“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 KJV
Many of our translations have this phrase “…that you may grow up into salvation” or something like that. The difference between the translations here is the Greek Text used by the translators. I am choosing to stay with the King James in this case, simply because the word always causes growth. The direction of the growth is understood in the passage.
So we are to co-operate with the Word. That is our part of faith – to co-operate with the Word. In this case, to get rid of all ill-will, desire to see another wounded or hurt, insincerity (two-faced which is what hypocrisy means) and all forms of jealousy. These are deadly emotions and will not only eliminate our witness but will severely damage our own spiritual growth. Many of us have not understood that to be jealous of another person is to under cut our own power in the Holy Spirit. Such things must be eliminated by us personally. No one else can do this for us.
Some of us need simply to allow His love and mercy to take care of such in us, while others of us may take some time in learning not to blame and receive Him in such fullness that these things drop away. Still others may need some professional help. However, Beloved in our Jesus, these are emotions that we are empowered to live beyond. So let’s us set our hope on our Lord Jesus and begin to get what help we need to allow such things to be conquered in us.
We must choose not to participate in those emotions. We do have control of this in our emotions through our renewed minds. In the New Covenant, the Word of the Lord is written in our hearts and minds, (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-10, Hebrews 10:16-17) and as we believe that and allow the Word to become the first thing we think, these matters do change in us and instead being consumed by them, we have the ability and power in Jesus to not participate in these deadly emotions. So go for it. He in you is able.
This is all conditioned on if we have “tasted that the Lord is gracious.” It is a spiritual “tasting” of course, but if we have lived any length of time in Him, we do know the “tasting” of His goodness and grace. If we only have a small “taste,” we have the ability to conquer whatever emotion we stumble on to in order to release His goodness and receive more and more of the milk of the Word.
Thank you Lord Jesus, for your power in us and you love and grace in us.
Mannaword 