is the ongoing application of Christ's blood — cleansing you, purifying you, covering you.
All three persons of the Trinity are working on your salvation. The Father chose you. The Spirit transforms you. The Son's blood cleanses you. You are the object of a coordinated divine effort.
If you ever feel forgotten or overlooked — the Father foreknew you. If you feel stuck and unchanged — the Spirit is sanctifying you. If you feel dirty and unworthy — the blood of Jesus is sprinkling you. All three are at work. All at once. For you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,.... Not to any office, as to that of bishops or presbyters; for…
Elect - That is, “chosen.” The meaning here is, that they were in fact chosen. The word does not refer to the purpose to…
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God - If the apostle had directed his letter to persons elected to eternal life,…
In this inscription we have three parts: -
I. The author of it, described, 1. By his name - Peter. His first name was…
elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father The word "elect" or chosen belongs, as already stated, to 1Pe…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture