1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

² as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

The Holy Spirit operates the New Birth in the soul of the believer (1:23) and nourishes that life, and the vehicle of these operations is the Word … To desire the Word there must be life, for the child must be born before it desires food.  The attachment of the affections of the heart to the Lord Jesus Christ only occurs where the New Birth is a reality. He and His Word form a unity. They are both precious to the renewed heart, for the Word reveals Him and His fullness to the soul. — Williams, page 999.

Therefore (v.1) — In light of what Peter had just written at the end of chapter 1, that they were born again by the Word of God that endures.

“Laying aside” is from a participle that has imperitive force. In view of the fact that divine life has been imparted to the believer, it is imperative that he “put away once for all” any sins that may be in his life. The preposition prefixed to the verb implies separation. The believer is commanded to separate himself from sin. This act of separating himself from sin must be a once for all action … — Wuest, page 50.

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Now that they were born again, they [Peter’s readers] were to put off these sins of the flesh like a man whose coat has caught fire. — Sadler, page 72.

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Of course, it’s important to remember who Peter was writing to and when his words would be the most relevant—to Jewish believers in the Tribulation.

The Greek word translated “malice” refers to any kind of wickedness. “Guile” [deceit] is the translation of a word which in its verb form means “to catch with bait,” and in the noun which Peter uses means “craftiness.” The word “hypocrisies” is the transliteration of the Greek word hupokriseis which means literally “to judge under,” as a person giving off his judgment from behind a screen or mask. The true identity of the person is covered up. It refers to acts of impersonation or deception. … The word “evil speakings” are in the Greek text “speaking down” a person, referring to the act of defaming, slandering, speaking against another. — Wuest, pages 50-51.

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The word “milk” here does not refer to that part of the Word of God which is in contrast to the meat or solid food of the Word as in Hebrews 5:13-14, but to the Word of God in general. — Wuest, pages 51.

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Once again we have the principle of replacement so commonly seen throughout the Scriptures. Having been pulled from the wreckage of sin, as newborn babes they were to “desire the sincere milk of the Word.” …

 A steady diet of the Word of God will cause the believer to be more spiritually minded and less likely to be troubled by fleshly appetites. — Sadler, page 72.

desire (v.2) = intense yearning

The word “sincere” [pure] is from the same Greek word translated in 2:1, “guile,” but with the Greek letter Alpha prefixed which makes the  word mean the opposite to what it meant before. It is guileless milk, thus unadulterated. It has nothing added to it. The Word of God has no ulterior motives like so many human teachings, but has for its only purpose that of nourishing the soul. — Wuest, page 51.

Quote in verse 3 is from Psalm 34:8.

if indeed (v.3) —a fulfilled condition. They had tasted the Word and discovered the Lord’s graciousness.

gracious (v.3) – better, excellent