17 Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,
18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold
19 but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.
20 He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you,
21 who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a (pure) heart.
23 You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God,
24 for: "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts;
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever." This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
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This passage speaks of Christ’s atonement in clear terms – we are ransomed from future conduct with the precious blood of Christ. We are once again shown the difference between the flesh and spirit (ie, perishable vs. imperishable), and told that the wordly things pass away, while the word of God remains forever.
When you look at passages such as these, it’s really like God hitting us over the head with a huge baseball bat. We’re told repeatedly throughout the New Testament of new life in Christ, of the difference between life in the flesh and life in the spirit, and how to live that life (sacraments, scripture, obedience, prayer). Yet the flesh is strong, and there is an eternal spiritual struggle for each of us. Christ gives us victory in that battle, but we have to give ourselves to him to claim that victory.
The comforting thing is that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. This applies to the spiritual world as well. If you are able to discern that type of contact in your life, always remember that as a believer, you can call on the name of Jesus, and the spirit must obey the command.
