Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Peter 1:22-25
Peter wraps up chapter one with these wonderful verses, bringing his discussion of our lot as followers of Jesus back to the source of everything in a Christian’s life: Love. His reference to our having “purified” ourselves is another reference to our having our sins taken away. I wonder how many of us really grasp what that means… Our sins haven’t been merely atoned for, as they would have been under the Old Testament Law, they have been taken away, removed, eliminated entirely. They are gone. It is as though they never happened. This is the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Great news… in Christ you have been “purified.” This is the truth, and when we obey the truth, we love one another as God loved us. If you were with us as we went through 1 John recently, this will sound quite familiar; Love one another.
Why should we love one another? Because we have been born again. We were not born again in the biological sense, but in a spiritual sense. We are without sin because our sins have been removed, so we no longer have the stain of sin… and it’s about time we acted like it. Again, this is the power of the Gospel going forward; act as though you are in Christ… because you are.
Take careful notice of the quote from Isaiah 40 in the next verses. Isaiah tells us that we are like grass or flowers. We will grow, fade and die, but God’s Word is eternal and will endure forever. As mortal humans, living in a physical, biological body, we will grow up, fade and then die, but as followers of Jesus Christ who have been redeemed from the old, sinful life and filled with the truth of the salvation of Jesus Christ, we too will carry on forever. Do you know why that is? Note that Isaiah said that the word of the Lord endures forever. The word is none other than Jesus Himself who lives in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, we are different now… love one another, and let the earthly things go…
Life Project Blog 
It’s that four letter word again!
Let’s see: s-i-m-p-l-e
Sorry, but I think it’s six letters, isn’t it?
Combo time 🙂
Love is always the answer, now … + Simple
“Love is always simple”
I like it! Let’s run with it…
Reblogged this on Redbird's Roost.
Being born of the spirit/Spirit reminds me of what someone quoted at the Thursday morning Bible study a few weeks ago: “Born once, die twice; born twice, die once.”
I like that… think I’d prefer the latter choice!
Do you ever consider this theory: you have a great friend always there for you, then they die (bummer), but you go on living and find a new friend; can’t guarantee they will be there forever. But what keeps you sane and able to give part of yourself? it is God within you. He was there with the first friend, the second friend. He kept you when you thought you would go crazy from losing your 1st friend, but revived you to start again. Gosh I can go on forever. Thanks for sharing again. W.
That sounds like a pretty good theory to me!
🙂
What a wonderful garden scenery in your cover picture. W
Thanks!
That word love keeps popping up all over in devotions and scripture that I read of late! I like your post about it today and I must agree with the person who said Love is Simple–but its not always easy unfortunately.
Thanks Elaine, I like that one too.
Don,
Great posts in this series from 1 Peter. Some of my favorite passages are in that letter.
Thanks Kelly, I’m glad to hear that. This is one of my favorites as well
Beautifully said.
Thanks!
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