Anchored – Hope for the Future
1 Peter
Week 4 – There is Hope for Relationships
You do it every day without even thinking about it. It is one of the basic necessities of life. Without it
your body cannot live for more than 3-4 days – and ironically too much of it can kill you. I’m sure you
guessed it – drinking water. Every day you drink hundreds of ounces of this precious fluid, but you
rarely have to stop and think about the quality of the water. We are so blessed to live in a country
where water is widely available, easy to obtain, and for the most part completely safe to drink.
How did your water get that way? What about the millions of people who don’t have access to safe
drinking water? What they need and we need is purified drinking water. The process of purifying
water is essential. There are a number of ways to do it, but the undisputed goal of the purification
process is to produce water FIT for a specific purpose. The amount of purification depends on the
purpose for which the water will be used.
Drinking water needs to be clean, free from sediment, free from water-born diseases, but water used
for medical purposes is required to meet even higher standards of purification. The same concept of
purification is also true of our souls. When God in His great mercy offered us new birth into a living
hope (1 Peter 1:3) He began in us the process of purification. Over time we are shaped and formed –
filtered and cleansed from the power of sin in our lives. God uses trials as filtration devices to extract
the unclean particles of our lives and make us FIT for His purposes.
No where is this purification process more important than in our relationships. Whether we are talking
about our relationship with God, our spouse, our children, our family, our co-workers, or our friends, the
purification of our souls leads to healthy relationships. However, when sediments and bacteria infiltrate
our lives, our relationships are the first to suffer. This week we turn to Peter’s 1st letter again to find
there is Hope for our Relationships, and this hope is rooted in pure water.
Scripture – 1 Peter 1:22 – 2:3
22 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, 23 for you have been born
again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and
enduring word of God. 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 endures forever.”And this is the word which was preached
to you.
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2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and
all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you
may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
Observation
This part of Peter’s letter picks up where we left off last week with another call to action. Last week
Peter issued 3 calls to action. Just as a reminder, these included:
1. Set your hope on future grace
2. Be Holy because God is Holy
3. Live as foreigners in this life with reverent fear
The fourth call to action from Peter is found in verse 22b where he says, “fervently love one another
from the heart”. Peter’s language is intense – he doesn’t just say “love one another”, he says,
“fervently love!” Peter qualifies the command to love by using the adverb which literally means “to
stretch out in full extension.” What’s the difference between fervent love and just love? Is the
difference one of quantity, quality, or both?
Peter’s call to fervent love is a call to the highest standard of love. In fact he says, “Since you have …
a sincere love (phileo) of the brethren, fervently love (agape) one another from the heart.” Peter
raises the bar for those of us who follow Christ. He says that while we may demonstrate phileo love for
our brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus wants us to agape love one another. What is the difference
between phileo love and agape love?
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Phileo Love: _____________________________________________________________
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Agape Love: ______________________________________________________________
The source or basis for the call to fervent love is the fact that we have been Born Again (verse 23) which
is an echo of the New Birth Peter mentioned in verse 3. He says that we are born again NOT of
perishable seed but of imperishable. The word we have translated perishable also means “corrupted”
or “that which will fade away”. In contrast Peter says our new birth comes from an imperishable seed –
meaning “immortal” or “incorruptible.” This truth is the foundation of our hope – that we have been
born again of an imperishable seed – the Word of God. What does this mean for us? What role does
God’s Word play in our lives? How do we honor this truth?
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Peter continues the contrast of that which is perishable against that which is imperishable by quoting
Isaiah 40:6-8. Take a few moments to read Isaiah 40. What are the major themes of this chapter? IF
you had to sum up the message of this chapter, what would you say?
In what ways do you find hope for the future from the truths in Isaiah 40?
At the beginning of Chapter 2, Peter says, “Therefore…” It’s always a good idea when reading the Bible
to stop when you see the word therefore and ask “what is it there for.” What is the basis for his use of
the word “therefore”?
Peter’s transition is direct. He’s setting this up to call us to a fifth action (command) that’s found in
verse 2:2, “long for the pure milk of God’s Word.” There’s the word PURE again, and he ties it to the
Word of God. What did Peter just finish saying in Chapter 1 about God’s Word? What does Peter
mean when he says we should long for God’s Word?
Peter seems to suggest that there are behaviors which must be set aside if we are to succeed at longing
for the pure milk of God’s Word. What are these behaviors he tells us to set aside (literally “to cast
off”)? Describe ways you see these in your life or the lives of others:
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Malice –literally means “wickedness, a desire to intentionally injure”
Deceit – word implies intentional deception
Hypocrisy – word which was used of a stage actor who pretends to be someone they are not
Envy – literally to be jealous of another’s belongings
Slander – “speaking evil of another or defaming”
A person who refuses to set aside malice, and all deceit and hypocrisy, and envy and all slander is a
person whose relationships are going to be fractured. How do these evil behaviors adversely affect
relationships?
3
Application
A common theme throughout these verses of 1 Peter is the enduring quality of the things of God. Peter
said:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Our inheritance is enduring (v 4)
Our faith is enduring (v 9)
Our ransom will not perish (v 18-19)
God’s Word is enduring (v 23)
So what’s Peter’s message? What’s the point he’s making? The things of God last! As long as these
things last we can stand on these truths and NEVER fall. What’s the outcome? HOPE! Take a moment
to remind yourself of these things that last. Which one of these stirs your heart to HOPE in God?
When we believed in Jesus we received the seed of the Word of God – Peter wants to drive home this
point by reminding us that all other things will perish – but the Word remains. What does this
practically mean for those of us who are Christ followers? What place and role should God’s Word play
in our lives?
The foundation of right relationships is love and the prerequisite is casting aside those rotten things.
Are there impurities in your life which need to be filtered out? Could you make a commitment right
now to submit these impurities to the filter of God’s Word?
A fervent love is a love expressed. The Bible calls this agape love – love in action, love in motion, love
willing to take risks and chances. What are some very practical ways you can put agape love in action
this week? Is there a person or a cause that could use your fervent love?
When Peter references the Isaiah 40 passage (all flesh is like grass) he’s reminding us that the things of
this world are destined to perish. Have you ever taken account of the investments you’ve made in these
perishable things compared to the investments in those things which endure? What’s one decision you
can make this week to shift your investment strategy to things eternal?
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Healthy relationships require fervent love. In contrast relationship can be damaged by malice, and all
deceit and hypocrisy, and envy and all slander. Have you allowed these things to damage a
relationship? What steps can you take this week to deal with the hurt you may have caused and begin
anew a concerted effort to fervently love someone?
Prayer – taken from Isaiah 40:1-8
1
“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
“Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3
A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4
“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
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Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6
A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
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The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
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The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
2
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