Preached November 1, 2009
from
1 Peter 1:22-25

Theme: This passage helps us to appreciate the necessity of being ‘born again’ in Christ.

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

All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you (1 Peter 1:22-25).

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These words were written by Peter; and when we think of him, we usually think of his role as the great apostle. He was an eyewitness to the life, miracles, and teaching of the Lord Jesus. He was used by God to communicate foundational truths to the church. In fact, it was Peter’s testimony of Jesus that was declared by the Lord Himself to be the ‘rock’ upon which His church would be built—after Peter had said to Him, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

But we don’t often think of how Peter was also a great pastor. In his first letter, he wrote to the elders of the church, and was glad to call himself their “fellow elder” (1 Peter 5:1). He was a loving shepherd to God’s people, and a diligent overseer of the spiritual condition of the church. Personally, I think that’s why his letters are so enriching to read. They are filled with the words of a loving pastor, who was giving needed instruction to the people of God in how to live as the Lord Jesus calls them to live. They are letters that are warmed with the passion of a devoted pastor’s heart.

Think of the pastoral concern that’s expressed in the main command of this morning’s passage. It’s found at the end of verse 22. It’s the command that the believing people in the church “love one another”.

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One reason this command stood out to me last week was because of a conversation I had with a friend of mine. He was involved in a Christian conference recently; and was expressing his frustration to me over how the key speaker at the conference kept emphasizing a particular theological position in such a way as to mock and belittle other Christians who didn’t hold the same view of things as he did. It was an important theological matter; but certainly one over which sincere Christians are at liberty to disagree. And it hurt this dear brother to have his own convictions on the matter mocked and ridiculed in this way. It was truly unloving on the part of this conference speaker. And as I thought about my friend’s conversation, it brought this simple but profoundly basic command to my my attention—that we “love one another” in the body of Christ.

Look again at this passage with me. Look at how Peter—in his pastoral care for the church—describes how we are to pursue love for one another. He says, first, that we’re to love one another sincerely—that is, “in sincere love of the brethren”. The command to love one another isn’t to be a matter of outward show, but of inward reality. It’s not to be an expression strictly of emotion, but also of action. We are to put hands and feet to our love for one another—just as our Lord Jesus did for each of us. The apostle John puts it this way:

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:16-18).

Another way that Peter says this love is to be pursued is earnestly. We’re to, as Peter says, “love one another fervently”. The same word is used to describe how the church once prayed for Peter. Peter was in prison about to be executed; and we’re told that “constant [or, 'earnest'] prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5). This word is not only meant to communicate an “intensity” of love, but also “consistency”. It describes a love that doesn’t come or go with the circumstances; or that’s hot one minute and cold the next; or that gives up if it doesn’t see an immediate response. It’s a love that seeks God’s very best for the one being loved—and that doesn’t give up until God’s best is truly accomplished for them. We’re to model the fervency of our love for one another after the earnestness and consistency of God’s own love for us in Christ. Again, as the apostle John put it,

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:9-11).

And I have to point out a third way our love for each other is to be pursued; and that’s individually. That’s where it gets hard, doesn’t it? We can do as Peter says and love a general thing called “the brethren”—but without ever getting into specifics about a particular “brother”. But when we’ve got to break it down to—as he says—loving “one another”; that makes it into something that’s a whole lot more difficult to actually do than to merely say! If love for the brethren doesn’t work down to the level of actually loving individual brothers or sisters who are hard to love, then it isn’t really either sincere or earnest.

It’s hard to over-stress the importance of this command. Peter is being a good pastor; and is pointing out something very basic to the church. The world watches us; and it measures the life-transforming power of the gospel we preach through the evidence of how we treat one another. The outside world must see sincere, earnest love put into action in our lives; and so Peter urges his believing readers to “love one another”.

And this is exactly as Peter would have heard the Lord Jesus Himself teach! Jesus once said to Peter and to the others, “By this all will know that you are My disciples . . .”; not “if you preach the right doctrine” (important as that is); not “if you stand up for righteous causes” (important as that is); but rather, “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

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Now; I’ll bet you thought this would be a sermon about loving one another. That, after all, is the main command of this passage. But that’s not actually the most important thing to notice in Peter’s words.

I’d like to draw your attention to what comes before Peter’s command to love; because the command to love assumes that something is already true of his readers. He says, “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” (v. 22).

When Peter speaks here of our “souls”, he’s speaking of the most basic, fundamental aspect of our being. The word “soul” is to be taken as a general expression for the whole of the inner man. It’s that aspect of our being that is said to be “saved”; because, as Peter says in verse 9, we rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ; “receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls”. Jesus Himself is said to be “the Shepherd and Overseer” of our “souls” (2:25); and we’re to suffer for His sake willingly, committing our “souls” to “Him in doing good” (4:19). Therefore, we’re to be on our guard and “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (2:11).

Most people spend all their time ignoring their souls. Our bodies are important. But more important than even the care we’re to give to our bodies is the care we’re to give to our souls. In fact, our own souls are more important than anything in this world. As Jesus said; “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). And so, before he even gets to the command to love one another, Peter makes the assumption that we have first given proper care to purify our own souls.

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Now; how are we supposed to purify our own souls? Peter tells us that it’s “in obeying the truth” (“through the Spirit”, as some translations add). And the truth that Peter speaks of is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is embodied for us, and explained to us, and exhorted to us in the written word of Scripture.

Look at what he says later in our passage. He tells us that the word of God is incorruptible—that is, it’s something that will never perish. Our bodies will perish; because as Peter says—quoting from Isaiah 40—”All flesh is grass, and the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away. But the word of the LORD endures forever” (vv. 24-25a).

This incorruptible word of God is transforming to the soul because it is—as Peter says—also living. As the Bible itself says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Scripture is “living and powerful. Under God’s sovereign hand, it cuts down into the most intimate levels of our being. It discerns what is wrong in us in the very deepest levels of our soul.

What’s more, Peter tells us that it also abides forever. It’s something that will never change. Fashions will change. Culture will change. Worldly values will change. If we seek to purify our lives in accordance with the constantly-shifting priorities of this world, we will become as impure as it is! But as Jesus says; “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). If you build your life on the solid foundation of obedience to the words of truth, you will be building your life on the rock of that which is incorruptible, living, and eternally abiding!

So; to put it simply, we purify our souls through constantly exposing ourselves to the truth of the Scriptures—putting into practice what it says. As the Bible says, “How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9); and what’s good for a young man is also good for the rest of us!

And this impacts our love for one another. Sin still abides in us. We often express that sin through wrong motives. We often misconstrue one another’s motives toward us. We often evaluate one another on the basis of unjust standards. We’re often selfish, or lustful, or malicious, or jealous, or prideful toward one another. We simply cannot love one another as God would have us to, unless we are constantly engaged in the process of purifying our own souls. And we cannot make our souls pure unless we are obeying the truth of God’s word.

Therefore, as Peter says, “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”.

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Now; by this time, I’ll bet you’re certain that this is a sermon about purifying your soul in obeying the truth! And it would be understandable. After all, that’s the necessary practice that this passage calls us to observe, in order to be able to fulfill its main command to “love one another”.

But even that is not the most important thing in this morning’s passage. The most important thing in this morning’s passage is the thing that Peter says after the main command to love one another. It’s the absolutely essential ‘prerequisite’ that must be in place before we can even begin to purify our souls in obedience to the word. And it’s not even a thing that we can bring about. It’s a thing that God Himself must do for us. As Peter says, we are to “love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again . . .”

Now; “born again” is a phrase that suffers from a lot of misuse nowadays. But the meaning of the phrase is exactly what it sounds like it means—to be begotten again, or to be brought-forth again; to be born a second time.

The best source to go to in order to understand the meaning of this remarkable phrase is to the Lord Jesus Himself. He had a late-night conversation with a Pharisee named Nicodemus once in which He taught about being born again. The word that Jesus used in this case literally means “born from above”; but it’s the same concept as what Peter is speaking of, and is usually translated “born again”.

This man came to Jesus, somewhat secretly. He and the other Pharisees had observed all the miracles that Jesus had performed; and Nicodemus said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). And Jesus completely astounded him by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again [that is, born from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). Now think of that! Here He is speaking to a Pharisee—an expert in, and careful observer of, the Old Testament law. His whole life was all about doing what the Scriptures commanded. But Jesus just told him that such obedience is not enough. He said that unless someone is born again, it won’t simply be a matter of finding it harder to enter the kingdom of God. He said someone cannot even see the kingdom of God without being born again!

And Nicodemus reacted the way a lot of people might react to hearing that. “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (v. 4). Such a thing—as Nicodemus understood it—would be absolutely impossible! Nicodemus’ error was in thinking that being born again meant being born a second time in exactly the same way as one was born the first time—that is, physically. But Jesus was speaking of the second birth as being a spiritual one. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water [which many understand to refer to physical birth] and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you that you must be born again” (vv. 5-7).

You see; the first time you were born, you were born of flesh. Natural, fleshly parents brought you into this world; and the product that they brought forth is like they themselves are—natural and fleshly. But that’s the problem! The life that God requires of us is unnatural and spiritual; and the man or woman who is born natural and fleshly cannot live it. Not only are you limited from doing so in the power of the flesh; but you are also tainted with sin that you naturally inherited from your parents Adam and Eve. No matter how hard you may try, your fleshly efforts cannot achieve what is spiritually acceptable in the sight of God. The only hope for natural, fleshly persons such as ourselves is to be ‘born again’—born this time not of the flesh, but of the Holy Spirit.

And how do we become born again? Jesus goes on to explain even this—in what is probably the most famous verse in the Bible: “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). This is like what it also says at the beginning of John’s Gospel; “But as many as received Him [that is, Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

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Now; this reminds me of a conversation I overheard the other day at a coffee shop. I hope you know that I don’t ever deliberately eavesdrop on people; but I just couldn’t help picking-up on the conversation that was going on at the table next to me. One person was talking to another about what they heard in church last week—that God is a God of great grace; and that He gives us salvation as a gift. I kept my nose down in the book I was reading; but you can imagine that my ears perked up! And then—sadly—I heard the other person brush that statement off with these words: “Haven’t you ever heard the old saying, ‘God helps those who help themselves’?”

As I heard that, I thought to myself how much that statement misunderstands our real situation before God apart from being born again! The fact is we can’t help ourselves, because we’re utterly helpless before a holy God! We are as spiritually helpless before God as a rotting corpse would be! Listen to the apostle Paul’s description of our situation in Ephesians 2:1-3 before being born again:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Do you see it? Because of the fallenness of the human race in Adam, we are all born the first time into this world “dead in trespasses and sins”. We could never purify our own souls in that condition! We certainly couldn’t love one another in the power of the flesh! We would be as incapable of living the life that pleases God as a rotting, decaying, unmoving corpse would be! The only “help” we could possibly hope for from God would be that He make us rotting, decaying, undeserving, spiritually-lifeless corpses alive first!

And that’s what happens when we are “born again”. Paul goes on to say,

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (vv. 4-9).

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Himself said it; “. . . . you must be born again”; and “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And everything that Peter is saying to us in this morning’s passage is absolutely dependent upon you and me being born again. It is all absolutely dependent upon our hearing the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ—of how He lived a sinless life, took our sins upon Himself, died on the cross and paid the death penalty on our behalf, and rose again because of our justification in God’s sight—and placing our faith in it. And if you have believed on Jesus, you have new life. You are born again in Him!

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And that, you see, is really the most important thing in this morning’s passage! That is really what I wanted to preach to you about all along. Loving one another is certainly important; but it requires that you and I first strive to purify our souls according to God’s faithful word. And you and I cannot do any such thing unless we have first been born again.

Peter is a good pastor. He would want to see the people in our church sincerely love one another from a pure heart. He would want us to live such lives that made such love possible. He would want the world to hunger for the Jesus we know; because they see, by our love for one another, a testimony of His power to transform lives. But Peter warns that we cannot do such a thing in the power of the flesh. We must be born again! And so, he says, “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, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

So; let me close by asking you that all-important question: Have you been born again? Have you heard the testimony of Jesus from the Scriptures; and have you placed a conscious, intentional, intelligent, willing faith in the death that Jesus died on your behalf on the cross? Only then can we purify our souls in obedience to the truth; and only in such purity can we truly “love one another”.