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15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 1:16 sn A quotation from Lev 19:2.

44 for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground,

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45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God,[a] and you are to be holy because I am holy.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 11:45 tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”

“Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

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Exhortation to Holiness and Obedience

“‘You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.

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48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:48 sn This remark echoes OT statements in Lev 11:44-45 and Lev 19:2: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.

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And everyone who has this hope focused[a] on him purifies[b] himself, just as Jesus[c] is pure).[d]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:3 tn “Focused” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.
  2. 1 John 3:3 sn The verb translated purifies (ἁγνίζω, hagnizō) is somewhat unusual here, since it is not common in the NT, and occurs only once in the Gospel of John (11:55). One might wonder why the author did not use the more common verb ἁγιάζω (hagiazō), as in John 17:19, where Jesus prays, “On their behalf I consecrate myself, so that they may also be consecrated in the truth.” It is possible that there is some overlap between the two verbs and thus this is another example of Johannine stylistic variation, but the verb ἁγνίζω is used in the context of John 11:55, which describes ritual purification for the Passover, a usage also found in the LXX (Exod 19:10-11, Num 8:21). In this context the use of ἁγνίζω would remind the readers that, if they have the future hope of entering the Father’s presence (“seeing him as he is” in 3:2), they need to prepare themselves by living a purified lifestyle now, just as Jesus lived during his earthly life and ministry (cf. 2:6 again). This serves to rebut the opponents’ claims to moral indifference, that what the Christian does in the present life is of no consequence.
  3. 1 John 3:3 tn Grk “that one.” Context indicates a reference to Jesus here. The switch from αὐτός (autos) to ἐκείνος (ekeinos) parallels 1 John 2:6 (see note there). Since purity of life is mentioned in the context, this almost certainly refers to Jesus in his earthly life and ministry as the example believers should imitate (a major theme of the author throughout 1 John).
  4. 1 John 3:3 sn 1 John 3:1-3. All of 3:1-3 is a parenthesis within the present section in which the author reflects on what it means to be fathered by God, a subject he has mentioned at the end of 2:29. The sequence of the argument is then resumed by 3:4, which is in opposition to 2:29.