Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us tonight for Bible study. Our Scripture is 1 Peter 1:22-2:3. Notes are attached. 

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

SEPTEMBER 23, 2026

1 Peter 1:22-2:3

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one

another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of

imperishable, through the living and abiding 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,

25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants,

long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted

that the Lord is good.

______________

vv 22-33

The central instruction in this long sentence (and, really, this passage) is: “Love one another

fervently.”a

This is the watermark, the evidence, of a people who belong to Christ. It is far, far from easy,

because this is all-encompassing in our living. How do we, as best as possible, love one

another fervently?

The case could be made that, in our present culture, “doctrine” has far overtaken love for one

another as the self-defining aspect of Christians groups.

May doctrines are very important—but agape love for God and for one another is the

supreme doctrine.

What precedes and follows is supportive of this central instruction. It observes what has, or should have,

taken place in the lives of the hearers such that they can “love one another fervently.”

v 22 – “Having purified your souls …”

From this we infer than our souls 1) are corrupted 2) need to be purified, and 3) it is a process

soul – psyché – soul, life, mind, soul, …our very being

purified from its sinfulness, a changed person

How are our souls purified?

“by your obedience to the truth …”

more lit. “in the obedience of the truth”

It is by obedience, not merely by being informed, that our souls are purified

truth – just a reminder, truth exists, and any claims to the contrary are, literally, nonsense

Resulting in what?

“for a sincere brotherly love …”

more lit. “unto a sincere brother love …”

a “earnestly” in ESV

2

this is the result of “the obedience of the truth”

“brotherly love” – philadelphia

Next (in the Greek word order):

“out of a pure heart”

We are to be honest, sincere—not manipulative or deceptive or scheming—with God and with

others.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”—Matthew 5:8

Having been prepared in this way:

“love one another fervently”

Again, this takes intentionality, work, commitment

It involves difficult questions at many layers and types of human relationships

v 23 – “since you have been born again …”

more lit. “having been born again”

Continuing to review their present condition and what has occurred to being them where they are

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the

kingdom of God.’”—John 3:3

This is a Biblical description of what happens to Christians—and what must happen for a person

to be a Christian

“not of perishable seed …”

Not a mere human existence, which is corruptible and will eventually decay

But we are born by something that is “imperishable”:

“through the living and abiding word of God.”

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”—Romans 10:17

God has so ordained it.

v 24-25 – “for ‘All flesh…’”

A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the LORD blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.—Isaiah 40:1-3

“And the word is the good news …”

What God has decreed is eternal

And the message of the gospel—the good news—is the word of God

It will not change. Ever.

2:1 – “So put away all malice …”

3

more lit. “Having put away all malice …”

Peter is still addressing the nature of loving one another fervently

All of these sins are interpersonal sins:

all malice, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speakings

Continuing to bear in mind that this is in all Christian relationships, not just how we act at

church!

v 2 – “like newborn infants …”

The image here is to have this level of desire –that of a newborn infant for milk

“long for the pure spiritual milk”

spiritual – logikon, from the mind, the Reason, of God; only here and in Romans 12:1

the truth of God, remembering we are to be obedient to that truth

“that by it …”

grow up into salvation does not mean gaining our salvation, it means becoming more mature in

Christ and experiencing more and more the fulness of all that salvation is and brings

v 3 – “if indeed you [pl.] have tasted …”

A rhetorical “if” – one hopes. Like saying, “If we are Christians, let’s do what Jesus says”

If you have indeed tasted that the Lord is good, then long to experience more and more of his

goodness and to know more and more of him.