LOVING THE BRETHREN-I—1Peter 1:22—2:12
Attention:
In our study of 1Peter we have examined the fact that Christians are...
CONSIDERED ALIEN(:1-2)...
We've also discovered:
WHAT’s So GREAT About GOD—(:3-12)
And found out some means of...
UNLEASHING Your SPIRITUAL VITALITY/Vigor—(:13-21)
Today we’re going to begin applying the above truths toward LOVING THE BRETHREN(1:22—2:12).
Peter exhorted the aliens to love their brothers & sisters in Christ as they were also loved by God.
Christians are to love as they are loved by God.
How are Christians to live out God’s love?
Encounters thru which Christians are to live-out God’s love.
1—God’s love is lived out thru an encounter with...
CLEANSING(:22a)
Explanation:(:22a)
:22—“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,”
Purity—Begins with obedience
Obedience—begins with the truth(word & voice)
Sincerity—begins with purity
Fervency—Begins with sincerity
Being obedient is manifested by one’s having “purified” his “soul.”
This purification is a personal work wrought thru a disciplined commitment to the truth that Jesus’ power in His Holy Spirit must be engaged to circumvent the desires of the flesh, thru cleansing of the soul.
“Purified”—agnizw—1)To make pure, purify, or cleanse either ceremonially or morally. Strong—To make clean, i.e. figuratively--Sanctify(ceremonially or morally). Used 7X.
“Souls”(See 2:11)—quch—1)Breath—1a) The breath of life—1a1) The vital force which animates the body & shows itself in breathing, 1b) Life, 1c) That in which there is life; 2) The soul—2a) The seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions(our heart, soul etc.), 2b) The (human)soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end & secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life, 2c) The soul as an essence which differs from the body(distinguished from other parts of the body). Strong—Breath, i.e. by implication--Spirit, abstractly or concretely(the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from pneuma, which is the rational & immortal soul; & on the other from zwh, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew vpn, xwr & yx). From —qucw—meaning ‘to breathe.’
Argumentation:
2Pet. 1:5-9—“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, & to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours & abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, & has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
Js. 4:7-10—“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament & mourn & weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning & your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, & He will lift you up.”
Isa. 1:14-17—“Your New Moons & your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.”
Illustration:
Computer chip manufacturing—Much cleaner environment than a surgical operating room in a hospital—Uber-clean—Dust free—Impurity free/Even one speck of dust from one hair of your head in the works causes the works to quit working as desired!/All employees in contact with the machinery are uniquely hooded, gloved, & booted—No part of their body can be exposed/Much of the process takes place in sealed chambers using robotics/“Computer chips are only about the size of a fingernail, yet contain hundreds of millions of transistors, not to mention all the wiring needed to connect those transistors into a working machine & connect it to a motherboard & the rest of the world.”/PURITY
Used Dishes—Dirty/Why wash them?—Harmful bacteria/Make you sick/PURITY
My salvation experience/Realization of filth & depravity of sin/PURITY needed
Application:
?What has Your encounter with CLEANSING yielded?
?You exhibit God’s love?
2—God’s love is lived out thru an encounter with...
OBEDIENCE(:22b)
Explanation:(:22b)
:22—“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,”
Purity—Begins with obedience
Obedience—begins with the truth(word & voice)
Sincerity—begins with purity
Fervency—Begins with sincerity
“Obeying” is manifested by one’s having “purified” his/her “soul”.
Upon knowing the “truth,” one is to be about the business of “obeying” it.
“The truth”—One!...There are many false truths!
?How do we know the truth?...
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
How & Why & this obedience is actually accomplished is “through the Spirit.”
The Spirit is ‘onboard’(ever-present guarantee of God) to bring conviction to the “soul” regarding personal sin & speak to the core of your being(“soul”) reminding you of God’s word thru Jesus.
Jn. 16:7-15—“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, & of righteousness, & of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father & you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; & He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine & declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine & declare it to you.”
“Obeying/Obedience”—upakoh—1) Obedience, compliance, submission; 2) Obedience rendered to anyone's counsels, an obedience shown in observing the requirements of Christianity. Strong—Attentive hearkening, i.e. by implication--Compliance or submission. “Truth”—alhyeia—1) objectively—1a) What is true in any matter under consideration, 1b) What is true in things appertaining to God & the duties of man, moral & religious truth, 1c) The truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God & the execution of his purposes through Christ, & respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles & the inventions of the Jews, & the corrupt opinions & precepts of false teachers even among Christians; 2) subjectively—2a) Truth as a personal excellence—2a1) That candor of mind which is free from affection, pretense, simulation, falsehood, deceit. Strong—Truth.
“Through the Spirit”[TR/Byz]—dia pneumatov—dia(“Through”)—Preposition—1) Through—1a) of place—1a1) With, 1a2) In, 1b) of time—1b1) Throughout, 1b2) During, 1c) of means—1c1) By, 1c2) By the means of; 2) Through—2a) The ground or reason by which something is or is not done. Strong—a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; Through(in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional).—&—pneuma(“Spirit”)—1) The third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father & the Son; 2) The spirit, i.e. The vital principal by which the body is animated—2a) The rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides, 2b) The soul; 3) A spirit, i.e. A simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, & possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, & acting—3a) A life giving spirit, 3b) A human soul that has left the body, 3c) A spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. An angel—3c1) used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men, 3c2) The spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels & equal to God, the divine nature of Christ; 4) The disposition or influence which fills & governs the soul of any one—4a) the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.; 5) A movement of air(a gentle blast). Strong—A current of air, i.e. Breath(blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively--A spirit, i.e. (human)--The rational soul, by implication--Vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman)--An angel, demon, or (divine)--God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit.
Argumentation:
Mat. 7:15-23—“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, & done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
2Cor. 13:5—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.”
2Cor. 10:3-6—“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments & every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, & being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
Col. 3:20—“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
Rom. 1:1-6—“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, & declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace & apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”
1Jn. 2:1-6—“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, & not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” & does not keep His commandments, is a liar, & the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
Rom. 6:8-18—“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
?What are bondslaves & children to do?...They are expected to Obey!
Illustration:
Peavy & Sons Paving Company—Doing work outside FBCC the week of Sept. 25, 2015/The crew is paving exactly what it was said they would pave/Anything less or more would be disobedient to one or more company& city heads /OBEDIENCE
Enjoy the beach but keep the beach clean!—remove all your ‘stuff’ when you’re thru!/There are signs stating such but there is something more than a sign telling us that it is thoughtless at best to leave your mess for others to deal with!—your heart!/OBEDIENCE
Expecting a call from Mom offering her advice to her high-school age football player in the locker room/Phone is ringing...Caller ID/Will he answer?...What prevents him?—Appearance—Character—Sacrifice/Something must take precedence!/OBEDIENCE
Application:
?What has Your encounter with OBEDIENCE yielded ?
?You exhibit God’s Love?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
God’s love is lived out thru an encounter with...
1. CLEANSING(:22a)“Purified”
2. OBEDIENCE(:22b)“Obeying”
Pts. 1-2presented 09/27/2015pm to:
PFC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(A Ave. SE)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-5 Presented 06/13/04pm to
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
