Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1 Peter 2:1-3
The first thing one has to take note of is that verse 1-3 is the complete sentence. The sentence is the smallest unit of grammar that provides definite meaning. Everything within the sentence must be interpreted within the context of the sentence. Taking a clause or a phrase out of its sentence devoids it of any definite meaning and you can apply any meaning you like to it. That is how one gets a private interpretation.
“If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
Verse three is a reference to salvation. If you know God’s saving grace then what should you do.
“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,”
You should put off all your evil ways: malice, guile, hypocrisy, envying, and evil speaking.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
The Bible is a complex book with many facets, many layers, going from simple instruction on how we are to live and transform ourselves by the renewing our minds through the word of God, to the more challenging developments of doctrine and understanding similitudes and prophecy.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
You cannot renew your mind without the knowledge of the word of God.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Meat – everything that God has, is, and going to do, is in the book.
Hosea 12:10 KJV I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.
Meat – Because of the sheer volume of what is in the book, much has to be encoded in similitudes.
We are to start by desiring the simple, the milk of the word and learn to put of malice and put on kindness, replace guile with honesty, hypocrisy with sincerity, envy with contentment, evil speaking with speaking the truth in love. Learning how to live in Christ is the milk of the word.
We are not to remain babes but grow being weaned off the milk and move unto the meat of the word. Many fail in growing preferring the safety of being a babe.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Growth comes from the reading and diligent study of the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
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