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Peter is exhorting his followers to let the abiding Spirit of Christ have full rein in their
lives, to let no part of the old nature regain a hold which would bring again impurity into
their souls. Where the Spirit of Christ rules their lives, their love towards their brethren
will be in harmony with the will of God. There will be no element of mixed or selfish
intentions in that love, neither will it be lukewarm.
"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The
grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth
for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1: 24, 25).
We have come to the end of the first chapter of Peter's first epistle, not that there was
any break here in the original. What a deep and powerful letter it is. When we think
Peter after the crucifixion turning back to his old trade saying "I go a fishing"
(John.xxi.3), and yet here carrying out the words of his Master "feed My sheep!" Peter
was almost following in the steps of the prophet Isaiah who he quotes in verse 24. Isaiah
(chapter 40:) writes "Comfort ye comfort My people". Then in verses 3-5 the coming of
the glory of the Lord is announced. "The voice said Cry." The words Isaiah was to cry
were to the effect that while the days of man passed quickly as the grass of the field the
word of the Lord endured for ever. Peter catches up these mighty words of the prophet
Isaiah adding for his readers "the fulfillment of them" "And this is the word which the
gospel is preached unto you".
No.4.
Chapter 2:
pp. 237 - 240
"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile and hypocrisies, and envies, and all
evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow
thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (I Pet. 2: 1-3).
Peter now emphasizes the need to grow and the kind of food that these new believers
required. Peter refers to them as newborn babes having in mind their being born of God.
Our Lord stressed the need of a believer coming to the kingdom of heaven having cast
aside the accretion and guile of the world and having again the pure innocent mind of a
child ready to receive and embrace the attitudes and virtues of the gospel. Peter lists
some of the likely evils that they needed to discard: malice (a vicious disposition); guile
("subtle" from a Latin word, sub = under and tela = a web. This is a device much used
by Satan and his dupes to trap and deceive. It can assume the form of misuse of the
Word to teach error to the ignorant and unwary).
In contrast to the list of evil qualities they were to turn to the basic and foundation
truths of the Word of God as a proper response to the gracious Pentecostal gift or gifts
they had received as believers, referred to by Peter as a foretaste of greater blessings.
Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews also uses the figure of milk (Heb. 5: 13) but his
exhortation is not to stay on a milk diet but proceed to meat and solids. So many
evangelist efforts today provide the milk but either fail to see the need to pass on to meat