Love
1:20-2:1
There is a bit of a shift in emphasis here that will continue through verse 10 of chapter 2. The shift is from the call to personal holiness to instruction on how to live in the Christian community.
Our salvation should not only lead us to live in holiness, but to live in love, loving especially other believers. When Peter wrote “having purified your souls by obedience to the truth” in verse 22, he referred to their salvation. He could have said “now that you have been converted or saved”.
The impure (unregenerate) heart finds it difficult to love because it is often against one’s self interest to love another person. For example, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:4, says “love is not arrogant”. But, it is human nature to be arrogant if you are successful. We all know arrogant people. Believers should not be arrogant, however, because they know all that they have or do is a matter of grace from God. Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man on the planet in his time, found this out the hard way when God drove him out of his senses to act like an animal until he repented. You can read the story in the book of Daniel.
The pure (regenerate) heart can love sacrificially because God loved us and saved us. We love our fellow believers (brotherly love) especially. This love flows from Christ our Savior. God puts his love in our hearts (Romans 5:5). The fruit of the Spirit is love (Gal. 5:22) God gave us a spirit of love (1 Timothy 2:17).
It is a love that gives grace, compassion and selflessness. This love does not insist on its own way (1 Corinthians 13:6).
We love earnestly (stretched\strained-as Jesus when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane). It is not always easy to love our fellow church members. We may have to work at that, praying earnestly along the way. But that is what Christ calls us to do.
It actually is the command of Christ, not a suggestion. He said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this’ll people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35) The converse, or opposite of this statement is also true. If we do not love our fellow believers, no one can tell that we are disciples.
The command to love is based on God’s saving work in our lives. (23) We have been born again (begotten) by the seed of God’s word (the gospel). (23, 25) It is imperishable. We should love one another because we have been begotten by God.
Peter proved his argument with an Old Testament quote, from Isaiah 40:6-8. The context of Isaiah 40 is a word of encouragement, that God’s word that he will restore Israel will be fulfilled because God’s word stands forever. To use Peter’s term, it is not perishable.
Peter is also saying the word of the Lord, recorded in Isaiah 40, represents the promise that God will restore is people from exile and fulfill his promises to Abraham (as in Genesis 12:1-3, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”). That promise is ultimately fulfilled in the proclamation of the Gospel to these Gentile churches in Asia, bringing the families of the earth into the family of God, the greatest blessing of all.
In loving our fellow believers as a product of our salvation, we must put away some characteristics of our former selves: (1) malice; (2) deceit; (3) hypocrisy; (4) envy; and (5) slander.
Malice is the desire to do harm or evil to another person.
Deceit involves misrepresenting or concealing the truth.
Hypocrisy is a false appearance of virtue.
Envy is wanting something someone else has and resenting them for having it.
Slander is making false statements that harm another person’s reputation.
All of these things are destructive. They can easily destroy a local church. We need to rid ourselves of these traits, both personally and congregational. They are the opposite of love. In fact, Paul, in Galatians 5:19, refers to these things as works of the flesh.
Instead we should long for the “pure spiritual milk” of God’s word. (2:2) The image here is of an infant seeking nourishment. The new believer is like a baby. He needs nourishment to grow. That nourishment is the Word of God. We never outgrow the need. As we understand more, we long to understand even more.
You cannot go wrong immersing yourself in the study of God’s word.
So, this week, examine yourself prayerfully. Do you love your brothers and sisters as you should? Are there attitudes or actions you need to confess and correct? Dedicate yourself this week to God's word and to loving your brothers and sisters in Christ.
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