1 Peter 1:25Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The apostle has shown the superiority of spiritual regeneration over birth according to the flesh. He has also set forth the slight worth of mortal glory: birth is joined to corruption and uncleanness, and glory differs in nothing from the plants of spring. The word of the Lord, however, suffers none of these things. For every human opinion quickly comes to an end, but the word of God is not so. It has eternal abiding. For this purpose he adds, "This is the word which was preached to you."

He says that He foreknew and foretold this from above. Yet, knowing their unbelief, He persistently calls them to salvation.

"But the word of the Lord," he says, "abides unto eternity," both the prophetic word and the divine teaching.

The word of the Lord, through which those called to Christ are regenerated, abides forever. It lives forever, flowers forever, and is forever powerful and active. Therefore what is regenerated through it into spiritual life in Christ is also eternal. This means that everything fleshly is temporary and vain, while everything spiritual is eternal and blessed. The Apostle applies this truth: this eternally living and life-giving word is the very word preached to you, that is, to the readers of the epistle. In their person it is preached to all who are called to Christ, to whom this word, the Gospel word, has been preached. In the cited Old Testament prophetic passage, the word of God's promise concerning Christ is meant.

Regeneration (1 Pet 1:23-2:3). Christians must lead a new, pure, and holy life on the foundations of brotherly love, "as those born again, not of corruptible seed," meaning by descent from Adam, "but of incorruptible. Through the word of God, living and abiding forever." The Apostle calls the word of God the means of regeneration because it leads to faith, and faith leads to baptism and repentance. "Having laid aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy," which belong to those who have grown and become hardened in evil, you, the Apostle urges, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word," that is, the Gospel teaching. Desire it "so that by it you may grow unto salvation; for you have tasted that the Lord is good." This means that you have experienced in yourselves the action of God's grace in the Christian Mysteries.

Cf. Isa 40:6-8. After general motives for a virtuous life, the Apostle now exhorts us to uproot from ourselves everything that defiles our soul. He urges us to be enriched with particular forms of good works. These are wholehearted obedience to the truth, brotherly love, and especially mutual brotherly love, free from every admixture of guile, changeability, and inconstancy. Among other things, the Apostle bases his teaching on love upon the teaching concerning Christians' regeneration. They are not regenerated from earthly human seed, in which self-love is an inborn property, but from the word of God. Through this word man's calling to new life in Christ has been and is accomplished. This life is founded on love, which abides forever.

Having said before that the word of the Lord, which serves as the channel of grace regenerating to spiritual life and thereby making the regenerated children of the Lord and brethren, is the living word of God that abides forever, the Apostle confirms this statement by citing the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 40:6 and following). In the Prophet, the discourse is properly about the Lord's promises. These promises are immutable, unlike the words of human promises. A man may give many promises, but he is not always able to fulfill them. While he lives, he can still do something according to his promise, though even then not always. But every human life is swift, and every human glory is unstable.