1 Peter 1:23-25

 (1 Peter 1:23-25)

『Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as 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 for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.』

 

『Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 』 This means that God's Word becomes a seed, and those born with the Holy Spirit never rot. Because it was born as a spirit body. Jesus' resurrection never dies. Likewise, those who are born again as spirit bodies do not die forever. Therefore, the reason why we cannot despair even in suffering is because we have eternal life that will never rot. Even if the world changes, we need a word of incorruptible truth that will not be compromised in any world. Those who read and understand the Bible can meet God who acts according to the Bible. The words of the unchanging Lord change us.

 

John the Baptist exclaimed "Repent" in the wilderness. Peter also quoted John the Baptist: "For all flesh is as 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 for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. "But this is what Isaiah said, "The baptism of John the Baptist who prepared the way before Jesus came." These words regenerate us.

 

However, these words from many churches are different. "Repent" is not the beginning of the Gospel, but "If you believe in Jesus, you will be happy." There are churches that say, "If you believe in Jesus, everything will be fine." Repentance comes first, not faith in Jesus. There is God whether we believe it or not. God is angry with everyone. God's standards do not change. God gave people life, and they live their own way.

 

Being born again is the life of the Lord. No matter how much I love and receive praise from people, if I am the owner of my life, I will not be saved. The Lord said, "Let down what is higher than the Lord." Because it is an idol. However, many people's idols are success and happiness. You can count on the Lord to succeed. However, if successful, in many cases people abandon the Lord. Often, unhappy people believe in Jesus to be happy. But when they become happy, they don't need Jesus. So they forsake Jesus.

 

This was what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes before John the Baptist said, "All is in vain, all in vain." Solomon, the son of David, had power, honor, wealth, and influence. God gave through David, Solomon's father. However, he lost God because of his success and happiness. God-given wealth, power, and happiness were used for sin. Godless wealth, success, and happiness bring forth the fruit of sin. In Ecclesiastes 1:14, "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Here, wind is the same as the word spirit. The wind and spirit are the same in both Hebrew and Greek. After all, everything in vain is afflicting the Spirit. Power, honor and wealth only afflict the Spirit.

 

Man was supposed to live in unity with the Lord, but fell to the Devil. Because of sin, all life was taken away from the Devil. The devil is in control in every sphere of the world. Those who live in the world hoping for success are living without God, giving everything to Satan. It is very inconvenient to live in the world when money is scarce. However, if you have a lot of money, you can forget God because you often forget God. "Flowers wither, but people's wealth films are like this." But God's Word is forever. Salvation is where the word of God is forever. There is no difference between success or failure in front of eternal life. There is not much difference whether there is a lot or little money. However, those who feel the difference do not think of eternal life first.

 

The goal of life is not achievement in the world, but change in life. The Lord will check every wealth and happiness. Instead of asking "how did you enjoy it" with your wealth and happiness, you will be asked "what did you do?" Change in life doesn't mean that I try, but it starts with repentance. In Philippians 3:18『(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 』 The city of Philippi was a large economic center. It was like the old British colony of Hong Kong. The land was the Qing Dynasty, a city like London in England. Paul is crying and speaking to those who believe in Jesus. The enemy of the cross is destruction. Their boss is not Jesus. They admit that Jesus is Lord by mouth, but to them, Jesus is not the first. The first was money. They were thinkers of the earth.

 

Those who are Lords live according to His mission. We can earnestly ask for money to fulfill our mission, but if the purpose changes, money makes all of us rot. Money does not follow people, but when people follow money, they lose the Lord. Even if you don't have enough money, you can be happy in the Lord, and if you have a lot of money, you can be happy for the Lord. But even if you believe in Jesus, you can be the enemy of the cross because of money. Many churches are saying, "Believe in Jesus. If you believe in Jesus, it will be good." This is typical of the wilderness church. They will be destroyed in the wilderness.

 

The goal of life is change, not success. In Philippians 3:20-21, 『For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Man was built in the image of God. It means that the Spirit of God communicated with God as a living being. But because of sin, they are cut off from God, and the spirit in man is dead. Death means disconnection. When a prisoner enters prison, he is cut off from the world, just like he is dead to the world. Those who are dead are unchanged. If you don't change, you will only receive shame and shame.

 

Living in this world is not everything. Achievement in this world does not lead you to the Lord, but it must be changed before you can be united with the Lord. The Lord can cause failure, pain, and suffering for our change. However, these pains and pains can be appreciation to the Lord. It is because these things allow us to go into the eternal kingdom of truth.