Knowing God through His Word … Day by Day

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3 (read verses 1-8 in our plan today)

Pastor John MacArthur preached on this passage and said:

Now if Peter was going to exhort his congregation through this letter, he could have chosen a number of approaches to this.  He could have said to them, “You need to read the Word.”  That’s what Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:13.  He could have said, you need to study the Word so that you’re not ashamed, rightly dividing it. He could have said what the psalmist said in Psalm 19:14 what Joshua 1:8 says, what Paul said in Philippians 4:8. He could have said, “Think on the Word, meditate on the Word.”  He could have said what Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:11, “Teach the Word.”  He could have said what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word.”  He could have said what it says in Acts 17:11 about the Bereans, “Search the Word.”  He could have said what is instructed to us in the armor of the Christian in Ephesians 6, “Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God,” or wield the Word. But he didn’t.  I suppose he could have said what is in Psalm 119:11, “Hide the Word.”  Put it in your heart.  All of those things are certainly critical.

But at the very foundation of all of that, and Peter knew it and the Holy Spirit knew it, is the desire of the Word, because if you don’t desire it, my friend, you won’t read it.  And if you don’t desire it, you won’t study it and you won’t meditate on it, and you’ll never be able to teach or preach it and you won’t be interested in searching it, and you certainly won’t be able to hide it in your heart and you will not be able to wield it.