1 Pedro 2

1 Pedro 2:2

Calvin wrote that - Those only are worthy students of the law who come to it with a cheerful mind, and are so delighted with its instruction as to account nothing more desirable or delicious than to make progress therein. Albert Barnes makes an excellent point regarding one's longing for pure milk of God's word explaining that it… furnishes evidence of conversion, if we have a love for the simple and pure truths of the Gospel. It is evidence that we have spiritual life, as really as the desire of appropriate nourishment is evidence that an infant has natural life. The new-born soul loves the truth. It is nourished by it. It perishes without it. The gospel is just what it wants; and without that it could not live. Comment: Dear reader, Barnes' insightful point begs a question - Have you ever at any time since your profession of belief in Christ had a true longing for God's Word? If not, you may be self-deceived. Remember, when someone is deceived by definition they don't know it! So let me repeat the question with a slight alteration - Do you have a hunger and thirst that is only satisfied by God's Word? The corollary question is whether you once had a strong impulse for God's Word, but in recent times have not. This latter situation may reflect a different problem. You would do well to look back over 1Peter 2:1 and the notes on that passage. Your appetite may be blunted by unconfessed sin. Long for (1025)(epipotheo [word study] from epi = toward or an intensifier + potheo = yearn) means to have a strong desire for something, with implication of need. It mean to long for, have great affection for, yearn for someone or something. The preposition epi in this compound indicates intensive desire directed toward an object (in context God's pure Word). Epipotheo - 9x NAS - Usage: desires(1), long(3), longing(4), yearn(1). Romans 1:11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 2 Corinthians 5:2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, 2 Corinthians 9:14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:26 because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 1 Thessalonians 3:6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 2 Timothy 1:4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? 1 Peter 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, Epipotheo is used 9x in the Septuagint (Lxx) and several uses are very instructive regarding what we are and are not to be longing for. Deuteronomy 13:8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. Deuteronomy 32:11 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young (Lxx = "and yearns over his young"), He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. Psalm 42:1 For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants (Hebrew = arag = yearn for, Lxx = epipotheo) for the water brooks, So my soul pants (Hebrew = arag = yearn for, Lxx = epipotheo) for Thee, O God. (See Spurgeon's Comment on Psalm 42:1) Psalm 62:10 Do not trust in oppression And do not vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them. Comment: What a great reminder! The danger of riches is not riches per se, but in our propensity to set our heart on them, which is tantamount to idolatry and we cannot serve God and mammon! (Mt 6:24-note) Psalm 84:2 My soul longed (Lxx = epipotheo) and even yearned (Lxx = ekleipo - "faints") for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 119:20 My soul is crushed with longing After Your ordinances at all times. (A perfect picture of longing like a newborn babe!) 131 I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. 174 I long for Your salvation (yeshua) , O LORD, And Your law is my delight. Comment: Paul writes that "whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Ro 15:4-note). Would Psalm 119:20, 131, 174 describe your spiritual walk beloved? Is your soul at all times crushed with longing after God's ordinances? "It is good when our thirst for the Scriptures is enormous and unflagging." The psalmist has set the bar high, but not unattainable. The same intense longing in our soul is our Father's desire for each of us so that we "will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12-note) Notice also that the psalmist yearns for God's Salvation, God's Yeshua, ultimately God's Sent Savior Yeshua (see note), our Jesus. While the psalmist may have been longing for His first coming, you and I are to be daily looking to the eastern sky, longing for His imminent return (parousia) to sweep us off our feet and into His presence forever! Are you longing for Jesus' return? Are you one who Paul would say has "loved His appearing?" (2 Timothy 4:8-note) If not, it could be because your vision is fixated more "horizontally" than "vertically" (so to speak). Ask the Spirit to bend your will vertically toward heaven and the things above, not the things on the earth (Colossians 3:2-note). And remember this is more than "mystical pie in the sky by and by" for what you are LOOKING for will determine what (Who) you are LIVING for! Jeremiah 13:14 "I will dash them against each other, both the fathers and the sons together," declares the LORD. "I will not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them."'" Epipotheo describes an intense yearning for something. It is to long for or intensely crave something with the implication that the one longing recognizes the lack or the need. As noted above epipotheo is used by Paul in (Ro 1:11-note) when he writes, “I long to see you” and when he writes to young Timothy, that he is “longing to see” him (2Ti 1:4-note). In these uses one can see a picture of the deep longing Peter is trying to convey to his readers and to all saints. Beloved, the question is this… Are you "panting" for God's word as a deer in the desert does for the water brooks? If not, why not? Long for is in the aorist imperative which calls for a decisive action (attitude change in this case) on the reader's part. The idea is -- Just Do it! Do it now! Don't delay! It is a command and not an option or a suggestion. In other words, longing in one's heart for Truth is not an option if we desire to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:16-note). Since we have been born again by the Word of God, we have a new divine nature (2 Peter 1:4-note) with a new longing. Peter is saying "Now make up your mind once and for all to intensely crave the word of God!" Nothing but pure milk satisfies a baby and nothing but the pure milk of God's Word will truly satisfy one who has been born again. Do you see the connection between the Word of God in the preceding section (1Pe 1:23, 24, 25 -note)? We are born again into the Kingdom of God by the "imperishable seed… the living and abiding Word of God" Now, long for that same pure word. You began this new life in Christ with the Word and the only way to grow in Christ likeness is by letting the "the Word of Christ richly dwell within you" (Colossians 3:16-note) Peter exhorts his readers to intensely crave for pure milk! Epipotheo is a strong word. It paints the picture of being an absolute hungering and thirsting after the Word. If a believer is to grow, it is absolutely essential that he hunger and thirst after the milk of the Word. What this says is that just as essential as having the desires for the word that we are supposed to have is having the trust in God that He gives what He commands. If God says to desire, long for (aorist imperative = do it now!), when we don't desire, then we trust Him that He must know something we don't know. He must have some power we don't have. There must be a way. God commands it. So there must be a way. I will not settle for less than what God commands. It's saying "Lord, I can't but You can and you said you would" so cry out to Him to give you that desire which you know is a prayer in His will (1Jn 5:14, 15-note) and then wait upon the Lord and He will renew your strength so that you then can mount up with wings like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31-note). Each morning when you get up you need to deal with those "verse one" (1Peter 2:1) issues first so that your inner man will be ''healthy'' and you have a natural (supernatural) God given appetite for His Living Word, the spiritual bread of life. God will give you an intense craving and deep-seated longing for His Word. (Phil 2:13-note -) And remember that to obey the command to long for pure milk, you need to jettison self-reliance and rely wholly on the filling and control of the Holy Spirit, Who Alone can give us the desire and power to do what is pleasing to Father (Php 2:13NLT-note). Our part (responsibility) is to "work out" (Php 2:12-note), what the Spirit "works in" and to set aside at least a few minutes each morning to read the "pure milk!" Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving for and a delight in God’s Word with the intensity with which a baby craves milk. The opposite of longing after the pure milk of the Word is to neglect so great a salvation (He 2:3-note)! Note that in the present context, milk does not stand in contrast to solid food (as it does in 1Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12 [note]) The use of milk as symbol for spiritual nourishment found in Judaism et. al. religions. It would have been immediately familiar to Peter’s readers. All believers are seen as needing to grow and to learn more about the Lord. All believers are to desire the milk (food) of the Word. How does a believer increase their desire for the truth of God’s Word? 1) Remembering life’s source (1Peter 1:25; Isa 55:10,11; Jn 15:3; Heb 4:12, Mt 4:4) 2) Eliminating (confessing/repenting of) sin (1Peter 2:1) so the Spirit is not quenched (Ep 4:30-note). 3) Admitting need for God’s truth (beseeching Him to give hunger) (1Peter 2:2) 4) Pursuing spiritual growth (1Peter 2:2, “that you may grow thereby”) 5) Surveying His blessings (1Peter 2:3, “Lord is gracious”) Life example of "longing" -- In the Antarctic summer of 1908–1909, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions attempted to travel to the South Pole from their winter quarters. They set off with four ponies to help carry the load. Weeks later, their ponies dead, rations all but exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished. Altogether, they trekked 127 days. On the return journey, as Shackleton records in The Heart Of The Antarctic, the time was spent talking about food — elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, sumptuous menus. As they staggered along, suffering from dysentery, not knowing whether they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating. Jesus, who also knew the ravages of food deprivation, said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Mt 5:6) We can understand Shackleton’s obsession with food, which offers a glimpse of the passion Jesus intends for our quest for righteousness. THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD: to logikon adolon gala: Ps 19:7-10; 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12,13 1 Peter 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries 1 Peter 2:1-3 Getting Into The Word - Steven Cole 1 Peter 2:1-3 Hungering for God's Word - John MacArthur 1 Peter 2:1-3 Desiring the Word - John MacArthur 1 Peter 2:1-3 Cultivating a Hunger for God's Word - John MacArthur THE NOURISHING POWER OF PURE MILK! The pure milk of the Word - "Pure spiritual milk" (NET), "Unadulterated, spiritual milk" (Berkeley), "which is without mixture" (Mace), "Sincere milk of the word" (KJV), "the pure and simple teaching" (ICB), "the true milk of the word" (BBE), "spiritual milk which is without guile" (ASV) J