MESSAGE IN 1PETER – NUMBER 4 – BORN AGAIN THROUGH THAT WHICH IS IMPERISHABLE, BUT WHAT IS IT? – 1Peter 1:23
[A]. INTRODUCTION – BIRTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Some people are so delighted when they become grandparents for the first time. They are seeing the continuation of their imprint on human life, and have you not noticed how the grandchildren are so often like the grandparents? I find that impressive. Birth is a remarkable culmination of months of development and often referred to a miracle. Some may have seen the excellent documentaries now available showing the foetal development from conception to birth, that very aspect of creation abortionists want to destroy. What a glorious testimony to the great power of God the creation of human life is. Birth in the physical sense indeed is profound, but so too is the new birth in a reprobate life.
Birth is a continuous cycle according to the great master design of God. It is also according to His command given here – {{Genesis 1:24-25 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind,” and it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind, and God saw that it was good.}} However when man was created God said to our original fore parents – {{Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”}}
God never intended death to be the master in His creation. That came about through man’s acceptance of sin and is the reason creation is filled with such sorrow. We see as the result of that, birth and death; birth and death constantly. Mankind loves its sin and repentance is the last thing a natural man will ever pursue. If it was not for the intervention of God, man would have continued his downward rush into chaos.
We can not go back into our mothers’ wombs and be reborn in the hope that we turn out to be better people because we would come out the same way – born in sins and iniquity, no better than the first time. Therefore there has to be a better way, a completely new birth of a supernatural origin. We know our physical incapability to do that so we have to recognise and accept the means God has to do such a thing. He has done it and at great cost.
[B]. EXAMINATION OF THE NEW BIRTH
The Lord Jesus in no uncertain way spoke of the necessity of a new birth for every human being when discoursing one night with Nicodemus. Then He stated that this regeneration has its origins from above, but without it, no one would enter heaven. John chapter 3 is so vitally important in explaining what this new birth is. The regeneration through the new birth is in the spiritual arena, and spiritual people understand it. The unconverted think it is silly, stupid, foolishness, but God knew they would say that – {{1Corinthians 1:18 “The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”}} {{1Corinthians 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness”}}
All of us were born with spirits dead to God but alive to wickedness. Only God can change that. It is necessary we understand it, for the confusion that reigns today in church circles is partly caused by the neglect to teach what the new birth is. Most conservative Christians speak about being born again but so many churches neglect that or don’t believe in it, and think church rituals and programs and constitutions are what the faith is all about. We can not dismiss even for a minute, the whole truth of the bible.
That is a betrayal of the word of God and it is the bible that will be our judge in the coming day. How dreadful to hear the words – {{Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practise lawlessness’.”}}
Born again means to be born into God’s family, to have the rights of sonship and inheritance. It is not living in the servants’ quarters or in some father’s house. Born again Christians live in the Father’s house as His own very sons and daughters. That is a privilege we must never take for granted, but all the time, consider the cost of our salvation that was the suffering and death of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I think it is very pivotal that we remain close to the Lord. In the last message we looked at deviation, the condition where we can depart from the Lord, even a little bit, but not notice it. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts was the theme we looked at there, for once we start to walk in devious or questionable ways, our born again status begins to fate. The saddest thing of all is when people deviate so much that they then have no desire to repent or return to the Lord.
Peter through the Holy Spirit sheds light on the operation of this new birth, allowing us to understand it more, and we are grateful to God for His instruction. In the second posting in this series in 1Peter, we saw that this new birth had its origin in the mercy of God, which itself, is an outflow of the love of God. God’s mercy (His kindness) to us is parallel to the Samaritan man who stooped down in compassion to lift up a beaten man in great need and to carry him to a place of restoration and then have him cared for.
The Lord lifts up the man beaten up by sin and vileness and tenderly restores him. He creates a new person of that hopeless case. He creates him anew. God is the great “Rebirther”! If any person is in Christ Jesus he is a new creation. “Creation” is the better word, for God creates him/her anew. From sin to righteousness; from deadness to life; from despair to hope; from sadness to joy. New people in God.
[C]. NOW WE COME TO OUR THEME VERSE FOR THIS MESSAGE - BORN AGAIN TO A LIVING HOPE – 1PETER 1:23
{{1Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”}} NASB. Some of us will remember an old Sunday School chorus that derives from an old hymn:
Mercy there was great and grace was free.
Pardon there was multiplied to me.
There my burdened heart found liberty -
At Calvary.
My burdens were lifted through God’s pardon. My liberty was my regeneration. My regeneration was from God’s mercy. Now Peter moves his readers to a further understanding of the new birth:-
{{1Peter 1:23 “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.”}}
It is stated that the new birth is the fruit of the imperishable seed. That teaches us that this operation is everlasting and divine in quality; it also means the seed itself was eternal. But Peter does not let it hang there as a mystery, but qualifies the nature of the regenerative seed which he declares is the living and abiding word of God. There is so much in this one verse.
This is the second time in this letter Peter uses the word “living.” There is a living hope we studied earlier and a living word now in this verse. The implication behind using the word “living” is that “hope” and the “word of God” are active and effectual and growing as all life grows. What makes the word of God effectual? The Holy Spirit who applies the word in convicting and drawing power is the One who activates this living word.
Peter speaks of “the word of God” and there is no doubt he means the scriptures. The scriptures of the early church were the books of the Old Testament, not so much the New Testament as very little of it was in circulation and more was to be written. Even two days ago a story was shared with me of a place that was told, “The Old Testament is too difficult and not relevant because it does not mention Jesus Christ.” How short sighted can one be.
Do you recall this verse – {{Luke 24:27 “and beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”}} Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament so starting there, then moving to the Psalms and the Prophets, Jesus explained the scriptures concerning Himself, but He did only a fraction of the references because there are many hundreds of them. People who do not study the Old Testament or do not preach on it are doing a disservice to the Lord. It is His word so let us honour the Lord in the study of His provided word.
A number of you would know the saying, when talking about the bible, “The New is in the Old concealed and the Old is by the New revealed.” Both Testaments dovetail perfectly as the entire God-inspired scriptures breathed by the Holy Spirit.
Make no mistake about it. There can be no regeneration of the human soul in any person’s life which is dead to God, without the operation of the word of God. Therefore a preacher must be aware of the importance of the quickening word in preaching. The absence of that is what makes the social gospel so spurious and dead but the devil’s tares are increasing. The easy believeism of mega churches is just as bad.
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts and reveals the Lord and edifies the Christian, but He won’t be able to do that without being able to apply God’s word. Never neglect the bible.
I do not know why some churches are reluctant to preach on the new birth. It is true that some think Confirmation or other rituals are more important, but people can go through Confirmation and not be born again at all.
Additionally, this regenerative word is also termed the “abiding word” by Peter. That is a comforting thought, for the very Scriptures that gave rise to the new birth, are the ones that continue with us to develop the regenerated life. Having begun with the Scriptures, it is vain to think we can continue to progress without them. The Scriptures are essential for the whole Christian life - birth, development, maturing and consummation. Peter directly states this to be the case:-
[D]. LONGING FOR THE PURE MILK OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH. MOST ESSENTIAL
{{1 Peter 2:2 “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”}}
(a). Here we have a threefold teaching. Firstly, the milk of the word is pure (AV = “sincere”), better is the translation “unadulterated”. This is the purest food God can give us. It is as essential for a new born Christian to feed on the Word as for a physically born baby to feed on its mother’s milk. God feeds to the necessary level.
I continue to be amazed some 60 years down the track of my Christian life with the material I am given in the bible. When 18 or that sort of age I thought I understood the passage well enough but now there is more and more coming out of those words. It is like a gold mine that has a gold seam going tight to the centre of the earth. You go deeper and deeper and still there is more.
(b). Secondly, the word for desire is “long for” (AV = desire). That indicates a deep, fully committed longing that can only be satisfied by being granted. A baby will bawl its lungs out, go red, shake its arms and legs because of the craving for a feed. That same attitude should be in evidence in a Christian.
[[The word for “desire” here is a strong word – “get an appetite for it”. Bengel is perhaps right when he says on “newborn babes,” “It is their only occupation, so strong is their desire for it.” (Ellicott)]]
[[Desire the sincere milk of the word - The pure milk of the word. On the meaning of the word "sincere," see the notes at Ephesians 6:24. The Greek word here (ad???? - adolon) means, properly, that which is without guile or falsehood; then unadulterated, pure, genuine. The Greek adjective rendered "of the word," (??????`? logikon,) means properly rational, pertaining to reason, or mind; and, in the connection here with milk, means that which is adapted to sustain the soul. (Barnes)]]
If only young Christians would earnestly seek to know the bible and grow closer to the Lord, then so much of the shallowness we have in churches would disappear. If only those who stand in pulpits to speak would immerse themselves in the true word of God, being brought up on the pure milk of the word but now feasting on the wholesome meat of the word, then churches would change dramatically. If only those in churches were sincere about their faith and not just pay lip service to it; ones who have desired the true milk of the word and have grown up into mature men and women in Christ, then we would see such a difference.
Sadly these are the times of Laodicea where people rule churches and institutions, and not God. In too many places the Christian faith has been prostituted; watered down, adulterated, so no longer is the pure milk available. I remember a time when we got milk directly from dairy farms, 100% milk, and the cream had settled on the top. Now it comes in plastic containers or cardboard packets with all sorts of procedures done to it and watered down. That is exactly what has happened to the preaching and teaching of the bible.
[E]. WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING
(c). Thirdly, the purpose of this longing for the milk of the word is for growth in respect to salvation. It does not mean that salvation is yet to be obtained by working for that result. It means that in regard to all three aspects of salvation, the word of God is essential. What did Paul mean when he said this? – {{Philippians 2:12-13 “My beloved, so then just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”}}
Working out one’s salvation has nothing to do with working for salvation. We can’t work for salvation as it is a free gift through faith. Working “through” one’s salvation and working to establish it through the Lord, we must do. We are not just floating jellyfish in a sea of humanity. We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings and we must work in His kingdom and make sure our own faith is established and that we help others in their faith as well. You can’t help anyone unless you are fixed in the faith, unmovable, and can grasp and hold those being swept among by instability.
Have you ever heard that your faith has three tenses? Well, it does – past, present and future.
[1]. The past tense relates to being saved from the penalty of sin at the new birth. Sin leads to death and if your sins are not covered by Christ's sacrifice on the cross then you are in mortal danger of passing into a lost eternity. Salvation is when you come to Him for forgiveness and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Then your sins HAVE BEEN taken away; the PENALTY removed from you because the Lord took your penalty.
[2]. The present tense. The Christian life is not a rosy bed of luxury with all your problems solved. In fact for some people, that is when the problems begin. You will come under attack because you belong to Jesus. Satan hates that and attacks the children of God. Also we still have the old nature that wants to rule our lives and pull us down into the cesspool of sin. Daily WE ARE BEING SAVED from the power of sin on this earth. The Holy Spirit gives you the power to become overcomers and to walk in victory.
[3]. The future tense. Lastly we have a most beautiful aspect of salvation. It is when we ARE GOING TO BE SAVED from the very presence of sin when we are in the Lord’s presence. One day all those who are truly the Lord’s will be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ where there is no sin or even the slightest imperfection whatever. O, for that blessed time when we shall be like Jesus because we shall see Him as He is. Don’t you long for that time when your salvation is complete for all eternity?
Saved from sin’s penalty; being saved from the power of sin on this earth; and finally, saved from any presence or remembrance of sin!
What a lovely situation the Lord Jesus has brought us into, but sadly so many do not know that, or have responded to the grace of God. If you perchance read this and have never come to Christ to thank Him for dying in your place, and asking for His forgiveness, then please come. By faith you will be saved and made to be a child of the king.
Let us long for the unadulterated word of God that we might grow in regards to salvation. Feast yourself on the word of God for it will establish you in the storms of our present age that are increasing. God bless you all.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
