1 Peter 1:22-25 - Genuinely Love One Another

The Word Read

Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from 1 Peter 1:22-25:

1 Peter 1:22–25 ESV

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Behold, brothers and sisters, this is Word of the Lord. Please be seated. Let us pray.

Summation and Diagnosis

I want to start my sermon this morning by reading a few passages of Scripture:

1 John 4:19–21 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Today, we come to the end of 1 Peter 1. A total of 25 verses and 7 sermons. We’ve also looked at approximately 160 other verses as we’ve unpacked the theology in this single chapter. This amounts to approximately the length of Esther, Lamentations, Ephesians, or Galatians. By the of today, you’ll have traveled through 185 verses in total.

As we have discussed previously, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 is a discourse on living into our new identity - a born again believer of Jesus Christ. We come now to the fourth of five commands in this discourse passage - love one another seen in 1 Peter 1:22. The command to love one another is a hard command to obey. We are, in and of ourselves, not easy to love nor capable of loving as the Lord commands. We all have our faults and failures. We all have our hang ups. We all have sins that are horrific before God, and if we are being totally honest, would cause our brothers and sisters to rethink their opinion of who we are. Yet this is the type of living, the pushing away of one another, that is not acceptable in the Kingdom of God. What is to permeate First Presbyterian Church - Eden? Love for one another. Deep, sacrificial, genuine, unconditional, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love. Ultimately, what does this reveal to us? The covenant we have with God is not simply a personal matter. It is impossible for the Christian to live in isolation away from the body of Christ. Our Christian life is both vertical, comprising our relationship with the Lord, and horizontal, our relationship with others.

This morning as we look at this passage, think about who are the Christians that you have difficulty loving as Scripture commands. More pointedly, do you have problems loving a brother or sister in this sanctuary this morning? Remember, Peter is writing to real people in real churches commanding them to really love one another because that is the way of those who have been redeemed. People who fail to truly, genuinely love the body of Christ reveal a heart that does not know Christ. As my father-in-law has said for years, “You cannot love Christ and hate His bride.” Remember what Scripture says in 1 John 4:20:

1 John 4:20 ESV

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

It is impossible to love Christ and hate His bride. Now, do we wrestle to love certain people within our congregations? Of course! I have no doubt there are times when my wife, my children, and my friends find it very difficult to love me. However, to hate a brother shows a heart that truly does not know Christ.

With this in mind, the sermon title this morning is “Genuinely Love One Another”. I have our passage in two sections, 1) 1 Peter 1:22-23 - Love One Another and 2) 1 Peter 1:24-25 - The Eternal Good News. Again, the sermon title this morning is “Genuinely Love One Another”. I have our passage in two sections, 1) 1 Peter 1:22-23 - Love One Another and 2) 1 Peter 1:24-25 - The Eternal Good News.

1 Peter 1:22-23 - Love One Another

Corrie ten Boom and her sister, Betsie ten Boom, helped Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War 2. On February 28, 1944 the entire ten Boom family is arrested. They were tried and eventually taken to a concentration camp, Corrie and Betsie are sent to the same camp. Betsie dies under imprisonment on December 16, 1944. On December 28, 1944, Corrie is released due to a clerical error. One week later, the group of women she was with were sent to the gas chambers.

In 1947, Corrie goes to a church in Munich, Germany with a message that God forgives and in her words, “God casts our sins into the deepest ocean, gone forever.” After her message, a man comes up to her. She recognizes the man for he was a guard at the concentration camp where she was held. He does not recognize her, but says that he has since become a Christian and knows God has forgiven him of his horrid sins. He puts his hand forward and asks her to forgive him. Corrie stands still unable to move with coldness in her heart. “Jesus, help me!” she prays. In her words, “I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.“I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.” Corrie’s story is a real time application of this type of love.

Let us now turn our attention specifically to 1 Peter 1:22-23:

1 Peter 1:22–23 ESV

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Peter starts in 1 Peter 1:22 with a wonderful reality - our souls have been purified by your obedience to the truth. This clause is loaded with riches. First, the text reveals the mystery of God’s divine act of consecration in a believers life and simultaneously the believer’s responsibility to respond to the truth of the Gospel. Divinely, only the Spirit of God can draw people to the Lord and cause their hearts to be regenerated. Humanly, man is responsible to exercise his volition in repenting of sin.

Second, what does this verse say is the correct response to truth? Obedience. So this verse speaks to the moment of conversion AND the life long pursuit of sanctification whereby our sins are mortified/killed by Gospel weapons and our hearts are revived causing us to live in newness of life. Obedience to Christ is the fruit of a soul that has been saved/redeemed/purchased/ransomed by Christ. This is the life of of a person whose souls have been purified by obedience to the truth.

Third, what is the purpose of a purified heart that is obedient to the Gospel truth? For a sincere brotherly love. Becoming an adopted child of God radically reorients our way of living. There is nothing untouched by the Gospel of Christ Jesus. The way we use our time changes. The way we use our finances changes. The decisions we make about the future changes. And as this verse reveals, the way we interact with others is transformed - a sincere or genuine familial love. Isn’t it only fitting that Scripture calls it “brotherly love”. In 1 Peter 1, Scripture calls God our Father (1 Peter 1:3, 17) and says we are obedient children (1 Peter 1:14). We are capable of loving one another as brothers and sisters because of Christ’s righteousness that has been imputed to us. The inverse of this is because of Christ’s righteousness being imputed to us we are capable of loving one another as brothers and sisters. It is impossible and unachievable for us to love one another this way apart from us being redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. You cannot love the Church without the forgiveness of Christ being applied to your soul. It is literally impossible.

This all leads to the command in the second part of 1 Peter 1:22 - love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Why? Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable. How or by what means? Through the living and abiding word of God. I’m going to say that again because it is a mouth-full. Follow along in your Bibles so you can see it. Here is the command: love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Why? Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable. How or by what means? Through the living and abiding word of God. There is a lot to unpack in that verse and a half!

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Church, Love In

There is a story about a man who was walking down the street. He passed a used-book store, and in the window he saw a book with the title How to Hug. He was taken by the title and, being of a somewhat romantic nature, went in to buy the book. To his chagrin, he discovered that it was the seventh volume of an encyclopedia and covered the subjects “How” to “Hug.”

The same could probably be said of our churches today. We have the Scriptures, the very Book where God places His power, but we fail to genuinely love one another. We’ve been born again into the family of God and like our biological family we didn’t get to choose our spiritual siblings. God calls them into the family, not us. This salvation is not of the perishable seed like the slaves who bought their freedom with gold and silver, a perishable seed. God’s salvation is of imperishable seed through the living and abiding word of God. Notice that God’s word is living and abiding. The Word of God produces life and remains.

As we look at this passage there are some important points of application. First, we are commanded to love one another unconditionally, sacrificially, with a pure heart. This type of love is one the world does not know. Culture currently tries to “cancel” anyone that disagrees with their own worldview. The command given to believers? Love another. Remember, the people getting this epistle were exiles. They would have needed to depend upon one another for survival. I and my family have experienced this as well. For a good portion of our marriage, we have not lived near family. We needed the church to be our family because that’s all we had. We learned how to love a variety of people as family. Was it easy? No. It meant giving up our own preferences. There was a cost to loving them and them loving us. In the church, we are called to love one another in a supernatural way and, at the same time, are loved in a supernatural way. When we led our small group in Charlotte, I would tell new members that the expectation for them is to love the other members of the group unconditionally by the use of their spiritual gifts. Do not focus primarily on what you will receive from the group, but how you will love others knowing that the rest of the group is doing the same. Let us do the same. Pour out love to one another unconditionally, sacrificially, with a pure heart.

Second, your church is your family. The New Testament is filled with family language where believers are called brothers and sisters. Furthermore, the church is called the household of God in 1 Timothy 3:15. The family of God is actually meant to be closer than our biological families. Why? Because there is a division between believer and unbeliever. Hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34-39:

Matthew 10:34–39 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Some of us have the wonderful blessing that our biological family are brothers or sisters in Christ. Yet, some do not and know the pain that brings. To you I say, do not give up on their salvation. Keep praying for them. Keeping sharing the Gospel with them. Don’t give up on the Spirit’s ability to convict their hearts. You know that words of Scripture in Matthew ring true - Christ brings division in our earthly relationships. Yet, those who are in Christ are our brothers and sisters for eternity. Is there a brother or sister you are withholding forgiveness this morning? Is there a fellow Christ-follower who has genuinely repented of sin, but you’ve said in your heart, “I will never forgive them!”? What does Scripture command of you? To forgive them and love them earnestly with a pure heart. Don’t treat the local church like a PTA organization leaving whenever you get upset or frustrated by personal preferences. You yourselves are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and loved by God in Christ and He who never leaves you. Let Christ work in you the same way He worked in Corrie ten Boom’s life causing her to forgive the Nazi concentration camp guard.

1 Peter 1:24-25 - The Eternal Good News

Now let us turn our attention to 1 Peter 1:24-25 where we will see the eternal good news:

1 Peter 1:24–25 ESV

for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Peter contrasts our covenantal relationship with God with a mere mortal life. Peter makes this contrast by quoting Isaiah 40:6, 8. Whenever we see an Old Testament verse or verses quote in the New Testament, we must ask ourselves a few questions. First, what is the original context of the verse/verses quoted. Second, how is this used in the New Testament.

First, Isaiah 40:1-11 was written to bring hope to the Israelite exiles who were under Babylonian rule. There is no doubt these exiles would have found themselves with great discouragement. These exiles were dispersed living outside their homeland. How does the Isaiah 40:1 start:

Isaiah 40:1 ESV

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

The exiles were commanded to take comfort. Why? God would never forget the promises He made with their forefathers. Unlike the flowers and grass that withers, the Word of the Lord stands forever. He is sovereign over all life and is coming in power. Is there no wonder why Peter uses quotes from this passage? Those living in exile had become discouraged, but the Lord encourages them to take comfort because His Word still stands.

The same truth applies to these Christians in the first century and to us. We are the exiles living in a land that is not our own and the Lord brings comfort because His Word still stands. The Lord has already come in the person of Jesus Christ and one day all will see Him in His power. Thus the good news, or the Gospel, that was preached to you is this Word that remains forever.

This would have been great encouragement to these first century Christians. They were being persecuted for their faith. Some imprisoned, some relocated. If they ever would have thought that the Lord was not true to His promises, Peter turns their gaze to the Old Testament and how He is always faithful to His promises. God is ALWAYS faithful to the covenants He makes. Therefore, you can take the New Covenant in Jesus Christ to the bank. He has already won the war. He sits enthroned in glory leading all things to their proper end. He awaits for the day when He will come again for you. He is always faithful.

Yellowstone National Park has a lot of attractions for tourist. However, probably the most well-known attraction is the geyser, Old Faithful. Workers are able to calculate Old Faithful’s eruptions almost down to the minute based upon the height, the length of time of the eruption, and when the previous eruption occured. The can predict the next eruption 90% of the time. Old Faithful is certainly faithful. She is even more faithful that the achievements of man that will wither and fall like grass and flower.

However, our God is totally faithful. There is not one promise that He has left unfulfilled. Every promise given to the covenant people of God has come to pass. So when the Lord commands, “comfort, comfort my people”, let us take genuine comfort. God’s faithfulness speaks to His unchanging character and the fact that He keeps His promises that are in His Word. Since the Lord remains faithful, we can trust that the good news preached to us will eternally remain true. As Revelation 14:6 says:

Revelation 14:6 ESV

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

On the days when we live the most for Christ, the Gospel is true and we desperately need the Word of the Lord. On the days when we are the worst sinners on earth, the Gospel is true and we desperately need the Word of the Lord. The faithful, never-ending, trustworthy Word of the Lord. Peter writes these Christians with the message “this too shall pass.” One day it all did for them. They stopped their spiritual exile on earth and entered the glory.

One day, our spiritual journey on earth will come to an end. We will no longer be the holy nation of God pilgriming our way through this world. Instead, our eyes will close on earth and our souls will enter into eternity.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2004 God Never Forgets Promises

An elderly Christian was in much distress as he lay dying. “Oh, Pastor,” he said, “for years I have relied upon the promises of God, but now in the hour of death I can’t remember a single one to comfort me.” Knowing that Satan was disturbing him, the preacher said, “My brother, do you think that GOD will forget any of His promises?” A smile came over the face of the dying believer as he exclaimed joyfully. “No, no! He won’t! Praise the Lord, now I can fall asleep in Jesus and trust Him to remember them all and bring me safely to Heaven.” Peace flooded his soul, and a short time later he was ushered by the angels into the light of God’s eternal day.

For us in Christ, this is a wonderful thought. We open our eyes and our faith becomes sight. This faith we’ve had on earth will finally see the Faithful One. The One remained faithful as the Gospel promises. This is one reason the sacraments are so special to us. They remind us of God’s faithfulness to us. We are forgetful children and the sacraments reassure us of His great faithfulnes to us.

Conclusion

The Scripture this morning commands we love one another earnestly. Why? Not because we are prone to do this in and of ourselves, or we are actually that lovely. We love this way towards one another because we have been born again by the living and abiding Gospel. This glorious Gospel that saved your unworthy and wretched soul is the same that saved the unworthy and wretched soul sitting next to you this morning.

Is there anyone in this room who you have not forgiven? Let today be the day you live in obedience to these verses. Let today be the day when you let go of the burden of bitterness that has weighed you down for years. Let 2024 be a year where true, genuine, sacrificial, unconditional love for one another fills this place. When the community of Eden thinks of FPC, let John 13:34-35 come to their lips.

John 13:34–35 ESV

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 all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We know they are disciples of Christ because of how they love one another. There is no one who is ever in need. Bitterness towards one another is absent. Forgiveness flows freely between them. How can this be? Because of the precious blood of Christ. We know a great God has forgiven us and we are called to forgive one another trusting in the covenantal promises of a good and faithful God.