I Peter 1:23 · Bible study
1 Peter 1:23 Commentary: Born Again Through Incorruptible Seed
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
An exegetical study of the new birth, the nature of incorruptible seed, and the question whether 'lives and abides' refers to God or his word.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The new birth originates from an imperishable divine seed and is effected through the living, eternal word of God.
- Key words: ἀναγεγεννημένοι (born again, perfect passive), σπορά (seed, only NT use), φθαρτός/ἄφθαρτος (perishable/imperishable), διά (through, instrument vs. source).
- Main debate: Whether 'which lives and abides forever' refers to God or to the word; commentators are divided (Barnes notes this, and the Cambridge Bible favors the word).
- Theological theme: Regeneration as a sovereign, incorruptible work of God through Scripture, producing a life that reflects the permanence of its origin.
- Best use: Teaching on the nature of salvation, the role of Scripture in conversion, and assurance of enduring new life.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
WEB World English Bible 2000
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
KJV King James Version 1769
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God--living and remaining--to the age;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by [the] living and abiding word of God.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God who liveth and remaineth for ever.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Siendo renacidos, no de simiente corruptible, sino de incorruptible, por la palabra de Dios, que vive y permanece para siempre.
visto que nascestes de novo, não de semente que perece, mas sim imperecível, pela viva palavra de Deus, que permanece.
puisque vous avez été régénérés, non par une semence corruptible, mais par une semence incorruptible, par la parole vivante et permanente de Dieu.
als die da wiedergeboren sind, nicht aus vergänglichem, sondern aus unvergänglichem Samen, nämlich aus dem lebendigen Wort Gottes, das da ewig bleibt.
Gij, die wedergeboren zijt, niet uit vergankelijk, maar uit onvergankelijk zaad, door het levende en eeuwig blijvende Woord van God.
poiché siete stati rigenerati non da seme corruttibile, ma incorruttibile, mediante la parola di Dio vivente e permanente.
Odrodzeni będąc nie z nasienia skazitelnego, ale z nieskazitelnego przez słowo Boże żywe i trwające na wieki.
как возрожденные не от тленного семени, но от нетленного, от слова Божия, живаго и пребывающего вовек.
你們蒙了重生，不是 由於 能壞的 種子，乃是 由於不能壞的種子，是藉著 神 活潑 常存 的道。
Because you have had a new birth, not from the seed of man, but from eternal seed, through the word of a living and unchanging God.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Peter 1:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse describes the new birth as originating from an incorruptible source, distinct from natural human generation. The perfect passive participle ἀναγεγεννημένοι ('having been born again') points to a completed action with ongoing effect. Vincent notes the preposition ἐκ with 'seed' denotes origin or source, while διὰ with 'word' marks the medium or instrument. Calvin, Gill, and the Cambridge Bible all construe 'seed' as the divine life principle implanted in regeneration, not the word itself. On the final phrase, 'which liveth and abideth for ever,' Barnes observes that critics divide evenly between referring it to God or to the word. He and most modern commentators (Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Bloomfield) connect it to the word, preparing for the quotation in v.25 that the Lord's word endures forever. The BSB's translation ('through the living and enduring word of God') reflects this reading. Either way, the point stands: the new birth flows from an imperishable source and results in a life that shares that permanence.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- The final clause refers to God: The natural word order (word of God who liveth…) and the fact that God is the living one; Barnes and the Geneva Bible adopt this.
- The final clause refers to the word: The sequence of thought leads directly into the Isaiah quotation in v.25 about the word enduring; the BSB and Cambridge Bible follow this.
What is clear: Regardless of how the last clause is parsed, the verse teaches that regeneration comes from an imperishable divine seed, not from human descent, and that God's word is the essential means of this new birth.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The nature of the 'seed' | All major commentators agree that the 'incorruptible seed' refers to a divine principle of new life implanted by God, not to physical descent or human effort. | Some (e.g., Calvin) identify the seed as the new nature or restored image of God; others focus on it as the work of the Holy Spirit. The distinction is minor; all affirm it is not the word itself but the life it conveys. |
| The referent of 'which liveth and abideth for ever' | The phrase emphasizes permanence and endurance, in direct contrast to the fading grass and flower of v.24. | Barnes and the Geneva Bible connect it to God; the majority of modern commentators (Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Cambridge Bible, BSB) read it as describing the word. The Greek word order allows either, but the sequence of thought (leading to the quotation in v.25) strongly supports the word. |
| The role of baptism in new birth | Regeneration is a spiritual work of God, not a merely external ritual. | Jamieson-Fausset-Brown treats the word as the 'remote instrument' and baptism as the 'proximate and sacramental instrument,' reflecting a sacramental view. Most other commentators (Gill, Calvin) emphasize the word alone as the instrument, consistent with a Protestant understanding. |
| The permanence of the new birth | Because the seed is incorruptible, the new life cannot be destroyed or undone. | This is taken as unconditional preservation by Reformed and Baptist traditions; others (Wesleyan/Arminian) see it as the nature of the life given, not a guarantee that the person cannot fall away. Both sides affirm God's power to keep those who remain in faith. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Peter writes to believers scattered across Asia Minor, 'exiles of the Dispersion' (1:1), facing social pressure, suffering, and the temptation to revert to former ways. In chapter 1, he builds a theology of hope grounded in God's mercy, the resurrection, and an inheritance that is 'incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading' (1:4). Verse 23 sits at the hinge of an exhortation: because they have been born again through an imperishable seed, they are to love one another fervently (v.22).
The metaphor of seed and new birth draws on both Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. In the Old Testament, 'seed' (zeraʿ) often refers to physical descent from Abraham, the line through which blessing comes. Here Peter deliberately overturns that: the new birth is not of 'corruptible seed', human lineage, which is mortal and passes away, but of incorruptible seed, a divine principle that does not decay. The word 'seed' (σπορά, spora) occurs only here in the New Testament; it retains the sense of 'sowing' or 'that which is sown' (Vincent).
The immediate context quotes Isaiah 40 (vv.24-25), contrasting the fading grass and flower of human glory with the enduring word of the Lord. This quotation reinforces both the imperishable nature of the seed (the word is the instrument) and the permanence of the new life it produces. Peter's readers would have recognized the echo: the same prophetic word that promised restoration to exiled Israel now brings new birth to exiled believers in Christ.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Greek text underlying all major translations is stable. One minor observation: a few manuscripts (e.g., Codex Colbertinus) read the imperative ἀγαπᾶτε in v.22 rather than the variant form, but this does not affect v.23.
Reception History
The early church fathers, including Irenaeus and Cyprian, cited this verse to ground Christian identity in divine begetting rather than ethnic lineage. In the Reformation, Luther and Calvin emphasized the inseparability of word and Spirit in regeneration, the word is the living instrument by which the Spirit creates faith. Later Pietist and Methodist traditions (Clarke, Wesley) used the verse to stress the experiential reality of the new birth and its moral fruits. Modern evangelical preaching often highlights the certainty and permanence of salvation that comes through the imperishable seed of Scripture, though the precise referent of the final clause continues to be a minor point of exegetical discussion.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The new birth is a divine begetting. The perfect participle indicates a past action with present results, readers have been, and continue to be, born of God. This grounds their identity not in human ancestry but in God's work.
- The seed is imperishable. Unlike human sperm (which Jewish tradition called "the filthy drop", Gill), the incorruptible seed is the new nature, the restored image of God. It cannot be corrupted by sin, the world, or time.
- The instrument is the living word. God uses his word, the gospel proclaimed and received, to implant this seed. The word itself is alive and permanent, as the quotation of Isaiah confirms (vv.24-25). New birth is not a mystical event apart from Scripture; it comes through the word.
Five-point outline
- Background: the call to fervent brotherly love (v.22) is rooted in a shared, eternal birth.
- The act of new birth: passive voice, God is the agent, we are recipients.
- The contrast of seeds: corruptible (human, fleshly, dying) vs. incorruptible (divine, eternal, life-giving).
- The role of the word: the medium (διά) through which the seed is sown. Not the seed itself, but the instrument that conveys it.
- The permanence of both word and new life: because the word 'lives and abides forever,' those born through it also abide forever.
Illustration hooks
- A seed packet that promises a flower, but the seeds inside are dried and dead. The gospel is a seed that is alive, when planted, it actually grows.
- A family heirloom that decays over generations (silver, property) contrasted with a digital file that can be copied without loss. God's word is like that, it never degrades.
- The difference between a passport (which expires and needs renewal) and a birth certificate (which establishes your identity permanently). New birth gives an identity that doesn't expire.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I know for sure that I am truly 'born again'? Does this passage give me a test?
- What does it mean that the word of God is 'living'? How is it different from other religious texts?
- If the seed is imperishable, can I lose my salvation? What about sins after conversion?
Leading a Discussion
This verse grounds Christian identity and love in something permanent, not in our own efforts or family background, but in God's act of new birth through his word. As you discuss, notice Peter's careful language: he does not say we were born again by the word as if it were the source, but through the word as the means. The source is God; the seed is the divine nature he plants.
Discussion questions
- Why does Peter place this verse right after commanding brotherly love (v.22)? What connection is he making?
- What does 'corruptible seed' refer to in this context? How is human birth a fitting picture of what is temporary and decaying?
- How does the metaphor of 'seed' help you understand what happens in conversion? What does it imply about growth and change over time?
- Peter uses two different prepositions: 'of (ἐκ) seed' and 'through (διά) the word.' What difference does that make? Why is the distinction important?
- The same phrase 'which liveth and abideth for ever' has been read as describing either God or the word. How does each reading affect the meaning? Which seems more natural to you, given verses 24-25?
- What does it mean that the word of God 'lives'? How have you experienced the word as alive in your own life?
- If the seed of new birth is imperishable, what assurance and responsibility does that give to believers?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Jeremiah 23:28 | The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat?” says Yahweh. |
| Malachi 2:3 | Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. |
| Matthew 24:35 | Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. |
| John 1:3 | All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. |
| John 1:13 | who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. |
| John 3:3 | Jesus answered him, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” |
| John 3:5 | Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom. |
| John 6:63 | It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke stresses that physical descent from Abraham has no power to admit anyone into heaven. The new birth comes only through an incorruptible, divine principle conveyed by the living Word of God, a doctrine as eternal and unchanging as God himself.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the Greek phrasing "which liveth and abideth forever" naturally refers to God, not to the word. The point is that because God is eternal, what He directly produces in the soul through truth shares that enduring quality. Human birth yields only decay, but divine birth yields life as lasting as its Creator.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that the "seed" of regeneration is not the word itself but the new nature, the restored image of God. The word serves as the instrument by which this seed is implanted. He insists that true Christianity requires this inner transformation; the Gospel reforms the heart, not just the ears.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws a sharp contrast between physical birth from mortal seed and spiritual rebirth from an immortal seed, which is the Word of God. Because God's Word lives and endures forever, it produces a new birth that is equally lasting and incorruptible.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists that the "incorruptible seed" is the Holy Spirit's grace, not the word of God itself. He argues that interpreters wrongly conflate the two: the seed is pure, imperishable grace implanted in the heart, while "the word of God" refers separately to Christ or the Gospel. The phrase "liveth and abideth forever" describes either God, who empowers his word, or the enduring nature of Christ and the Gospel.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that God's word is the instrument of spiritual rebirth, not the raw material. The word carries the Spirit's life as a vehicle, producing an abiding love that mirrors its own imperishable nature. This spiritual relationship, born through the word, surpasses earthly ties just as the seed it comes from is eternal.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry underscores that the exhortations to sobriety and holiness flow directly from the glorious state believers have received. For him, Christianity is a practical doctrine, designed to make people not only wiser in knowledge but genuinely better in character and conduct.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent draws attention to the Greek prepositions here: "of seed" points to the origin or source of new life, while "by the word" marks the medium through which that life is imparted. He specifies that "Word of God" refers to the gospel message, not the personal Word of John's Gospel, though the two are connected. The rare word "seed" literally means the act of sowing.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the phrase "which liveth" means Christ is full of divine virtue. This life is active and powerful, and it remains forever the same, unchanging in its virtue.