I have been meditating on 1 Peter 1:22 for several weeks. Several words in the verse have really challenged my understanding. Never before did I realize that the first part is about our standing in Christ. The last part is about our state. It is a command to obey and prosper in our journey of progressive sanctification. 

It says, “Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

The only way our souls are purified is through the gospel. When we hear it, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. John 16:8. In Mark 4:13-20 Jesus explained the parable of the sower.

Verse 14 says, “The sower sows the word.” According to verse 20, the ones who get saved are, “…those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the word. We hear, obey, and receive His love into our hearts.