“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:23-25.)
Peter’s describes the word of God as incorruptible, as opposed to that which is corruptible. It is not subject to decay or death. It shall live on and on. At the resurrection man’s vile body will be changed from that old corruptible body to an incorruptible body. It will happen in a moment of the twinkling of an eye. Our physical bodies decay; they are subject to death; but the word of God lives on. The grass and flowers, as beautiful as they are in the springs and summers of life, will fade and fall away; however, the word of God continues to abide in all of its glorious beauty and bold grandeur. Christ is described as immortal; that is, not subject to death or decay. (1 Tim. 1:17.) The word “immortal” in 1 Timothy 1:17 is translated from the same Greek word as “incorruptible” in 1 Peter 1:23. Thus, just as Jesus Christ lives and abides forever, so does the word of God continue. It will not, it cannot be destroyed. It endures.
Men come and go. The famous and the infamous have lived and died. Well known men and unknown men are here today and gone tomorrow. This life is a constant cycle of birth, life and death. Babies are born; lives are lived, long or short; then death. From cradle to the crypt, from the maternity ward to the funeral home we go. The Preacher wrote, "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” (Ecc. 1:4.) However, time will come when forever will end for this earth. It will be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). But God’s word will still be standing. Life is but a brief span, however the word of God spans the ages. Through days of darkness and moments of sunlight, the word of God remains constant. Through the sunshine and the rain it lives on to guide and direct us, to comfort and instruct us, to rebuke and warn us. God’s word lives and abides forever.
The word of God, the incorruptible seed, has the germ of life for man. By this word we are born again. We begotten unto a living hope. Paul told the Corinthian saints: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” (1 Cor. 4:15.) A birth will take place in time, unless something goes wrong, after the begetting. The child of God is begotten by the word of God. James said, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18.) The incorruptible and unadulterated word of God will continue to be the means by which individuals enter into the kingdom of God until time shall be no more.
The word of God is life-giving. Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit[-filled], and they are life [-giving].” (John 6:63.) Jesus came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly. He came to give us a better life here, and ultimately in the hereafter (John 10:10; 1 Tim. 4:8). Paul wrote, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:2.) This incorruptible word is the law of the Spirit of life. If the incorruptible word, the truth, is obeyed, it will purify us. It is the instrument by which we are made free (I Peter 1:22; John 8:32).
This incorruptible seed works quietly, silently. If we will just sow it, it will fall into good ground. As I write these lines I am in farm country in Illinois, just a few hundred yards from the Illinois-Indiana state line. All around me are fields of green corn, blowing in the wind. Just a few weeks ago the farmers were in these plowed fields planting the seed. From the nutrients in the soil, and the sunshine and the rain the seeds began to germinate and spring up from the ground. Quietly over a few days, after the farmers’ had carefully planted the seed and with God’s care, the corn came forth. God’s word, the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11) works the same way. The farmers did not try to excite the crowd in order that it might urge the crop to grow. The seed corn was planted, it silently germinated beneath God’s earth and then quietly it came forth. No fanfare; no appeals to those watching to cheer the crop on. Just natural law taking place. The same in true in the spiritual kingdom, the church. Just plant the seed, the word of God, into the hearts of honest and good people. The seed will germinate and grow. If time is granted, the harvest will take place. Let us be busy sowing the seed of the kingdom, brother.
Like the inheritance that awaits, the incorruptible, undefiled word will not fade away. However unlike the inheritance which is reserved in heaven, this living word is available. It is for us now. It is not in prospect nor promise; it is accessible to all today through various languages. Just as the word of the king Ahasuerus went out in various languages in the time of Esther, so God’s word is going forth in various languages today. The historian wrote, “Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.” (Esther 8:9.)
All men shall meet the incorruptible word of God in the judgment one day. All men will give an account to Christ, according to God’s word. Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48.) John’s vision of the judgment scene also shows that all men will give an account for their lives, according to this incorruptible word (Rev. 20:11-15).