Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (ESV)
Διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν νήφοντες τελείως ἐλπίσατε ἐπὶ τὴν φερομένην ὑμῖν χάριν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Context of 1 Peter
Let’s start with a brief context and theme of the incredibly rich epistle of 1 Peter. Written by the Apostle Peter, he writes this to Christians scattered across Asia Minor, referring to them as Christian exiles in this present age. The main point of his letter is to stir up hope and comfort for these social exiles within a still fallen and suffering world by following Christ. Christ went before them, embracing His identity as a social exile by living for God, endured patiently in suffering and received glory in the Father’s presence. The Church in the “diaspora”, as Peter calls it, is scattered geographically yes also across time. All Christians then are sojourners waiting for Christ to return. How we live today and who we live for is what sets us apart as exiles from the world and so the letter’s guidance is crucial for the Church today as we live and especially as we suffer in multiple ways.
Context for V. 13
I’d recommend reading the first chapter of 1 Peter here if you haven’t already
Peter starts by calling Christians “elect exiles” (or perhaps more helpfully rendered “elect and exiles”, highlighting both aspects of their characters). “Elect” is in relation to their security in God (a vertical relation), yet “exile” is in relation to the world (a horizontal relation). Peter wants both ideas of the Christian’s privilege and abundance of blessings, as well as their current reality of seclusion and rejection from the world to be at the forefront of the reader’s mind.
To stir up hope then in very real struggles, verses 3-9 show God’s grace in our past salvation of “new birth”, and present salvation given to us that is protected, which is still our future inheritance “to be revealed in the last time” (v. 5). Peter describes this inheritance that is:
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading
The salvation that God gave us and will complete can’t die, can’t be corrupted, and can’t lose its value.
This incredible inheritance is something we now possess that the Old Testament saints longed for. Peter explores this in verses 10-12. What a privilege we have when Peter reminds us:
They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things angels long to catch a glimpse of.
Verse 13
This verse then is a pivotal passage that encompasses all of our salvation. The verse starts with “therefore”. You may have heard the classic expression “what’s the therefore there for?!” It’s actually a pretty good exegetical tool if it’s void of the proud chuckle, knee slap and high-five. “Therefore” (Διὸ) almost always serves to say “based on what was previously just discussed”, to further the point of the author. Peter does the same here, to say based on that salvation in verses 3-12, which is past present and future in its reality, here’s what you do with it!
Christians do not act out of mere duty like in Kantian ethics. We act out of love. From “therefore”. From the love we’ve received, we channel it as a virtue to Christian living. Peter urges his readers to be encouraged and active from God’s grace.
Main Verb
The main verb is an imperative of “set your hope fully”, which gives the passage a very clear direction for all of what came beforehand. It is fully forward. It is towards a future event of Christ’s second coming, and our residing in His presence fully, just like the exiles of the Old Testament came back to Jerusalem.
Prepositional Phrase
The grammar of the propositional phrase, “that will be brought to you” in Greek is actually in the present tense. How it’s used is not actually related to time (weird right? this isn’t time for a Greek lesson but trust me, or don’t and google it I guess). The phrase is used in a future sense, yet it carries a perspective of an action already in motion. God’s grace in the revelation of Christ will be brought to us, yet it’s already on its way, we are moving forward and the time is coming closer to us!
Participles
The literal translation of “preparing your minds for action” which modifies the main verb “set your hope fully” is “gird up the loins of your mind”. Your loins are the part of the body between the chest and the hips, and are used in many expressions, similar to how we use “chest” not just to refer to the physical feature, but to indicate something like strength in the English idiom “say it with your chest”.
Girding up one’s loins then describes a literal action people in the ancient Middle East would do to prepare to run or act. They would pull their long robes between their legs and tuck them around their waists (their loins). It’s even found as an example in the OT, with Elijah (1 Kgs. 18:46):
And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel
The modern equivalent would be to roll up one’s sleeves. It’s a modern idiom that functions the same way. “Roll up your sleeves” means let’s get to work! So Peter is instructing his readers, Christian exiles dispersed in God’s universal and timeless Kingdom, to mentally roll up their sleeves for real action.
This is how Christ Himself uses the same term and imagery in Lk. 12:35-36:
“Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him
The other modification is being “self-controlled/sober-minded”. In its definition it refers to an avoidance of excessive passion or impulse. There is scholarly discernment on whether this term equally modifies the main verb or it functions as what we call a participle of means. Essentially do we translate it as “prepare your minds and be self-controlled” or “prepare your minds by being self-controlled”? ESV renders it in the former.
I’d argue that the point leans towards the latter term, meaning it is a means to preparing our minds1 . It seems that “decluttering” our bodies and minds, like a drunkard clearing out alcohol from a house, practically prepares our minds to be more focused to be set on Christ and ready for real action.
Despite getting caught in the weeds of what term is preferred, the point still stands that we hope in a way of being self-controlled in our thoughts, engaging the mind, not remaining in an intellectual space, but committing our thoughts and actions to Christ.
Let’s revisit the passage with these now in mind, looking at two translations:
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (ESV)
Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (NET)
The Implication
The salvation then is something that does not leave the Christian passive, but actually active. It is fueled by the salvation already given, and calls the Christian home as a current sojourner towards their resting place in God’s full presence. The exact same image is promoted by Paul in Hebrews 12:1b-2a:
we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
Look back on the work of Christ, consider the salvation which was given to you. Look back to your baptism in your very real trials and sufferings, be present in the reality of where you are now, and push forward with the hope that the suffering is temporary and your inheritance is eternal!
What is our work going towards? What does Christ have in store for us and what is He preparing for us in His future grace coming to us? It is a joy to reflect on that alone, especially as we feel the real weight of suffering. It is this way of thinking and living that Peter encourages so that when he moves into the next section of his letter with imperatives “to be holy” in our conduct towards others it’s on the right basis and the right direction.
Now, it is easier to say “set your hope fully”, but what are some practical steps we can take to actually engage it so as to also engage our lives for service to be set apart? How can we be sober-minded and roll up our sleeves?
Yes we can read our Bibles, have community in church and a small group and pray. These are the best medicines. Yet, I’d argue that these are great but small fixed moments in the weekly rhythms of many of us. We are molded by what we do daily and how we do it. So we start small.
Here is a small list of disciplines to get us started, yet there is a plethora of wisdom to explore in each, which will come in further articles.
- Remove/heavily limit social media use (this should come before everything else)
- Slow your mind down by reading, journalling or pondering the taste of a tea or coffee
- Eat a meal undistracted at a table
- Go for a walk
- Play a physical game
- Talk to someone and remain present in the conversation
These are some things that simultaneously train our minds and bodies to be less distracted, and to focus more on the importance of the salvation and hope we have. The more space we have in these areas, the more more we can dedicate to the spiritual disciplines which ready us all the more to be hopeful and joyful as Christian exiles.
- Jobes, Karen H. 2005. 1 Peter. Baker Academic. Jobes highlights that ἀναζωσάμενοι is aorist, which is distinct from the present νήφοντες, along with the absence of καὶ. There is a further practical reasoning that considers a direction from removing thoughts to adding thoughts towards hope. ↩︎
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