The New Nature

Would you turn to 1 Peter 1. I want to begin reading in verse 22. 1 Peter 1. I've entitled this the new nature. Verse 22. You have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again. not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For, this is a quotation from Isaiah chapter 44, all flesh is his grass. and all the glory of man. As the flower of grass, the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Let's pray. Lord, we ask in your son's name that the very word which we have read just now might be preached in the power of your spirit to our hearts. Lord, we ask that you would meet with us. Make yourself known to us. We wait on you for that. Lord, you said in your word where two or three are met together in your name, there you are in their midst. And Lord, we believe that you're in our midst. And Lord, by your grace, we have met. In your name. Lord, we confess our sins.

We pray for forgiveness and cleansing. We pray for your spirit. We pray that we might love one another fervently with a pure heart. We pray for your blessing upon this assembly, upon all your people, wherever they meet together. Lord, we pray for our children. We pray for the Sunday school teachers that you bless them and they're bringing the word to the kids. We pray that you would Reveal yourself to our children, to our grandchildren. We pray that your blessing might be upon this nation for Christ's sake and upon all your people everywhere. Lord, we give thanks for who you are. May we be found in your son. In his name we pray, amen. The new nature.

Verse 22, seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit. Now, there can be no purifying of the soul without obedience to the truth. And that's what faith is, obedience to the truth. The gospel is something to be obeyed. Now how do I go about obeying the gospel? Now this is what came to my mind when I thought about this thing of obedience to the truth. In 2 Timothy 1 12, I'd say most if not all of us are familiar with this scripture. Paul says, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have, what's the next word? Committed to him. That is obedience to the truth. You have committed, you have entrusted the salvation of your soul to him. You really believe if he didn't do it all, I won't be saved.

You really believe that. It's like getting on a plane. You believe the plane will get you from point A to point B, but when you get on it, you've entrusted yourself to that plane. As to whether or not you get to the destination, it wholly has to do with whether that plane gets you to that destination.

There's a commitment to, an entrusting of yourself to the truth. That's what obedience to the truth is. It's obeying the truth of the gospel. It's believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's obedience to the truth. And what happens when you obey the truth?

Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit. Don't you realize that the only way you do this is through the Spirit? It's not because of your decision or will. It's God the Holy Spirit that's caused you to do this. And you know that. If you believe, you know the only reason you believe is because God the Holy Spirit created that faith in your heart. And here is where it leads to. Unto unfeigned. Unfaked. Real. Unhypocritical. Unfeigned love of the brethren.

By this shall all men know that you're my disciples, by the love you have one to another. The fruit of the spirit is love. Now this is what comes out of that soul that's been purified. The pure heart in obeying the truth, unfeigned love of the brethren. Now I think it's so interesting that we see that he is not using law. but he is appealing to the new nature. This new nature loves. Now let's read verses 22 and 23 together. Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart.

That pure heart that the Lord speaks of in the Beatitudes, the new heart given in faith given in the new birth, with a pure heart, fervently, and here's his argument as to why you should do this, being born again. Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. His argument for this has nothing to do with law. Being born again. again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever, being born again. Now, I think it is interesting that this is spoken of in the passive, being born again.

You didn't have any activity in this. How much did you have to do with your first birth? Nothing. You were born, a miracle. You didn't participate in it. You didn't contribute in it. It happened. Same is true of the new birth. You didn't participate in this thing.

Begotten of God, birthed of God. And notice he speaks in verse 23 of two seeds. And this is what I want to emphasize this morning. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed. Now, what I want us to do is consider these two seeds by way of comparison and by way of contrast. First, by way of comparison, thinking of these bursts that come from these two different seeds, one being corruptible seed, Adam's seed, and the other being incorruptible seed from God the Holy Spirit. Now, we read of two lives, one of corruptible seed and one of incorruptible seed. Now the natural man is born of corruptible seed and the spiritual man is born of incorruptible seed.

Now by way of comparison, first there is great mystery involved in both of them. What about the mystery involved in a birth, in the conception of life? I know scientists, I suppose, and doctors can give good explanations, but it's still mystery that God would make life that was not there before. All of a sudden, there's life conceived in the mother's womb. Mystery. I don't get, well, I do get, but I mean, how can somebody not believe in God see the mystery of this, but there is mystery in the new birth. What a mysterious, glorious thing that we can't fully comprehend. We just believe what mystery that I would be born of God, that I would be given a divine nature, partakers of the divine nature. What mystery is involved there?

Now, in both of these births, both of the incorruptible and the corruptible, in both of these births, there's a life created that was not there before. All of a sudden, there's life in that first birth. In that seed conceived in the womb, there is life that was not there before. And in the new birth, there is spiritual life. that was not there before.

The creation of God. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Something's there that was not there before. Now understand this, the new birth doesn't have anything to do with the reforming of the old nature. Something altogether new is brought forth. The new birth. In both of these births, a life was communicated through another life. You see, life only begets life. We don't create life in test tubes. Life is created by life.

And in your first birth, you came from your mom and dad, and you have things about you that were determined when you were born. There's no escaping of those things. You were created by your mom and by your dad as far as your life. And you've got what's in them and you. That's why you were born with an evil nature. That's why you were born with a sinful nature, because you were born of your mom and dad. And you've got things. You're going to be certain ways because of who is your parents.

Now the same thing is true in the new birth. The very life of God is communicated into you. That's one of the very, the Bible teaches that the new man cannot sin. That which is born of God cannot sin. The reason it's born of God. God can't birth something. If you're fathered by God, that which he fathered cannot sin.

Now, it's what Peter calls the hidden man of the heart. As a matter of fact, we're in 1 Peter chapter 3. Verse 4, let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible. I love the way he calls it the hidden man of the heart. Why does he call it the hidden man? Because I don't see him. I believe him, I'm aware of him, but I can't see him. I can't say, well, that's holy. No, I'm painfully aware of my sinful nature at all times. He's a hidden man, but he's incorruptible.

John 1.13 says that we are born, birthed, fathered, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God, James 1.18 says, of his own will begat he us through the word of truth.

I've already quoted this, 2 Peter 1.4, partakers of the divine nature.

Now, continuing by way of contrast, when you're born naturally, you're born with all your parts. You don't grow a leg after you're already born. You don't grow an ear. You're born with all your parts. And they grow as you grow in the new birth. You're born with all your parts. You're born with all the fruit of God, the Holy Spirit. You're born with this new nature that has faith, repentance, love to God, all the parts. When you're born again, you have.

And by grace, they grow like the old nature grows, the new great nature grows, but you're born with all your parts. So this is the comparison between the new nature and the old nature. Every believer has two distinct natures. The one you were born with, that David spoke of when he said, behold, I was shaping an iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.

You have that nature and you have the new nature. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ had two separate natures. He's 100% human nature in his human nature, perfect, but he's got a human nature like you do. He doesn't have a fallen human nature, but he's got the perfect human nature. And he's 100% divine in his divine nature as God. He has two natures. Every believer has two natures. The old nature and the new nature. Now let's consider these two lives by way of contrast.

One is corruptible seed. The other is incorruptible seed. Corruptible seed. Adam, that's why you and I are born sinful. Corruptible seed and incorruptible seed. corruptible seed. Now, being born of incorruptible seed means I'm born with a holy nature that cannot sin. Now, being born of corruptible seed, that gives me a nature that cannot not sin.

All I got to do is breathe and it's sin. You know, it takes the new nature to recognize this. A natural man cannot understand sin. He thinks he can perhaps go five seconds without it or ten seconds or maybe five minutes or maybe all day. You know, if you just control yourself, you won't sin because he doesn't understand what Paul understood when he said, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing."

Now, I know that. I'm convinced of it. I know that in me that is in my flesh dwells no good thing. Corruptible. Turn with me to 1 John chapter 3 about this incorruptible. I want you to look at these verses with me. The new nature is, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ in his human nature could not sin. Impeccable.

He didn't have, somebody says, well, how could he be tempted if he couldn't sin? Where's the temptation? Well, he experienced all the horrors of sin on the cross, except for the commission of it. But he could not commit sin. He's God. He can't sin. The new nature cannot sin. 1 John 3, verse 9, whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.

How many different ways are there to take that? I think it's amazing the way people say, well, that means he doesn't practice sin as a habit, baloney. That doesn't have anything to do with what it means. As far as that goes, if that is what it means, me and you aren't saved, nor is anybody else.

But this is talking about the new nature that does not commit sin. Look what it says next. For his seed, that incorruptible seed, the seed of God, remaineth in him, and he cannot sin. He lacks the ability to sin because he is born of God. Now how, that's clear isn't it? Look in first John chapter five. Verse 18, we know, we know, we know. I love it when we read the word we know in the Bible.

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." The wicked one doesn't have anything to work with with the new nature because it's a sinless nature. Now, contrasting these two natures, the incorruptible and the corruptible, there's such uncertainties regarding the corruptible seed.

Now, you may look at a little baby. They're so cute and beautiful. They're babies. Everybody loves babies. But you can look at that baby. He might be the next president. But he might be a serial killer as well. You don't know. There's such uncertainties regarding that baby. What's going to happen with them?

But with regarding this new begotten of incorruptible seed, there's no uncertainties at all. They're going to be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. That is for sure the great end of predestination will be realized in them perfect conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the life of the natural, the incorruptible, is compared to grass.

What does he say? Verse 24, all flesh. That's every man woman, boy and girl to ever be born. This is this corruptible nature. All flesh, my flesh, your flesh, all flesh is as grass. You're born dying. And each day brings us closer to death. Grass withers. And that is the natural man. He is grass. The new man cannot die. Now, when my physical man dies, my new man will still be alive.

He is eternal. That's what eternal life is. And this is one of the great mysteries of the gospel. If I have eternal life, it's because I've always been in Christ. And however, logically, Christ is infinitely before me. Well, you know, He's eternal God. But that being said, I've always been in Him. And I don't understand that, but I believe it. I've always been in Him, and my life is eternal on both sides. In that sense, if Christ is my life, Christ's life is eternal. If Christ's life is my life, I love what Greg Elmquist said, when we get to heaven, we're going to find out we've always been there.

Mystery. Mystery. Verse 24, for all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower thereof falls away. Let's contrast these two men, the glory of man. And man indeed does have glory created in the image of God. You think of men and their glory, well, think of physical beauty. Everybody puts a high premium on that, physical beauty.

You take the most beautiful person there is, give them time, old age, they're going to become very ugly. Everybody. The glory of man is going to wither. The flower is going to fall away. What about the premium people put on strength? That strength that you have right now is rapidly fading. And one of these days, it's going to be all the way gone. the wisdom of man, the intelligence of man, his ability to invent things and all the wisdom and the intelligence of man, you're gonna lose every bit of it. The glory of man is like the flower that fades away. But that's not the way the new man is.

The new man, Beauty in Christ is never going to fade. We can't imagine what it's going to be to have glorified bodies, I realize that. But you're gonna have a glorified body. It's gonna be perfect, sinless, no health problems. The beauty of Christ, and it's going to be eternal. The wisdom that you have in Christ Jesus is going to continue. The strength you have in Christ, they're eternal.

I mean, you contrast the one, the one's dying. The other is eternal. Let's look again, verse 24. For all flesh is its grass, and all the glory of man has the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof, the beauty, the glory thereof, falls away.

But the word of the Lord endureth forever and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." Now this is a very significant verse of scripture. The gospel is not preached unless this is preached. This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. This is where the new birth comes from through God the Holy Spirit taking the word preached and blessing it to your heart. Now, these last two times where it says, for all flesh is grass, all the glory of man is the flower of the grass, the grass withers, the flower there falls away, but the word of the Lord, there the word is not logos, but rima, the spoken word, the articulated word, not just the divine word, but the spoken word. And when he says, this is the word which by the gospel is preached to you, there the word is rhema, the spoken word, the articulated word, the word of God, which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Now, this lets me know first that there is no new birth without the word, the word of God. It pleased God by the foolishness. I love that scripture. It pleased God by the foolishness, the foolishness of preaching, the foolishness of what's going on right now. It pleased God by, he didn't use angels, he used sinful men. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, the proclamation of the word.

But I want you to, I want to finish by turning to Isaiah 40. Not gonna have a lot of time. Meant to comment more on this, Doesn't look like I'm going to, but look, verse 6. The voice said, cry, Isaiah 40, chapter 6. The voice said, cry. And I said, what shall I cry? What am I supposed to preach? Well, here it is.

All flesh is grass. There's no gospel preaching without this. All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof is of the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people of grass, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever.

This is what stands, the Word of our God. You know who stands before God? The Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and everybody in Him. How am I going to stand in judgment day before God? The Word endures forever. I am in the Word, therefore I shall endure forever in Him. The Word of God endures forever. Amen.

The New Nature

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