Life Transformation & Loving Community



Adult Bible Fellowship Lesson(s)

“Life Transformation & Loving Community”

August 12 & 19, 2012

“…following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.” 1 Peter 1:22 The Message

Lesson Text: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 (NV)

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. [23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. [24] For, "All men 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 stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you. [2:1] Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. [2] Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, [3] now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Lesson Goals

1. To see the importance and divine design that inseparably links obeying the truth and loving one another.

2. To be aware that as we grow and mature in our love of God’s word, that our love for others will increase as well.

3. To encourage every believer to be “well rounded” in their walk with Christ by being obedient to God’s Word while passionately living out the “one another” commands of the New Testament.

4. Overall see the value of both life transformation AND loving community and how each one is dependent on the other.

Teaching Plan

August 12th - In week one the focus of the lesson is on life transformation and the key role that the gospel and God’s Word play in this for the believer. Along with the Scripture text this will be an excellent opportunity to revisit some of the key points from our study of The Life You’ve Always Wanted.

August 19th – The focus of the lesson is on loving community and the key role that loving one another, along with all the “one another” commands of the New Testament (i.e. pray for one another, live in harmony with one another, serve one another) play in the believer’s life.

A teaching application on this day will be previewing our selection process and the role the deacon plays in each ABF of chief loving community proponent!

The Role of Adult Bible Fellowships

Adult Bible Fellowships champion many important values, none more important than teaching and modeling what it means to follow the truth (life transformation) while simultaneously becoming people of deep love for one another (loving community). In fact you could say that:

Adult Bible Fellowships serve to advance the gospel within our church and community through connecting people with resources and environments which promote life transformation and loving community.

This lesson, really two lessons in one (material to be taught on August 12 & 19) is based on just one text 1 Peter 1:22-2:3. It could be seen as two sides to a single coin. Peter intertwines two bedrock teachings that when we accept the truth (the gospel) and grow in the truth (God’s Word) the resulting transformation is a deep and fervent love for others.

Introduction

Embrace “the genius of the and”

Business writer Jim Collins in a 1995 article, Building Companies that Last writes – In a world of constant change, the fundamentals are more important than ever.

He further writes, “in this era of dramatic change, we’re hit from all sides with lopsided perspectives that urge us to hold nothing sacred, to “re-engineer” and dynamite everything, to fight chaos with chaos, to battle a crazy world with total, unfettered craziness. Everybody knows that the transformations facing us—social, political, technological, economic—render obsolete the lessons of the past.

Well, I submit that “everybody” is wrong! The real question is what is the proper response to change? We certainly need new and improved business practices and organizational forms, but in a turbulent era like ours, attention to timeless fundamentals is even more important than it is in stable times.

If there's one lesson from our findings to keep in mind above all others, it is this: … build your company so that it preserves a passionately held core ideology and simultaneously stimulates progress in everything but that ideology. Preserve the core and stimulate progress. A truly visionary company embraces both ends of a continuum: continuity and change, conservatism and progressiveness, stability and revolution, predictability and chaos, heritage and renewal, fundamentals and craziness. And, and, and”

This mindset has often been referred to as “the genius of the and”; the paradoxical view that allows you to pursue both A and B simultaneously. You can hold to two deeply held and perhaps even seemingly diverse beliefs or practices, especially when they are core to your ideology (or in our case theology).

Theologically speaking we live in an era when “obeying the truth” and “loving one another” can be viewed as being at the opposite ends of a continuum. Truth can be seen as rigidness and love as permissiveness. To that thinking I believe Peter would say “everybody is wrong”!

A truly visionary Christian embraces both truth and love. The genius of “the and” says that we can (and should) hold firmly to both. We should be people equally passionate and practicing, of truth and love.

…following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.” 1 Peter 1:22 The Message

An Overview of Our Text

Peter’s words in 1:22–2:3 are a part of a whole, although the chapter divisions do not help us see them as a whole. The central theme uniting these verses is the Word of God. The Word is referred to as “the truth” (1:22), the “seed” by which we were born again (1:23), the “living and enduring word of God” (1:23), the “word of the Lord” (1:25), the “word that was preached to you” (1:25), and the “pure spiritual milk” (2:2).

The passage we are studying has two primary themes:

(1) “Deeply [Fervently] love one another from the heart” (1:22), and

(2) “Crave pure spiritual milk” (2:2).

While 1:22-25 and 2:1-3 all deal with the subject of the Word of God, each has a different emphasis. In 1:22-25, the Word is the “seed” by which we have been born again, by which we have become Christians. In 2:1-3, the Word is the “milk” by which we grow as Christians.

Our passage addresses the relationship of the Word of God (life transformation) to the mutual love of believers toward one another (loving community). In 1:22-25, Peter appeals to the eternal nature of the Word of God to show that the love of believers should be eternal. In 2:1-3, Peter appeals to the nurture of the Word of God that results in the growth of the saints and promotes love toward one another.

I. A Persistent Love Springing from a Purified Soul (1:22)

Verses 22-25 contain one central command, supported by two explanatory phrases. The command is to “love one another.” The two phrases are: “now that you have purified yourselves” (1:22) and “you have been born again” (1:23).

In verse 22, Peter commands the saints to love one another. This love is described as deeply or fervent and proceeding from the heart. The basis for such love is obedience to the truth by which the saints have purified their souls, resulting in a sincere love for one another.

When God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptian captivity, He also gave them laws by which they were to live. Just before the second generation of Israelites were to possess the promised land, God reiterated these laws and then made this statement:

“Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29).

The sad reality was that the Israelites did not have the heart to obey God. They were sure to disobey His law and to endure the consequences He had spelled out.

Only when the Lord gave the Israelites a heart to believe and obey would the promised blessings come upon them:

“Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

That “new heart” is the result of the new covenant brought about through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary:

And when He had taken [some] bread [and] given thanks, He broke [it,] and gave [it] to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way [He took] the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:19-20).

You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).

On the basis of the new covenant, and the cleansing which the blood of Christ has accomplished, Christians are able to love one another. This is Paul’s argument in Galatians 5. The new birth results in love for one another:

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only [do] not [turn] your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the [statement], “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” (Galatians 5:13-14).

The difficulty was the “flesh,” the desires and appetites which characterized and enslaved the Galatians before their conversion. They were called upon to forsake these desires of the flesh and to follow the promptings of the Spirit so that true love could abound:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (Galatians 5:16-18).

Peter calls for the same kind of change in his first epistle. Having been chosen by the Father, set apart by the Holy Spirit, and cleansed by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:1-3, 18-21), believers are given a living hope (1:3-9). We are to fix our hope on these blessings which are to be brought to us at the return of our Lord (1:13).

The result should be a lifestyle of holiness and fear during the time of our pilgrimage on this earth (1:14-21). Our relationship with our fellow-Christians should be characterized by a mutual love, one for the other. This is made possible by the purification of our souls, a purification provided and accomplished by the Godhead, and which includes our obedience to the truth of the gospel (1:1-3, 22). This purification of our souls has made it possible to love one another without the selfish desires and ambitions of the flesh, enabling us to sacrifice our lives for our brothers and sisters (see John 15:13).

Peter writes that the goal of the purification of our souls is a sincere love of the brethren. This is not the well-known Agape love Peter calls for in his command to “love one another from the heart,” but the Philadelphia love also found in the New Testament. Both kinds of love are found in Peter’s second epistle:

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness (Philadelphia), and in your brotherly kindness, love (Agape) ( 2 Peter 2:5-7).

Why does Peter seem to say that salvation produces one kind of love (Philadelphia) and then command us to exercise another kind of love (Agape)?

Peter is teaching us that God provides us with all the essentials for Agape love (both a purified soul and the existence of a new, brotherly affection), but that the highest love is attained by our obedience to God’s Word and our diligence in striving to please Him. This is why Agape love is the end of the process Peter describes in 2 Peter 1.

Love begins by obedience to the Word (see 1 Peter 1:22), and it continues to grow by our obedience to the Word (2 Peter 1:5-7).

God commands Christians to do that which He has made possible. Christians are consistently commanded to love one. He also commands us to exercise diligence in knowing and obeying His Word to achieve what He has made possible. (inseparably linked!)

The love God requires of us is described in verse 22. It is both a Philadelphia kind of love and an Agape kind of love. Philadelphia love is a love of warm brotherly affection, the kind evident in a closely knit family. This is the love members of God’s family have toward other family members—brothers and sisters in Christ. It is also a purposeful, sacrificial love, Agape love, the kind our Lord demonstrated on the cross of Calvary.

Further, the love God requires of His children is not a hypocritical one but a sincere, genuine love. This love is not a front we put on to impress others. Rather it is a genuine love which follows through with truly loving attitudes and actions and seeks the best interests of our brothers and sisters—at our expense. Having our hearts and souls purified now enables us to love from a pure heart:

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).

Finally, the love God requires of us, for which we are to strive, is a lasting love which never fails. It is rendered as a deep or sometimes a fervent love.

In verses 23-25, Peter sets out to show the basis of the love for which he calls. He does this by stressing the relationship between the nature of our new birth and the nature of Christian love. The new birth was brought about by the “seed” of the Word of God. The nature of this “seed” (or “Word”) is that it is “living and enduring” (verse 23). This Word “stands forever” (verse 25). As the Word of God lasts forever, so should our love for one another. Our love should be neither fickle nor frail. It should “never fail” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

The adverb rendered “deeply” or “fervently” is found only here in the New Testament. However, other forms of the term are found in the New Testament. The verb form means to “stretch out”.

Peter now reinforces the element of perseverance by citing from the Book of Isaiah in the verses which follow.

II. A Love that Perseveres (1:23-25)

Peter first appealed to the purification of our souls, accomplished at salvation, as the foundation for Christian love. The purification of our souls made love for one another possible. Now, once again, Peter turns to our new birth, this time to establish the basis for perseverance in love.

Peter argues that the “offspring” should have the same nature as the “seed” which produced it. Our love should be lasting because the seed (the Word) by which we were begotten is everlasting:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

As all creation was brought into existence by the spoken Word of God, so we were brought to life by His Word:

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures (James 1:18).

This word is not perishable, but imperishable. The imperishable seed is the “living and enduring” Word of God (verse 23).

Now, in verses 24 and 25, Peter sets out to show us how his teaching finds its roots in the Old Testament. He turns us to Isaiah 40 where he cites selectively from that text.

Man and his glory are temporary, lasting only for a short time. As an illustration of temporary glory, consider the flowers of the field which have such a short life span and then disappear. Like the azaleas in Spring which are so beautiful, they last for a little while and then are gone. So it is with man and all of his glory. In contrast stands God’s Word which is eternal, enduring forever.

This passage in Isaiah 40 assured the Israelites of their future hope. While they were being chastened for their sins, there was yet to come a day of redemption on which they were to fix their hope. While the prophecies of Isaiah may have seemed impossible in their day, his readers were to be reminded that the glories of earthly empires would fade away, while God’s Word with all of its promises would endure. Their hope was certain because His word is eternal.

Peter, in the previous verses, stresses the connection between the eternal Word by which we are born again and an eternal love which does not fail. In verse 25, Peter makes another connection with profound implications.

The last line of verse 25 equates this Old Testament “Word of the LORD” with the New Testament gospel which was preached to Peter’s readers.

The Word of the LORD is the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ:

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in [His] Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The Word of the LORD is the gospel, the gospel proclaimed to Peter’s readers, the Word by which they were born again. That Word, which commenced their life in Christ, is eternal, and thus the love which flows from their new birth must be everlasting as well. The Bible knows no short-lived love for Christians, for love never fails, just as His Word never fails.

Not only does Peter link the New Testament gospel with the Old Testament, he also links the Lord Jesus with God: “With the term Lord Peter highlights Jesus’ divinity; he shows that the word of God is identical with the word of the Lord Jesus.”

This was the consistent claim of the apostles: “Jesus is LORD.” One must not only believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world whose shed blood cleanses us from sin, but that He is one with God the Father (see Acts 2:36; Romans 10:9; John 8:31-59; 10:30).

III. The Word of God and Life Transformation (2:1-3)

Peter’s use of the word “therefore” in verse 1 is not to be understood as the beginning of a new thought but as the conclusion to his teaching in 1:22-25. The focus is still on the Word of God and the love it enables and inspires. The imagery and emphasis do shift at verse 1, even though the general subject matter is the same. While maintaining his focus on the Word of God, Peter shifts his imagery from the Word as the everlasting “seed,” by which we were begotten, to the “pure milk,” by which we grow.

Only one imperative is found in these verses: “crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up” (verse 2). The “rid yourself” (a participle) of the evils enumerated in verse 1 is a subordinate duty which prepares one for carrying out the principle command.

Note that in 1:22 Peter spoke of salvation as that initiated by means of the Word. Now in 2:2, salvation is not the starting point (as in 1:22) but the goal toward which obedience to the Word moves us. Salvation in Peter’s epistles (1:1-13), as elsewhere (see Ephesians 1:3-14), has a past, present, and future dimension.

Those things we are instructed to put aside in verse 1 correspond to what Peter has been saying, as well as to the things he is about to say. Our initial purification (1:2, 22), together with our subsequent purification (1:14-21), requires the putting off of those things which characterized and enslaved us during the time of our unbelief.

Furthermore, these negative character qualities enumerated in verse one are hostile to true love. One cannot love with these attitudes and actions.

Finally, these vices are also contrary to an appetite for the Word and the growth the milk of the Word produces. We cannot harbor malice and practice deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander and still desire the Word. To be full of these evils is to fail to have an appetite for the milk of God’s Word.

Peter specifies certain attitudes and characteristics of the flesh, all vitally important in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. “Hypocrisy,” “envy,” and “slander” are stated in the plural rather than in the singular. The inference is that various and sundry forms of each of these evils exist, and all of them are to be rejected and put off.

The first evil is “malice.” Rather than an attitude which hopes for the edification and blessing of another, malice hopes (and even strives) for the downfall of another. It is the opposite of well-wishing. “Deceit” often rooted in hatred is frequently found in relationship to our speech. Consider the following texts which employ this term:

How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! (Psalms 32:2)

"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech” (1 Peter 3:10)

Deceit is an impure motive of the heart which distorts or opposes the truth and results in deceptive or misleading speech. Hypocrisy is the pretense of appearing to be one thing when we are really another.

The next evil is “envy” or jealousy. It is most difficult to seek the best for your brother when he possesses what you think you should have. Jealousy, or envy, is wanting what another has for yourself. Love is the willingness to give what you have to another.

The evil of “slander” is literally a speaking against. It is the evil speech which seeks to defame or slander another. It is the opposite of speech that edifies.

The Word of God is the “seed” by which we were born again (1:23) and also the “milk” by which we grow. Having been born again, Peter now addresses his readers as though they were newborn babies. On the one hand, these babies have an inborn appetite for milk. Normally, you don’t have to teach a baby to want milk.

Why then does Peter command us to “crave pure spiritual milk”?

The logic is the same found in 1:22-25. The new birth has purified our souls so as to produce and promote brotherly love. A God-given love for our brothers and sisters in Christ is implanted in our souls at our conversion. This makes possible a growth to a greater love which Peter commands Christians to pursue. The new birth causes us as newborn babes to desire the “spiritual milk” of God. Peter then commands us to develop this appetite by partaking of the Word, so that we become more and more dependent upon it.

The instinctive appetite should be enhanced into a developed appetite, the result of having “tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

Illustration

Peter was a very hungry man as he waited for the meal to be served on the rooftop of Simon’s house (Acts 10:9-10). When he saw the vision of the sheet being lowered from heaven, he was repulsed by the thought of eating unclean food. But when God called it “clean” he was now permitted to eat of it.

Peter had an appetite. The food which had been unclean was now declared clean. Only after Peter ate his first bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich did he know what he had been missing. The more he ate of these foods, the more he yearned for them. His appetite for these foods was developed by eating of them.

So it is with our appetite for the Word of God. Since we have a certain inborn appetite, a much greater appetite can be developed by partaking of the Word which God has provided for us. And this appetite should be satisfied, just as in eating, on a regular, daily basis so that we might “grow in respect to salvation.”

And so we see that longing for God’s Word develops our appetite for it and enhances our partaking of it; the result is spiritual growth. The truth of God enables us to grow and experience life transformation:

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Paul’s statement in verse 3 is a reference to Psalm 34, verse 8:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

The relationship of this verse to Peter’s teaching can be readily seen. As newborn babes, we are to “crave pure spiritual milk” (2:2). This assumes, of course, that we have indeed been born again and that we have already tasted of the Word of God, for it is by this Word that we have been born again (1:23).

The connection between Peter’s epistle and Psalm 34 runs much deeper than this. This psalm seems to have played a key role in the shaping of Peter’s thinking, and it underscores much of what he writes in his first epistle. You will note that in chapter 3 Peter cites verses 12-16. One could profit much by comparing Peter’s epistle with the teaching of this psalm.

Conclusion

As we look at this passage, we see:

1. The Importance of Obeying the Truth

Peter places importance on the Word of God. It is the Word of God which the Spirit of God uses to bring about our new birth. It is also the “milk of the Word” which produces spiritual growth. The Scriptures are supremely important to the believer,

In the Gospels, Peter does not always appear to have been a man of the Scriptures. But from the Book of Acts on, Peter is truly saturated with the Word of God. It would seem that he became a student of Scripture later in life.

Peter’s example is one which should be emulated by every believer. We may not be scholars, but we should all be students of Scripture, so that the terminology and theology of the Bible shapes our thinking, speaking, and behavior—our lives.

2. The Importance of Loving Others

To the point of the “genius of the and” Peter emphasizes the relationship between the truth of the Word (life transformation) and love for one another (loving community). Paul puts it this way:

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Tim. 1:5

Paul and Peter are both in agreement to this point. Peter has indicated that our souls have been purified by our obedience to the truth (1:22). Paul tells us here that biblical instruction produces a pure heart and a clean conscience, and from these flow Christian love. Love and truth are inseparable.

Lesson Application

Encourage students to consider these two questions:

1. What is God saying to ME about life transformation or loving community?

2. What am I willing to do about it?

August 12th – Life Transformation

The details of the application will vary in the details for each student, however some general applications could be such things as:

• Commit to a regular pattern of attending ABF for Bible study

• Revisit the “rule of life” exercise and prayerfully evaluate changes that potentially need to be made

• Adopt a Bible reading plan for the coming year

• Ask someone to be a soul training partner with you in the coming year

August 19th – Loving Community

• Deacon Ministry is one way in which “loving community” plays out within your ABF. A deacon can be a catalyst in modeling and encouraging what it means to love one another.

• Distribute the hand out on Deacon Ministry and spend some time talking about the selection process (some ABFs may not need to select new deacons). The selection process will take place during the fall and a schedule will be provided at the Aug 22nd combined ABF/Deacon Meeting.

• Small Groups will be forming in the fall. Encourage students to consider participating in a small group this next year.

• A handout will be available on the “one another commands” of the NT. This can be used as a take home resource and/or also discussed in ABF.

Acknowledgement to Bob Deffinbaugh on portions from sermon The Enduring Word at

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