“The Just Shall Live By Faith”
New King James Version Written by: David Hicks
Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
“Articles of Faith”
(A Study in I Peter)
Lesson 4- Desire The Word:
In our last lesson we discussed being obedient children to God, having been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Transforming ourselves from our previous lusts and becoming holy (separated unto God).
In this lesson we want to understand that becoming obedient children is not something that just happens. Children represent dependence! Children are dependent on their parents for nurture, protection, and care until they are mature. Without the proper parental care, they are vulnerable to an abundance of dangers which threaten them in this immature and weak state.
1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
The easy way to garner the needs of children, is to understand the dissimilarity between childhood and adulthood. Here, Paul suggests relief from childhood. Childish ways are a blend of powerful innocence and frustrating immaturity .
It is this frustrating immaturity that the Christian must learn to overcome and educate themselves to a constructive innocence within the righteousness of God.
Children are in need of knowledge and wisdom. The common teach-ability of children is a celebrated illustration throughout the scriptures, and their occasional rebellion is deplored. That is why learning is always accompanied by discipline.
This lesson is an exploration of the need for the training of God (as our Father) and how that takes place.
Text:
1 Peter 1:22-25 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, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 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,
25 But the word of the L ord endures forever."
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
Since: This opening word is given to acknowledge that they had already arrived at the described condition, and based on this condition there is an expectation that they do something.
Purified Your Souls: The Apostle Peter, being first to speak during the Jerusalem council (The Apostles, and elders that gathered in Jerusalem to discuss the assertion by the Jews that circumcision was necessary for salvation), spoke that by his preaching, God had granted the word of the Gospel to the Gentiles and that they would believe that word. His point was that God shows no partiality in men and purified their hearts by faith ( Acts 15:9 ).
The thought of that passage is the equivalent to this statement of Peter. Note, Peter states the necessity that these Christians had to obey the truth. By now, I shouldn't have to make this clear; however, to date this is still an issue among our denominational friends.
Jesus commanded His chosen to go into the world and preach the Gospel (the truth); he that believes and is baptized will be saved (purifying their souls in obedience to the truth). In Acts 10 , Peter would preach the Gospel to the first un-circumcised Gentile and would acknowledge both the commission that the Lord gave him and the command he must teach as necessary for Cornelius and his house to obey, note:
Acts 10:42 “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.”
Acts 10:48 “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord . Then they asked him to stay a few days.”
Through the Spirit is stated because of the truth which they had obeyed was given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Love One Another: Having arrived together at the same purified condition (having the same Father); Christians should act towards each other as if they are of the same blessed family (brothers and sisters). The Apostle John would describe our love for one another as an outward sign of our being born of God (likewise, to not love our brethren is a betrayal of our claim to be born of God), note:
1 John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 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. 10 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. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Born Again: The message of the New Testament, is the message of Jesus Christ; His sacrifice for our salvation; and His kingdom where the saved dwell and serve God. The transition of the Gospel's conversion message, takes a believing individual from an old and dying condition and offers a re-birth to a new life ‘IN' Christ Jesus (see these passages: John 1:12-13 ; 3:3,5 ; Romans 6:3-14 ; Ephesians 2:1,10 ; Colossians 1:13 ).
The fact that we are born or begotten again denotes that this is not a physical birth and pertains to the Father's part in our spiritual reproduction.
Incorruptible: Jesus told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” ( John 3:6 ). This stands as commentary on what is corruptible and un-corruptible. We as children of God have been born of a heavenly plan of salvation, which has been revealed by the Spirit. This incorruptible seed only produces after its own kind (See; James 1:18 ).
I lived on a cul-de-sac in a new part of Albuquerque N.M. All of the men on the cul-de-sac took great pride in the manicured grass of their front yards; all but one! This individual lived directly across the street from me, and when the wind blew, it carried the dandelion seeds from his yard right to mine. I had to work twice as hard to keep this impure seed from taking root in my pure green and manicured grass.
We likewise are the pure and rich production of God and in this state there is no room for the corruptible (that which comes from the wisdom of the flesh – any human insertion!).
Verse 24 is a description of the temporal nature of man as regards to his flesh and its limitations. It is material and subject to decay, even as the glory of vegetation is destined to decay. The point that Peter is making by quoting from Isaiah, is to impress upon the disciples the truth that their spiritual relation to Him is not subject to decay. Having become a part of the Lord's spiritual race, they should honor that relationship by a righteous life.
This is That Word: The reader is not left in any uncertainty as to what is meant by the spiritual seed of reproduction. It is the word that was brought into the world by the preaching of the Gospel, thus the new birth does not consist of some mysterious operation of God.
It is a simple matter of believing and obeying the Gospel .
Text:
1 Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
Therefore: This is given to indicate a conclusion to the previous thoughts. Here the readers are exhorted to do the following items.
Lay Aside: Two things should strike you from this exhortation. First is that a child of God cannot remain in the condition from which he has been begotten and remain as a child of God. If we have been born of that which is incorruptible; we must produce that which is incorruptible. This does not mean that we become perfect and don't sin. It means that we do not any longer serve sin or its attributes (see: Romans 6:17-18 ). So, we must walk away from malice (ill will or the disposition to injure another); deceit (to deceive through trickery); hypocrisy; (pretensions that an individual knows is false); envies (a feeling of spite against one more favored in some way); evil speaking (words by one would injure the good name of another).
Second, we must take note that God is not going to cleanse you of these practices magically. To lay aside denotes an action on the part of the individual, instead of having it done for him. This lies at the heart of this particular lesson; for the only way to overcome these corruptible practices and our previous existence is to educate ourselves to the expectations and the wise instruction of the word of God.
Desire the Word: The Christians to whom this epistle is written are not novices or beginners. Here Peter means for them to be as newborn babes in that they were to be free from the evils named and have the pure desire that an infant has to be nourished.
Remember that as the children of God, we are vulnerable to all manner of evil apart from the care, nurturing, and training of the Lord. We cannot truly ever hope to overcome this world and be pleasing to God, without a working knowledge of His word.
James 1:21-22 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Not the similarities of our text and this passage from James!
Frequently we observe disciples who seem to be indifferent about the spiritual food that has been provided for them. It is fair to say that they have never really tasted the pure milk of the word. Therefore, they don't really know the palatable taste of the righteousness within its teaching; the strength it gives as nutritious and practical exhortation.
The last verse in our text is a rhetorical statement, in that if you have tasted the gracious word of the Lord, your desire would be as newborns. Thus, if you have tasted the gracious word, you would have a dedicated study program, seek as many Bible studies as possible, and constantly be meditating on the oracles of God.
Is the baby full at the next feeding time? There is a continuous need to be nourished after each time the mind processes the previous meal. This is where true growth comes from (see: Hebrews 5:12-14 ).
Next: “ Christ – Chosen by God ; His People - Chosen by God ”