THE WORD AT WORK IN US --  1 Peter 1:17 thru 1 Peter 2:3

A lady relates the story of how she arrived quite early at a surgeon’s office for an appointment and found him deeply engrossed in reading. He sat behind the reception desk unaware of her arrival. She waited a bit, noticing that it was the Bible! Finally, she cleared her throat to get his attention. As he looked up in surprise she asked him, "Do you find that the Bible helps you out before or after you do an operation?"

Her confidence in her new surgeon soared when he softly answered with a smile, "During."

How many uses can your find for the Bible?

Decorate a table? Store old letters? Store leaves? Flower petals?

Take an oath upon it? (Politicians, public servants, witnesses at trial sworn in)

Jesus said:  Matt 5:33 "Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.'  34 "But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,  35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 "Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 "But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil. (NAS)

Could it prepare a surgeon for the operating room!  Yes!  It is clear that many would misuse God’s Word as a good luck charm or a fetish or "coffee-table artifact." But our text teaches us the REAL PURPOSES GOD HAS FOR HIS INSPIRED WORD!

1Thes 2:13:  And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (NIV)

1. GOD’S WORD PURIFIES OUR SOULS! 1 Peter 1:17-22

1 Pet 1:17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth;

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you

21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart (NAS)

This is not NEWS; consider these other Bible verses that confirm Peter’s words:

Ps 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

Ps 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.

10 With all my heart I have sought Thee; do not let me wander from Thy commandments.

11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.

John 15:1-3  "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.  3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (NAS)

Eph 5:25-26

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;

We cannot purify our own souls by fleshly striving for morality. Benjamin Franklin’s attempt to improve his character by making lists of positive and negative traits and concentrating on one each day was ineffective.

1 Pet 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart (NAS)

Note the three ways Peter sets this love apart from some cheap imitation that the world offers. He uses two adjectives and one adjective phrase.

Sincere. Strong says this word is synonymous with "unfeigned" and "not hypocritical" It is the same word that Paul uses in Rom 12:9: Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (KJV) Rom 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. (NAS) Rom 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (NIV)

 

Fervently. Without ceasing, with intent. This is the SINGLE usage of ‘ektenos’ in the NT

 

From the heart. "With a pure heart" – as in Matthew 5:8 "pure in heart." Notable usage of "pure" as "clean" in John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (KJV)

MAMA’S BIBLE by Majorie Holmes

For 12 years after my father died, my mother lived on alone in their little house with its roses. Then one bright day when she was 84 -- after serving lunch to my two brothers, who often popped in for a bite – she hung her apron behind the door and went to join Dad.

I wish this was all as idyllic as it sounds. She had not been feeling well for weeks and I’m sure she sensed that she was going. She had made quite a few preparations, including leaving handwritten instructions in the small Bible she always used, where we’d be sure to find them.

The one thing uppermost in her mind, however, was something she had been able to do little about. Two members of the family had been feuding – one of those agonizing conflicts between grown children that tear a parent apart. She had wept over it, prayed over it, but the wounds wee far from healed.

Now that the house was silent, the troubles seemed forgotten. There was so much to be done that there was simply no time for hostilities. Proprieties were maintained; even an extra show of courtesy was extended. But after that first surge of emotion, the tension resurfaced.

Then, that second night, we saw Mother’s heavy old family Bible on the table by the bookcase. Filled with records, that Bible had long ago been relegated to the top shelf of the bookcase. Yet here it lay, on a table that had been cleared and dusted! Who had taken it down? Mystified, we consulted with one another. No one else had been there. Each of us was as puzzled as the next. The Bible had simply appeared; there was no explanation for it.

Without a word everyone sat down, and my sister opened the book at its marker. She began to read aloud from John 13:1.

"Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."

She paused and looked around. All our eyes were wet. "Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go you cannot come, so now I say unto you."

She couldn’t go on. She didn’t have to. The two who had been feuding groped for each other’s hands, then they embraced, holding one to the other as if never to let go.

The peace they made that night was to last. Mother’s passing had spanned their estrangement. The bridge of death had become the bridge of love.

The Word of God purifies us from within so that we can overcome bitterness and love with sincerity! Will you submit to this pure Word that will allow Christ to do for you that which you could never do for yourself?

(More on this text/topic next month!)