Pure (97) (adolos from a = negative + dolos = deceitful cunning to mislead) means without guile, without deceit. Adolos describes that which is honest, sincere, pure, not mixed with with anything else, without admixture or unadulterated. Adolos is an adjective which is not found in the Septuagint (LXX) but was used in secular Greek writings describing seed or liquids which were described as "unadulterated." Adolos was also used to describe treaties as without fraud or guileless. And so in this context Peter is calling for intake of God's word, the only Word which is guileless, without imperfections, flaws, dilutions or anything that would deceive or lead astray! Steven Cole adds that... Dishonest merchants in that day would add water to their milk to make more profit. This was “deceitful” milk. Peter tells us to long for the pure, not-deceitful milk. (1 Peter 2:1-3 Sermon) Adolos contrasts with the second attitude in 1Peter 2:1 where Peter exhorts Christians to get rid of guile (dolos). Jamieson... Irenaeus says of heretics. They mix chalk with the milk. The article, “the,” implies that besides the well-known pure milk, the Gospel, there is no other pure, unadulterated doctrine; it alone can make us guileless Peter's point is that God's Word is pure and has no additives. This food of the Word has not the slightest admixture of anything evil in it. The word is commonly used in this sense of corn, wheat, barley, oil, wine, and farm products. William Barclay adds that... Adolos is an almost technical word to describe corn that is entirely free from chaff or dust or useless or harmful matter. In all human wisdom there is some admixture of what is either useless or harmful; the Word of God alone is altogether good. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos) Milk today has all manner of "additives" and unadulterated milk is virtually impossible to find. Peter says spiritual babes need to suckle on the pure word of God in order to grow into spiritual maturity. The pure Word of God has no ulterior motives like so many human teachings, but has as its primary purpose the nourishing of our soul. The following statement was found in an old law in Baltimore... Only pure unadulterated, unsophisticated and wholesome milk (may be sold) Like water from a mountain spring, Christianity is most pure at its source. While there are fine and honorable Christian teachers and ministers here and there around the world, there remains a very fundamental question: Can the word of any human be more right than The Word of God? Both Paul (1Cor 3:1, 2) and the author of Hebrews (He 5:12, 13-see notes He 5:12;13) use milk in contrast to solid food as metaphor for elementary teaching to new converts, but Peter uses milk instead as that irreplaceable nutritional source which is vital for growing, sustaining and perfecting the children of God. The analogy with a newborn baby is obvious for just as God has designed milk to be the perfect food for the physical nourishment for for babies, He has similarly given us the Word which is the perfect food for spiritual nourishment. Even as the mother's milk immunizes her baby from many illnesses and nourishes her baby's growth, so too God’s Word protects Christians from the many spiritual "diseases" which abound and nourishes them to grow in the Lord. Furthermore there is no other source of pure, unadulterated doctrine, which is why the Word must be held in such high esteem and preached purely from the pulpits. Many today do not desire pure milk - Warren Wiersbe quips that the naive church member who foolishly declares... We don’t want doctrine; just give us helpful devotional thoughts!” does not not know what he is saying. Apart from the truth (and this means Bible doctrine), there can be no spiritual help or health. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) C. H. Spurgeon encourages believers to continually imbibe the pure mild of the word, writing that... It is blessed, to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord, so that your blood is Bibline and the very essence of the Bible flows from you. Let us partake of the beautiful invitation Ps 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed (fully satisfied independent of circumstances) is the man who takes refuge in Him!" As we taste and see His goodness, this only serves to whet our appetites for more of God's goodness as revealed in His Word. And the more we taste God's goodness, the more tasteless, less attractive and less satisfying the worldly options will become! The pure milk of the Word - As discussed below the original Greek (to logikon adolon gala) is a bit ambiguous and thus it is rendered variously by the translators... The spiritual milk which is without guile (A T Robertson) the pure spiritual milk (ESV) the sincere milk of the word (KJV) pure spiritual milk (NAB) The Psalms speak of the purity of God's Word... Ps 12:6-note The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. Ps 19:8-note The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. David spoke of the supremacy and sufficiency of God's Word in Psalm 19... 7 The law of the LORD is perfect (needing nothing for completeness), restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Spurgeon's note) 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Spurgeon's note) 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. (Spurgeon's note) 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. (Spurgeon's note) In Proverbs we read... Pr 30:5-6 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.:6 Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. (Bridges Commentary; Pulpit Commentary) The Puritan Thomas Watson presents a pithy picture regarding spiritual nourishment... What profit is it, to have the Bible in our heads, but not in our hearts? It is better to practice one truth, than to know all truths. The Lord gives us His precepts, as a physician gives the patient his prescriptions—to take and apply. This is the end are all God's institutes—that we may, by practice, apply them for the purging out of sin and bringing the soul into a more holy temper. God gives us His Word as the mother gives the child the breast—not only to look upon, but to draw from. Many have gone to hell with the breast in their mouths, because they have not drawn it, and turned the milk of the Word into sacred nourishment. (from his sermon Comfort for the Church) How do you "drink" the "pure spiritual milk"? Read it - God communicates with man through His living and abiding Word in the Bible. Listen to it while you drive around (Mp3's, CD's) but better yet read it. Remember to talk to Author before, during and after you've read His personal love letter to you. Picture yourself as a newborn babe and don't let anything keep you for your "feeding time"! Study it - It's rational, logical milk, so begin to hone the discipline of slowing down so that you might truly observe (observation) what God is saying (consider learning the powerful discipline of inductive Bible study). Memorize the Word so that it becomes "portable" no matter where you are or what your circumstances are. You will find that memorization in turn facilitates meditation on the Word. Taste it - Steven Cole explains tasting the Word this way... The image of milk and of tasting the Lord’s kindness brings up the fact that the Word is not just to fill your head with knowledge. It is to fill your life with delight as you get to know the Divine author and enjoy Him in all His perfections. Taste points both to personal experience and enjoyment. I can’t taste for you, nor you for me. We can only taste for ourselves. To taste something, we’ve got to experience it up close. You can see and hear and smell at a distance, but you can only taste something by touching it to your tongue. You can only taste God’s Word by drawing near to God and personally appropriating the riches of knowing Him. Once you like the taste of something, you don’t just eat it to live; you live to eat it. You want it as often as you can get it. God’s Word is that way for all who have tasted His kindness. Wayne Grudem... To drink the milk of the Word is to ‘taste’ again and again what He is like, for in the hearing of the Lord’s words believers experience the joy of personal fellowship with the Lord Himself. George Sweeting The Bible is literally God speaking to you. It is God's instrument in salvation (1Peter 1:23-note, James 1:18-note) and God's instrument for growing mature Christians (1Peter 2:2). It is the blueprint for the Christian. Thomas Watson The Scripture is both the breeder and feeder of grace. How is the convert born, but by “the Word of truth”? (James 1:18-note). How doth he grow, but by “the sincere milk of the Word”? (1Peter 2:2) Tertullian God’s purpose and promises to man are for the benefit not of the soul alone but of the soul and the flesh. Martin Luther Nothing is more perilous than to be weary of the Word of God. Thinking he knows enough, a person begins little by little to despise the Word until he has lost Christ and the gospel altogether. John Henry Jowett... “As newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk.” [1Pe 2:2] Having tasted of the grace of the Lord, and freeing yourselves from the embittering presence of sin, adopt an exacting diet—“long for the spiritual milk which is without guile.” Feed upon the loftiest ideals. Suffer nothing of adulterating compromise to enter into your spiritual food. Nourish yourselves upon aspirations undefiled. Do not let your wine be mingled with water. Do not permit any dilution from the suggestions of the world. “Long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation.” [1Pe 2:2] It is the unadulterated food that ministers to growth. It is the high ideal which lifts men to the heights. The loftiness of one’s aim determines the degree of one’s growth. In these matters my spiritual gravitation is governed by my personal aspirations, my spirit pursues the path and gradient of my desires. Here, then, is the threefold preparation of the individual for a family life of intimate and fruitful fellowship—a personal experience of grace, the expulsion from the life of all uncleanness, and the adoption of a rigorous and uncompromising ideal. The whole preparatory process is begun, continued, and ended in Christ. In Christ the individual is lodged, and in His grace, which is all-sufficient, he finds an abundant equipment for the spacious purpose of his perfected redemption. (Epistles of St. Peter) ><>><>><> Pure Milk - Recently it was discovered that some milk producers in China had been diluting cow’s milk and adding the industrial chemical Melamine. This chemical was added because it artificially enhanced protein readings. Several infants died and others became seriously ill. Such adulteration is not new. Other countries have been adding Melamine to animal feed for at least 40 years for the same purpose, resulting in the death of animals. Another kind of adulteration is when people add to God’s Word, “the pure milk of the Word” as Peter described it (1Pe 2:2). The word pure means “unadulterated” or “uncontaminated.” The early church had to deal with those who considered circumcision necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). That idea was rejected because it was not in accordance with the Word of God, which says that salvation is by grace alone. Peter encouraged his brethren in the Lord: “Why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples? . . . We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” (Acts 15:10, 11). Examine carefully any teaching that asks you to do anything more than what is in God’s Word. Otherwise it can be deadly to your spiritual well-being. - C. P. Hia (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) The Lord has given man His Word, His will He has made known; Let man not try to change that Word With words that are his own. —D. De Haan God’s Word needs no additions or subtractions. ><>><>><> Frenchman Michel Lotito has an iron gut. For some reason Lotito likes to eat metal. In the past twenty-five years, says writer Rosie Mestel, Lotito has eaten eleven bicycles, seven shopping carts, a metal coffin, a cash register, a washing machine, a television, and 660 feet of fine chain. Lotito says it wasn’t easy eating his first bicycle: “I started with the metal and moved on to the tires,” he recalls. “It was really difficult to stay that extra day to finish off the rubber. Metal’s tasteless, but rubber is horrible.” Now Lotito swallows pieces of tire and frame together. But none of that can compare with his biggest meal: a Cessna. That’s right, Lotito has eaten an entire light airplane, 2,500 pounds of aluminum, steel, vinyl, Plexiglas, and rubber. With a meal like that he cuts the metal into pieces about the size of his fingernail and consumes about two pounds a day. Most people would agree that Michel Lotito has an unhealthy appetite. When we first come to Christ, we have appetites just as unhealthy. New believers need to change their appetites from what is not food at all to what is true food for the soul. In the 1994 Winter Olympics, held in Norway, twenty-three-year-old Tommy Moe of the United States won the gold on the men’s downhill. It was “a beautifully controlled run,” said William Oscar Johnson in Sports Illustrated, “on which he held tucks and thrust his hands forward in perfect form at places where others had stood up and flailed their arms.” After his victory, Tommy Moe explained his thought processes. “I kept it simple,” he said, “focused on skiing, not on winning, not on where I’d place. I remembered to breathe—sometimes I don’t.” The winner of the gold medal in the Olympics had to remember the most basic of basics: breathing! He kept it simple. Likewise as we seek to have a strong walk with God, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know where we win or lose. Spiritual strength depends on the basics. We need to make sure we’re breathing the things of the Spirit. (Larson, Craig Brian - 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers) (Bolding Added) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/1peter_verse_by_verse_21-12.htm#Pure