Love One Another Fervently

With a Pure Heart

☐

Peter’s letter. Later in his life Peter wrote letters to believers. The first one begins, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1).

The command. He wrote, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

Purified. To purify is to make clean. God makes people clean inside when they believe the good news about Jesus and obey it.

Brethren. Brethren means brothers and sisters. Everyone who trusts Jesus is part of one family, no matter where they live or what they look like.

A pure heart. A pure heart is a clean heart that does not pretend. It loves others for their good, not to get something back.

Sincere. Sincere love is real love, not pretend love. It is the same on the inside as it is on the outside.

Fervently. Fervently means with all your strength, not halfway. Peter wanted believers to love each other with their whole hearts.

Jesus asked Peter first. By the lake Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” and then said, “Feed My lambs” (John 21:15). Peter learned that loving Jesus means caring for His people.

Born again. Peter went on, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23). Love in God’s family begins with God’s new life.

As He loved them. Jesus had told His disciples at the supper to love one another as He loved them (John 13:34).

From death to life. John wrote, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). Love for God’s family is a sign of a heart God has made new.

What love looks like. Loving God’s family looks like everyday kindness: sharing, helping, praying for one another and speaking kindly.

Not earned. We do not love others to earn God’s love. We love because Jesus died for our sins, rose again and gave us new life.

The whole family. Peter also wrote, “Love the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17). The brotherhood is the whole family of believers.

What this means for you. Love the believers around you with your whole heart, at church, at home and at school. Welcome a new kid at church. Love the way Jesus has loved you.

The letter. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1). The man who was asked three times, “Do you love Me?” later wrote to believers about love.

The verse. “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22).

Philadelphia. Love of the brethren is philadelphia (say: fil-ah-del-FEE-ah), brotherly love. It joins phileo, the word Peter used by the lake, with the word for brother.

Purified first. The verse begins with what God has already done. The Spirit uses the truth to make believers clean, and a cleansed heart is free to love.

Obeying the truth. Peter ties love to “obeying the truth.” Love is not a feeling that floats apart from God’s Word. It grows as believers trust and obey it.

A pure heart. Love “with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22) is love that is not mixed with selfish reasons. It seeks the other person’s good, not its own gain.

Sincere. Sincere means without a mask. Love that is kind in public and cold in private is not the love Peter meant.

Born again. “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23). The love Peter commands grows out of new birth through God’s Word.

As He loved. Jesus gave the same pattern at the supper: love one another as He loved them (John 13:34).

Love in practice. Fervent love shows up in ordinary ways: praying for one another, sharing meals, welcoming newcomers and speaking well of one another.

A sign of life. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14). Love does not earn new life. It shows that new life has come.

From the cross. The love that cleansed us is the love that went to the cross. Christ suffered “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18), and He rose again.

The brotherhood. “Love the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17). Peter’s word for the church is a family word.

For you. Ask God to help you love believers you find hard to love. Start with one act of real, wholehearted kindness this week.

Love Will Cover a Multitude of Sins

☐

Above all. Peter wrote, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8).

At the top. “Above all things” means this comes first. Peter put love at the top of the list for God’s family.

Love covers. To cover sin in love means to forgive it and not keep bringing it up. Love does not spread other people’s wrongs around or keep a list of them.

Peter knew this love. By the lake Jesus did not list Peter’s failures or make fun of him. He asked Peter about love and gave him work.

A safe kind of love. Covering sin in love never means keeping a secret when someone is hurting you or someone else. If that happens, tell a parent or another trusted adult right away.

Open homes. Peter went on, “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). To be hospitable is to welcome people and share what you have with them.

Without grumbling. Grumbling is complaining under your breath. Love welcomes people gladly, not with a frown.

At church. Being hospitable can be as simple as sitting with someone who is alone or sharing your snack.

Honor first. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Romans 12:10). To give preference means to let the other person go first.

Love that lets go. Love has no need to win every argument. It can let a small wrong go without saying a word about it.

Like Jesus. Jesus covered our sins in a far greater way. Peter wrote that He “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). There is no greater love than that.

He carried them. Jesus did not cover our sins by pretending they were small. He carried them on the cross and died for them, and then He rose again.

Forgiven people forgive. Because Jesus carried our sins away, we can forgive others and stop holding their wrongs against them.

Hard to love? Some people are hard to love. Ask Jesus to help you. He loved Peter after Peter failed Him, and He can help you love others.

What this means for you. When a friend at church hurts your feelings, forgive them and do not spread the story. Open your home and your heart. Let others go first. Love the way Jesus loved Peter.

Above all. “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8).

Ektenes. Fervent is ektenes (say: ek-teh-NAYS), stretched out, at full strength. It belongs to the same family of words as fervently in 1 Peter 1:22.

Cover. Peter is repeating the wisdom of Proverbs 10:12: love covers sins. Love does not expose and repeat the wrongs of others. It forgives, and it lets the matter rest.

Not a cover-up. Love covers sins against us by forgiving them. It never hides harm. If someone is hurting you or another person, love tells a parent or a trusted adult.

Covering in practice. Love covers by refusing to gossip, forgiving quickly and speaking well of others when they are not there.

Learned by the lake. Jesus restored Peter without listing his failures or putting him to shame. The man who received that love later told the church to love the same way.

Hospitable. “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). Hospitality is love with an open door: food, a seat at the table and a welcome.

Without grumbling. Kindness given with a grudge is not the love Peter meant. Love welcomes gladly.

Gladly, not grudgingly. Love that opens the door with a sigh has missed the point. Peter wanted believers to welcome one another freely, as people who have been freely forgiven.

Preference. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Romans 12:10). Brotherly love here is philadelphia again. Giving preference means honoring others above yourself.

Honor in practice. Giving preference can mean letting someone else speak first, taking the smaller piece, or praising another person’s work.

The greater covering. Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). He did not cover our sins by ignoring them. He carried them, and He rose again.

Forgiven to forgive. Those whose sins Jesus carried can let go of the sins of others. Love that covers comes from the cross.

For you. Think of someone at church who has been unkind to you. Forgive them before God, refuse to spread the story, and look for a way to be kind to them.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.