1 Peter 2:2 (ASV)

Passage

as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;

Nearby Context

1 Peter 2:1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;

1 Peter 2:3 if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious:

1 Peter 2:4 unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "newborn", "babes", "long", "spiritual", "milk", "without", and "guile". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "newborn", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Putting away therefore all wickedness and all..." into verse 3's "if ye have tasted that the Lord...", so "Spirit" and "newborn" belong inside that flow. In 1 Peter context, the local focus is hope in suffering, holy conduct, submission, and grace.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "newborn" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.