If you have ever raised a family, you know that it is not normal for a child not to grow. Every time you take them to the doctor for a check-up, the doctor informs you of their growth and where they are compared to other children their age. When they are above average, you are encouraged. It helps you feel good about what you do as a parent to feed, nourish, and protect them. You mentally give yourself a pat on the back. However, when they are below average, you want to know why. Are they not getting proper nutrition? Is there a genetic reason? Are they sick or diseased? You want answers and solutions. We get very concerned when our children do not grow properly. Yet, the most important growth for anyone should be their spiritual growth. This growth will carry them to eternity to be with God and have a better life here. I believe God gets concerned about us when we are sluggish in our growth, or we regress in our spiritual growth.
The first thing we must do to achieve spiritual growth after we are saved is to put off, or as Peter puts it, lay aside the things that are not of the Spirit. This is necessary to develop the pure desire for the Word of God. Paul uses this same word in Ephesians 4:22, where he uses the put-off and put-on principle. He says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) of the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Peter is urging them to put off in their conduct what they have already put off in their commitment.
His first directive is to lay aside all malice. This would include any evil, yet some scholars think it was a particular kind of evil, such as seeking to harm others through a spirit of revenge. Paul in Ephesians 4:31 gives us a list that ends with “all malice.” “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” Anything evil, whether in deed or thought, is to have no place in the life of a believer. Our world says, “Do unto others as they did to you.” God says in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” We are never to do evil to anyone, no matter the circumstances. There is no justification to take matters into our own hands.
Next, Peter says to lay aside guile, which is the sin of deceit. When we try to entrap people, deceive them, or present them to others so they will have the wrong opinion about them, we are sinning against our brethren.
The list goes on with hypocrisies, pretending to be something we are not. This is when we are hiding a wicked purpose under the guise of religion. He continues with envy. This is jealousy that leads to bitterness and rivalry. Last but not least, he mentions all evil speaking. This would include any slander or speaking to ruin a person’s reputation or defame his character in any way. All of these are evil and are harmful to the body of Christ. Not only does it cause pain within the body of Christ, but it gives Christians a bad reputation. When we act in a way that is not like Christ, we also shed a false light on our God. He is holy and perfect. There is nothing about Him that is like any of these qualities. It is crucial that we represent our God well.
I Peter 2:1 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.”
All of these things need to be put away before we can move forward in growth. Once that happens, we must desire the word just like a baby does its milk. It takes milk for the baby to grow. He must take milk until he is strong enough for meat. While we grow and mature, we will not reach a point where we can stop growing until we get to heaven, where the redeemed will be perfect. The word should satisfy our souls. If you are not yearning for time with God each day to study and learn of Him, then you need to ensure you have laid aside anything that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind that is not pleasing to God. When we seek God, the closer we get to Him, the more we see the filth of the world that clings to us. We will gain knowledge, wisdom, and strength as we read the Word to grow to be like Him. Once we have tasted the goodness of the Lord, we will have a stronger desire to grow. As a result, we will desire Him more, and the more we desire Him, the more we grow. Our love will increase rapidly as we stay in the word and live a life of obedience.
I Peter 2:2-3 “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.”
