1 Peter 1:22-2:3 Desire the Word of the Lord WC McCarter
Introduction
Last
week, in 1 Peter 1:13-21, we were told to be holy and fearful because we have
been purchased by God with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We saw that
Christ is eternal, but even before the foundation of the world the Triune God
had decreed that God the Son would put on flesh in order to live, die, and be
raised again in order to pay for the sins of humanity. He was manifest in these
last times for us. Through Jesus Christ our faith and hope are in God. Today,
we will complete that famous Christian triad by adding brotherly love.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Love One Another (22)
The
command in verse 22, which comes in the second half of the verse, is for
Christians to continue to love one another. This love is given two qualifications:
it to be fervent and from a pure heart. Fervent, pure-hearted love is deep,
stable, reliable, and constant. Christians are to be committed to one another.
The
command is to love one another deeply and from a pure heart. The basis of the
command comes in the first half of verse 22: you have purified your hearts. While
Peter has already acknowledged that the end of our faith is the salvation of
our souls, he now says that the beginning of our faith was the purification of
our souls. You have had an active part in your regeneration, but it is a
completely responsive role that you have played. You have simply obeyed the
truth. The truth must refer to what the Christians first heard from Gospel
preachers. They had heard the truth of the Gospel of Christ and obeyed it. Remember,
Jesus said that He is the Truth. They heard of the Christmas story, His life
and ministry, and His death and resurrection. They responded positively to that
message of Christ’s atoning work, and you have done the same. You do not earn
your salvation. Christ has earned it for you. You do not work for your
salvation. Christ’s work is more than enough to save you. Yet, you do obey,
and, in doing so, you purify your souls. Notice that even your obeying is not
totally on your own. It is through the Spirit. (The NIV does not have this
phrase because some early manuscripts do not have the words). Yet, we all know
that the Holy Spirit has an active part in the purification of our souls. He
does a great work in you that motivates your obedience to the truth. This is
the beginning of the Christian life, the new birth. The purity of your souls is
also seen in the sincere love you show for your brothers and sisters in Christ.
The fruit of a purified soul is the willingness to love others.
Exhortation: Peter commends the Christians for
their love of one another and instructs them to continue to love one another
deeply and pure-heartedly. The application for our lives is the same. If you
have loved one another, you have done well. Now, love one another that much
more fervently and purely.
New Birth by the Word (23-25)
For
the second time in the first chapter, Peter points us back to our conversion (v3
“begotten us again to a living hope”). He points us to the time when we
committed our lives to Christ, when we were born again. He teaches here that
the new birth is by means of the word of God. So, we are not born again by any natural
means (corruptible seed). Do you remember when Nicodemus visited Jesus at night
and talked about the new birth? He could not understand Jesus and asked in John
3, “How am I to be born again when I am old? Am I to climb into my mother’s
womb to be born again?” On that occasion, Jesus said, “That which is born of
the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” That is
what Peter is teaching here. We are not born again through corruptible seed (i.e.
human seed) but through incorruptible seed (i.e. the word of God). Of course,
the word is going to be put on full display in the next few verses, but we are
given two descriptions of the word here: the word lives (active, powerful, and
provides life) and abides (constant and enduring). This is a further
elaboration to the statement that the seed of the word is incorruptible.
The
connection between verses 22 and 23 is clear: you should love one another
because you have been born again. The power to fulfill the love command comes
in the new birth. It comes by the power of God at work in you.
The
OT quote in verses 24-25 comes from Isaiah 40:6-8. We are told twice in this
paragraph that we are like grass. Just as grass withers and flowers fade, so,
too, are all people. The fact that grass is short-lived serves as a great
illustration. Like grass, we are here one day and gone the next. We do not live
forever. We are not dependent upon ourselves. God is the giver and taker of
life. He alone is the everlasting God. We are physically fragile. We are also
morally fragile. We are susceptible to the wiles of the devil, the fallenness
of this world, and our own selfish desires. People come and go. Like grass, we
spring up for a time and quickly die. Yet, the word of God stands forever. When
God speaks, the matter is settled for eternity. The everlasting God speaks
everlasting words.
At
the end of verse 25, Peter adds a comment to the OT quote and makes clear that
the Gospel is the word of God. This living and enduring word of God is the
Gospel. Peter and Paul agree: the word of God is living and active; the word is
the Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.
Exhortation: Put your life in proper
perspective. Put the word of God in proper perspective. You will not live
forever, but the Gospel word of God enables believers to be born again and live
forever in a redeemed and glorified state.
Growth by the Word (1-3)
Based
on what has just been said about the word of God, Peter now makes a summarizing
and exhorting statement. Because of our new birth by the word of God, we must
lay aside (rid yourself) all sorts of sinful thoughts and behaviors. These
things destroy love for one another.
Definitions:
malice (ill-will, desire to do harm to another); deceit (entrapment, fraud,
deviousness); hypocrisy (pretentious, fake); envy (resentful, spiteful); and
evil speaking (backbiting, slander, defamation). There is no room for these
things in the Christian life. Those who have been born again actively resist
and rid themselves of these things in order to love their brothers and sisters
fervently and pure-heartedly. This is what the believer does after the new
birth. This is sanctification, Christian growth toward maturity.
Peter
taught just a moment ago that new birth was through the word of God, and now he
teaches that continued Christian growth is through the word of God. You continue
the Christian life the same way you start. You finish the same way you start,
by faith and by the word of God. You continue in the faith, grounded and
steadfast, not moved away from the gospel which you first heard. Peter uses a
baby as an illustration. Just as a baby craves the milk that will make it grow,
so, too, should Christians crave the pure milk of the word which will make them
grow. What makes the baby desire the milk? When they get a little taste, then
they know they need more. It is satisfying, comforting, filling, and
nutritious.
Exhortation: Desire the word of the Lord.
Crave it. Long for it. This is how you will grow as a Christian. This is how
you will rid yourselves of all kinds of wickedness and be holy like your Father
in heaven is holy. You have tasted the Lord’s graciousness, now latch on.
Conclusion
I cannot think of a better
message for us as we go into a new year. We want to be those who are full of
God’s word, ridding ourselves of sin, and loving one another fervently and
pure-heartedly. We are not like those of this world. We have been born again.
We have tasted the Lord’s graciousness, and we want more. Let us, together,
pursue those things which make for love, holiness, and Christian maturity.
Forsake the corruptible things of this world, and chase after the incorruptible
things of God.