“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (KJV, 1 Pet. 1:22-23).
“Seeing ye have purified your souls”
Father, I thank You for the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I see that Your Spirit is a Spirit of holiness. This means that by the power of the Spirit, I will be made holy. I recognize that I need You. However, I need much more of You than I have this day. While You are with me, I always need You to manifest Your presence in greater measure.
My soul will only be purified through the work of Christ and Your Spirit. Christ came as my Great High Priest. This means He came to fulfill the priestly role as Your sanctifying agent. I thank You that because of Jesus, I stand before You as pure in Your sight. However, I need Your Spirit to work out what Christ has secured for me.
“in obeying the truth”
Nevertheless, I see my soul becoming pure through obedience to Your truth. But the question still arises how do I become more obedient? Do I simply keep trying, and hopefully, one day, I will be better than I am, or is there more to the story than my efforts? I see in Your Word a hope laid for me in Jesus. I know that I am to be obedient and that my obedience matters. But how, Lord?
Your Word continually points me to Jesus as my Savior. Sometimes I might only look to Jesus for salvation from Your wrath and forgiveness. However, that is not how Christ has been presented to me in Your Word. Christ is my Savior in all things. It is Christ Who will save me from sin. It is Christ Who will help me to grow in my obedience. It is Christ Who is the Vine while I am the branch.
“through the Spirit”
Not only that, but I see that I will obey through the Spirit. My hope is not found within myself. Instead, my hope is found in You. Surely, the Holy Spirit dwells within, as does Christ, but there is no good to be found in the flesh. I cannot look to myself to find something that will somehow benefit me. You are my hope and source of my sanctification. You alone will profit me in my walk with You.
Father, I pray for more of Your Spirit. I need more of You, and I recognize that Your Word tells me I can have more if I seek You with all my heart. Draw me to You and forgive me for my lack of desire. Forgive me when my heart grows faint. Thank You for the faithfulness of Jesus. Your Son has done more for me than I deserve.
“unto unfeigned love of the brethren”
Here I see one of the goals of the Spirit’s work in my life. Your Word tells me repeatedly that I am to love the brethren. I pray that You would work the love of Christ in my heart and that the fruit of the Spirit would be manifested. I see that love is at the top of Your list. You told me that the two greatest commands are to love God and neighbor. However, I also see how short I fall of the love of Christ.
Selfishness and self-focused living are too easy to fall into. Denial of self does not come easy. But Your Word tells me that if I truly follow Jesus, I will bear His yoke, and His burden will be light. So teach me to bear the yoke of Jesus and learn from Him.
“see that ye love one another”
You have set the example for me to follow. You have loved me, although I did not love You. You have been patient with me and have allowed me to live despite my rebellion. You have granted me Your favor and have withheld Your wrath despite my lack of devotion to You. You are worthy of praise, honor, and glory. Your love is endless and eternal.
However, my love is finite and is not like Yours. Therefore, teach me to love as You do. Teach me to love sacrificially. Your Word tells me that You are love. Thus, love is such a defining characteristic of Yours. Teach me what it means to love from the core of being as You do.
“with a pure heart fervently”
Purity and love are inextricably linked. I cannot love while at the same time being defiled. The truth about sin is that it defiles the whole of a man. When I let sin into my life, it will affect every area of my life. Teach me never to be deceived on this point. I cannot harbor sin in my heart and expect to love as You love. Rid me of sin and defilement. Forgive me and cleanse me. Draw me to Yourself in greater intimacy and teach me to abide in my Savior.
“Being born again”
Father, I thank You for the new birth. In the new birth, I am made aware of a foundational principle for love. When I lived apart from You, I could not love as You commanded. However, You have made me a new creation in Christ by the power of Your Holy Spirit. I must never overlook what You have done in my life. I must always lay hold of it by faith. While You have done an amazing work, I see that I must continually receive the benefits of it by faith.
Thank You for taking me out of the kingdom of darkness and transferring me to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. You have made a way for me to love as You do, and it is founded upon the work of Christ and Your Spirit.
“not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible”
Not only that, but Your Word tells me that when I am born again, it is of an incorruptible nature. This means that the work that You have done cannot be undone. You have sealed me with Your promised Holy Spirit, and I am forever grateful for that. You have started the work and will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
“by the Word of God”
Your Word is true. Your Word is a like a double-edged sword that divides the soul and the spirit. In the Old Testament, You tell me that You sent out Your Word to heal and deliver me from my destruction. It is through Your Word that You make Christ known to the world. Through Your Word, the Spirit convicts my heart and leads me to greater acts of repentance.
Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for caring enough about me to speak to me through the Bible. I can trust Your Word, its purity, and infallibility. You have preserved Your Word for me; it is the ultimate source of truth, whereby all other truth claims must be judged.
“which liveth and abideth forever”
Father, I thank You that Your Word will abide in me forever. What a blessing that Your Word is living within. You have planted the seed of your Gospel in my heart, and it has borne fruit. However, I see that in the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke of more than seed that fell along the path, rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil. When Jesus referenced the good soil, he spoke of the seed sprouting up and bearing yields of thirty, sixty, and one hundred-fold.
Thus, I am made aware that there is more to life than simply becoming a Christian and having Your Word dwell in my heart. I pray that You would make me a one hundred-fold Christian. I need You, Jesus, as a branch needs the vine. Bear much fruit in my life, Lord, I pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.