A LIVING HOPE, Ron Ward
YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN
Passage: 1_Peter 1:22~2:3  
Key verse: 1:23
22 Now that you have purified(A) yourselves by obeying(B) the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,(C) from the heart.[a] 23 For you have been born again,(D) not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,(E) through the living and enduring word of God.(F) 24 For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”[b](G)
And this is the word that was preached to you.
2 Therefore, rid yourselves(H) of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander(I) of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,(J) so that by it you may grow up(K) in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.(L)
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:22 Some early manuscripts from a pure heart
- 1 Peter 1:25 Isaiah 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)
Cross references
- 1 Peter 1:22 : Jas 4:8
- 1 Peter 1:22 : ver 2, 14
- 1 Peter 1:22 : S Jn 13:34; S Ro 12:10
- 1 Peter 1:23 : ver 3; S Jn 1:13
- 1 Peter 1:23 : Jn 1:13
- 1 Peter 1:23 : S Heb 4:12
- 1 Peter 1:25 : Isa 40:6-8; S Jas 1:10, 11
- 1 Peter 2:1 : S Eph 4:22
- 1 Peter 2:1 : S Jas 4:11
- 1 Peter 2:2 : 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12, 13
- 1 Peter 2:2 : Eph 4:15, 16
- 1 Peter 2:3 : Ps 34:8; Heb 6:5
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
Love is the command of Jesus for his people. It is the fruit of the word of God. The word of God gives life-new birth-to those who obey the gospel truth. God's life is eternal. The world is perishing, and the glory of the world is fading. But the word of the Lord endures forever. When we receive the word of God that has been preached to us, we live in love. We are born again to eternal life.
2. Like newborn babies (2:1-3)
Being born again means living a new life. It means repenting of the sins of the world, actively ridding ourselves of every kind of godlessness. We are like newborn babies, needing pure spiritual milk. The word of God has power to nourish our spiritual life. By turning from evil and embracing the word, we grow in the salvation we have been called to. We taste the goodness of God in ever increasing measure.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your lifegiving word. Bless me to grow in hope and crave your goodness today.
One Word: Crave pure spiritual milk