Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Love One Another

Now the Apostle Peter urges his readers to have a mind suited for loving others (1 Peter 1:22-2:3). First, he describes the new birth and points out that one of the changes that it brings is love for our brothers and sisters. Next, he presses home that we have an obligation to love and to do so fervently with no motive for gain. Then once again he reverts to the new birth, and especially to the seed from which this new life has grown, the word of God (1 Peter 1:23-25). Then again he emphasizes the obligations that rest on those of us who have received the Word (1 Peter 2:1-3).

Peter first describes the new birth; (1 Peter 1:22). We understand, of course, that it is God who purifies our souls when we are saved; in the strictest sense, we must realize and recognize that we do not have the power for personal purity. However, in this figure of speech, those of us who have experienced purification are said to have attained it when we believed.

The means employed in this purification is in obedience, “in obeying the truth.” This is the second time Peter describes saving faith as an act of obedience (see 1 Peter 1:2). This confirms also the teaching of James concerning faith and deeds. In Romans, Paul twice uses the phrase “the obedience of faith.” Therefore, in our thinking we should not try to separate belief and obedience. True faith is obeying faith. Again, faith as in so many other attributes of the Christian lifestyle, is based in action, manifestation of what we are walking in. This can only be done through the abiding in and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

One of the goals of the new birth is as I stated above, a “sincere love of the brethren.” In a very real sense, we are saved in order to love all our fellow Christians as well as God, our Father. By this love, we know that we have passed out of death into life (1 John 3:14), and by it, the world knows that we are disciples of the Lord Jesus (John 13:35).

So the exhortation that follows is given quite naturally, “love one another fervently with a pure heart.” This is one of the many instances in the New Testament where a declarative statement becomes the basis for an imperative. The declaration is this: “Since you have purified your souls . . . in sincere love of the brethren . . . ,” then the command: “love one another fervently with a pure heart.” The positional forms the basis for the practical. Our love should be warm, wholehearted, with all our strength, earnest, unceasing, and above all, it should be pure.

The exhortation to “love one another” is especially timely for a people who at the time were undergoing persecution because it is a time-proven fact that under conditions of hardship, trials and tribulations, trivial disagreements take on gigantic proportions. This doesn’t just mean for the immediate readers the Apostle was targeting, but for all of us as disciples who were to follow.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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