Preached Sunday, March 10, 2013 from 1 Peter 2:1-3
Theme: This passage tells us the essential habits for genuine spiritual growth in Christ.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
For a long time now, I have had a tendency to think of the passing of time in my life in five-year increments. Why five years? I’m not sure; but I suppose it’s because that’s enough time for significant changes in someone’s life to have taken place; and for the results to have become fairly established.
The way it works is like this. At just about any time in my life, I’ll stop and look back to where I was in life five years ago—what I was doing, how I was looking, what was most important to me back then, how I was thinking; and most importantly, where I was in my walk with Jesus Christ—and compare it with how I’m doing today. Then I try to consider how I’ve changed in that amount of time. What am I doing differently now than I was doing five years ago? How have the trials and challenges I’ve experienced over the past five years made me to grow?
The many things that can change about us on the ‘outside’ over five years—the most noticeable things to the immediate observation—aren’t really all that important. The more important changes are the changes on the ‘inside’—changes in terms of our values and priorities; or in terms of our manner of speaking and relating to others; or in terms of our faith in and obedience to the Lord Jesus. I often ask myself, How have those past five years affected those things? Can it be said that I have genuinely “grown”—in measurable and positive ways?
And then, after thinking of those changes in the past five years, I look ahead. Should I—by God’s grace—still be here five years from now, what will I still be doing, or thinking, or valuing then? Will there be areas of sin in my life that God will have exposed and conquered by then that I don’t even realize are serious problems in my life right now? Will my understanding of the truths of the faith be greater and more accurate then than now? Will I be more mature?—more like Jesus? How will the books I’m reading, or the friends I’m keeping, or the decisions I’m making today, make me different then from what I am now? Will I be grateful for the things that the next five years are about to teach me? Will I be glad that—by God’s grace—I invested my time in those five years the way I did?
As I say, I don’t know why I do this—this whole business of thinking in five year segments. But I’m glad I do. And I hope it helps explain why I believe that this morning’s passage in 1 Peter is so important. It’s about “growth” in the most important area of our lives—our spiritual walk with the Lord Jesus. The apostle Peter had been talking in the later half of the first chapter about some key matters of our Christian walk; and in the first three verses of Chapter 2, he writes;
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1 Peter 2:1-3).
More than merely telling us something about the importance of spiritual growth, these three verses also tell us what is essential to that growth; so that five years from now—or ten, or thirty, or sixty, or however long God gives us on this earth—we who are followers of Jesus will truly have grown as our Lord wants us to.
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Now; let’s get it established at the very beginning that growth in the Christian life is normal and expected. If you have sincerely placed your faith in Jesus Christ, and you are genuinely indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then growth will follow. There is no such thing as a genuine, faithful, obedient believer in Jesus Christ who does not continually grow.
I say that because some folks, who profess a faith in Jesus, think they don’t really need to grow. It may be because they believe they have already walked with the Lord for so many years and through so many trials that there’s no more growing that needs to be done. Or it may be because they believe that, when they came to trust in Jesus Christ, they were already outstanding persons in the first place. And it’s certainly true that there are some who come to faith in Jesus Christ as people who are remarkably gifted and who have strong personalities to begin with. And it’s also certainly true that there are some of us who have walked with the Lord for many years, have made many of the mistakes that there are to be made, have repented of many of the sins that the rest of us are still struggling with, and who have made much more progress in their spiritual walk that those around them. But even they still have some growing to do.
In fact, I have come to believe—and many of you older and more mature brothers and sisters in Christ can confirm this, I’m sure—that the more mature and strong you are in the Lord Jesus, the more growing you realize there is yet to do! It’s as if the older you become in the Lord, the better your spiritual ‘eye-sight’ grows to be—and the more clearly you can see the things in your own life that aren’t what they should be. After all, the Christian life is not a matter of living out a mere “philosophy”. The Christian life is a matter of walking through life in fellowship with a wonderful Person—the Son of God Himself—through the ongoing ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And the more we get to know Him and seek to conform our lives to His will, the more He opens our eyes and allows us to see the ways that we’re not yet following Him as we should!
The apostle Paul would, I believe, say a hearty “Amen!” to that! If ever there was a man who we might not think needed to grow in his spiritual life, it would have been him! And yet, right in the middle of one of the most exalted expressions of spiritual maturity that you could find in the Bible—in Philippians 3—he added these words;
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:12-14).
And then he adds,
Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you (v. 15).
If even the great apostle Paul felt that he still had some growing to do, then how could we think that we don’t?
The Lord is good to us throughout this life-long process of growth. He loves us; and has a vested interest in that growth. He guides us and helps us along in it. And this morning’s passage shows some of the things that are essential to the spiritual growth that the Lord values so much in us.
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Now; we need to see this passage in its proper context. Look with me at the first word of 1 Peter 2. It’s the word “Therefore”; and it points our attention back to what the apostle Peter had just written.
In 1 Peter 1:22-25, he tells us;
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, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 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,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you (1 Peter 1:22-25).
In those words, you can see that Peter is assuming something very important about his readers. He is assuming that they had truly trusted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and—as a result—had ‘purified their souls’ for a ‘sincere love of the brethren’. In other words, he assumed that they had been ‘born again’ through the word of God and faith in the gospel.
That’s vital to keep in mind. Everything that Peter is about to tell us in our passage this morning assumes that that’s also true of us—that we have been born again. And so, before we go any further, I believe it’s crucial to stop and ask—Have you heard the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and genuinely believed on it? Have you truly been born again? Have you, as it were, come to the end of yourself, ceased to trust in the ‘fading flower’ of your own efforts to please God, placed your hope for eternity on the sacrifice that Jesus made for you on the cross, and now trust daily in the promises of God’s word that endure forever? Have you truly purified your soul through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ?
The things that Peter is about to tell us do not have to do with ‘obtaining’ salvation. Instead, they have to do with growth in a salvation that is already ‘obtained’. They assume that the reader has been ‘born again’. But someone can’t grow spiritually who isn’t even spiritually born yet! I hope you have decisively placed your trust in Jesus Christ and believed on Him for salvation—or that if you haven’t done so, you will do so today!
Apart from being born again, you absolutely cannot be saved—let alone ‘grow’ in a spiritual life that you do not yet have.
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So; if you have indeed placed your faith in Christ and are born again, look with me at this passage and see what it is that essential for growth in that new life.
First, we see that, in order to grow . . .
1. WE MUST LAY ASIDE WHAT HINDERS OUR GROWTH (v. 1).
Peter had already talked in the previous passage about loving one another fervently. Now he goes on to say, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby . . .” Just like taking off a set of dirty, smelly, ragged garments and laying them aside, he tells us that we need to lay certain things of the past life aside on order to grow in our new life in Christ.
Look carefully with me at this list of things that are to be laid aside. First, you see “malice”. That’s a word that describing an attitude of general ill-will toward someone else—an attitude of hatred toward anyone who gets in the way of our love for ourselves. It’s the opposite of love. Malice can be taken as the broad category into which the others fall. It needs to go.
Second, you see “deceit”. And I believe this word means more than simply trying to fool people. The idea of fooling others, it seems to me, is covered in the next word “hypocrisy”. The actual meaning behind the Greek word that’s translated “deceit” is that of setting a bait that traps something. I believe it’s conveying the idea of manipulating other people for our own selfish ends. I believe it speaks of trapping people through ‘guilt-trips’, and playing ‘head-games’ with others in order to make them do what we want. That too needs to go.
The third word is “hypocrisy”. In ancient times, this word was used in a positive way—that is, to describe an actor in a play who spoke his or her lines and performed from behind a mask. In time, it came to be a metaphor for someone who pretends to be something that they’re not—putting on the image that fools others into thinking that they have a spirituality or a moral purity that they don’t really possess. Sadly, many of us have become quite skilled in the art of this kind of hypocrisy. But it too must go.
The fourth word, “envy”, refers to the whole attitude of resentment that we would have toward someone because they have something that we don’t have. It’s an attitude of jealousy toward their successes or blessings. This is yet another thing that must go.
And finally, Peter speaks of “evil speaking” or “slander”. This is simply the matter of taking badly about someone else, or tearing them down in order to elevate ourselves. It would included gossip and tale-bearing. It would even include that terrible thing we do to others when we say, “I’m sharing this with you about so-and-so, but simply as a matter of prayer . . .”—when we know good and well that we’re really not concerned about prayer at all! This too is to go.
Now; these are, you might say, the ‘dirty old garments’ of our old life apart from Jesus Christ. They were the ways we tried to get by before we were saved. But we’re to take them off and lay them aside. We’re to lay aside “all” of them. The word “all” appears three times! We must not keep hold of any aspect of them in our lives. And the reason we must do so is because, so long as we continue to be characterized by such things, we cannot grow spiritually. We do wrong to others by them—others that the Lord Jesus Himself also loves.
If we want to grow, and to be more of what the Lord wants us to be five years from now, then we must begin right now by laying aside these sinful attitudes that hinder such growth.
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Now; I would suggest that if you think you don’t really need to “grow”, all you’ve got to do is take an inventory of presence of those five things in your life. If you do, you’ll conclude very quickly that you actually have a lot of growing to do.
And that leads us pretty easily into the next thing we must do . . .
2. WE MUST VIEW OURSELVES AS THOSE IN NEED OF GROWTH (v. 2a).
Look at how Peter tells us this. He says “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word . . .” That’s how Peter calls us to look at ourselves—as simply “newborn babes” in Christ with a lot of growing to do.
Now; I don’t believe that’s meant primarily to suggest to us how immature we are. It does do that, I suppose. The apostle Paul once spoke to the Corinthian believers that way. They were fighting among themselves with all the sorts of things that we just read about ‘laying aside’. They weren’t behaving “spiritually” toward one another at all. Paul wrote and said;
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).
They were behaving like a bunch of babies who were stuck in their immaturity; and who couldn’t yet handle good, solid spiritual food. But I don’t believe that that’s the primary reason that Peter calls us “newborn babes” in our passage this morning. Rather, I believe he meant to stress the reality of our need. The thing that’s most characteristic of a newborn is that he or she is alive and precious and beautiful; but is also in desperate need of growth.
And I believe we help ourselves greatly in our own growth if we accept that we truly need to grow. You can’t grow if you believe you have already ‘arrived’ and need no growth. But if you know that you are still as far away from where you should be in your walk with Jesus Christ as a small, newborn infant is from the life of a full-grown, mature adult, then you can grow!
If you look at where you are right now, and think of where you should be five years from now in your walk with the Lord, you’ll recognize that you truly do need to grow.
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What’s more; when you sincerely know that you need to grow, you also become humble and receptive toward that which will help you grow. And so, Peter goes on to tell us that . . .
3. WE MUST CRAVE THAT WHICH PROMOTES OUR GROWTH (v. 2b).
I’ll admit that it’s been a while since we’ve had babies in our home. But one thing I remember clearly is that, when they’re hungry, they let you know. They want their food now!—and there’s no reasoning with them about it. Well; like them—as newborn babes in Christ—we are to “desire the pure milk of the word . . .” We’re to “crave” it!
Now; the way this portion of verse 2 is translated in my Bible may be a little different from the way it’s translated in yours. The New International Version, for example, translates this, “crave pure spiritual milk”. This is because there’s a word in this passage—the word logikos—that can be translated in a couple of different ways.
One way that it can be translated is as if it were speaking of the written word of God—the logos. That’s because the word logikos could speak of that which is a logical or rational expression. Perhaps you recognize that we get our English word “logical” from it. And if we took it to be speaking of the word of God, it would make perfect sense; because Peter had just spoken of the word of God just a verse or two before this one. That’s how it’s understood in the translation I’m using; that is, “the pure milk of the word”—the revealed word of God that is the logical and rational expression of God to us; and which transforms us and makes us grow in our thinking and in our action.
But another way it can be translated is “spiritual”. And that’s the way that the New International Version has it; “pure spiritual milk”—the necessary nourishment for our souls. But even if that were the correct translation, I think we should take it that Peter is speaking of the “pure milk of the word”—which, indeed, is “spiritual”, and that is empowered by the Holy Spirit, and that brings about spiritual transformation in our lives. That word is everything that the apostle Paul said it was;
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Now; as newborn babes, Peter stresses that we need good nourishment. One reason we may not grow as we should is because we don’t take in enough of God’s word. We need our milk in order to grow; which, for us, is God’s own word.
But you’ll also notice that Peter said it is “pure”. There’s nothing mixed in with it. Another of the reasons we may not grow as we should as Christians is because we try to supplement our nourishment with the wrong things—the ideas and values of this world that are passed on to us in various ways; by movies or television or books or music or websites or seminars or talk-shows. We have to be discerning. We have to make sure what we take in and build our spiritual growth on is the “pure”, “pasteurized” milk of God’s word—milk that is not mixed with anything harmful.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; make it your habit to read and study from God’s word daily. Get into the practice of reading all the way through the Bible. And then, be very careful what else you listen to. Test everything and evaluate everything by the sure word of God.
When it comes to your spiritual walk, you are what you eat! Make sure you only take in the good spiritual nourishment that will help you grow into a faithful follower of Jesus.
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Peter then tells us that . . .
4. WE MUST EXPECT NOURISHMENT TO RESULT IN GROWTH (v. 2c).
He writes; “desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby . . .” It’s not only necessary for our growth; but when we take it in as we should, we can expect to grow.
Now; once again, some of you may notice a little difference in our translations. Some Bibles have it that we may “grow up in our salvation”. Those words “in our salvation” or “to salvation”—or, as it is in the original language, “unto salvation”—are not in some of the ancient copies of the New Testament. But they are present in the better copies; and I believe we should consider them legitimate. The nourishment we receive from God’s word is meant to help us grow up “unto salvation”.
But let’s make sure we understand that correctly. It’s not that we read the Bible—and do the other things we should to—in order to grow up into a state of being saved! Our salvation is already purchased for us through the blood of Jesus Christ; and we are saved by grace through faith. But even though it’s true that we’re completely saved in sense that our sins are washed away and we’re going to be in heaven, that doesn’t mean we are experiencing the full dimensions of our salvation here and now. God not only saves us from the sins of our past, and unto fully glory in the future; but He also saves us to live a godly life in everyday experience!
The growing process is ongoing. God purposes that we will be more like His Son five years from now—and beyond—than we are today. And so, we must lay aside the old works of the flesh from the past, recognize that we are merely newborn babes in our walk who have a great deal of growing to do, and make sure that we crave the good nourishment of God’s word. And if we do so, we can expect to truly “grow thereby” in respect to our salvation.
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And finally, notice that . . .
5. WE MUST LOOK FORWARD JOYFULLY TO THE PROSPECT OF GROWTH (v. 3).
I love how Peter closes this exhortation. It is both a challenge and an encouragement. He writes that we are to desire the pure milk of the word that we may grow thereby; “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
This is something that Peter is taking directly from the Old Testament—from Psalm 34:8; where King David wrote;
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8).
When I think of this, I think of the little baby boy or girl that might not like the food they’re being given. They sit in the high-chair and fuss—pushing it away with their hand. They don’t want it—until, of course, they taste it. And then, they love it; because they have tasted that it is good.
And that’s the way it is with the Lord. We may not like the idea of growth itself. Growth is painful; and often, the things that are necessary for our growth are things we don’t want. We see them coming and we are tempted to push them away. But if we’ve already tasted of the Lord, then we already know how good He is to us. We’ve already discovered how blessed we become whenever we trust Him. And so, having tasted of the goodness of the Lord, we don’t have to be afraid of growing. We can accept growth. In fact, we can be thrilled with the prospect of it; because we know that the One who is making us grow loves us very much and does us nothing but good.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; this passage shows us the things we need to do to grow; so that in time to come—say, five years from now; Lord willing—we will be much more like Jesus than we are today.
Let’s embrace these things then; and grow.