“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

It is a difficult task to gather words which aptly describe the sheer power, and immense blessings provided us by God in His word. Yet, with supreme eloquence, the Holy Spirit provides the perfect description. We must not take God’s word for granted. We must understand the indispensable role it plays in our lives as we seek to serve God acceptably. To neglect the study of God’s word is to refuse the invaluable riches it offers. To neglect the study of God’s word is to refuse the very power by which we are redeemed, and the very power which is set to sustain us until the end.

The power is traced back to the quiet chambers of eternity, where God, before the foundation of the world, devised a plan that would provide salvation for mankind. Its origin speaks to its incorruptible nature. The scarlet thread of redemption was woven by God before the light was called day, the darkness, night, before either ever existed. It was fashioned before time began, and carries with it timeless perfection from its eternal and perfect Author (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). All men of all times and all places can be affected by it toward the goal of supreme glory. But it must be heard.

It is with this key principle that God “[combined] [His] spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (1 Corinthians 2:13, NASB), and commissioned men to ring out the beautiful message (cf. Matthew 28:18-20). This incorruptible seed is not sown in limited places. The sower is to go out to sow, and scatter his seed everywhere his feet tread (cf. Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23). It is the will of the God of everlasting lovingkindness (cf. Psalm 136) that His powerful word reach all ears, both deaf and hearing. The choice belongs to men (cf. Matthew 13:10-17). Would they rather prepare the soil of their heart for the incorruptible seed, so that it germinates into a marvelous, fruit bearing masterpiece of God? Or would they rather have it snatched away, sprang up only to be scorched and withered, or choked to unfruitfulness? The failure for growth does not attest to the quality of the Divinely certified seed, but to the contaminated soil.

Those who reject the seed reject the only thing which is truly substantive. They reject the only lasting source of power and joy there is to offer. Thus, those who take in the seed infuse themselves with power insurmountable (cf. 1 Peter 1:5), and “joy inexpressible” (1 Peter 1:8). They are equipped to withstand any “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword…[and] neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing” (Romans 8:35, 38-39) can produce in them utter helplessness. For, “if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it” (Acts 5:39), and those born of the incorruptible seed are born of Him.

Not one can fashion a pleasure, religion, idea, or philosophy that rivals that which the Word has to offer. It “lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23), and those born of it so thrive. Men boast of their abilities, riches, and fame; they keep no sight from their eyes which they wish to see; and they gratify every fleshly lust which knocks on the door of their heart (cf. 1 John 2:15-17). “This also is vanity” (cf. Ecclesiastes). “Because ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away’” (1 Peter 1:24). Men “fade away in [their] pursuits” (James 1:11) of things which fade away themselves (cf. Matthew 6:19). What folly! “’But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you’” (1 Peter 1:25), and through which you have been “born again” (v. 23) if you have obeyed it. Forget not what it offers! Forget not how the joy which springs forth from the treasure in its pages is everlasting! Do not turn from the incorruptible seed to the polluted, volatile, vile, and profligate world! To do such is to accept the likeness of a dog and a hog (cf. 2 Peter 2:18-22). To do such is to underestimate and underappreciate the magnitude and blessing of the incorruptible seed offered by God.