1 Peter 1:23

Being born again ; rather, having been begotten again . St. Peter repeats the verb used already in 1 Peter 1:3 . It is the highest argument for brotherly love; the children of the one Father are all brethren; they should "love as brethren" ( 1 Peter 3:8 ). Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. The word used here ( σπορά ) means, properly, "sowing;" but, like σπόρος ( Luke 8:11 ), it stands also for the seed; and here the epithets "corruptible" and "incorruptible" seem to necessitate this second meaning. In the passage quoted from St. Luke, the seed ( σπόρος ) is identified with the Word. "The seed is the Word of God." Here there seems to be a distinction. God's elect are begotten again of incorruptible seed through the Word. The use of different prepositions, ἐκ and διά apparently implies a difference between the seed and the Word. In the conversation with Nicodemus the Lord had said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And he continues, "That which is born of the flesh [ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός , which seems to correspond with the ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτοῦ of St. Peter] is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" where the Greek words, τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος , "that which is begotten of the Spirit," correspond very nearly with ἀναγεγεννημένοι ἐκ σπορᾶς ἀφθάρτου , "those who are begotten again of incorruptible seed." Then the incorruptible seed is the Holy Spirit of God, the Source of all spiritual life; it is the Spirit that "beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God;" "To be spiritually minded is life." Comp. 1 John 3:9 , "Whosoever is born of God ( ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ) cloth not commit sin: for his seed ( σπέρμα ) abideth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God"). There is a different explanation of this last passage: "God's seed, that is, his children, abide in him." But on the whole, it seems to be parallel with this verse, and to teach the same doctrine, that the first gift of the Spirit is the germ of spiritual life, and that that precious germ, abiding in the true children of God, lives and energizes "till we come… unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" ( Ephesians 4:13 ). But if the Holy Spirit of God is, in the deepest sense, the Seed of the new birth, the Word is the instrument. God's elect are begotten again through the Word, the Word preached, heard, read, pronounced in holy baptism. The Word preached by St. Peter on the great Day of Pentecost was the means by which three thousand souls were led to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (comp. James 1:18 , "Of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth"). Again, the Word preached derives its power from the personal Word, from him who is the Word of God. "All things were made through him" (John L 3; Hebrews 1:2 ); and as the first creation was through him, so is the new creation. He is "the Beginning of the creation of God" ( Revelation 3:14 ); for he is our Life, the life hidden in the heart. He is the Word of life: "He that hath the Son hath life" ( 1 John 5:12 ); "Through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" ( Ephesians 2:18 ). It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that we receive the grace of the new birth. The words, "which liveth and abideth," may be connected with the Divine Name: "God, who liveth and abideth; "or, as in our version, with "the Word." The last connection seems most suitable here (comp. verse 25, "The Word of the Lord abideth for ever;" and Hebrews 4:12 , "The Word of God is quick and powerful'). The most ancient manuscripts omit the words, "forever."