GRACE TO SUFFER FOR CHRIST
The Power of God’s Word
1 Peter 1:22-2:3
Jerry A Collins
SCC
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Does the Word of
God make a difference in our relationships?
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What attitudes
hinder our
relationships with believers?
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Why is the Word
of God central to our lives?
INTRODUCTION:
A
love letter lament: Dearest Jimmie, No words could ever express the great
unhappiness I have felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you will take
me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I
love you, I love you, I love you. Yours
forever, Marie. P.S. And congratulations on winning the state lottery.
One of the two commands in our passage is the command to fervently love one another from the heart vs
22. The other is to long for the pure milk of the Word 2:2. They are joining a new
community, a new race, a new family, and they must pursue a life consistent
with their new association. The Word by which they have been ‘born again’ is
the same Word by which they must ‘grow up’ spiritually. Four times the Word is
mentioned making note that it is central to all we are and must become. (1) The
living and abiding Word of God 23. (2) The Word of the Lord abides forever 25.
(3) The Word preached to you 25. The Word that by it you may
grow 2:2. The Word of God is likened to ‘seed’ and to ‘milk’. So
believers must strip themselves not of clothes but like shedding clothes,
unloving behavior & then crave the Word of God that has the power to
transform you.
1. LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY FROM THE
HEART
Obervation: 1 Peter 1:22-2:1
Interpretation:
Obedience to the truth 22a The obedience referred to here is the obedience of
faith. That is, the acceptance of the Gospel. The truth they obeyed was the
Word of God—the same Word, the good news that had been proclaimed to them. This
Word does not disappoint but is truth and as such, the source of security in
our lives. It all boils down to this in the words of the writers of scripture.
Obey and trust.
Purified your souls
22b The purification of their
souls came by means of obeying the truth. So now they stand in a completely
cleansed condition or state. They have been made clean spiritually. Obeying the
truth produces a cleansed state of being (Psa 119:9).
Our salvation brings an initial purification of our souls as God imputes Jesus
Christ’s righteousness to our account by means of my obedience to the gospel
proclaimed to me. My initial purification continues to alter my soul as I
continue to obey His Word. My life demonstrates changes that only can be
explained by God’s work in my life as I obey in faith. The world can be a dirty
place to live in. It can pollute my soul, alter my behavior so I must ‘take
off’ the old way by confession and repentance and ‘put on’ the new by obeying.
Sincere, fervent, deep
love 22c So here is
a specific action with a note of urgency. Love one another and do that
earnestly not lightly. Be zealous about this and strain after it. Don’t be a
hypocrite about it. This kind of deep and sincere loving can only come about from
a heart that has been transformed by the reality of what that heart believes
and obeys. So the purpose of the purification of our souls is that we love one
another sincerely (1 Cor 13). This is all over the
NT. God is very clear about the basis of the relationships within His family (Jn 13:24-25;
Our love as lasting as
the Word which saved us 23-25 (1) We were
regenerated by an eternal seed 23. This
transformation that purifies us and enables us to love one another deeply is
not decaying but lives and remains all the way to the end and into eternity. So
our love for one another should be just as alive and abiding. There are no
excuses. (2) This is supported by quoting Isa 40:6-8
in vs 24-25a. All human accomplishment, any fleshly
deeds will only wither, dry up and fall off just like
the rapid blooming and withering flower and fields. But that Word of God that
formed the content of Peter’s preaching vs 12,
endures forever. There is no short-lived outcome with it. So our deep, fervent,
sincere love for one another is as enduring as the Word which was preached to
us, purified in us when we obeyed it’s gospel truth.
Put off attitudes
causing relational ruptures 2:1 So
implicit in the command to fervently love is the need to rid myself of behavior
that is hostile to loving one another. He lists five of these attitudes each if
left unchecked will rupture relationships with one another contrary to what we
have been told. (1) Take off wickedness or malice. Do not hope for the downfall
of one another. (2) Take off cunning and trickery. Do not distort the truth or
oppose
the truth by misleading. (3) Take off pretense. Do not play act or appear one thing when really you
feel or believe another. (4) Take off envy. Do not hold a grudge at site of
another’s advantage. (5) Take off slander. Do not ‘run down’ another you have
made yourself jealous of. Make a break with your past and out these attitudes
out of your life. You will never love one another unless you do.
2. KEEP LONGING TO GROW IN GOD’S WORD
Observation: 1 Peter 2:2-3
Interpretation:
It’s time for
nourishment 2 Newborn
babies who crave their milk illustrates our need to crave with the same
eagerness and longing of a baby for it’s milk, God’s
Word. So we are not only regenerated and purified and born again by obeying the
gospel truth proclaimed to us, we are also nurtured to grow up by means of that
same Word. God commands us to develop this appetite. This word is without
deceit he tells us. It is not contaminated in any way and will provide healthy
nourishment to us for all of our lives and in every dimension of our lives. It
will cause us to grow up. Do you put out the welcome mat for the Word of God?
James
The kindness of God 3 Here is an argument which accepts the reality of the
condition—namely, that you have tasted the goodness of the Lord in your life.
This is a quote from Psa 34:8 likening believers
present knowledge of Christ to tasting which picks up the milk analogy used in vs 2. Having taken a sample of the grace of God when they
obeyed the truth and souls were regenerated, they had found that the Lord was
good. They have already tasted and they have already sampled all God has
supplied for them in their salvation. So keep going all of the way. Keep loving one another deeply and keep growing in the Word
of God.
APPLICATION:
1.
Loving one another is not an option in God’s family. Loving one another is hard
work. It’s not just feeling good about each other it is looking out for each
other’s greater good. God never excuses
us from sincerely and constantly loving one another in Christ.
2.
We must nurture and cultivate a desire for the Word of God. God has given us a
Word to feast and feed upon. It is the living Word alive today. It is the only
means of growth for us as believers. Sadly, today post-modern thinking within
the church is replacing the Word since it is not believed to be sufficient or
sole authority. The Word is used but not taught.