| Love One Another (1 Peter) 3-7-10 | Array Print Array |
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“Let’s give ‘em something to talk about, a little mystery to figure out…” That keeps going over and over in my head …. God has always called His people to be holy. Our way of life is to reflect His holiness. The people of Israel were to be different from the other nations, living pure lives, guided by God’s laws. Believers today have a further reason to be holy, because Jesus gave His life for our sins. Men’s hopes are dead hopes. Like cut flowers, they bloom awhile and then fade and die (1 Pet. 1:24–25). The Christian’s hope is fresh and fruitful because it is a “living hope” , purchased by the living Christ (v. 3) and promised in the living Word (v. 23). Peter likes the phrase “born again”; he uses it in 1:3 and 1:23. We are born again through God’s mercy unto a living hope, and we are born again by the Word of God unto love for the people of God. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are born from above (vv. 5, 7, 9, 21). You receive hope (vv. 3–4, 13, 21) and love for Christ (v. 8) and His people (v. 22). The Spirit of God loved us and brought us to Christ; and has planted within us a love for the people of God. Compare Rom. 5:5, and 1 John 3:16ff Holy living demands purification. A positive result of obeying the truth is a purified life (v. 2b). What does Psalm 119:9 tell us about purification? As trials refine our faith, so obedience to God’s Word refines our character. Larry stated that as Believers we have a new Dad and a new Family. For some thinking about “family” may not bring up the warm fuzzies it does for the rest of us. But our “new family” can replace all the bad connotations and display what God desires in “family relationships”. A changed life should be evidenced by a changed relationship with God’s other children. A purified life allows one to love purely those who share the same faith. To have it be “all in the family” can be a wonderful thing in God’s Spirit. What are the two words Peter uses for “love”? What is the difference between the two? The Believer possesses brotherly love; but will need to exert spiritual energy to love others the way God loves them. Even unsaved people can show brotherly love; it takes a Believer, controlled by the Spirit, to show agape love. What adjectives does Peter use to describe this love for the family of God? Sincere, anupokritos (an-oo-pock-ree-toss); Strong’s #505: From a, negative, and hupokrisis, “hypocrisy”; thus, “without hypocrisy.” Since hypocrisy originally denoted the acting in a play, anupokritos signifies a sincerity void of pretension and without putting on an act. Deeply, from the heart. This kind of loving (agapēsate, from agapē) can come only from a changed heart, from one whose motives are pure, and who seeks to give more than they take. This love is to be expressed not shallowly but “deeply” (ektenōs, “at full stretch” or “in an all-out manner, with an intense strain”; cf. ektenē in 1 Peter 4:8). It denotes supreme effort, lit. ‘with every muscle strained’. Have you strained any heart muscles lately? Why or why not? Verse 23 tells us that the “seed” that has produced new life in us is the Word of God. The power of God’s Word will bring spiritual life to all who are open to its truth. Peter refers to Isa. 40:6–8. Why do you think he quotes Isaiah here? Peter compares the Word to seed, as Jesus does in the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23). Like a seed, the Word is small and seemingly insignificant, but it has life and power. The Word must be planted to do any good; when it is planted in the heart, it produces fruit. God’s Word is eternal, and the fruit it produces is eternal; but the things of the flesh don’t last. Whatever we do in obedience to the Word of God will last forever! But whatever we do in the energy of the flesh may look beautiful for a time, but will die. Peter then lists five sins of attitude and speech, which if harbored will drive wedges between family members. 1. malice (kakian) is wicked ill-will 2. deceit (dolon) is deliberate dishonesty 3. hypocrisy (hypokriseis), pretended piety and love 4. envy (phthonous), resentful discontent 5. slander (katalalias), backbiting lies How do these sins damage family relationships? Have you had any experience with them? In what way? Peter again reminds us that we have experienced the new birth. This supernatural event makes it possible to obey the truth, purify ourselves, and love the family. This change in lives will not die, because it took place through God’s Word, which is imperishable (aphthartou, the word in v. 4 that described a believer’s inheritance), living and enduring. Psalm 133 symbolizes Israel’s unity with God. How can we apply those ideas to our family of God? Christian harmony is a blessing to the Lord, the church, and believers themselves. If every believer is obeying the Word and practicing love, there will be harmony. The phrase “newborn babes” is the same as that used for the infant Jesus in Luke 2:16. The new believer is a babe in need of milk (1 Cor. 3:1–3; Heb. 5:13–14). The new Believer needs to grow spiritually just as a newborn baby needs to grow physically. In fact, one of the evidences of spiritual life is a hunger for spiritual food, the Word of God. It also involves being protected from things that could harm, and nourished by all that is good. As members of God’s family how can we protect and nourish new believers? We must not remain babes in Christ. But just as the baby has a great appetite, so we should have a similar desire for God’s Word. What does Matthew 4:4 tell us? As we grow in the Lord, we include meat and bread in our spiritual diet. What does that look like to you? (2 Cor. 2:17) Our food must be the unadulterated Word, not one mixed with human philosophies or doctrines. Once we have tasted the Lord’s blessing (Ps. 34:8), we want to put away the sins of the flesh; malice, deceit, hypocrisies, envies, etc., and cultivate an appetite for God’s truth. Spiritual is the Greek word logikon, which can equally mean ‘of the word’. Heb. 5:12 has the same idea and the OT is rich in allusions to the law or the word of God as spiritual sustenance.
If you lose your appetite and stop growing, check to see if any of the sins listed are infecting your life. Then seek Jesus and if needed the help of a mature family member to help get you back in the Word and in fellowship with the rest of the family. |