Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Peter 1:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse grounds the new birth in imperishable seed through God's living and enduring word.
Read It With
- 1 Peter 1:22–2:3
Read 1 Peter 1:23 with 1:22–2:3. This verse grounds the new birth in imperishable seed through God's living and enduring word. The complete unit establishes this movement: New birth through God's enduring gospel should become sincere, fervent love: malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander are laid aside while the community longs for pure nourishment and grows into salvation after tasting the Lord's goodness.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The chapter break can hide the logic: enduring new birth and gospel lead directly to love, rejection of relational poisons, and desire for healthy growth. Within that movement, this verse grounds the new birth in imperishable seed through God's living and enduring word.
Read 1 Peter 1:22–2:3 together
Why these verses belong together: Sincere love, imperishable new birth, Isaiah's enduring word, removal of relational harm, milk, growth, and tasted goodness cross the chapter boundary as one movement.
Verse 22. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Verse 23. 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Verse 24. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
Verse 25. 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Verse 1. 1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
Verse 2. 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Verse 3. 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Follow the Context
- Purified obedience to truth should issue in sincere sibling love from the heart.
- New birth comes through imperishable seed, God's living and enduring word.
- Isaiah's grass-and-flower contrast magnifies the Lord's enduring word announced in the gospel.
- Because of that new life, relational harms are laid aside.
- Like newborn infants, readers should desire pure spiritual milk so they may grow into salvation.
- The desire follows from tasting that the Lord is good.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“incorruptible, by the word of God”
In plain language: Imperishable new birth is tied to the living message God has caused to endure.
Grounds the new birth in imperishable seed through God's living and enduring word. The community's new life depends on enduring divine action rather than human pedigree.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The word metaphor does not make a preacher infallible, authorize spiritual parent ownership, or erase the role of context and sources.
What Remains True
The community's new life depends on enduring divine action rather than human pedigree.
How It Can Shape Life
- Receive Scripture and gospel teaching with accountable interpretation and open questions.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Peter 1:23's contribution to 1 Peter 1:22–2:3: Grounds the new birth in imperishable seed through God's living and enduring word. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Peter 1:22–2:3 — Enduring New Birth Produces Sincere Love and Hunger for GrowthSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Interpreters debate whether 'word' here names Scripture broadly, the gospel message specifically, or both in relation.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Peter 1:22–2:3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Pet.txt, 1:22–2:3
Open the 1 Peter Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 1 Peter with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older-English wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Peter PDF, 1:22–2:3 translation with attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Peter PDF ↗