“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”
(1 Peter 1:23)
The Apostle Peter directs believers to consider the foundation of their new life in Christ by recalling the source of their regeneration. He declares that Christians are “born again,” not of the perishable seed of natural descent, but of incorruptible seed, which is the Word of God. In this single statement, he gives both the nature of the new birth and the means by which it is wrought. The nature is incorruptible, enduring, untouched by decay. The means is the living and abiding Word of God.
This Word carries with it the Spirit’s power to create life where there is only death. As natural birth flows from corruptible seed, destined to return to the dust, spiritual birth is from incorruptible seed, enduring into eternity. The Word, impregnated by the Spirit, brings forth life everlasting. Just as God spoke the world into being, so He speaks new life into the souls of His people.
Christ taught this to Nicodemus under the veil of night: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Natural birth gives life in Adam, but that life is corrupted. Regeneration is a supernatural act, a new creation. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). The first Adam transmits death; the second Adam, Christ, communicates life.
And the incorruptible Word ensures that this life abides. Peter presses this permanence again in verse 25, “The word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” Regeneration does not wither like grass; it grows by the imperishable Word. The seed planted by God cannot die. Thomas Boston rightly remarked, “All men in the state of grace are born again. All gracious persons, namely, such as are in a state of favor with God, and endued with gracious qualities and dispositions, are regenerate persons,”[1] by the abiding word and work of the Spirit.
The prophet Ezekiel foresaw this glorious transformation: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Here is the incorruptible seed at work, cleansing, renewing, vivifying. The stony heart is replaced with a tender one, the dead soul becomes a living spirit, and the rebellious will is transformed into a submissive one.
The believer, therefore, rests on a foundation that cannot crumble. The incorruptible Word has given him an incorruptible nature, which by necessity yields incorruptible fruit. This secures both assurance and obligation: assurance, because the work cannot fail; obligation, because such a life must be lived unto God in holiness and love.
Contemplations:
- Seed of grace. Lord, the souls of the redeemed were the good ground on which the incorruptible seed of grace was sown and germinated by the Spirit (Matt. 13:23). How wondrous it is that the Word, falling on hearts once hardened, is made fruitful soil by the Spirit’s cultivation. I consider that without such divine preparation, no seed could take root. My soul owes its entire life to Your sovereign planting and sustaining grace.
- Your effectual Word. What a most excellent thing that your Word, Lord, by the Spirit, converts sinners to saints. As John 4:14 states, “It shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.” Such graces of the Spirit, imparted at regeneration, shall never decay. This inward fountain continually rises, needing no replenishment from man’s effort. What man could not begin nor maintain, You establish forever. I rest in the certainty that the fountain of life is inexhaustible.
- Your incorruptible Word. Lord, I know your incorruptible Word lives and abides in my sanctified soul forever, for the Apostle reminds me in 1 John 3:9, “The seed of God remains in him.” This is an enduring reality because the seed planted by Your hand cannot perish. Though the winds of temptation may blow, though the storms of affliction may rage, the incorruptible Word abides, untouched, unmoved, and undying. My heart rejoices in this permanence.
- Habits of grace. I have in Christ Jesus the habits of grace which are everlasting. And they are inseparable from my new nature. It must necessarily follow, Lord, that my soul, their subject, is so too, an everlasting and immortal soul. I consider, Lord, that as my life is hid with Christ in God, the perpetuity of your incorruptible seed is also endowed in me by the Spirit. This is a most amazing reality.
Prayer (confession):
O Lord God Almighty, fountain of life and Father of mercies, I come before You in thanksgiving for the incorruptible seed that You have sown in my soul by the Word of Your truth. I was once dead in trespasses and sins, a child of Adam’s corruptible seed, bearing only fruit unto death. But in Your grace and sovereign purpose, You caused me to be born again by incorruptible seed, the living and abiding Word of God. My heart trembles to consider such mercy, that You would not leave me in death but would raise me to life eternal in Christ.
I praise You, Lord, that this Word is living, never exhausted, never withering. It abides forever, and because it abides in me by the Spirit, my hope is secure. You have given me a new heart and a new spirit; You have removed the stony heart of rebellion and placed within me a heart that beats for You. How marvelous are Your works, O Lord, that the everlasting Word should dwell in a vessel of dust and make it a temple for the Holy Spirit.
I thank You for the assurance that flows from this truth. Though I stumble, though I fall, though temptations assail me and trials press round me, yet the seed cannot perish. The incorruptible Word remains, bearing fruit unto eternal life. My salvation rests not on the fleeting strength of the flesh but on the enduring power of Your Word. Blessed be Your name, that what You begin You finish, and what You plant You bring to full harvest.
I thank You for the obligations this truth lays upon me. If the seed is incorruptible, the fruit must be holy. And if I have been born again of the living Word, then my life must reflect its vitality and purity. Grant me, O Lord, to walk in love toward my brethren, to live in holiness before the world, and to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Let my life be a testimony to the enduring power of Your Word.
O Lord, deepen my gratitude for Your salvation. Teach me to marvel continually at this miracle: that the eternal Word should enter my soul and create life everlasting. May my heart never grow cold or indifferent to this wonder. Let my thanksgiving rise each day, renewed with every remembrance of Your mercy.
I praise You, O Father, through Jesus Christ, who is Himself the living Word made flesh. In Him I see the incorruptible seed embodied, the everlasting life manifested. Through Him, by the Spirit, I live. Let my lips and my life proclaim His glory forever.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Further Scripture References:
Romans 11:29; Philippians 1:6; 1 John 5:4; 1 John 5:18
[1] Thomas Boston, Human Nature in Its Fourfold State, (United States: Printed for the booksellers, 1787), 130.
