{"id":431,"date":"2008-10-16T18:15:54","date_gmt":"2008-10-17T00:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ministryofgrace.org\/blog\/?p=431"},"modified":"2008-10-16T18:15:54","modified_gmt":"2008-10-17T00:15:54","slug":"1-peter-113-battle-preparations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/1-peter-113-battle-preparations\/","title":{"rendered":"1 Peter 1:13 – Battle Preparations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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1 Peter 1:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest<\/span><\/strong> your<\/span><\/em><\/strong> hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Truth to Learn<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prepare yourself, keep your mind clear, and trust in God.<\/p>\n

Behind the Words<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The opening phrase of this verse: \u201cTherefore gird up the loins of your mind \u2026<\/span>\u201d is awkward to today\u2019s reader. In the day that this was written, however, is was common for men and women alike to wear long robes. In order to run, a person had to prepare by reaching down between his or her legs, grasping the hem of the back part of the robe, pulling it up through their legs, and tucking it into the belt or sash. This process was known as \u201cgirding up the loins\u201d and became a vernacular expression for getting prepared. Hence, Peter\u2019s expression can be accurately paraphrased as, \u201cTherefore, prepare your minds for action \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The words \u201cbe sober<\/span>\u201d are translated from the Greek verb n\u0113ph\u014d<\/span><\/em>, which literally means \u201cto not be drunk.\u201d It is a specific reference to avoiding intoxication from alcohol, but it is used metaphorically to mean \u201ckeep your mind clear.\u201d In the English translation it appears to be a command, but in the Greek it is expressed as a participle. Hence, a better translation would be, \u201cbeing sober minded, rest your hope \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRest your hope<\/span>\u201d is from the word elpidz\u014d<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto hope for something with the full expectation of receiving that which is hoped for.\u201d It is expressed here as a command, so it could be translated as, \u201cplace your hope \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Meaning Explained<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of the marvelous value of this great salvation that is promised to us, which prophets and angels alike desire to look into, we need to treat it in a manner worthy of the great prize that it is. Peter tells us to be prepared for action. Just because it is a great prize given us by the great King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He has promised that He will preserve it until that day when he comes back to fulfill the promise, there is no reason to take it for granted. Neither should we simply view it as a free pass into heaven. In fact, because of this great gift that has been given to us and because we are now His, we will<\/span><\/strong> see hostile action. Christ himself told us:<\/p>\n

<\/span>I have spoken these things to you so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.<\/span> (John 16:33<\/span><\/strong>)<\/p>\n

So Peter warns us to get ready, prepare our minds for action, stay sober minded and vigilant, don\u2019t get distracted by all the flashing lights and enticements of this world. Above all, focus all our hope (that is, confirmed expectation) on the end of the battle, when Christ will complete His work in us.<\/p>\n

Application<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hang in there, especially when the going gets tough. God promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us! Keep in mind what Paul told Timothy:<\/p>\n

For this cause I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him until that day. <\/span>(2 Timothy 1:12<\/span><\/strong>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"signature\"<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2008 Will Krause. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n

<\/span>If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to:\"e-mail<\/p>\n

All of our daily verse studies are available on the Ministry of Grace Church blog at http:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; Truth to Learn Prepare yourself, keep your mind clear, and trust in God. Behind the Words The opening phrase of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd5geA-6X","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}