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1 Peter 1:23-25

23. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

23. Regeniti non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili, per
sermonem viventis Dei et manentis in aeternum.

24. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

24. Quandoquidem omnis caro tanquam herba, et omnis gloria ejus tanquam
flos herbae; exaruit herba et flos ejus decidit:

25. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word
which by the gospel is preached unto you.

25. Verbum autem Domini manet in aeternum; hoc autem est verbum quod
annuntiatum est vobis.


23 Being born again Here is another reason for an exhortation, -- that
since they were new men and born again of God, it behoved them to form
a life worthy of God and of their spiritual regeneration. And this
seems to be connected with a verse in the next chapter respecting the
milk of the word, which they were to seek, that their way of living
might correspond with their birth. It may, however, be extended wider,
so as to be connected also with what has gone before; for Peter
collected together those things which may lead us to an upright and a
holy life. The object, then, of Peter was to teach us that we cannot be
Christians without regeneration; for the Gospel is not preached, that
it may be only heard by us, but that it may, as a seed of immortal
life, altogether reform our hearts. [18] Moreover, the corruptible seed
is set in opposition to God's word, in order that the faithful might
know that they ought to renounce their former nature, and that it might
be more evident how much is the difference between the children of Adam
who are born only into the world, and the children of God who are
renewed into a heavenly life. But as the construction of the Greek text
is doubtful, we may read, "the living word of God," as well as, "the
word of the living God." As, however, the latter reading is less
forced, I prefer it; though it must be observed, that the term is
applied to God owing to the character of the passage. For, as in
Hebrews 4:12, because God sees all things, and nothing is hid from him,
the apostle argues that the word of God penetrates into the inmost
marrow, so as to discern thoughts and feelings; so, when Peter in this
place calls him the living God, who abides for ever, he refers to the
word, in which the perpetuity of God shines forth as in a living
mirror.

24 For all flesh He aptly quotes the passage from Isaiah to prove both
clauses; that is, to make it evident how fading and miserable is the
first birth of man, and how great is the grace of the new birth. For as
the Prophet there speaks of the restoration of the Church, to prepare
the way for it, he reduces men to nothing lest they should flatter
themselves. I know that the words are wrongly turned by some to another
sense; for some explain them of the Assyrians, as though the Prophet
said, that there was no reason for the Jews to fear so much from flesh,
which is like a fading flower. Others think that the vain confidence
which the Jews reposed in human aids, is reproved. But the Prophet
himself disproves both these views, by adding, that the people were as
grass; for he expressly condemns the Jews for vanity, to whom he
promised restoration in the name of the Lord. This, then, is what I
have already said, that until their own emptiness has been shewn to
men, they are not prepared to receive the grace of God. In short, such
is the meaning of the Prophet: as exile was to the Jews like death, he
promised them a new consolation, even that God would send prophets with
a command of this kind. The Lord, he says, will yet say, "Comfort ye my
people;" and that in the desert and the waste, the prophetic voice
would yet be heard, in order that a way might be prepared for the Lord.
(Isaiah 40:6.)

And as the obstinate pride which filled them, must have been
necessarily purged from their minds, in order that an access might be
open for God, the Prophet added what Peter relates here respecting the
vanishing glory of the flesh. What is man? he says -- grass; what is
the glory of man? the flower of the grass. For as it was difficult to
believe that man, in whom so much excellency appears, is like grass,
the Prophet made a kind of concession, as though he had said, "Be it,
indeed, that flesh has some glory; but lest that should dazzle your
eyes, know that the flower soon withers." He afterwards shews how
suddenly everything that seems beautiful in men vanishes, even through
the blowing of the Spirit of God; and by this he intimates, that man
seems to be something until he comes to God, but that his whole
brightness is as nothing in his presence; that, in a word, his glory is
in this world, and has no place in the heavenly kingdom.

The grass withereth, or, has withered. Many think that this refers only
to the outward man; but they are mistaken; for we must consider the
comparison between God's word and man. For if he meant only the body
and what belongs to the present life, he ought to have said, in the
second place, that the soul was far more excellent. But what he sets in
opposition to the grass and its flower, is the word of God. It then
follows, that in man nothing but vanity is found. Therefore, when
Isaiah spoke of flesh and its glory, he meant the whole man, such as he
is in himself; for what he ascribed as peculiar to God's word, he
denied to man. In short, the Prophet speaks of the same thing as Christ
does in John 3:3, that man is wholly alienated from the kingdom of God,
that he is nothing but an earthly, fading, and empty creature, until he
is born again.

25 But the word of God The Prophet does not shew what the word of God
is in itself, but what we ought to think of it; for since man is vanity
in himself, it remains that he ought to seek life elsewhere. Hence
Peter ascribes power and efficacy to God's word, according to the
authority of the Prophet, so that it can confer on us what is real,
solid, and eternal. For this was what the Prophet had in view, that
there is no permanent life but in God, and that this is communicated to
us by the word. However fading, then, is the nature of man, yet he is
made eternal by the word; for he is re-moulded and becomes a new
creature.

This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, or, which
has been declared to you. He first reminds us, that when the word of
God is mentioned, we are very foolish if we imagine it to be remote
from us in the air or in heaven; for we ought to know that it has been
revealed to us by the Lord. What, then, is this word of the Lord, which
gives us life? Even the Law, the Prophets, the Gospel. Those who wander
beyond these limits of revelation, find nothing but the impostures of
Satan and his dotages, and not the word of the Lord. We ought the more
carefully to notice this, because impious and Luciferian men, craftily
allowing to God's word its own honor, at the same time attempt to draw
us away from the Scriptures, as that unprincipled man, Agrippa, who
highly extols the eternity of God's word, and yet treats with
scurrility the Prophets, and thus indirectly laughs to scorn the Word
of God.

In short, as I have already reminded you, no mention is here made of
the word which lies hid in the bosom of God, but of that which has
proceeded from his mouth, and has come to us. So again it ought to be
borne in mind, that God designed by the Apostles and Prophets to speak
to us, and their mouths is the mouth of the only true God.

Then, when Peter says, Which has been announced, or declared, to you,
he intimates that the word is not to be sought elsewhere than in the
Gospel preached to us; and truly we know not the way of eternal life
otherwise than by faith. But there can be no faith, except we know that
the word is destined for us.

To the same purpose is what Moses said to the people,

"Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, etc.; nigh is
the word, in thy mouth and in thy heart."
(Deuteronomy 30:12.)

That these words agree with what Peter says, Paul shews Romans 10:6,
where he teaches us that it was the word of faith which he preached.

There is here, besides, no common eulogy on preaching; for Peter
declares that what is preached is the life-giving word. God alone is
indeed he who regenerates us; but for that purpose he employs the
ministry of men; and on this account Paul glories that the Corinthians
had been spiritually begotten by him. (1 Corinthians 4:15.) It is
indeed certain that those who plant and those who water, are nothing;
but whenever God is pleased to bless their labor, he makes their
doctrine efficacious by the power of his Spirit; and the voice which is
in itself mortal, is made an instrument to communicate eternal life.
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[18] Most commentators, like Calvin, represent the seed as the word;
but the construction does not admit this; the words are, "Having been
begotten from a seed, not corruptible, but incorruptible, through the
living word of God, and for-ever abiding." The "seed" denotes evidently
the vital principle of grace, the new nature, the restored image of
God; it is the same with what John means when he says, "His seed (that
is, of God) remaineth in him." (1 John 3:9.) Then "the word" is set
forth as the means or instrument by which this seed is implanted. The
"living" here does not mean life-giving, as some interpret it, but
stands opposed to what ceases to be valid: and "for-ever abiding" more
fully expresses its meaning. The metaphor in the parable of the sower
is quite different: the word there is compared to a seed sown on bad or
good ground; but here the turning of a bad into a good ground is the
subject; and in this process the word is employed as an instrument. --
Ed.