Craving the Pure Milk of the Word

Bible Passage: 1 Peter 2:1-3

Summary: In this passage, Peter urges believers to rid themselves of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. He emphasizes the importance of desiring God's Word, likening it to pure milk that nourishes spiritual growth.

Application: This sermon can encourage Christians to examine and let go of harmful behaviors that hinder their spiritual growth. By cultivating a deep desire for God's Word, believers can find strength and nourishment to overcome personal struggles and foster community.

Teaching: The sermon can teach that genuine faith manifests in a longing for God's Word, which is vital for spiritual maturity. Believers are called to remove toxins from their lives and pursue the life-giving truths found in Scripture.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the broader context of Scripture, the desire for God's Word points to Christ, who is the living Word. As believers, our pursuit of Scripture ultimately leads us to a deeper relationship with Jesus, understanding that He fulfills every promise and teaching.

Big Idea: Desiring God's Word transforms our hearts and lives, leading us to spiritual growth and maturity in Christ.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon, consider exploring the Greek terms used in 1 Peter 2:2 regarding 'pure milk' and their implications for spiritual growth. You can also delve into Peter's context for this exhortation in relation to the early church's challenges. Utilizing Logos, you might find helpful commentaries that discuss the sociocultural environment of the recipients of this letter.

1. Purge the Poison

1 Peter 2:1 “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”

Peter challenges believers to put away evil behaviors, suggesting that spiritual growth necessitates a deliberate effort to cleanse oneself from malice and deceit. This cleansing is only possible through the transformative power of Christ’s love and grace. As we rid ourselves of these destructive elements, we prepare our hearts to receive the nourishing Word of God, which strengthens our commitment to Christ and our community.

Maybe, just maybe, the reason why we can’t receive the Word of God in our hearts, and be truly transformed by it’s power, is because our hearts are so full of everything that God detest! If we want to witness the power of God in our lives, we’ve got to get rid of some things that keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us.

The Bible says in Hebrews 12:1 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run this race with patience! If I’m running toward what God has for me, but I keep getting tripped up by the stumbling blocks in my way, quite naturally it makes it that much harder to reach my destination. And I want to tell you Church of God, sometimes we are our own stumbling blocks! Sometimes the things that trips us and keeps us from reaching what God has for us, keeps us from fully growing in Christ is our own attitudes! Our own selfishness! Our own deceitful ways! Our own jealous eyes of envy! Our own spreading lies and gossip and slander! Peter is encouraging the Christians of Northern Asia, that if they are going to reach a level of maturity in Christ, they must purge the poison! And Church, the Word of God still speaks to us through Peter today, that if we are going to reach a level of maturity in Christ, we got to PURGE THE POISON!!!

Genuine love requires ridding one’s life of all malice! Jesus said, the way that people will know that you are my disciples, is that you have love one for another! Now how can I say that I am a true born-again believer, with the love of God, and I have malice in my heart! The word malice hear refers to ill-intent or hurtful/harmful actions! I can’t say I love you, and yet I’m praying for your downfall! There are some folks who are walking with you, not because they are really on your side, but because they just want to be there when you fall! They’ll talk about you, not to build you up, but to tear you down! They’ll do things to you, with the intention of making you stumble! And there are far too many spiteful and bitter Christians in our churches today!

Then Peter says to put off deceit! You got to be careful of folks with hidden agendas! More importantly, we can’t be the one with the hidden agenda! Deceit here literally refers to a fisherman baiting his hook, it speaks of falsehood and dishonesty! The fish sees the bait on the hook and he thinks that dinner is served, not understanding that he’s about to be served as dinner! That’s trickery! I’m tricking the fish into thinking it’s something good, when it’s really something harmful! That’s what I mean by hidden agenda! Some folks will give you roses, really hoping you get pricked by the thorns!

Then there’s hypocrisy! The word hypocrite originally referred to an actor in ancient theater who wore a mask. It refers to someone who projects a certain image of themselves but in reality is someone much different! Hypocrisy is the masking of inward evil by an outward show of righteousness!

Peter also says put off envy! Envy is the opposite of thankful for the good that comes to others. It is resenting the blessings that someone else enjoys! It means jealous! Folks will hate you because God is blessing you! As long as you are doing worse than them, they don’t have a problem with you! But when God starts elevating you, and blessing you, people’s true colors begin to show up and that’s when the hate begins! And they don’t really hate you, they hate what God is doing in your life! But we got to learn how not to be jealous and envious of other people’s success, and other people’s blessings, and learn how to don’t hate, but appreciate, so that we can help celebrate when God has blessed somebody else! To me, that just lets me know that God is still in the blessing business! And can I tell you, that sometimes, we jealous over what somebody else has, not knowing the stress they have in having it! We jealous of them because they got this nice big house, not even knowing that they are struggling to keep to lights on! We’re so busy looking over and through the fence at what they have, that we can’t even thank God for what we have!

Then he says, to get rid of slander! Slander is any speech which harms or intends to harm another person’s status or reputation! It is speaking lies and sometimes even truth, defaming someone else’s character! Slander don’t always have to be a lie, sometimes it can be true, but it is done with the intention to make somebody else look bad! And the reason being is because a lot of times we feel that if I can make you look bad, it makes me look good! But I wish I had a few folks who are not overly concerned with just looking good, but more so looking like God! And what Peter is saying, is that if we’re going to look like Christ, and mature in Christ, none of these things fit the characteristics of Christ, therefore we must purge ourselves of the poison that hinders our growth in the Lord!

2. Pursue the Pure

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”

Peter likens the Word of God to pure milk, necessary for believers' spiritual nourishment and growth. Just as newborns instinctively crave milk, we should yearn for the pure, unadulterated truths of God's Word. In pursuing this sincere desire, we follow Christ's example of seeking God’s will above all, thereby growing into the fullness of our salvation. He says like newborn infants, this analogy or metaphor is easily understood by any parents that have had their sleep interrupted by the crying of a young baby hungry for milk.

Studies show, that newborn babies require approximately 1.5 to 3 ounces of milk every 2-3 hours during the first few weeks of life.

We must have a hunger for the Pure Word of God! We desire a lot of things that are not essential to our growth as Christians!

The Bible says in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled! We must long for the word of God. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for you O God. That’s what that word desire means, it means a strong intense longing for! Just like that newborn baby and milk, it is a craving! People don’t crave the Word of God anymore! We’ve reduced church down to an hour and a half and the preached word down til about a half hour and for most of us, that’s all the Word we get, and yet we wonder why we are not growing in Christ! When we deprive ourselves of the Word of God, we become spiritually malnourished, which is a condition where the body isn’t getting enough of the right nutrients it needs to grow and function properly! We can’t starve ourselves of the Word of God and expect to grow and mature in Christ!

And you can’t just get any word and expect to grow in Christ, because their are a lot of Words out there, but not all of them are pure! Paul wrote to the Church at Galatia, and said “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ!

3. Partake of Goodness

1 Peter 2:3 “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Maybe highlight the phrase “tasting that the Lord is good” as an invitation to experience the fullness of God's grace through His Word. This verse suggests that having experienced God’s goodness, believers are called to continually seek a deeper relationship with Him. This longing for God’s Word is a reflection of Christ's own desire for the Father, and through it, we receive the grace to navigate life’s challenges with faith and hope.