Desire for the Word of God
As Christians, we know that God’s Word transforms our minds and helps us to know His will as individuals, churches and nations (Romans 12:2). Being a committed student of Scripture is essential for our obedience and our usefulness to Him in this life. In 1 Peter 2:2, He commands us concerning His Word:
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (ESV).
The 1599 Geneva Bible, the Bible of the Reformation, puts it this way: “As new borne babes, desire the milke of the Worde, that ye may growe thereby”. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the words used here, let’s look at the context and tone of this passage. In the first verse, Peter is commanding his Christian readers to repent of any lingering sins that they freely practice. They are now in Christ and should pursue a course of life that seeks to conform, or match, the example given us by the Lord Jesus himself as He walked the earth. He is drawing their attention to the fact that the Word of God is absolutely THE essential element in their growth as believers in Christ. It is as essential as breastmilk for a newborn infant. In the Greek language, this passage assumes the attitude of an imperative. It is a COMMAND, not a mere suggestion or friendly advice. So now, as we look at the meaning of this verse, we need to firmly focus on the fact that this is a command straight from God Himself, through Peter, to all Christians for all time to come. That means us!
The key word used here, found in the very title of this blog post, is “desire’. The modern ESV uses the term “long for” but they mean the very same thing. What they meant to a 1st Century Christian and a 21st Century Christian can be very different however, due to changing cultural shifts in grammatical practice, morals and traditions. To many in 21st Century America, these terms typically speak to our sincerity, our emotions and our affections. To desire is to want, to feel compelled to have, feel being the operative word. While some of this is certainly present in the original Greek, there are subtle, yet very important aspects of context and intent that can make a big difference to the modern reader. The traditions of the last century or so in American Christian doctrine and practice have often emphasized the emotional experience of the individual believer, and minimized the longstanding traditions of Christian thought, practice and historical theology. “Long for” or “desire” here are not primarily speaking to our emotions or our innate sincerity of wanting. This is not speaking of a passive emotion or want, but of an orientation of our will! This will is to be expressed in our pursuit, our choices made in obedient response to God’s command. While our innate, or “natural” emotions and wants are not excluded here, they are certainly not in the driver’s seat, so to speak.
This type of imperative is used in places like Phil. 4:4, where we are commanded to rejoice, 1 Peter 2:17 in the command to “fear God”, and John 13:34 “love one another”. In each of these, our emotions and natural wants are to be put aside. What mechanism puts them aside? It is our free will and active choice as regenerate believers! You see, the tone here is not “if I happen to sincerely feel like it”, but rather “I set myself to this longing”. It speaks to our posture, our readiness, orientation and actions rather than any emotional state. This speaks to a set of decisive actions, our established attitude in obedience to His command. Verse one does exactly the same thing when it tells us to “put off” the sins listed there. It does not say “wait until you magically don’t want to do these things”. It is vital that we understand that our mindset here must not be passive! We must choose to take actions that are obedient to the Lord Jesus. When He redeemed us, He set us free from slavery to sin. This is not just alluding to our eventual passage to heaven upon dying. We are set free here as well. We can choose to obey. We are not without sin, but we no longer are compelled to serve sin since we are new creations in Christ.
So, you see, this longing and desire are not driven by what we experience, our feelings and emotions, but by our choices to obey our God. This is true freedom! I do not say that our emotions and desires are somehow shut off or ignored. This would be destructive to attempt and would lead to utter failure in short order. God built us with wants, needs and longings, but they must be subject to our will as we obey Him. We choose to set our mind and heart, our will, unto obedience in the proper study of God’s Law/Word. We seek to bend everything in us to that priority. He has already promised us a helper and teacher in the indwelling Holy Spirit. So He has equipped us for the success He desires to see in us! But make no mistake, the “doing” is on us. We must choose to set our minds to this task soberly and with effort that honors our Lord and King. Reading and studying are sometimes difficult for everyone. Some can struggle as they are not given to a natural love of reading. Some struggle with structural deficits that sincerely make the task harder. This is one reason that Paul referred to the obedient Christian walk in terms of military service or training for an athletic event. It is SUPPOSED to be hard! We must quit assuming it should be easy! The Living God commanded us to SEEK Him! That is not a casual word. That doesn’t mean as I sit on my couch, resting, as I await God to reveal Himself to me. He made it to require effort and to cost you and I something to properly seek Him. Some of the words associated with this are “dig”, “run”, “fight”. Liking to read or not, liking to read has absolutely nothing to do with it. We must stop our excuses. Recent studies have shown how reading and note taking allow a far greater level of retention and understanding than listening alone. If you aren’t a strong reader, then act to remedy that in obedience to your Lord. I have known two grown men who were functionally illiterate upon coming to faith in Christ. They expended great efforts to learn to read so that they could know their Lord more fully. In my past, I have been shamefully lazy about this. God gifted me with a love of reading and study, yet still I was slack in obedience. He brought me very low to secure my repentance. I can tell you that it took a while before my “desire” feeling began to match my “desire” posture. But it did change and I began to Love Him and His perfect Law in ways I’d never even knew were possible. He is worthy of all our adoration.
So don’t wait until you “feel sincere” in this desire. Set your mind and heart to the task and watch what the Living God will do! Just obey and trust Him to do His part, for He never fails. If you are unsure how to get started and plan for the long haul, I would be glad to offer help in any way I can. So would anyone at Vertical Church. Don’t sit back and remain passive. Seek out brothers and sisters in Christ who can assist you and hold you accountable, for this is the very crux of discipleship. You will only know Him to the extent you know His Law/Word. Take the milk, if that’s what you need now. Keep after it with dogged determination until you can chew the meat of sound doctrine! Then, resolve to clamp your jaws shut on His Word like a pit bull on a tomahawk steak! Whatever you do, don’t wait. Move now! Take action now! Set your will in obedient motion and anticipate the visible workings of God to transform your Christian walk. Just like 1 Peter 2:2 says, His Word, his doctrines, are absolutely required for our maturity. We cannot grow without it. He is faithful, so step out in faith today. Sola Scriptura!
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (ESV).
The 1599 Geneva Bible, the Bible of the Reformation, puts it this way: “As new borne babes, desire the milke of the Worde, that ye may growe thereby”. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the words used here, let’s look at the context and tone of this passage. In the first verse, Peter is commanding his Christian readers to repent of any lingering sins that they freely practice. They are now in Christ and should pursue a course of life that seeks to conform, or match, the example given us by the Lord Jesus himself as He walked the earth. He is drawing their attention to the fact that the Word of God is absolutely THE essential element in their growth as believers in Christ. It is as essential as breastmilk for a newborn infant. In the Greek language, this passage assumes the attitude of an imperative. It is a COMMAND, not a mere suggestion or friendly advice. So now, as we look at the meaning of this verse, we need to firmly focus on the fact that this is a command straight from God Himself, through Peter, to all Christians for all time to come. That means us!
The key word used here, found in the very title of this blog post, is “desire’. The modern ESV uses the term “long for” but they mean the very same thing. What they meant to a 1st Century Christian and a 21st Century Christian can be very different however, due to changing cultural shifts in grammatical practice, morals and traditions. To many in 21st Century America, these terms typically speak to our sincerity, our emotions and our affections. To desire is to want, to feel compelled to have, feel being the operative word. While some of this is certainly present in the original Greek, there are subtle, yet very important aspects of context and intent that can make a big difference to the modern reader. The traditions of the last century or so in American Christian doctrine and practice have often emphasized the emotional experience of the individual believer, and minimized the longstanding traditions of Christian thought, practice and historical theology. “Long for” or “desire” here are not primarily speaking to our emotions or our innate sincerity of wanting. This is not speaking of a passive emotion or want, but of an orientation of our will! This will is to be expressed in our pursuit, our choices made in obedient response to God’s command. While our innate, or “natural” emotions and wants are not excluded here, they are certainly not in the driver’s seat, so to speak.
This type of imperative is used in places like Phil. 4:4, where we are commanded to rejoice, 1 Peter 2:17 in the command to “fear God”, and John 13:34 “love one another”. In each of these, our emotions and natural wants are to be put aside. What mechanism puts them aside? It is our free will and active choice as regenerate believers! You see, the tone here is not “if I happen to sincerely feel like it”, but rather “I set myself to this longing”. It speaks to our posture, our readiness, orientation and actions rather than any emotional state. This speaks to a set of decisive actions, our established attitude in obedience to His command. Verse one does exactly the same thing when it tells us to “put off” the sins listed there. It does not say “wait until you magically don’t want to do these things”. It is vital that we understand that our mindset here must not be passive! We must choose to take actions that are obedient to the Lord Jesus. When He redeemed us, He set us free from slavery to sin. This is not just alluding to our eventual passage to heaven upon dying. We are set free here as well. We can choose to obey. We are not without sin, but we no longer are compelled to serve sin since we are new creations in Christ.
So, you see, this longing and desire are not driven by what we experience, our feelings and emotions, but by our choices to obey our God. This is true freedom! I do not say that our emotions and desires are somehow shut off or ignored. This would be destructive to attempt and would lead to utter failure in short order. God built us with wants, needs and longings, but they must be subject to our will as we obey Him. We choose to set our mind and heart, our will, unto obedience in the proper study of God’s Law/Word. We seek to bend everything in us to that priority. He has already promised us a helper and teacher in the indwelling Holy Spirit. So He has equipped us for the success He desires to see in us! But make no mistake, the “doing” is on us. We must choose to set our minds to this task soberly and with effort that honors our Lord and King. Reading and studying are sometimes difficult for everyone. Some can struggle as they are not given to a natural love of reading. Some struggle with structural deficits that sincerely make the task harder. This is one reason that Paul referred to the obedient Christian walk in terms of military service or training for an athletic event. It is SUPPOSED to be hard! We must quit assuming it should be easy! The Living God commanded us to SEEK Him! That is not a casual word. That doesn’t mean as I sit on my couch, resting, as I await God to reveal Himself to me. He made it to require effort and to cost you and I something to properly seek Him. Some of the words associated with this are “dig”, “run”, “fight”. Liking to read or not, liking to read has absolutely nothing to do with it. We must stop our excuses. Recent studies have shown how reading and note taking allow a far greater level of retention and understanding than listening alone. If you aren’t a strong reader, then act to remedy that in obedience to your Lord. I have known two grown men who were functionally illiterate upon coming to faith in Christ. They expended great efforts to learn to read so that they could know their Lord more fully. In my past, I have been shamefully lazy about this. God gifted me with a love of reading and study, yet still I was slack in obedience. He brought me very low to secure my repentance. I can tell you that it took a while before my “desire” feeling began to match my “desire” posture. But it did change and I began to Love Him and His perfect Law in ways I’d never even knew were possible. He is worthy of all our adoration.
So don’t wait until you “feel sincere” in this desire. Set your mind and heart to the task and watch what the Living God will do! Just obey and trust Him to do His part, for He never fails. If you are unsure how to get started and plan for the long haul, I would be glad to offer help in any way I can. So would anyone at Vertical Church. Don’t sit back and remain passive. Seek out brothers and sisters in Christ who can assist you and hold you accountable, for this is the very crux of discipleship. You will only know Him to the extent you know His Law/Word. Take the milk, if that’s what you need now. Keep after it with dogged determination until you can chew the meat of sound doctrine! Then, resolve to clamp your jaws shut on His Word like a pit bull on a tomahawk steak! Whatever you do, don’t wait. Move now! Take action now! Set your will in obedient motion and anticipate the visible workings of God to transform your Christian walk. Just like 1 Peter 2:2 says, His Word, his doctrines, are absolutely required for our maturity. We cannot grow without it. He is faithful, so step out in faith today. Sola Scriptura!
Recent
Archive
Categories
no categories