1 Peter 2:1-3 by George Runyan

 

Put Aside the Corruptness of Your Human Nature and Long for GOD's Pure Word

1 Peter 2:1-3 – Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 

This Scripture reveals that the human nature, with its corruptness, does not just disappear when we are saved. Peter says to “put aside” these evil behaviors. The five areas that Peter named are summed up in the word “wickedness.” Put aside all wickedness and become like newly born infants. What does a newborn want? Pure milk! As we begin our walk in Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to create an appetite for the pure milk of God’s Word. We must nurture that desire. This is our first step of cooperation with the Holy Spirit. We begin to think, “I need to read the Scriptures.” We choose to put aside other things and make room for the reading of His Word so we may begin to learn God’s will for our lives. 

Peter relates this desire for God’s pure word to growing in our salvation. True salvation ought to be accompanied by desires for God’s presence; the learning of His Word and a life lived out in righteousness. This new desire for the Word of God is in contrast to the old desires of our flesh. I remember how I could hardly wait to get time to study God’s Word. I had a hunger to know what it said and to be able to share with others what I had learned. I had a deep desire for others to experience what I had experienced through the Holy Spirit and God’s pure Word. I had been saved from my old life and ways. I recognized my growth in respect to my salvation. 

I began to recognize the kindness of God in saving me. I also sensed a growth in my knowledge of what it meant to be “a son of God.” I began to experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and I knew that I was entering into His grace. Peter calls it “tasting the kindness of our Lord” (1 Peter 2:3). When we recognize this kindness, we cannot help choosing to put aside our human corruptness and longing for His pure Word.

Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your hunger for His Word. Begin by reading of His goodness in all that He has done in Christ Jesus for us. Lavish yourself in the love of God and begin to experience a renewed desire to know His Word. If you are living in the knowledge of His kindness already, worship Him for all He has done for you.

George Runyan
SD City Church Ministries