“The Living Word”
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Categories: Moment With The Master
)as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (1 Peter 2:2)
How are God’s people to live in the world without living like the world? How are they to lead holy lives? (I Peter 1:15, 16) An important aspect of holy living is spiritual growth! Living the sanctified life comes in progressive stages that take one from childhood to maturity.
So, how is one going to mature as God wishes? Peter offers two keys to spiritual growth: 1) lay aside any sins that may hinder the process, and 2) desire the sincere milk of the word. It is the later that I want to focus on.
Peter tells us that the word of God is necessary for spiritual growth. God’s word, the spiritual seed, is the basis for holy living! By obeying this truth, souls have been purified, and they’ve been born into the kingdom of God. Christian growth depends upon the proper use of God’s word.
The word of God is food for the soul like milk is for infants. It can provide the spiritual nourishment essential to the process of maturing. It contains all of the necessary nutrients. God’s word is a source of spiritual life. It is an “incorruptible seed that lives and abides forever”. It has the power to create and sustain a relationship with God when planted in an honest heart.
Therefore, our spiritual growth depends upon our desire for God’s word. The imagery here is like a baby longing for nourishment. Like it or not, we must use our intellect to receive it and digest it. Like a baby crying for mother’s milk, we are to crave the milk of the word. This would include daily reading, meditation, and application.
Experiencing God’s word in our life is sweet to taste: “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious”. (1 Peter 2:3) Peter does not imply doubt here, but supposes that they have tasted, and urges them on the ground of the first taste to long for more.
God has not given us a hope that can never be realized. He also gives us his word which moves us to conversion and then, if we crave it, sets up shop within us and goes to work preparing us for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
By George Slover
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By George Slover | Visit www.smcofc.org or www.ibiblestudy.net
