Purified In Obeying the Truth

Their souls had been cleansed from sin's defilement, at the very moment they obeyed the truth. The truth is the word of God (John 17:17), which was delivered by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). To fail to obey that truth is to perish (2 Thessalonians 2:10-13; verse 14 tells us we are called to belief of the truth by the gospel). One of the purposes of Christians' purification was the production of love of the brethren that was true, or not hypocritical. Such love will come out of a pure heart with the greatest effort behind it, which is the meaning of fervently (1 Peter 1:22).

The purification Peter spoke of in verse 22 took place in the new birth. The new birth takes place through the word of God (Luke 8:11; James 1:18). Babies are born of corruptible seed, as are all fleshly and physical things, but Christians are born of a seed that will never perish, God's word (compare John 3:1-7). It is alive in the sense that it is always active and is able to give life. It abides in that it will never perish (1 Peter 1:23; Matthew 24:35).

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