I. Base Text: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3

II. Understanding the Text
A. Review
1. 1 Peter 1:1-9: great encouragement in the midst of trial--
hope of the Christian based in the resurrection, salvation
ready for the final day
2. 1 Peter 1:10-12: Great value of salvation, desire of angels
to investigate it
3. 1 Peter 1:13-21: first application: set hope fully on grace,
be holy in conduct, conduct self with fear throughout life,
ransomed by blood of Christ
B. Loving One Another (1 Peter 1:22-23)
1. It is necessary to "unpack" this thought
2. Basis: "having purified your souls by your obedience to the
truth"
a. First of all, demonstration that soul cleansing cannot be
separated from obedience
b. Primarily, however, demonstrates what is necessary before
we can act as we should-- commitment to obeying the Lord
Jesus Christ (cf. Romans 6:16-23)
3. Purpose: "for a sincere brotherly love"
a. Purification through obedience is to lead to real, honest
love
b. 2 Peter 1:5-7: faith to be supplemented with virtues,
ultimately to brotherly affection and love
4. Command: "love one another earnestly from a pure heart"
a. Possible only because of obedience, purification
b. Love not to be superficial
c. Value of love-- 1 Corinthians 13
d. God as love, implications-- 1 John 4:7-21
5. Reason: born again not from perishable but imperishable
seed, word of God
a. Being born again, we are to act born again
b. New creature, new values (2 Corinthians 5:17-20,
Galatians 2:20, 1 John 4:7-21)
c. Our love and attitudes will be different from others
because their basis is different from the world
d. The world and its values will perish; God and His values
remain forever (1 John 2:15-17)
C. The Word of God (1 Peter 1:24-25)
1. Peter then focuses on the nature of that Word
2. Citation of Isaiah 40:6-8
3. The Word as enduring, humans and their ideologies as fading
4. Babylon in original context no longer there, even though it
seemed imposing at the time
5. Same with Rome in Peter's day
6. A good lesson for everyone
7. Word of God as that which was preached to the Christians
D. Put Away Insincerity (1 Peter 2:1)
1. Remember-- chapter, verse divisions come later; material
related to what comes before
2. "So": conclusion to what comes before
3. All of chapter 1 probably relevant in some respect-- most
particularly vv. 22-23
4. We cannot have sincere, earnest love while being malicious,
deceitful, hypocritical, envious, and slanderous
5. We cannot be holy with those attitudes, for that matter
6. Malicious: devising and/or practicing evil
7. Deceitful: being a con or deceiving people in any way
8. Hypocrisy: either doing one thing and saying the other, or
putting on a pretense while living the opposite way
9. Envy: desiring the possessions of others
10. Slander: speaking evil of a person with the intent to
destroy their character
11. We must not engage in any of these!
E. Pure Milk (1 Peter 2:2-3)
1. After saying what Christians should not do, he tells them
what to do
2. Image of Christian as infant desiring milk
3. The milk the "reasonable" or "logical" milk-- hence,
spiritual milk
4. The message of the Word to grow into salvation
5. Question: relationship to Hebrews 5:12-6:4?
6. While Christians should grow to maturity, should still
always yearn for the pure message of God to continue to grow
up to salvation
7. Peter uses same image as Hebrew author but for different
purposes-- it is not a bad thing to be as an infant in this
passage!
8. Peter is not denying our need as Christians to grow and
mature (cf. 2 Peter 3:18), but we are to always desire the
message of God in its purity!
9. This desire only possible if we have tasted that the Lord
and His ways are good!

III. Applications
A. Obedience - Purification - Love
1. Peter affirms how obedience is necessary for purification
and thus salvation
2. Are we striving to be obedient?
3. If we are obedient, we will proceed to desire to exhibit
sincere love, and to do so
4. Are we exhibiting that sincere love?
5. Are we demonstrating that we have indeed received the
imperishable seed?
6. Or are our lives dominated by worldly attitudes, mindsets,
and activities that will perish and not lead us to eternal
life?
B. The Word
1. Do we yearn for the Word as Peter says we should?
2. Do we recognize it as true food and drink that really
sustains (cf. John 6:54-58)?
3. Have we really tasted the Lord and decided it is good, or
have we found Christianity unpalatable in some way?
4. Do we seek to be entirely sustained by God and His Word?

IV. Conclusion
A. Thus we see 1 Peter 1:22-2:3
1. Obedience leads to purification and should lead to love
2. The Word is imperishable
3. Let us put away evil, yearn for sustaining message of God
B. Let us love all men and seek to be sustained by God's message!
C. Invitation/songbook

Ethan R. Longhenry