1 Peter 1:22 - Love and Obedience from God's Word.
1Pet.1:22: Love and Obedience from God's Word.
1 Pet 1:22 (NCV) Now that you have made your souls pure by
obeying the truth, you can have true love for your Christian brothers
and sisters.
Like a seed, the Word is small and seemingly insignificant, but
it has life and power within. The Word must be planted to do any
good; but when it is planted in the heart, it produces fruit. [Wiersbe
Expository Outlines]
The gospel is called the power of God unto salvation because God
alone can make the truth a power which sanctifies the soul. . . .The
Lord purifies the heart very much as we air a room. We do not close
the doors and windows, and throw in some purifying substance; but we
open the doors and throw wide the windows, and let heaven's purifying
atmosphere flow in. . . . The windows of impulse, of feeling, must be
opened up toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness
must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of
the mind, the imagination must have heavenly themes for
contemplation, and every element of the nature must be purified and vitalized
by the Spirit of God. 7BC940
A self-centered person cannot really love. "Sincere love"
involves selfless giving; a self-centered person can't truly love. God's
love and forgiveness free you to take your eyes off yourselves and to
meet others' needs. By sacrificing his life, Christ showed that he
truly loves you. Now you can love others by following his example and
giving of yourself sacrificially. [Life Application SB]
Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Faith buds and
blossoms and bears a harvest of precious fruit. Where faith is, good
works appear. The sick are visited, the poor are cared for, the
fatherless and the widows are not neglected, the naked are clothed, the
destitute are fed. Christ went about doing good, and when men are united
with Him, they love the children of God, and meekness and truth guide
their footsteps. The expression of the countenance reveals their
experience, and men take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus
and learned of Him. Christ and the believer become one, and His
beauty of character is revealed in those who are vitally connected with
the Source of power and love. 1SM398
The Christ-filled life is the life of reverence (1Pet 1:17-21).
Reverence is the attitude of mind of the man who is always aware that he
is in the presence of God. . . .The Christian must live life in
reverence, because it cost so much, nothing less than the life and death of
Jesus Christ. Since, then, life is of such surpassing value, it cannot
be wasted or thrown away. No honourable man squanders what is of
infinite human worth. [Barclay Commentary]
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