Reborn as Descendants of the King of Kings
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Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for May 4th, PM.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)
Peter most earnestly urged the scattered saints to “love one another deeply, from the heart,” and he wisely obtained his argument, not from the law, from nature, or from philosophy, but from that high and divine nature which God has given His people.
In the same way that a wise teacher of a prince might try to foster in them a kingly spirit and dignified behavior based on the prince’s position and descent, so too Peter says to us: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-23)
Peter says this as he looks on God’s people as heirs of glory, princes of the royal blood, and descendants of the King of kings, earth’s truest and oldest aristocracy. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, in the spirit of humility, we recognized the true dignity of our reborn nature, and actually lived up to it?
What is a Christian? If you compare him with a king, they add priestly sanctity to royal dignity. The king’s royalty often lies only in his crown, but with a Christian it is infused into their inmost nature. A Christian is given a truly honored position through their new birth.
We ought to carry ourselves, in every way, as people who are not merely “commoners”, but chosen out of the world. We should be distinguished by sovereign grace, written among “the peculiar people” and who no longer grovel in the dust, and no longer live purely for the material things of this world.
Let the dignity of your reborn nature, and the brightness of your future, compell you to yearn for and cling to holiness, and to avoid all appearances of evil.
Question: What does it mean to be a descendant of the King of kings?
About this Author: Charles Spurgeon
Tags: charles spurgeon, Christians, confidence, Devotional, grace, Jesus, justified, king, Men
