1 Peter 2.1-3
Introduction:
Today, by way of introduction I would like to review a little of the present study of 1 Peter.
I. The Audience- 1:1,2
A. They were strangers and on this earth. This earth was not the home of the original readers.
B. They were scattered- Throughout the Roman provinces of Pontus, Bithynia, Galatia, Asia, and Cappadocia,.
C. How had these “strangers” come to Christ.
a. Acts 2:9- On the Day of Pentecost, men from Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia were present. Approximately 30 a.d.
b. Acts 16:6- Paul evangelized Galatia
D. They were Christians- “elect”
II. Date of writing-
A. Early 60’s a.d. So it is conceivable that some of the original readers had been saved for atleast thirty years
B. During Nero’s rule
III. Purpose
A. To guide for the readers to handling persecution
B. A manual for suffering, particularly when one has done what is right.
IV. Outline: (Show overhead?)
I. Hope In Suffering (1:1-12)
II. Life in View of Suffering (1:13-3:12)
III. The Proper Perspective in Suffering (3:13-4:19)
IV. Final Instructions for Suffering Christians (5:1-14)
Thus far in our study of 1 Peter, we have finished chapter one. We have finished part one of our outline (“Hope in Suffering”). We have seen:
1. 1:3-5 We have an eternal inheritance which cannot die reserved in heaven, and that for the moment we are safe within the garrison of God which keeps us until the day we reach heaven.
2. 1:6-9 Suffering and difficult times serve to burn off the spiritual impurities and make the genuine faith of the believer shine.
But in order to have shining faith when you come out of trials, one must have genuine faith going into the trials. In other words, one must be a Christian. You see, for Christians, trials may be difficult, but they don’t have to be crushed.
So that’s part one of the outline, “Hope in Suffering.”
We have started part two also: “Life in View of Suffering” How to live from day to day in the face of difficulties.
1. 1:13-21 Be holy. The believer is not so much called to happiness as he is to holiness
2. 1:17-21 Remember the cost of your salvation. The precious blood of Jesus
3. 1:22-25 Love other believers. You already love them like brothers. Now love them with agape love. Love that is work. Peter indicates, as Wayne Grudem says, that the love between believers will last for eternity since the Word of God which saved them lasts for eternity. Christians have an eternal bond which is based upon the eternal Word.
This opens up then to the next command-
“Crave God’s Word”
Read 1 Peter 2:1-3
I. The Evidence of Agape Love
II. A New Desire
III. A New Taste
I. The Evidence of Agape Love
A. “Wherefore”
1. ties back to verse 22 (read it)
2. and the bond of love Christians have with one another.
B. Get rid of: utterly reject, (Romans 13:12) “cast off” (Hebrews 12:1) Get rid of something that is undesirable, something that hinders or gets in the way of.
In his commentary on 1 Peter, Howard Marshall points to this list as those things which impedes the growth of the believer, that is discussed in verse 2. (p. 65)
C. The following items get in the way of and hinder the exercise of agape love that Peter so desires Christians to have.
1. Malice: evil intent. The purpose to hurt somebody.
2. Guile: to deceive. It can mean to take by stealth (Jews took Jesus this way), craftiness, deception, subtlety. It’s bait or a decoy.
It could be laying a trap for someone with their words or with their actions. Watching for them to trip up.
It could be actually lying and deceiving others.
3. Hypocrisies- To play act. Here it refers specifically to pretending love for a fellow believer.
4. Envy- wanting something that someone else has.
5. Evil speakings- speaking badly of another person.
Such things are related and not the marks of true agape love. They also impede one’s spiritual progress.
Notice that while these things are directed toward and against others, the one who ultimately suffers loss is the one doing them. He is deprived of the growth that could have been his.
Such things will leave the Christian bitter, lonely, selfish and empty. They make spiritual pygmies.
Transition: Now let’s go on to discuss the new desire of the believer
II. The New Desire (vs. 2)
A. “as newborn babes”
1. sets up the language of comparison with “as”
2. His point is not necessarily that they were newborn Christians (we have stated that those to whom the book is addressed very likely had been saved for many years.)
3. His point is to set up an illustration.
4. “Just as newborn babes do, “desire milk.”
B. “desire the sincere milk of the Word”
1. In 1 Corinthians 3- Paul chastises the Corinthians because they were still drinking spiritual milk. Paul is using milk to refer to the elementary truths of being a Christian. He is saying, you should have outgrown that by now and be ready for meat.
2. But that is not how Peter is using “milk” here.
3. There is no hint of disapproval on the part of Peter. That is because “milk” here does not mean the elementary truths of Christianity.
4. Peter says, “even as a baby who has newly come into the world craves milk, believer, crave the Word of God.”
5. the Greek word which is here translated “Word” (logikon) could also be rendered “spiritual,” but even if this were the case it would still refer to the Word of God. The Word of God is the source for true spiritual milk.
6. Babies cry, moan and wail if they don’t have milk every few hours. They’ve got to have it, or they’ll die. They feel it when they miss a meal.
7. That is the way a Christian should feel about the Word.
Young Christians are notorious for desiring to read large portions of the Bible. They just can’t get enough.
Hour after hour of reading, studying, “what’s it say, what’s it say to me?”
But what’s sad is that as the years go by, the desire for the Word can begin to taper.
But that is not how it is to be. God planned it that the one who has been a Christian for thirty years should desire the Word just the same as the one who was just recently saved.
Crave it, long for it, hanker for it, pine for it, ache for it, dream of it, want it.
Ravenous for God’s thoughts and God’s message!
One author writes,
“Peter wants to remind his readers that, more than simply receiving spiritual nourishment, they should be ardently longing for it. They should not be like children who eat milk puddings—which they don’t really like—because they have been repeatedly told by their mother, ‘it’s good for you,” but more like children who consume ice cream, with gusto. The newborn child does not interact much with its new environment, but right from the start it ardently desires milk. Christians should show the same eager desire for the spiritual equivalent. They should, to change the metaphor, be hooked on it.”
8. Notice that it’s “sincere” milk.
a. That is, without guile. No trickery, no deception, just the straightforward Word of God.
b. It is the book you can trust.
c. These days one must be careful to not accept everything he hears. He needs to analyze everything to be assured of its truth.
d. Only a fool accepts across the board the things said these days.
e. And yet there is one source which can be trusted in its entirety without question. That is the Word of God.
C. “that ye may grow thereby”
The greatest truth of all that should make every believer’s spiritual stomach growl for the Word.
The Word of God is the instrument by which God brings us to maturity.
1. NAS- “that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
2. Spiritual growth and maturity comes through intake and assimilation of the Bible. There is no getting around it.
3. This issue of spiritual growth is not quite as difficult as it may seem
4. Time after time, well-meaning Christians can try to be “better Christians.” “I just need to work on it.”
Look at the principle!!!!! The Word of God produces the growth of the believer.
Christians need to stop focusing so much on themselves, and begin to long after, pant after God’s Word.
Forget about the paralysis of self-analysis and get your mind in The Book!
Increased intake and application of the Bible will result in growth!! It’s that simple.
The process of becoming a mature Christian is not as complicated as it may seem.
The first step is getting that Bible off the nightstand, shelf, or bookcase and into the heart.
Some will say, well the Bible is boring. It’s old and archaic.
But the problem here is not with the book, but one’s understanding of the book. It takes time to develop a taste for it.
And when one’s taste is developed, it becomes a savory meal. A mine of gold.
The reason there is so much immaturity in Christ’s church today is because it has lost it’s taste for God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible.
III. A New Taste (vs. 3)
A. “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord. . .”
1. The idea here is that they have tasted the Lord, how did this happen
2. This was at the moment of salvation which according to 1:23 came about by the eternal Word of God.
3. The point: We taste the Lord when we taste the Word.
When someone sits down and takes a deep drink of the Word, he is getting a taste of God
B. “That the Lord is gracious”- John Kelly in his commentary from the 60’s said that the Lord is “delicious to the taste.” (p. 86)
Transition:
So in summary:
I. Believers are to show evidence of Agape love by not having malice toward a brother, not being hypocritical, not being deceptive
II. Believers are to have a desire for the Word of God
III. Believers have tasted that the Lord is delicious
So in the midst of their suffering, Peter exhorts his readers,
“Crave the Word for by it you will grow”
When you taste the Word, you taste the Lord,
And this morning I ask you, “what better meal could there be?”
An Outline of 1 Peter
I. Hope In Suffering (1:1-12)
II. Life in View of Suffering (1:13-3:12)
III. The Proper Perspective in Suffering (3:13-4:19)
IV. Final Instructions for Suffering Christians (5:1-14)