I Peter 1:24-25

Verse 24, 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:

I. The main theme of these verses is a comparison between the flesh and the Word of God.

A. The Word of God is permanent.

1. If there is anything that will give comfort and help to the believer, it is knowing that the Word of God is sure, and will never fail.

2. Matt. 24:35 - Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass away.

3. When the Word of God passes away, God Himself will be gone, and God will never go away.

4. Our entire Christian life is based on the fact that God is permanent.

B. The flesh is temporary.

1. Job 14:2, He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

2. Psalm 103:15,16, As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

3. Isaiah 40:6-8, The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

4. James 1:9-11, But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

C. It should be noted that the prophets and the apostles preached the same thing concerning the destruction of the flesh and the continuance of the truth of the Word of God.

Verse 25, But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

I. Once we see what we have in Christ, what we are in the flesh, it is good to see that the Word of God abideth forever.

A. If the word of the Lord didn't continue, the Lord wouldn't continue. If the Gospel didn't continue, it would be useless for the Word to proclaim such a gospel.

B. Forever means just that - it will never, never, never end.

II. The word is one thing and the gospel is another.

A. The word is speaking of the spoken word, or the inspired Word of God called the Bible.

B. The gospel is described in I Cor. 15:1-4 and is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.