Monthly Archive for April, 1997

1 Peter 1:22g

Published on April 30, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently
This is the first mention of love in 1 Peter. The second chapter challenges us to “Love the brotherhood” (v.17). In chapter 3, verse 8 Peter dares us to “love as brothers.” Chapter 4, verse 8 says, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’”
The phrase “above all things” means the most important thing in the Christian community is love. Peter challenges us to cover the sins of others, not our own sins. This is true biblical love.
Principle:
True love protects the reputation of fellow Christians.
Application:
Do you cover for your fellow Christian’s failures? When was the last time you covered up for your brother or sister in Christ? When did you hide his or her sin from the public?
We get the idea that God calls upon us to expose the sins of others. We often do this is a pseudo-spiritual way: “We ought to pray for so-and-so because you wouldn’t believe what he did…”
Christians have sly ways of gossiping. We sow suspicion. It may simply be a raised eyebrow. We do not have to say anything. We say, “I wonder what happened? Maybe he ran away with someone’s wife. Maybe he went back to drinking.” A little question mark, a little insinuation, an innuendo, a tone in the voice can cast deep suspicion on people.
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1 Peter 1:22f

Published on April 29, 1997 in 1 Peter. 1 Comment
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“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

love one another
Why exhort Christians to love others whom they already love? The answer is found in two different words for love. In the previous phrase, love was reciprocal. Love in this phrase, however, is a different word for love. Human fondness and affection (”love of the brethren”) can degenerate into selfishness so the Holy Spirit introduces a second word for love that confronts selfishness.
The first word for love is human love. When Jesus asked Peter three times (John 21) if he loved Him Peter answered with “I like you” or “I am fond of you.” The first two times Jesus used a word for sacrificial love. The third time Jesus used Peter’s word for fondness, “Do you like me, Peter? Are you really fond of me?” That struck Peter to the heart. Peter said, “You know everything. You know I like you. I am fond of you. I am for you.”
That is the idea of the first word for love in this verse. God wants us to like fellow Christians as well as love them. The verb for the like-kind of love is found 25 times in the New Testament. Sometimes it is translated “kiss.” Judas Iscariot kissed the Savior when he betrayed him just before Jesus’ capture.
This word is used of the Father in relation to the Son, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does,” (John 5:20). The Father is fond of the Son.
The telegram that Mary and Martha sent to the Savior in John 11:3 contains this word, “Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’” Jesus, the one you are fond of is sick. Jesus uses this word of Christians in Revelation 3:19, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” God calls upon us to genuinely like fellow Christians. This involves kindness.
The second word for love (agapaw) in this verse is divine love. This love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It’s unilateral. It is a one-way love that can love others even if they do not return love. This love does not depend on reciprocity. It is a love that calls out of one’s heart supernaturally.
This word for love occurs 137 times in the New Testament. The most famous verse that contains this word is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It was not that God was fond of the world that He gave His Son. It was not even that God liked the world that He gave His Son to die on the cross. God loved the world unilaterally to such an extent that he sacrificed His Son to die on the cross. God loves on the basis of His own character.
This word is used in John 13:34-35 as the badge of true Christianity: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Each of the four times Jesus uses love in these two verses is the word for sacrificial love. If we love each other fervently and sacrificially, it will convince the world that we are truly His disciples.
If we blend the two kinds of love then we have the balance of true biblical love.
Principle:
God wants us to love unilaterally even if no one reciprocates their love to us.
Application:
The thought in these two words for love is that we are to like fellow Christians, be fond of each other, and we are to see to it that we love each other sacrificially and unilaterally
God wants us to love with more than a fond love. He wants us to love sacrificially. This is a big order. I have never met a Christian who said, “I believe that I love other Christians too much.” Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” How can we love those without Christ if we do not love the saints?
God also wants us to love unilaterally. He wants us to love out of character rather than whether someone else expresses love to us. He wants us to love independently of any relationship, any problem or any situation. The person who loves this way has great capacity of soul. This is a person of great character.
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1 Peter 1:22e

Published on April 28, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

love of the brethren
The words “love of the brethren” are derived from one Greek word, which is our word, Philadelphia. This is friendship brotherly love. This love is free from bitterness, hatred, vindictiveness, implacability, fear, worry, anxiety. This love eliminates attitude sins especially the sins which have an object. The Christian who loves relationally is free from attitude sins.
Philadelphia love is the love of reciprocity. We love because someone else loves us. It is a love that likes. We like someone else because they like us. This affection or fondness results in human attachment toward someone else.
This is human love, human affection, the love of liking. The other person we love reflects our thinking. We are fond of them and thus are attracted to them. This is human attraction.
God does not want us to love men as though they were your brothers but love them because they are your brothers. This is not “brotherly love” but “brother- love.”
Philadelphia love occurs only seven times in the New Testament (Ro 12:10; 1 Th 4:9; He 13:1; 1 Pe 3:8; 2 Pe 1:5-7).
Principle:
Love of the brethren is a horizontal relationship.
Application:
Some appear to love but do not genuinely love others. This love is a love which produces pleasure from knowing them. Being with these people give us pleasure.
The result of purifying of the soul is horizontal love for Christian brothers and sisters. This has nothing to do with loving those without Christ. That is a different issue.
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1 Peter 1:22d

Published on April 27, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

Verse 22 gives the properties of love: sincere love; a pure heart; and a passionate or fervent love. Christian love is not hypocritical, impure and inactive. It is a new kind of love that requires a new kind of life. This new kind of life came to us when we believed (v.21).
in sincere
Experiential cleansing results in unhypocritical love for the brethren. Purity precedes unhypocritical love. No one can love without the enabling of God’s Spirit. Love based on a supernatural life is not hypocritical.
Ancient Greek used the word “hypocrite” to describe the actor on the stage. He was the one who played the part of another. The word literally means to judge from under a mask. Some in Peter’s day had put on a mask of hypocritical love over their usual appearances.
In the Greco-Roman world, a hypocrite was an actor who wore a mask. He had two masks, a smiling face and a frowning face. If he wore the frowning face, he depicted a tragedy. If he wore the smiling face, everything was happy. Whether he played the part of tragedy or happiness, he never showed his true feelings but the feelings of another. He was a hypocrite, a pretender.
God wants us to love others without pretense. God does not was us to be an actor when it comes to love. Love must come from genuine care about others.
“Sincere” indicates real love or genuine love. True love lacks pretense (2 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Peter 1:22; Romans 12:9; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:5; James 3:17).
Principle:
True love does not wear a mask and cannot be counterfeited.
Application:
Do you pretend to love others? We often profess more than we feel. There is a synthetic love abroad in the church. It is a counterfeit, imitation love. This love is nothing more than a sham.
This kind of love only works on nice people. It is easy to like nice people. When we run into people who are not nice, then we run out of love. Man-made love will work only on people who reciprocate. The love of God enables the child of God to love without response, without reciprocation. This is a love that only the Holy Spirit gives.
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us,” (Romans 5:5).
Someone might say, “Well, I show concern for fellow Christians. I shake their hand every Sunday morning and say ‘It is sure good to see you my friend.’ I invite them to all the socials. I smile at them.” These things are fine but they are not necessarily love. If we do this simply because the church needs more people, it’s not true love. People will sense a phony.
God wants more than an actor who plays a role of what others might think of them. He wants us to express genuine love for others. People will know this.
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another,” (Romans 12: 9).
God doesn’t want us to wear a mask representing ourselves as something other than what we are. He doesn’t want us to pretend we are something that we are not. Genuine love does not wear a mask.
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1 Peter 1:22c

Published on April 26, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

 through the Spirit (not in some manuscripts)
The Holy Spirit is the agent who purifies our soul.  The Spirit motivates us and makes us effective in living the Christian life.  True Christian living is produced by the Spirit.  The Spirit produces true love (Gal. 5:5; 22; Ro. 5:5; Heb 9:14).
Both divine and human factors are important in the Christian life.  The Christian life has two handles.  God provides power to live the Christian life giving us confidence by the Spirit.  We produce action living out of God’s power.  Man’s part is to co-operate with God’s power. 
PRINCIPLE: 
The agent of purification is the Holy Spirit.
APPLICATION: 
New life in Christ is not of ourselves but through the Holy Spirit.  The word “Spirit” means breath or wind.  Unless we set our sails the wind will pass the boat and leave it motionless.  Unless believers allow themselves to be filled with the Spirit, we will be powerless to live the Christian life. 
The agent of purification is the Holy Spirit.  The moment people receive Jesus Christ as their Savior the Holy Spirit comes to lodge in their lives.  We can quench the Holy Spirit (I Thes. 5:19) or grieve him (Eph. 4:30) by sin. 
The supernatural life in Christ has supernatural effects.  If a person is truly born again there will be fruit of supernatural nature especially the kind of fruit produced in this verse. 
The Christian has the heart to love others because of his regeneration.  God has supplied the equipment to love – the Holy Spirit.
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1 Peter 1:22b

Published on April 25, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

in obeying the truth
How does Christian become purified? By obeying the truth of the gospel. God wants absolute subjection to the truth of the gospel.
This follows the principle of absolute subjection to the truth of the Bible. By obeying the Bible lasting effects will impact our daily lives. The seed of all practical obedience lies in vital faith. The faith that we to come to Christ by, we live by (Colossians 2:6). This is the origin of true Christian living.
Faith is obedience and faith produces obedience. If my faith does not produce obedience, it is not true faith.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also,” (James 2:26).
People generally turn this around–they try to become righteous from without. “If I practice righteousness, then I’ll be righteous within.” That is totally reverse of what the Bible pleads-we must first, accept Christ, then we will live the life of Christ. We do not live the life of Christ, and then see our nature change a more godly life.
Conduct comes from character. And character comes from Christ! If we accept Christ as our Savior, we accept truth (John 14:6). Truth which doesn’t transform and mold conduct is a king dethroned. Truth is a separating power.
Instead of believing that truth produces change, people believe they can become righteous from without. “If I practice righteousness, I will be righteous from within,” some say. This is the reverse of the teaching of Scripture. This is a castle of cards. In our day we care less about truth. We value experience instead.
Many are not purified by the truth because they do not obey the truth (John 8:31, 32). Truth emancipates people from the habits of sin, the seductive spell of sin, the power of sin. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to do this (John 17:17). This is the cleansing truth of God’s Word.
We do truth when we appropriate it to experience (Jo 8:31, 32; 17:17; 20:31; Acts 6:7,17; Ga 3:1; 5:7; Ep 5:26; 1 Th 2:11-13; 2 Th 2:10-13; Ja 1:22). The truth of God’s Word is effective when we do something about what we know (Jo 13:17; Acts 6:7; Ro 6:17; Ga 3:1, 5:7; 2 Th1:7-9; Ja 1:22).
“Obey” here is the obedience that is brought about by truth. The absolute subjection to the truth of the Word of God causes it to work in our hearts.
We also met the word “obedience” in verse 2. This is an amplification of that passage. This word occurs again in 1 Peter 4:17 which says, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
Principle:
Truth is a separating power.
Application:
There are two errors when it comes to attitudes about the Word of God:
1. We care less about doctrine, only experience. True faith produces obedience (Ja 2:26).
2. We have done all that the truth asks of us when we intellectually endorse truth. The purpose of truth is to change lives. God does not tell us simply that we might know (Ja 1:22; Jo 17:17; I Pe 2:2; 1 Th 2:11-13; opposite—2 Th 2:10-13).
Truth that does not mold and transform character and conduct is a king dethroned. Truth is a separating power. The reason there is so little love is that there is so little obedience to the truth.
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1 Peter 1:22

Published on April 24, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

 

We are in a section of 1 Peter that challenges the Christian to live as obedient children. Thisverse is yet another responsibility to live out the excellence of the Christian life.
 
Since you have purified your souls
Peter takes for granted (”since“) that salvation purifies the soul. There is no question in his mind.
“Purified” refers to cleansing from defilement (the heart, James 4:8; the soul, 1 Peter 1:22; oneself, 1 John 3:3). It means to wash off, to wash away, to cause a state of moral purity.
To purify is to remove all foreign elements. Plutarch uses this word when he describes the marriage vows of the ancient world. The bride must touch both “fire” and “water” then she becomes purified. The Old Testament uses this word for the rites of the atonement.
The Greek tense in “have purified” means God purified our souls at one point in the past with the results continuing into the future. God has cleansed us positionally at the point of salvation, and the results of a changed life flow from that cleansing. This is a past purifying, our regeneration.
“…who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works,” (Titus 2:14).
Our souls stand purified permanently because we have come to trust in the finished work of Christ for our salvation, just as the Asia Minor Christians were purified as Peter wrote to them. They stood before God in a regenerate state.
Christians who trust in Christ today have purified souls. God has purged our sins and purified our soul when we come to the cross.
“…who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:3).
Principle:
At salvation, God regenerates the soul of the person who believes in the finished work of Christ to forgive sins.
Application:
A lost soul (Mark 8:36) is an impure soul, a dirty soul. Saved people have pure souls. We cannot go to heaven without one. We have a pure soul positionally (or legally) before God forever when we trust the work of Christ on the cross to forgive our sins.
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1 Peter 1:21d

Published on April 23, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

 

and gave Him glory
“Gave Him glory” means the Father raised and ascended Jesus to heaven (John 17:5; Hebrews 1:3). “Glory” is the essential characteristic of the risen Jesus (Acts 3:13; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Romans 6:4).
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [the God of the resurrection], the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go,” (Acts 13:13).
“Glory” here is the exaltation of the Lord Jesus (Acts 5:31; Ephesians 1:18-23). God the Father seats the humanity of Christ at His right hand.
so that your faith and hope are in God
“Faith” and “hope” closely braid together so we can orient ourselves to God. “Faith” is resting on God’s promises. Christians who know God’s essence (what He is like) rest in His plan (decree). “Hope” is the exercise of appropriating the things of eternity into time.
“Faith” has to do with coping with life in time; “hope” deals with bringing the blessings of eternity into our experience. God manages every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates His faithfulness in time by bringing His glorious plan of redemption to us. He shows His faithfulness by providing resources for the Christian life.
“Faith” allows us to appropriate the promises to our experience. As we claim God’s promises to us, He empowers us to meet whatever may challenge our faith.
“Hope” is a synonym for faith. However, there is a difference. “Hope” carries the idea of confidence in God’s promises. Our English word does not nearly convey the idea of the Greek language, which brings the idea of confidence attending with something in the future. God gives us confidence in the future.
God has made good His promise to us by sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. God is utterly faithful to those promises. He proves this through the resurrection of Christ. God’s faithfulness strengthens our faith that He is totally trustworthy.
“In God” — God is the supreme object of our faith. The Bible does not value faith in faith. The object of faith gives quality to faith. Therefore, God does not value the process as much as the objective of one’s faith.
Principle:
God gives resources for coping with trials.
Application:
Many Christians today shipwreck their faith. They throw in the towel. They become disillusioned with God due to some crisis in their lives. Then they fall to the philosophies of the present age.
These Christians float through life like so much flotsam and jetsam. The philosophies of this age toss them back and forth by different waves of conjecture. They watch the floating debris of the shipwreck of other lives but it makes no impact upon them.
As we watch all this flotsam we may become discouraged to take the risk of sailing anymore. We lose heart.
The sea is not a safe place. Trials can discourage us or make us stronger. God’s faithfulness keeps us sailing through the storms until the day when we see him on the distant shore.
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1 Peter 1:21c

Published on April 22, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

 

who raised Him from the dead
 
God vindicates His power to save our soul by the resurrection:
“And you killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses,” (Acts 3:15).
“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole,” (Acts 4:10).
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him,” (Acts 5:30).
“Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins,” (Acts 10:40).
“and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come,” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The resurrection authenticates the payment of our sins by Jesus on the cross. His resurrection trumpets the victory over sin.
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption [resurrection], and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
We can confidently stand before God assured that our sins are forgiven because of the resurrection.
The word “from” means out from. Jesus rose out from the state of spiritual death.
Principle:
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead assures our salvation.
Application:
Many people today believe Jesus did not bodily rise from the dead. They preach that His ideals continue today but He Himself is dead and buried, a physical person of the past. These people are not faithful to the teaching of the passage from 1 Peter.
Where we have the death of Christ, we have the resurrection of Christ. Christ dying for our sins is inadequate, if, at the end of it all, it simply plops us into the grave. The death of Christ without the resurrection of Christ is a half gospel.
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1 Peter 1:21b

Published on April 21, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

 

believe in God
Jesus’ redemptive work is the ground of our faith (3:18). His work has caused us to place our faith in God. It is faith that makes us faithful.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me,” (John 14:1).
“This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men,” (Titus 3:8).
Almost everyone believes in some kind of god. Some worship a tree stump. Others bow before a statue. Some simply believe in themselves. The Bible flatly states the only people who go to heaven are those who go through Jesus.
“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!,” (James 2:19).
“In God” expresses internal trust, a cleaving to Him. This is not mere faith. It is faith in God through Christ. The issue here is not faith so much as the object of our faith.
Principle:
It is not belief but the object of our belief that makes us a Christian.
Application:
Faith enables us to take hold of God’s provision for our salvation. God places the decision of our faith in our hands. It is our eternal death or our eternal life to decide. However, it is not ours to decide what to believe. That is God’s prerogative.
It makes no difference how moral or how immoral we are. Our honesty or dishonesty is not the issue. These are issues that follow becoming a Christian. If we are not birthed into the family of God by faith, we do not have the capacity to live for God.
Ninety-nine times the gospel of John mentions the world “believe” as man’s charge to become a Christian.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).
John even states this as the explicit purpose of his book,
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name,” (John 20:31).
Do you mutually exclusively believe, and believe alone, that Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient for your salvation?
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