Brotherly Love

The gospel does more than reconcile us to God; it brings us into a new family. In 1 Peter 1:22–2:3, Peter turns from the call to holiness to the call to “love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” Christian community is not built primarily on preference, personality, or shared interests, but on the new birth. God has given us a new identity, brought us into a new people, and called us to a sincere and enduring love for one another.

But how can that kind of love survive disappointment, conflict, and difficulty? Peter grounds it in something far more permanent than human affection: the living and abiding Word of God. Because we have been born again through an imperishable gospel, we can put away the sins that destroy community—malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander—and instead grow together in grace. The church becomes the place where God’s eternal promises take root and where the goodness of Christ is made visible through the love of his people.