📖SCRIPTURE:
“For it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
1 Peter 1:16
🔎REFLECTION:
When Peter writes, “For it is written,” he does not treat Scripture as human advice but as God’s present-tense speech. The Greek γέγραπται (“it stands written”) is a perfect passive verb meaning “it has been written and still stands.” Jesus Himself wielded this formula in His wilderness temptations (Matt 4:4, 7, 10; Luke 4:4, 8, 12), grounding His resistance to Satan in the written Word. Paul uses the same phrase repeatedly to show that Scripture’s authority is enduring and binding (Rom 1:17; 1 Cor 1:19; Gal 3:10).
Thus, “For it is written” is not mere citation but invocation: the Spirit-inspired, sufficient, inerrant, perfect, and unchanging Word of God (2 Tim 3:16–17; Ps 119:89). Peter’s quotation of Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:7–8 underscores seamless continuity between the Old and New Testaments — the holy God of Sinai is the holy Father who calls us in Christ. The God of both covenants (Old and New) is the same unchanging God of eternal Holy Trinity.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 declares “All Scripture is God-breathed” (theopneustos). This term signals that Scripture’s origin is in God Himself, not merely in human authors. As Jesus affirmed, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Peter himself insists “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:20–21). This is why the Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb 4:12). God’s Word is His breath — His very life and authority transmitted to us (Ps 33:6; Isa 55:10–11).
Proverbs 1:7 literally frames “The Fear of the LORD” as the genesis (רֵאשִׁית reʾshith) of knowledge, wisdom, and correction. This is not a mood of awe but the objective alignment of our thinking and living with His revealed will. Psalm 19:7–11 draws this link through Hebraic parallelism: the law, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear of the LORD, and judgments are all synonyms describing the same reality — God’s revealed Word. To “fear” Him is to receive and obey His instruction.
Therefore, holiness is not abstract piety but concrete conformity to God’s revealed truth. This is why Peter, quoting Leviticus, moves seamlessly from “obedient children” (1 Pet 1:14) to “Be holy” (1 Pet 1:16). God’s holiness is the standard; His Word reveals it; His Spirit empowers it.
John 1:1 declares, “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God.” The eternal Son embodies the fullness of God’s self-revelation (Heb 1:1–3). The written Word testifies to the living Word. Genesis 3:15 promises the Serpent-Crusher; Genesis 49:10 names Shiloh, the rightful ruler; Isaiah 9:6–7 reveals the divine Son; all of Scripture converges in Christ Jesus (Luke 24:27, 44–45). To despise or distort God’s Word is to despise or distort Christ Himself (John 5:39–40).
Thus, holiness is Christlikeness, and Christlikeness flows from Scripture-informed obedience. The Bible is not a collection of ancient religious ideas to be contemplated but God’s immutable revelation pointing to His Son. By calling us to holiness, Peter commands us to mirror the perfect character of the Word made flesh. It's not a call or cry to try harder.
This doctrine dismantles every modern attempt to pit “spirituality” against “theology,” or “experience” against “Scripture.” God’s Spirit and God’s Word are never in competition. The Spirit’s sword is the Word (Eph 6:17). The Bride of Christ is washed by the water of the Word (Eph 5:25–27). The Church’s health is tested by and depends upon her fidelity to God’s written, God-breathed truth (Acts 20:27–30; Jude 1:3–4).
Therefore, Peter’s short phrase, “For it is written,” summons us to stand with the loins of our minds girded up for obedient action under Scripture as God’s unassailable, sufficient, and binding authority — not merely to admire it, but obey it fully without compromise. Holiness isn't the requirement of the Christian life, but rather the supernatural fruit of hearing and doing (James 1:22–25), of trembling at His Word (Isa 66:2), and of living holy lives in light of the coming revelation of Christ (1 Pet 1:13).
🤺ACTION:
Recenter on the Word — Commit to daily reading and prayerful meditation on Scripture as God’s living speech, not merely an inspirational text (Ps 1:1–3; Col 3:16).
Revere and Obey — Move beyond admiration to action: the “Fear of the LORD” equals joyful adoration and obedience to His commands (Prov 1:7; Ps 19:7–11; John 14:15).
Test Every Spirit and Teaching — Evaluate pastors, teachers, and doctrines against Scripture’s standard (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11; 2 Cor 11:13–15; Jude 1:4, 12, 16). Holiness begins with discernment and ends with obedience.
Conform Your Life to Christ the Word — The written Word reveals the living Word. Pursue holiness by surrendering habits, thoughts, and priorities to His authority (Rom 12:1–2; Heb 12:1–2).
Anticipate Christ’s Return — Holiness isn't purely eschatological (reserved for heaven). Live now as already citizens of the coming kingdom (Phil 3:20–21; 2 Pet 3:11–14).
🙏PRAYER:
Holy Father, eternal Son, and life-giving Spirit — my tongue confesses and my knees bow before Your Word, which forever stands in the heavens (Ps 119:89). Heavenly Father, I confess that I have often treated Your Word as optional or advisory rather than as my very lifeline (Deut 32:47). Lord Jesus, the living Word, I thank You that all sixty-six books of Holy Scripture points to You, the Serpent-Crusher, the Light of the world, the Shiloh who holds the rod and scepter. Holy Spirit, who breathed out the Word through prophets and apostles, breathe that Word into me anew. Peel away my blindness, convict me of disobedience, and empower me to walk in holiness. Make me obedient as a child of God... not only reading but revering and obeying the Father's will. Anchor my mind, heart, soul, strength, and life in Your perfect, sufficient, and immutable Word, until You call me home or the day we see the Word incarnate return in glory. Amen.
Click the following link for a short video version of today's post:
https://youtube.com/shorts/q7pt7fwNVmc?feature=shared
Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
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