“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1Pe. 1:22). In this epistle, Peter likely addressed Christians of the diaspora. These were Jewish and Gentile converts living outside of Israel at the time. That they were fully initiated Christians is evidenced by the first word, “Having,” which refers to an action already taken. There definitely is an allusion to OT purification rituals, as in Exo. 19:10-11, “…the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”
Even in the time of Jesus, purification rituals were an essential part of the Jewish religious life and signified inward purification from sin. Joh. 11:55, “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.” James says we are to purify our hearts if we are to draw near to God. Jam. 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” For present-day Christians, purification of the soul is a term that refers to the result of absolute subjection to God’s Word by keeping it in our hearts and living it through our actions.
Once that state is achieved, we are able to love sincerely, which is love that is neither dishonest nor hypocritical. One could question whether that level of love can ever be achieved by someone who does not possess the Holy Spirit. I say that, not flippantly, but because it is evident that being purified by obedience to the Word releases supernatural powers previously unavailable. Love is not only one of the Fruits of the Spirit but also the one mentioned first for good reason. It is the fruit that all the others flow from. Some would correctly contend that it is the ultimate sign of our spiritual rebirth attained by baptism.
Rom. 6:3-4, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” When we walk in that new life, our capacity to love is beyond human constraint because it is no longer subject to selfish worldly desires. Their hearts show no pure love because it is always about a love that has to be earned on their terms and for their gratification. By contrast, our love does not have to be earned but is given sincerely and freely as part of our spiritual dedication to God’s Word.
Our love comes from and exemplifies the love of the Father. A scripture that attests to that type of love perfectly is 1 Joh 4:9-10, “In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The world is incapable of the same level of sincere Christian love as we are because they don’t have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide them. Their hearts are not spiritually pure; ours is. They don’t love with a love that is from God, but one that is from self.
They don’t love others before themselves; they love themselves first. Their love is contingent on what others provide them; ours is devoid of selfish motivation. Rom. 12:10 says we should “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Our love is outward, not inward-directed. Now, I am not saying worldly people cannot love because clearly they do; I am merely saying that they do not possess the agape love of the Father. Do you love with that kind of love? Does your love come from a pure heart that stems from a purified soul?
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