It's a fearful thing not to hope in God. What I said at the beginning is that the most important thing we will see in this text is that the power to love comes through hoping in God. And what we have seen is that virtually everything in chapter one relates to hope. Peter is exulting in all that God has done and is doing to make the future of his people infinitely and infallibly happy. And he is describing how people live who are captured by this truth and really believe it.
Love is encased in hope.
It gets its life from hope. If we are not a hope-filled people, we will not be a loving people. Let's see this together now in verses 22-25. Let's make sure we see this clearly. You've purified your souls by obeying the truth . . .