📖WEB · 1 Peter 1:23
What does 1 Peter 1:23 mean?
"having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever."
— 1 Peter 1:23 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake,
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
but the Lord’s word endures forever.” This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.
Explanation
1 Peter 1:23 tells believers that they have been "born again" — given new spiritual life — not through something perishable, like ordinary human birth, but through something imperishable: the living and enduring word of God. Peter is drawing a contrast between two kinds of "seed" or origin. Physical birth comes from corruptible seed, meaning it leads to a life that eventually decays and dies. Spiritual rebirth, by contrast, comes from an incorruptible seed — God's word — which never fades or perishes.
The verse comes from Peter's first letter, written to Christians scattered across Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) who were facing suffering, social pressure, and possibly persecution for their faith. Peter writes to encourage them, reminding them of their secure identity and hope in Christ despite hardship. Just before this verse, in verses 22-23, Peter has been urging believers to love one another deeply, grounding that call in the fact that they have already been transformed — reborn — through God's word. The imagery of "seed" would have resonated with an agricultural society familiar with planting and harvest, and it echoes Old Testament language (like Isaiah 40:6-8, which Peter quotes right after this verse) about the fleeting nature of human life compared to the permanence of God's word.
Theologically, this verse emphasizes the divine origin and permanence of the Christian's new life. Salvation is not something people achieve or generate themselves — it originates from God, through his word, which is living and active. The phrase "which lives and remains forever" underscores that God
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