First Peter
How Shall We Then Live in a Post-Christian Culture
“The Call to Love One Another Fervently”
1 Peter 1:22-25
Review
The passage to be considered this morning falls, contextually, in what we are terming as the section addressing the sanctification of believers (1:13-2:12). In 1 Peter 1:13, after having explained the greatness of our salvation in 1 Peter 1:1-12 (i.e., what God has done in salvation), Peter says: “therefore.” That is, in light of this great salvation we are to live in consistency with this great salvation. In previous sessions we have learned that we are called to live in hope (1:13), called to live in holiness (1:14-16), and called to live in fear (1:17-21). This week we will consider the fourth command – the call to love one another fervently (1:22-25).
Transition/Command
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you.”
Verses 22-25 contains one central command, supported by two explanatory phrases.[1] The command is to “love one another.” The two explanatory phrases are: “having purified your souls” (1:22) and “having been born again” (1:23). One is given in front of the command to love (v. 22a) and one is given after the command to love (v. 23). So the command to love stands between two reasons to love.
John Piper pictures it like a lamp in the window of the church. [2] Supporting the lamp are two large pillars so that it doesn't fall and break and so that it is high enough for the world can see it. The lamp is the love of Christians for each other. ("Let your light so shine that men may see your good deeds.") One pillar is obedience to truth which purifies the soul (v. 22a) and the other pillar holding up the lamp of love is the new birth by the word of God. So if there is going to be love among us in Titus II (or in any church) these two things have to be our experience: we have to be born again by the Word of God and our hearts have to be purified by obedience to the truth. We shall now explore these in greater detail.
New Birth by the Word of God[3]
Let's take the second pillar first and see what it really means to be born again by the living and abiding Word of God. Look at what Peter really emphasizes in verses 23-25. He doesn't just emphasize new birth by the Word. He emphasizes something specific about that Word. What is it about the Word that he specifically emphasizes? It is that the Word is imperishable. Verse 23: "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable." Peter loves this truth of “imperishability.” In verse 4 he notes that our inheritance is not perishable. In verse 7 he notes that our faith is not perishable. In verses 18-19 he notes that our ransom is not perishable. Finally, in verse 23 he notes that God's Word is not perishable. What is his point in verse 23? His point is: the Word lasts. It will not be proved wrong. It will stand as long as God stands. It is “living and abiding.”
Keep reading. Peter goes on to say it again with Old Testament authority (Isaiah 40:6-8). Verse 24: "For, 'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, 25 but the word of the Lord abides forever.' And this is the word which was preached to you." That is as plain as Peter can make it. Robert Deffinbaugh writes: “Man and his glory are temporary, lasting only for a short time. As an illustration of temporary glory, consider the flowers of the field which have such a short life span and then disappear. Like the azaleas in Spring, which are so beautiful, they last for a little while and then are gone. So it is with man and all of his glory. In contrast stands God’s Word which is eternal, enduring forever.”[4]
Or stated in a different way, all of man’s striving and success will one day wither in the light of what is of eternal importance. For example, who remembers the 100 meter champion of 20 years ago? Or the top Rhodes scholar? Or Miss America? Or Miss Universe? Or the NFL champions? Very few people remember these things, and just think of how few will remember in 100 years. But there are some things which will give eternal significance to our lives. One, mentioned in this passage, is the word of God. The other is the souls of men. If we would have eternally significant and successful lives, then we must pour our lives out to building the word of God in our lives and in the lives of those around us.[5]
So here's one pillar holding up the lamp of love in the church. Fervently love one another from the heart for you have been born again by the Word that is imperishable, living, abiding, and lasting forever. But what's the point of making such a big deal out of the Word's permanence? It is because Peter knows that the “offspring” should have the same nature as the “seed” which produced it. As such, our love should be lasting because the seed (the Word) by which we were begotten is everlasting: 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).[6]
Soul-Purifying Obedience to the Truth
Having looked at the first pillar (new birth by the Word of God) let’s consider the second pillar: soul-purifying obedience to the truth. Verse 22: "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren," (that's the pillar) therefore, fervently love one another from the heart (that's the lamp).”
What is the truth referred to in this verse? The truth in view here is the Word of God, the gospel of verse 23. Obedience to this truth is faith. Why? What the gospel demands is faith. Therefore faith is obedience to the gospel. Peter confirms this in Acts 15:9 where he says that God "cleansed [the gentiles'] hearts by faith" (cf. 1 Pet. 3:1; 4:17). Here it's obedience to the truth that cleanses; there it's faith that cleanses. Therefore, obedience to the truth is probably faith. Thus, the pillar of verse 22a that holds up the lamp of love is soul-purifying obedience in the word of God.[7]
What type of love is in view here? The love God requires of us in verse 22 is both a Philadelphia kind of love and an Agape kind of love. Philadelphia love is a love of warm brotherly affection, the kind evident in a closely knit family. This is the love members of God’s family have toward other family members — brothers and sisters in Christ.[8] It is also a purposeful, sacrificial love, Agape love, the kind our Lord demonstrated on the cross of Calvary.[9]
Finally, the love God requires of us, for which we are to strive, is a lasting love which never fails. In our text, the translators have chosen to render it “fervent:” “Fervently love one another from the heart.” The adverb rendered “fervently” is found only here in the New Testament. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich indicate that the adjectival form of the word includes “perseverance,” and that the adverbial form (as it is found only in our text), indicates not only eagerness and fervency, but also constancy.[10]
Transition
So the picture is complete. The lamp of love is held up and made possible by two pillars. One pillar is God's sovereign act — His causing us to be born again through the living and abiding Word of God. The other pillar is our response to that divine act. As new-born children of God, we hear the Word of our Father and obey by putting our hope in Him. Then our hearts will be clean and we will be free to love each other earnestly from the heart.[11]
Practical Application[12]
In closing, I want to discuss the relationship between the truth of the Word and love. In our text, Peter emphasizes the relationship between the truth of the Word and love for one another. Yet, there seems to be a growing trend for some Christians to belittle an accurate knowledge of the truth while heralding the benefits of love. These two necessities are (if you will allow me to redeem an abused term) co-dependent. Paul puts it this way: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).
Paul and Peter could not be any more in agreement. Peter has indicated that our souls have been purified by our obedience to the truth (1:22). Paul tells us here that biblical instruction produces a pure heart and a clean conscience and from these flow Christian love. Love and truth are inseparable. Whenever we separate one from the other, we shall distort both.
Peter’s teaching on love and its relationship to truth has caused me (and Robert Deffinbaugh) to rethink my understanding of love. I have always looked upon love as the source and motivation for my obedience. I have thought that God’s love produced love in me and that this love produces obedience, leading to godliness and maturity. There is some truth in this way of viewing love but Peter emphasizes a complimentary truth.
Peter presents love to us as the goal and the result of our obedience. Our obedience to the truth purified our souls, producing love for the brethren, and laying the foundation for Peter’s command to love one another “fervently” (or persistently) from the heart (1:22). If this sequence is not clear enough, then we simply have to turn to Peter’s second epistle. There Peter spells out that a diligent pursuit of godliness in obedience to God’s Word produces, as its final outcome, love:
“3 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of [the] divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in [your] moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in [your] knowledge, self-control, and in [your] self-control, perseverance, and in [your] perseverance, godliness; 7 and in [your] godliness, brotherly kindness, and in [your] brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 1:3-7).
On the basis of Peter’s teaching on the relationship of love and obedience, we need to reject much of the popular thinking about love. How many times have you heard: “I don’t love my wife anymore,” or, “I don’t love my husband any longer?” These statements are usually preambles to declaring they are leaving their mate or an excuse for finding another. The logic seems to be: “If I no longer love my mate, then I surely cannot continue to live together with him or her, and I surely cannot be expected to do what love requires of me.”
Peter’s words require a very different conclusion. If we do not love another, it is not an excuse for disobedience regarding our relationship. In fact, disobedience is the reason we have ceased to love others. If love for one another is the result of our obedience, then the absence of love is due to disobedience. This makes obedience the prerequisite to love. This means that the solution to a lack of love is a return to obedience to the Scriptures (see Revelation 2:1-5). Do we lack love for our brothers and sisters? Let us turn to the Word, repent of our sin, and return to obedience. Then we will love one another fervently.
[1] In the Greek text, these are both perfect participles which stress an event in the past with abiding consequences.
[2] John Piper, “The Seed of the Word and the Fruit of Love”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[3] Adapted from John Piper, “The Seed of the Word and the Fruit of Love”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[4] Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[5] Dwight Edwards, “1 Peter: The Life That Lasts”
[6] Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[7] Adapted from John Piper, “The Seed of the Word and the Fruit of Love”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[8] While the Scriptures require us to “love our enemies,” and to love those who are outside the faith (see, for example, Matthew 5:43-48), it is love within the family of God Peter has in view in our text.
[9] Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[10] Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
[11] Adapted from John Piper, “The Seed of the Word and the Fruit of Love”, By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
[12] Adapted from Robert Deffinbaugh, “The Glory of Suffering: A Study of 1 Peter”
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