True Love

Hallmark Channel has a special niche for viewers who are looking for or fervently believe in love everlasting. Those who long for happy endings even in the midst of horrible times find themselves watching the Hallmark Channel. Maybe we should see if Hallmark Channel would create a series out of 1 Peter.

Many songs about the wonders of true love are written and revived by various artists over the years. Gloria Estefan did a remake of Everlasting Love, which was actually written in 1967. Whitney Houston probably has the most famous version of I will Always Love You, which Dolly Parton also did quite well. The Righteous Brothers in 1965 made famous Unchained Melody. One of my favorites is Annie’s Song sung by John Denver in 1974. Of course, I dare not forget Chicago’s Just You and Me, along with a plethora of other love songs. Then there’s Randy Travis singing Forever and Ever, Amen.

I think you get the idea. There is a strong desire and a special affinity for that very special love that will not disappoint. We love to see it. We bask in our hearts when we listen to songs about it. We even enjoy poetry and letters that speak about true love. As seen in Princess Bride, true love is not able to be defeated. It conquers all.

However, all of this type of love that I’ve been describing through romance movies, comedy movies, or love songs fails miserably in comparison to the true love that is found in Jesus Christ.

We can love because we have been loved by the One Who gave the ultimate love.

Real Love - 1:22

What is love? What has love done for you? Or as one R & B singer put it, What’s love got to do with it?

1 Peter 1:22 NASB95

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,

Before Jesus ruled our lives as Lord and Savior, we were not really a loving people. That just wasn’t our nature. If we were treated well, we would most likely respond in kind. If someone wronged us or merely rubbed us the wrong way, we would often be anything but loving. That type of love was a conditional and circumstantial sort of love. It was not true love. Even today, I believe one of the worst testimonies for Christ is how so often those who are followers of Christ can’t even get along with each other or love each other. If we try to love in the flesh it will fail miserably.

So what is real love? Jesus gives us the answer in 35.

John 13:35 NASB95

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Yes, it was when you and I experienced salvation through Jesus Christ that we were even able to show true love. True love is not an earthly form of love; it is truly a supernatural love. It has to come from God. Pure love or true love is impossible unless a person has been born again.

When a person is genuinely saved, it is seen by our obedience to the truth. Peter goes on to say that this individual purified your souls. Peter is not saying that we are doing this because it is from God. This phrase refers to conversion, since it is a perfect participle. This wording describes something which took place in the past and has continuing results or consequences now and in the future. It is submission to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is further clarified in verse 23, which we’ll soon be discussing. In other words, what we were in the past has been wiped out or cleansed by God in Christ. In addition, we are able to do things now and in the future that previously we were incapable of doing. That is most readily seen in true love.

I remind you again that this is not something which we are capable of doing. Only God can do this great work. Salvation, sanctification, purification, are all of God. We merely cooperate in obedience. Some might suggest that the idea of obedience suggests that we are doing the work. However, obedience is oftentimes another word for faith. If this is of us, it is bound to fail.

When these things occur, we are given the ability to love each other. A sincere love of the brethren is simply brotherly love which is without hypocrisy. It is genuine. One who is truly born again should never think of loving someone for what we can get from them. It should be perfectly normal fare for there to be a love for our brothers and sisters that has no ulterior motives. This is what those outside of the Christian faith should always see.

The first use of the word love is philadelpheo, referring to brotherly love. The second use of love in the last part of verse 22 is agapao. This is that God-like love that is completely unconditional. Now Peter uses a unique word to show how we are to show this kind of love—fervently. This is a word that is not related to the spiritual or emotional or mental; it is a physical term. It is often used to describe a person stretching as far as possible with a muscle. It’s akin to the phrase used when encouraging a player to give it all they have; leave it all on the field.

What does that look like? We need to stretch ourselves to the max to show that sort of Christ-like love to our brothers and sisters. However, we know that we cannot muster this kind of love ourselves. It is a complete surrendering to the Lord, allowing Him to empower us through His Holy Spirit to completely love that other person from our very inmost being. After all, should not one of our main identifications be that of deep love for one another?

Enduring Word - 1:23-25

It should be obvious that Christian love is to be sincere and is to be practiced fervently. Thus, something very certain and powerful has to be the basis for it. We are actually given a reason why we need to show that kind of true love.

1 Peter 1:23–25 NASB95

for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:23-2

That’s just who we are. We must show absolute, real love because we have been born again. In the flesh, we will fail; through the Spirit, in Christ, this will endure. If we don’t show this kind of love, there is a real inconsistency with saying that we’re born again. Again, this is proven by the form of the Greek word. It literally would read just as the NASB is written you have been born again. Being born again is an event that took place in the past. However, there are continuing actions that are taking place right now. It is not merely that we’re born again with a result that we’ll experience heaven one day. We are born again and our behavior, in particular how we love each other, should continue on and on and on.

This is seen as God being the mover, not only in our salvation being given by Him, but of the ability to follow the command to love one another. Peter makes it clear that salvation is the cause fo love one another.

Paul even described this continuing activity as a result of being born again in the book of Romans.

Romans 6:3–4 NASB95

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

He is speaking of the spiritual event where we are identified with Christ in his death and resurrection. Therefore, the old way of life and our old philosophy of life are dead to us. As a result of Christ’s transformative work in our lives, we are raised up as new people with an outlook and philosophy of life that is to match Christ. You and I used to be people that were focused on ourselves and our pleasures, doing whatever we wanted, to being a people who have truly repented and are pursuing the ways of Christ with His help and power that works within us.

Again, I remind all of us that this is not something which we can accomplish by exercising our will or work it out on our own. It requires the work of Holy Spirit. This is further seen in the use of the word seed. This should be understood to represent the source or the beginnings of life. Physical life requires a seed of sorts to continue to the next generation, whether it be plant or animal or person. However, all seed is perishable. If it were caused by us, it would be perishable. Instead, the spiritual life is from God and Peter reminds us that it is imperishable. You see, everything which is natural will eventually die. However, that which is spiritual will never die.

You see, everything which is natural will eventually die. However, that which is spiritual will never die.

How is this possible? Peter states that God uses the seed . . . Through the living and enduring Word of God. The seed sower is God Himself. The means of sowing the seed is the Word of God. The Word of God is also living and enduring, not dead and lifeless. Nor does it change with times and cultures.

Peter goes on in verse 24 to quote , . It seems that Peter is using this quote as a form of restating what he said in verse 23. In these verses, we recognize the frailty and temporary features of that which is natural. The readers then, as well as we today, understand the concept of grasses, including the flowers, as being extremely temporary. We also understand how our lives are also very much a blip in time in comparison with the centuries that have gone by; not to mention eternity.

Yet, spiritually speaking, we will never die, no matter how long or short we will have existed on this earth. We, being saved through the living and enduring Word of God, will live eternally. How do we know this? The Word of the Lord endures forever.

The Greek word which Peter uses is not the normal word for Word of the Lord, which we know as logos. Logos would refer more to the totality of the Bible. The word Peter uses is rhema, which is very specific to a particular word or phrase or thought. In this case it is referring to the gospel message. That is clarified by the word which is used for preached. The word used here is speaking of good news, which is where we get the word evangelism or evangelize. In essence, it was the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ that was proclaimed or preached.

These verses simply give the explanation for how and why we should exhibit true love.

Conclusion

Thinking about the fact that Jesus was willing to become our sacrifice, taking upon Himself the wrath of God, which we deserved, we find ourselves awestruck. We cannot help but want to show Him love in all that we possibly can.

Furthermore, we should be motivated to share that true love with others. Yes, we need to show the love of Christ to unbelievers, but it needs to move beyond that. There should be a strong, powerful love shown to our brothers and sisters who have also been rescued from hell.

It all might sound quite easy or simplistic in the fact that we have been made new in Jesus Christ. One would think that it shouldn’t be so difficult, since we have Christ in us and the Holy Spirit directing us through His Word, to show true love to our brothers and sisters. However, we still walk around in this skin and these bones and are so prone to fail so many times. Oftentimes, circumstances or difficult situations cause us to forget who we truly are.

Yet, we have encouragement and guidance from God’s Word in so many places which enables us to be obedient and to not give in to the flesh, providing us with continual opportunities to love fellow Christians with the love of Christ. Warren Wiersbe states: We have two wonderful “assistants” to help us: the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The same truth that we trusted and obeyed to become God’s children also nurtures and empowers us. It is impossible to love the truth and hate the brethren.