Lesson 1: God’s design for Holiness

 Read 1 Peter 1:1-25  - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1pe.1 
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

The books of 1 and 2 Peter have closely related themes, holiness and diligence, which this study will examine together.

The Scriptures say holiness is separation. Peter will use several words in his book to give us a fuller picture of holiness: sanctification, undefiled, purified, and a few more. Sanctification is the process by which we are made holy. It is when God cuts something out of our life which keeps us from being completely separated to Him. This might be the loss of something we loved more than God, it could be a job on which we depended to keep us in a comfortable lifestyle, it could be our health, or anything else which keeps us from trusting completely in God.


Undefiled means someone who has not been touched by great sin. It is a negative word; it describes something we are not rather than something we are. We might also use the word innocent.

Purified means a process through which something that has been defiled has been made pure. We might use water as an example – mud, chemicals or filth has polluted the water, but through filters and some types of chemicals the mud can be strained out and the chemicals which can cause harm are neutralized.

Diligence is carefulness or being thorough or sticking to something to see it through. It means we keep focused on the situation or the thing we are doing.

These two letters from Peter form a partnership: holiness without diligence will never be possible, and diligence without holiness has no Godly goal or purpose. Together, as these words are used in these two letters from Peter, they mean we become set apart for an eternal purpose.

Before we leave this first lesson, we need to understand one more important word from Verse 2 – foreknowledge. Foreknowledge means God knew exactly what would happen in eternity past before He ever created time, space or the earth and universe (see Isaiah 46:10 and Job 23:13-14). God had planned for Peter to be exactly the disciple of Jesus Christ he became: sanctified in the Spirit, set apart to become obedient to Jesus, and saved by Jesus’ blood. Does this mean Peter had no choice, that God made all his choices for him? No, it only means that God knew what choices Peter would make. Just like you and I, Peter had no idea what God already knew about him; he had to make his own choices. Then later in life, as he looked back, he could see the things God had known all along; He could see God’s hand working in his life.

*What event in your past can you now see as God’s hand working in your life so the choices you made worked out for the best?