I Peter 2:1-3
Verse 1
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. (NIV)
So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing. (NLT)
Peter continues to address the people he was writing with their need of unity amongst themselves. They needed to be a community that displayed Godly love and supported one another after being in exile so long, and under such extreme conditions. They truly needed one another. Any evil activities or attitudes needed to be stopped. By “rid yourselves” he meant “QUIT!”
Any nature that wants to harm others, or envies others, has to be destroyed. Envy will often show itself by slandering another. Deceit and hypocrisy comes out of a person who wants to impress others by pretending to be something he/she is not. Such a person is two-faced and does not have pure motives for what he/she does.
A person who sincerely repents turns away from such ways and turns to a life of truth and love. When one possesses the mind of Christ, he/she seeks the good of others. The closer we walk with Christ, the more our desires become like His.
Verse 2-3
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it your may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (NIV)
You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk; now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (NLT)
Just as a baby craves milk, new born babes in Christ should crave spiritual milk, which is the Word of God. Babies grow when they are fed, and so do new Christians. The mind must be fed with the pure milk of the truth found in God's Word. It is a source of nourishment that can be trusted.
Once we find out how satisfying the truth of God is, we should long for additional nourishment. We have found God's grace through our redemption, and we know that He is good...all the time. May our spiritual cravings take us into His Word so that we may grow strong and wise through our time with Him.
