¹⁷ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not RANSOMED with perishable things like silver or gold FROM YOUR FUTILE WAY OF LIFE inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless. ²⁰ For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for your sake ²¹ who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, so that your faith and hope are in God. ²² Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, ²³ for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, ²⁵  but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And that is the Good News message which was preached to you (1Pet1:17-25).

Λυτρόω?

Probably the most interesting aspect of this passage is Peter’s reference to the Christian being “λυτρόω”, usually translated as “ransomed”, being a payment made to obtain the release of a captive. The context is Peter’s opening statement that the believer who addresses God as Father needs to live and act in the light of One “who impartially judges according to each one’s work” (v17). In terms of the payment for the ransom, it is notable that whilst “silver and gold” are normally regarded as precious and enduring such as when  Paul contrasts gold and silver with wood and stubble in 1Cor3:12, these “precious metals” are nothing in comparison to the yet more precious blood of Christ.

Ransomed from what?

In terms of what the Christian has been delivered from, some might expect it to be along the lines of “going to hell when you die”. But as I am in the business of demonstrating, that is never the context of gospel salvation in the epistles, whereas it is the context of Mt25:31-46 concerning the “sheep” and “goats” and how they  dealt with their fellow man. That is a passage in which religious faith is neither mentioned nor implied. Likewise in Jesus’ parable concerning the rich man and Lazarus (earlier post) in which “Dives” was informed that the reason he was suffering in Hades whilst Lazarus was being comforted pertained to their respective material conditions in life (Lk16:25). Also, by implication, that the rich man (like the M25 “goats”) had done nothing to alleviate Lazarus’s suffering and poverty though he had more than adequate resources to have done so.  

No, what the Christian has primarily been delivered from is referred to by Peter as a “futile way of life, inherited from your forefathers” (v18). Given that the people to whom Peter was addressing are likely to have  predominantly been converted Jews, some commentators believe that to be referring to redundant aspects of Torah observance that were no longer applicable to the Christian. That could be the case in part, but given that “the precious blood of Christ” was not exclusively shed for Jews, there is a much broader perspective  – the whole of humanity. That “futile way of life” resulted from the Fall – Eve and Adam’s disobedience, Satan’s trickery, and (dare I say it) God’s plans for humanity.

The Fall and God’s part in it

 I dare say it for Paul confirmed as much:  ^“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in the certain hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom8:20-21). Note my highlighting: it was God , not the devil, still less mankind who willingly subjected itself to futility, albeit it was the devil’s evil and mankind’s disobedience that were legally responsible for that seeming catastrophe. Note also that Paul speaks of creation as a whole being set free from its slavery to corruption. That cannot be referring to God’s elect, for as Peter is indicating in this passage, Christians have already been set free from such. Yet, writes Paul, God’s intention is that all creation is indeed “set free from its slavery to corruption”.  However, the apostle is even more adamant and quite repetitive concerning the fact  that God does not intend that all come to a saving knowledge of Christ in the present age. That privilege and the responsibilities that go with it falls to “those whom He foreknew and predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (Rom8:29). They shall be Christ’s bride; they shall share His throne (Rev3:21); others will not. Yet all true humanity^NOTE1 shall in due course be “freed from slavery to corruption” and the futility of existence to which Peter is referring, into Paul’s “freedom of the children of God”.

For truly, the Eden incident was  far from a catastrophe for mankind, but it was so for the devil (and his seed^NOTE2 ), and also had dire consequences for the Godhead, culminating at Calvary. Such a statement, to put it mildly, may appear counter-intuitive, but I speak of the very long term  and God’s ultimate purposes for humanity. If God had not been willing to oversee the introduction of sin and evil in the world, then His Word would not have become flesh, and chosen members of the human race would not have become intimately associated with the Man Christ Jesus as His brethren and sisters and corporate spouse. The people to whom I refer are God’s elect, who (nota bene) are classified in Scripture as the “Church of the firstborn ones” (Heb12:23)  and the “firstfruits of creation” (Jam1:18). As recently considered,  firstborn and firstfruits infer pre-eminence but also the fact that many more shall follow. Whilst God is incapable of evil, the divine principle pertaining to His actions is that the end justifies the means – a willingness for His beloved Son to be  slaughtered at Calvary being the ultimate example.

Rationale for the Fall

 Likewise, the Eden “catastrophe” was the means by which children of dust could ultimately be raised to divinity. Satan’s seeming victory resulted in mankind, starting with God’s elect, being destined for a status superior to angels and former angels such as Lucifer – because they were, as a direct result of the Fall, to become intimately associated with the Lord of Glory. Sinners needed to be sanctified, yet “Both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from One, for this reason (Christ) is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Heb2:11). What is more, the havoc Satan caused provided the ideal environment for those who are to be so raised: a struggle against evil  and the suffering that goes with it – the grist for glory (cf. Heb2:10).

Futility in context

Finally, a point about Peter and Paul’s reference to futility and a futile way of life. This is relative to God’s ultimate purpose for mankind in the current age, which was to have a living and intimate relationship with Himself and prepare for still greater intimacy and glory in the ages to come. As a result of the Fall, such is currently restricted to those whom by free grace He chooses to, in Peter’s words “be born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (v23). A part of what such believers have been redeemed from is the devil and his influence on the ways of the world (Eph2:2) and his disruption of the propagation and reception of the Gospel (cf. Mt13:19).

This is not to say that everyone else’s existence is in the usual sense of the word, futile. All who in life have made a difference for good towards others and society effectively leave this world a better place than they found it. They shall gain God’s approval, as Scripture more explicitly affirms shall those like Mt 25 “sheep”, who through their compassion towards those in need (i.e. “Christ” Mt25:40) will gain admittance into God’s kingdom.

Our merciful, magnanimous God is concerned for the wellbeing of all people of good will. He knows the current plight Satan’s treacherous influence on the world has placed us in – as did Paul: “We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only they but also we ourselves being the first fruits of the Spirit  groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as (God’s) sons and daughters, the redemption of our body!” (Rom8:22-23).

NOTE#1 – By “true humanity” and  indeed “people of good will”, I do not refer to everyone born of woman, only those (thankfully the majority) who retain the seed of humanity (1Jn3:9 strictly NASB). Others, starting with Cain, are ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ = “of the Evil One”  (1Jn3:2). Their spirits were created by God but not planted by Him  but by the Adversary (Mt15:13). They are described by Jesus, John and Paul as “children of the devil”. They were indeed Paul’s “vessels adapted^G2675 for destruction” – if you have understood this post you will know for what purpose. Such in secular terms  would be described as psychopaths, but by no means all are criminal (au contraire 2Cor11:13). Respectable or otherwise, they are devoid of conscience, compassion and truth and shall play no positive part in God’s future Kingdom as far as Scripture permits us to foresee. This is the mystery of evil, considered in more detail in  The Little Book of Providence chapter six.

NOTE#2 – The devil’s seed are referred to in the Protoevangelium (Gen3:15), defined as per note#1.