1 Peter 1:14

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

As {G5613} obedient {G5218} children {G5043}, not {G3361} fashioning yourselves according to {G4964} the former {G4386} lusts {G1939} in {G1722} your {G5216} ignorance {G52}:

As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant.

As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.

as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance:

1 Peter 1:14 serves as a powerful call to transformation for believers, urging them to live consistently with their new spiritual identity in Christ, rather than reverting to former sinful patterns.

Context

This verse is part of Peter's larger exhortation to holiness, following his declaration of the living hope believers have through Christ's resurrection (1 Peter 1:3) and their inheritance kept in heaven. Addressing scattered believers (often facing persecution), Peter emphasizes that their salvation demands a new way of life, distinct from their past. It sets the stage for the direct command to be holy in 1 Peter 1:15, grounding the call to holiness in their new relationship with God.

Key Themes

  • Obedient Children: Believers are now God's children, implying a loving relationship and a natural inclination to obey their heavenly Father. This contrasts sharply with their former state. Becoming children of God through faith means adopting His character and will.
  • Transformation, Not Conformation: The command "not fashioning yourselves" speaks to a deliberate choice to resist conforming to the world's patterns. Christian life is a continuous process of renewal, not merely outward conformity.
  • Rejecting Former Lusts: "Lusts" refer to strong, often uncontrolled, desires that dominated their pre-conversion lives. These are the cravings and passions rooted in a life apart from God, which believers are now called to renounce.
  • Ignorance: Their previous way of life was driven by "ignorance"—a lack of spiritual knowledge and understanding of God's truth and His righteous standards. This ignorance is now replaced by the light of the gospel, making the old ways inexcusable for those who have come to know Christ.

Linguistic Insights

  • The phrase "fashioning yourselves" comes from the Greek word syschematizō (συσχηματίζω), which means "to conform to" or "to be molded by" an external pattern. It implies a superficial, outward conformity, contrasting with the deeper, inward transformation of the mind described elsewhere (e.g., Romans 12:2).
  • "Lusts" is from epithymia (ἐπιθυμία), denoting strong desires or cravings, which can be neutral but are often used in a negative sense in the New Testament to describe sinful passions (Galatians 5:16).
  • "Ignorance" is agnoia (ἄγνοια), highlighting a state of not knowing or understanding, particularly divine truth. This ignorance is what God "winked at" in previous times, but now calls all to repentance (Acts 17:30).

Practical Application

For believers today, 1 Peter 1:14 is a call to conscious, active sanctification. It means deliberately choosing not to revert to old habits, attitudes, or desires that characterized life before Christ. It encourages a life of discernment, where our choices are guided by our identity as God's children, not by the fleeting impulses or societal norms of the world. This verse reminds us that genuine faith leads to a transformed lifestyle, demonstrating the reality of our new birth and our commitment to pursuing holiness.

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Romans 12:2

    And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

  • 1 Peter 4:2

    That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

  • 1 Peter 4:3

    For the time past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

  • Titus 3:3

    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, [and] hating one another.

  • Titus 3:5

    Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

  • Ephesians 2:2

    Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:5

    Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
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