First Epistle of Peter
THE LIFE-GIVING WORD
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:23 (KJV)
"Being born again"
This is the second time in our epistle we have the new birth suggested. In verse three, it is said that we are "begotten again" through the Father. Here, the Word is spoken of as the medium of our new birth. What is the new birth anyway? It is the implanting of a new life. Without the Word, we would never receive this new birth. Without the Word, we would not know we were sinners, and needed it at all. Without the Word, we would know nothing of our being able to obtain it through trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the preaching or reading of the Word, by the help of the Spirit, one becomes convicted of his sin. Then as he hears or reads of Christ, he feels his need of Him. The Word shows how Christ died to pay for his sin, and how that through Christ, his sins can be forgiven. He comes in contact with the Lord through the Word of God, realizing that he is a sinner, but desiring to be a servant of the Lord, he repents and confesses the name of Jesus being baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, to be raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6). Of course, experiences vary, and the portion of Scripture the Spirit uses may be different, but always, as the sinner and the Savior meet, and the sinner believes and obeys the Lord and is born again, the Spirit imparts the new life.
The new birth is a miracle. In fact, every birth is a miracle. A young man once spoke with a soldier about the Bible. The soldier said he did not believe in the Bible miracles. The young Christian told him that the world was full of miracles and that he was looking right at a miracle. The reply, "What do you mean, me?" "Yes". The soldier smiled and said, "I’m no miracle. Once I was an egg and now I’m a man." "But isn't that a miracle?" "No", he said, "that would mean that every chicken is a miracle." "Right you are, every chicken is a miracle." He thought the young Christian was a bit off, but nevertheless it’s the truth. Every birth is a miracle. And the greatest miracle is the new birth, whereby a human being becomes "partaker of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4). This is stupendous.
"not of corruptible seed"
Here the Word of God is likened unto seed. Seed is a wonderful thing. You can hold in your hand some seeds of grain. You can put them in the ground. In the time of harvest you will have far more than you can hold in both hands. You can plant all these seeds again and then when next harvest comes around, a bushel basket will not hold it all. After a number of years, you could have enough to feed thousands. How little like a radish, a radish seed looks, but if it is a radish seed, it will not produce a turnip, but a radish. When you hold an acorn in your hand, you hold a potential forest. The seed of an animal or of human is wonderful too.
However, all these seeds will rot and what they produce will rot. They are corruptible. No doubt, the apostle is especially thinking of human seed. Human seed is subject to corruption, and that which it produces is subject to death and corruption. As sure as we are living, if the Lord does not come in our lifetime, we will die physically.
"but of incorruptible"
The Word of God is called incorruptible seed. Just the moment a heart is really opened up to receive it, it germinates and produces a life that will never die. It is a life-giving seed. Sometimes, this seed will lie dormant in a human mind for years before the heart is opened to receive it.
The story is told of a man who, on his hundredth birthday, walked through a field of ripened grain. He thought to himself, "this grain is about ready for the reaper", and then, "and I am about ready for the reaper, too. I wonder what the reaper thinks of me?" Then, as he thought on the many sins of his long life, he concluded that the reaper could not think much of him. This disturbed him but he remembered some Bible verses and John 3:16 came back to him. That word "whosoever" gave him hope. He could still be saved even after 100 years of sin. So that day, on his one hundredth birthday, out in a field of ripened grain, that seed of the Word of God got into his old heart and he was baptized, contacting the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, being raised to walk in newness of life (Acts 2 and Rom. 6).
"by the word of God"
Peter here calls the Scriptures "the Word of God." Some these days question this, but the Scripture everywhere claims this for itself. We find this all through the Old Testament as well as through the new. Already in Genesis 1:3 we read the expression "and God said." We find similar expressions all the way through. In the New Testament, we have Christ appearing on the scene. He claimed to be the "Son of God" and spoke with the authority of God Himself. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God", and Peter says in his second epistle 1:21, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." It is interesting to note that Peter claims that Paul's writings were also the Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:16).
One of the greatest proofs that the Bible is truly the Word of God is the fact that it transforms human lives. The most wicked men are changed into saints. There are many illustrations along this line. Through the Internet, the door has now opened to many millions of souls around the world.
"which liveth"
Some have thought that the expression "which liveth and abideth forever" referred rather to God than to the Word. However, when we read verses 24 and 25 (quotations from Is. 40:6-8), we conclude that they refer, like the rest of the verse, to the Word of God.
Truly the Bible is a living book. It can speak to human hearts like no other book. No matter what one's age, or condition, or circumstances, it has something to say to them. It enlightens the darkened, it comforts the sorrowing, it directs the saint. It has, what the world would call, an uncanny way of bringing to the exercised one, just the right Scripture at just the right time.
"thou hast lacked nothing"
Yes, the Lord speaks to His own through His Word, as a friend would to a friend.
"abideth forever"
Men have tried all down through the ages to get rid of the Word of God, but it stands like a rock undaunted. Many a child of God has been executed for possessing a copy. Homes have been searched, and all copies found, burned. Every conceivable artifice was used to get rid of them, but it did not work.
Fools have ridiculed it, and atheists have lectured against it. One famous atheist, Voltaire, said that in fifty years not a Bible would be left, except perhaps in some rich man's coal cellar. Over a hundred years later they were putting thousands of Bibles in the very building in which he made that statement.
Will there be Bibles in heaven? Certainly we will all understand it better than we do now. Surely we will discover then that even the best Bible students had just begun to scratch the surface of the power and knowledge it contained.
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:24 (KJV)
This verse, together with verse 25, is a quotation from Isaiah 40:6 and 8. Here all earthly life is contrasted with the Word of the Lord. Everything earthly passes away, but "the Word of the Lord endureth forever."
"For all flesh is as grass...the grass withereth"
How beautiful is the spring time with its new grass, new leaves on the trees, the new crops springing up in the fields. As sure though as spring comes, so will fall and winter; the grass will wither, the trees shed their leaves, and the crops will disappear off the field.
All flesh is like that whether animal or human. It is born, it grows, it lives, it dies. A new little child is born into a family. The child is so sweet, and is growing every second. The parents wonder what the future will hold for the child. They know next to nothing about it. One thing that one can be sure of is this: if the child does not one day come to Christ in obedience to His Word, the accountable soul will be lost eternally.
Some live many years and finally died. Methuselah lived 969 years but he died. So goes all of us, sooner or later.
How wise the man that is prepared for this eventuality; how foolish the one that lives as though he was never going to die. It is even wise for Christians to bear constantly in mind that they soon, very soon, may be in the presence of the Lord. Let us live as though we may have to give an account today.
"and all the glory of man as the flower of grass...the flower thereof falleth away"
What a beautiful thing a flower is and how wonderful. It shows the matchless wisdom of our Lord, and His wonderful sense of beauty. We look at the beautiful flowers and we know that heaven will be a place of beauty beyond compare. The Lord Jesus says "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matt. 6:28, 29).
With all their loveliness, how soon they pass away. Some last a few weeks, some a few days, some only a few hours. This is like the glory of man, it soon passes away.
Here is a beautiful lady. Folks run after her and made much of her. But soon age takes its toll and finally death. Her beauty is gone.
Here is a rich man. Owner of a big corporation. Professed friends flock around. Money buys every desired material thing. But "riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Prov. 23:5). And what value are riches in the day of death?
Here is a wise man. He is sought after as a counselor. Students gather around to learn of his wisdom. He is honored and extolled. The wisest man admitted that all was vanity (Eccl. 2:15). If a man is not wise unto salvation, what does his wisdom advantage him in that solemn day of death?
Here is a highly honored man. Here is a president, a king, a general. Newspapers mention his name. He is extolled and honored and made high. However, he soon loses his position by election or death and with it goes his glory. How many visit today the cemetery of former president Coolidge for instance?
Knowing these things, how foolish to seek far earthly glory. Yet many, for these things, will pass by salvation. And many a child of God too, will suffer loss eternally, because he thought earthly glory more important than the honor of God. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things (earthly necessities) shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:25 (KJV)
"But the word of the Lord endureth forever"
Here the Word of the Lord is contrasted with all flesh. Everything in this world that has life, will see death, but not the Word of the Lord. It endures. The Lord Jesus says, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). This, He said over 1900 years ago and His words are still in existence. However, not only what He said while here on earth are His Words, but the whole Bible is composed of His Words. None of it shall ever pass away. How wise we are to go in for knowing the Bible and living according to it. It is the difference between going in for things that live or things that die.
"and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
Why does Peter add this phrase? In our day the New Testament, by some, is held to be on a much higher plane than the Old. Some seldom ever read the Old Testament, and hardly seem to consider it part of the Bible. In Peter's time, it was just the reverse. Many, especially the Jews, highly venerated the Old Testament believing it to be the very Word of the Lord. The New Testament was just being composed and there was a tendency to consider them merely as the writings of John, Paul, Peter, etc. Here, Peter is seeking to impress upon his readers that the New Testament and the preaching of the gospel from it, was equally the Word of the Lord along with the Old Testament.
"the gospel is preached unto you."
We need to say a few words about preaching the Gospel. Sad to say, some so-called preachers, do not even know what the gospel is, to say nothing of preaching it. Folks will not be saved apart from preaching the gospel. The apostle Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth" (Rom. 1:16). A church without an evangelistic spirit is sure to die out.
What is the gospel? It is the good news of salvation through the work of Christ on the cross. It is the story of His death, burial and resurrection. With this must be preached the seriousness of sin, the necessity of repentance toward God, and trust and obedience toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many have no idea as to what is for the unsaved and what is for the saved in the Scriptures. Some are sadly confused as to the place of good works. Remember, good works do not produce or even help to produce salvation (Eph. 2:8, 9). However, salvation does produce good works (Eph. 2:10).
