“having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

but incorruptible

This is the third time we have come to something “incorruptible” in this chapter. Our eternal inheritance is “incorruptible” (1 Pe 1:3,4). God redeemed us by the “incorruptible” blood of Christ (1 Pe 1:18,19).

“Incorruptible” means not liable to corruption or decay. Incorruptibility is deathlessness. It is that which is free from death. God is not mortal (Romans 1:23; 1 Timothy 1:17), and neither is the Word of God.

In the New Testament, however, “incorruptible” expresses more than deathlessness; it suggests quality of life enjoyed as is clear from 2 Corinthians 5:4, “For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”

For the person who believes, this mortal life is “swallowed up of [eternal] life.”

through the word of God

The sperm that launches life in the spiritual realm is the Bible. Spiritual conception does not occur without God’s Word (Jas 1:18, 21; 2 Timothy 3:15).

“Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18).

which lives and abides forever

The Bible is a living book (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is no magical work, but it is a miracle chronicle. There is no other book on Earth like the Bible. It is the most loved and the most hated treatise among men. Many attempts to destroy the Bible have failed, but the Bible will live forever. The Bible “abides forever.” Even in eternity, the Bible will still stand. There will always be a Bible (Mt 24:35).

The Bible lives. Because it lives, it can give life; it gives eternal life to those who accept Christ as Savior. The reading of the Bible also transforms the lives of Christians.

PRINCIPLE:

The Bible is an eternal book and conveys eternal truth.

APPLICATION:

People neglect the Bible to their own detriment. The Christian without the Bible will impoverish his soul. There is no excuse for a Christian not to study what God has to say to him. If we do not read the Word, what message does that send to our children? If it is not important to us, it will not be important to them.

Without the Bible, we are reduced to multiplied years of frustration and confusion. Nothing makes sense, nothing adds up, nothing is worthwhile. Until we are born spiritually, life is meaningless. There is no rhyme or reason about anything on Earth until we come into harmony with heaven.

When we accept the work of Christ on the cross to forgive us, then the meaning of life falls into place. This does not mean that we will know everything, but we will understand how God operates in the world. We will understand why heaven is hushed and the sky silent.

Today God does not stop wars or reap havoc on murderers and rapists. God does not intervene directly in the affairs of men today. God has chosen not to speak directly about the mysteries of life during this age. This is the day of the silent sky.

God has said everything He wants to say to our generation in the Bible. God’s plan for the present is to reach individuals with the gospel so they become heaven-born and heaven-bound. God’s program for this age is worldwide evangelism.

Pity the poor people in North America. They do not hear the message because they are too busy. Their religious culture has sold them a bill of goods, so they assume that they can go to heaven because they are Americans or Canadians. This is an illusion! All people must come to grips with God for themselves before they come to the end of life’s short day.

“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12: 48).