Devotion for Monday, June 1, 2020
1 Peter 1:23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible…”
Today’s devotional focuses on the imagery of God’s Word as a seed. God does not want us to think only of His Word as an external force or reality to be read and followed. God’s Word is not merely a book. It is a living Word that is to transform lives, and to become the very life upon which every disciple is to depend.
Peter indicates this in his first epistle. Just as Peter highlights the connection between God’s Word and sustenance (see 1 Peter 2:1-3), he demonstrates the connotation of God’s Word with a seed. Here we see the parallel relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are born again, but it is the Word of God that serves as the agent of that regeneration. Peter says, we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, THROUGH the word of God which lives and abides forever.” (1:23)
The Word of God is to abide within you. We who are born again are filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are set apart for holy living – being sanctified. The process of sanctification occurs primarily through the intake of God’s Word. There we learn more about becoming more like Christ.
Therefore, the Word of God is like a seed planted deep within us that springs forth the truth of God. It is the Word of God hidden deep within our spirits that springs forth in times of trial and temptation to keep us focused on the race that we are to run. It is the seed of the Spirit, the Word of God, that helps us to forget what is behind and to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:14)
This planted seed of God’s Word is a main fulfillment of the New Covenant as prophesied in Jeremiah 31. God promises in the New Covenant that He will, “put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts (lit. inward parts); and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” (31:33)
Why is the Word of God so vital to the Christian? It is the wellspring of life that bursts forth in time of need. The Word of God provides all the promises that are needed when sufferings, persecutions, and trials come. The Word of God brings forth the answers when we are questioned of our faith and when hidden snares assail us.
Remember what the psalmist said about God’s Word. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”