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,
23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
24 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.
vs. 22 - "in obedience to the truth" - By obedience to the truth we have been made pure. The truth: There is no other way to be saved from our sins, see Acts 4:12. See also: John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Christ's love for us means we are purified because His sacrifice met the stringent (impossible) requirements, see: Eph. 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her; Rom. 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Without being pure, that is: holy, we cannot be with God, we cannot be God's children, and yet "such we are" 1 John 3:2
"love of the brethren" - We should love each other from within, because Christ lives in our hearts and loves each of us as His own. It is important to know even though we all are the church and form the temple for Jesus, and He died that the whole world could be saved, our salvation is NOT a group salvation, it is individual. He died for the whole world, but we are saved one-by-one. He knows each of us by name. He knows every member of His church. He can love these through us. See: Rom. 12:9-10 - Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.; Heb. 13:1 - Brotherly love must continue.
vs. 23 - "Born" of the "imperishable seed" of the "word of God". - I am relatively sure it is possible for someone to come to salvation merely by seeing the world around him. Truly the creation of God is amazing, but there is conflicting data. We get blackberries, which are sweet and tasty when we eat them. At the same time there are black bears, who want to eat us. Both are in God's creation - one good, one not so much. God has given us the Bible, the word, to clarify His intentions toward us. And since this is information supplied by God, we would not expect it to change, but remain true forever. See Isa. 40:8; Psa. 118:89.
When we hear, or read the words of God, there is the real opportunity for the Word to take hold and blossom in our minds and hearts. When this happens we begin to understand the great blessings we have received. See: Matt. 13:1-9, Matt. 13:23 - But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands; John 12:24-26 - I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain;
Note: it is not our doing that causes the transformation.
Our part is to hear and believe. "Believe" and not just have intellectual knowledge. "Believe" as in placing your life in His hands, total trust, similar to going into surgery knowing that your life is completely in the hands of the doctors and nurses. You are helpless and completely at their mercy, yet you do it trusting the doctors to do the right thing. Confessing Jesus as Lord and as your personal savior is placing your life - the one right now, and the one that extends to eternity - in His promise of salvation. 1 Cor. 3:7-9 - So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, but each will receive his reward according to his work. We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God's field, God's building. The word of God is planted in our hearts, when it is brought to fullness and we give our lives to Him, word of God is fully bloomed in our lives.
vs. 24-25 - "All flesh is like grass" - God's word is more reliable than we are. We are temporary. When we look at our lives, and see the span of 60-80 years and think it is a loooong time. In reality the difference between the life span of grass and our life span is inconsequential, insignificant when compared to an eternal God. This is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, from Psalms to Revelation - we are fragile and will disappear, God is eternal and His promise are forever. See Isa. 40:6-8 - A voice says, "Cry out!" Another asks, "What should I cry out?" The first voice responds: "All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable."
*** End of Chapter.
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