I Peter 1:22

purified . . . in obeying the truth--Greek, "in your (or 'the') obedience of (that is, 'to') the truth (the Gospel way of salvation)," that is, in the fact of your believing. Faith purifies the heart as giving it the only pure motive, love to God (Act 15:9; Rom 1:5, "obedience to the faith"). through the Spirit--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. The Holy Spirit is the purifier by bestowing the obedience of faith (Pe1 1:2; Co1 12:3). unto--with a view to: the proper result of the purifying of your hearts by faith. "For what end must we lead a chaste life? That we may thereby be saved? No: but for this, that we may serve our neighbor" [LUTHER]. unfeigned-- Pe1 2:1-2, "laying aside . . . hypocrisies . . . sincere." love of the brethren--that is, of Christians. Brotherly love is distinct from common love. "The Christian loves primarily those in Christ; secondarily, all who might be in Christ, namely, all men, as Christ as man died for all, and as he hopes that they, too, may become his Christian brethren" [STEIGER]. BENGEL remarks that as here, so in Pe2 1:5-7, "brotherly love" is preceded by the purifying graces, "faith, knowledge, and godliness," &c. Love to the brethren is the evidence of our regeneration and justification by faith. love one another--When the purifying by faith into love of the brethren has formed the habit, then the act follows, so that the "love" is at once habit and act. with a pure heart--The oldest manuscripts read, "(love) from the heart." fervently--Greek, "intensely": with all the powers on the stretch (Pe1 4:8). "Instantly" (Act 26:7).

The apostle describes the persons to whom he writes, and salutes them (Pe1 1:1, Pe1 1:2), blesses God for their regeneration to a lively hope of eternal salvation (Pe1 1:3-5), in the hope of this salvation he shows they had great cause of rejoicing, though for a little while they were in heaviness and affliction, for the trial of their faith, which would produce joy unspeakable and full of glory (Pe1 1:6-9). This is that salvation which the ancient prophets foretold and the angels desire to look into (Pe1 1:10-12). He exhorts them to sobriety and holiness, which he presses from the consideration of the blood of Jesus, the invaluable price of man's redemption (Pe1 1:13-21), and to brotherly love, from the consideration of their regeneration, and the excellency of their spiritual state (Pe1 1:22-25).

1:22–2:3 Following his call for holiness (1:13-21), Peter specifies how believers must live in a loving way with fellow Christians. 1:22 must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters: Literally must have brotherly love. See study note on 5:9.