Lesson 3 - 1 Peter 2:1-10 - A NEW IDENTITY
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 1 Peter 1:13-25, we heard Peter give practical instruction on how to live a holy life. He basically said that because God is holy, we Christians are commanded to be holy, as well (vv. 13-16). Since his audience consisted mainly of formerly pagan Gentiles having zero understanding of God's moral law-the Torah, they had a lot to learn. One of the major points that Peter made was that we can't expect to have a close relationship with God until we learn how to conform our lives to His moral standards. Since the Bible reveals God's mind, it forms the primary template for being holy, and it's our responsibility to learn it, love it, and live it. Peter also said that our new birth as Christians came from the Word of God: We were saved because the Word of God was preached to us (or shared) by someone. Finally, Peter assured us that inasmuch as the Word of God "endures forever" (v. 25), those who are saved by it will likewise endure (i.e., live) forever.
This week, in 1 Peter 2:1-10, Peter continues the general theme of holy living, using four metaphors that picture how Christians-spiritually-grow into our new identity: (1) ridding yourself of all forms of evil conduct in a manner compared to taking off filthy clothes and throwing them away; (2) growing up as babies while being nourished by the pure milk of God's Word; (3) being built like a temple (spiritual house) as living stones; and (4) functioning as a priesthood of believers.
Read 1 Peter 2:1-3 - SO THAT YOU MAY GROW
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
v.1: "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander," - Peter begins with "Therefore," saying that in light what he said in Chap. 1, especially as it relates to being "born again"-i.e., what does it mean to move beyond our initial salvation experience? Then to prepare his audience for their new calling "to be holy" (1 Pet. 1:16), he presents the first metaphor of Chap. 2 with a list of five types of evil conduct that we are instructed to "rid" ourselves of in a way that pictures removing and throwing away filthy, useless clothing. The first two, "malice"-wishing evil on others and "deceit"-false dealings with others, are both sinful attitudes that are totally incompatible with brotherly love (1 Pet. 1:22). The last three describe taking active steps to cease certain evil behaviors: "hypocrisy"-pretending to be something you are not; "envy"- resenting the success of others; and "slander"-speaking evil of others with the intent to hurt them. All of these human sins are destructive and cause damage to the Christian community, the church.
v. 2: "and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation," - In the next word picture, Peter urges them to take another positive action: Since they had experienced "new birth" (1 Pet. 1:3, 23), they should do something that all babies naturally do. The "pure milk of the word" in context refers to the entire Word of God, OT and NT.
v. 3: "if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord" - Connected the idea of v. 2-being fed by the pure milk of the Word-the 'baby' Christians of Peter's audience had already tasted God's "kindness" -His goodness and graciousness-in their new birth, but now the apostle is telling them they could experience even greater satisfaction by pressing forward and continuing to grow spiritually.
APPLICATION 1: Though God's Word is spiritual food that all believers naturally desire, it's something for which we must cultivate an appetite. And As we grow in our spiritual walk, we'll discover that the 'milk' is not only good for babies but strong 'meat' for the mature.
1 Peter 2:4-5 - BUILDING YOUR SPIRITUAL HOUSE
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
v. 4a: "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men," - This section will illustrate what God does for us when we come to Him and hunger for the spiritual food of His Word. To picture it, Peter switches to a new metaphor that portrays Jesus Christ as the "living stone"-who after being rejected by the Jewish religious leadership, was put to death on the cross.
v. 4b: "but is choice and precious in the sight of God," The "but" in this phrase signifies a divine reversal of the world: God resurrected Jesus, who was "precious in His sight" as His "choice" to be the Savior of the entire world, "so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The new Gentile believers who had previously worshiped inanimate idols would surely recognize the huge contrast with a 'living' Christ who has the power to save.
v. 5a: "you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood," - Here, Peter paints a picture of the church as a living Temple to which God was adding with the conversion of each new believer. Because of our relationship to Christ-who is our foundation stone-believing Christians become the "living stones" who are being incorporated into a new spiritual house-God's Temple-which is Christ's church. While these living stones are many in number, they come together to form one spiritual community.
v. 5b: "for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - As a "holy priesthood," each individual Christian believer forms an essential stone that enables the whole spiritual house of living stones to fulfill God's purposes. We go through a progression of growth that transforms us from being babies to living stones and to priests. Our "spiritual sacrifices" are "offered up" in the form of praise, prayer, financial giving, service to the church and ministries, and fellowship with other believers. In this sense, every believer is a priest.
APPLICATION 2: Every Christian believer is an essential stone and a priest. Because of our relationship to Christ-who is our foundation stone-believing Christians become the "living stones" who are being incorporated into a new spiritual house-God's Temple-which is Christ's church. As priests, our "spiritual sacrifices" are "offered up" in the form of praise, prayer, financial giving, service to the church and ministries, and fellowship with other believers.
Read 1 Peter 2:6-8 - BUILDING ON CHRIST
6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," 8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
v. 6a: For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone," - The next three verses picture Jesus Christ as the "PRECIOUS CORNER stone," of the new spiritual building. Quoting Isa. 28:16, Peter now proceeds to elaborate on the foundation of the building. As used here, "Zion" refers to the future heavenly Jerusalem, the larger eschatological (end-time) entity to which the church will be a part (Rev. 21:14). The term, "CORNER stone"-a metaphor for Christ-
actually represents the main stone upon which the building rests.
v. 6b: "AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." - Here, Peter promises that those who believe on this stone-Jesus Christ-will never need to fear disappointment. This didn't mean they would never have to face opposition or rejection from other people in this life, but it assured them that by placing their faith and hope in Jesus, they were absolutely certain to be vindicated in the end.
v. 7: "This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME TEH VERY CORNER stone," - In contrast to Christians who believe in the "precious value" of the this stone as the foundation of the their faith, "for those who disbelieve," it becomes the instrument of their destruction. The "BUILDERS" who "REJECTED" the "stone" is a specific reference to Israel's religious leaders.
v. 8a: "and, 'A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE'; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word,"- Peter goes on to paint a graphic picture of Israel's religious elites tripping and stumbling over the "stone" that characterized the effects of the person of Jesus Christ in their midst. Stumbling is a very apt metaphor for the people who refused to obey the Old Testament commands to accept the Messiah clearly identified by prophecy (Isa. 8:11-15). This was true of Israel as a nation, and it is true of all who 'disbelieve' individually. To summarize, Jesus Christ was the "stone" that would have completed Israel if Israel's leaders had accepted Him as their Messiah-to be Israel's "CORNER stone" (v. 7); but by stumbling-rejecting Him-they had thrown their stone away.
v. 8: "and to this doom they were also appointed." - The wordplay in this verse is tricky. The word for "appointed" (Gk. tithemi) refers to people who were predisposed to do something, in this case predisposed to disbelieve (v. 7) and to stumble (v.8)-meaning that they were predestined for destruction. This wording raises interpretative issues with respect to God's sovereignty: Some scholars see this as an indication that some people are destined to fall and be lost because God, in his foreknowledge, saw them as unbelievers; others hold that Peter means that God has not predestined who will disbelieve but only that the result of unbelief will be destruction in the end. Take your pick.
APPLICATION 3: Jesus Christ is the "CORNER stone" of a new spiritual house-the church. For those who believe, this stone is the foundation of their faith-Jesus Christ; but for those who disbelieve, it is a stumbling block that becomes the instrument of their destruction.
Read 1 Peter 2:9-10 - A NEW IDENTITY IN THE CHURCH AGE
9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
9: "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" - All of the terminology that Peter uses here originally referred to Israel, and he uses the conjunction "But" to set up a contrast. With Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ, God created a new body of people, "A CHOSEN RACE"- the church-through whom he now seeks to accomplish the same purposes -i.e., to be a light to all the nations (Isa. 60:3; John 8:12)-but by different means.
v. 10: "for you once were NOT A PEOPLE but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY." -Peter next explains the high calling of Christians by contrasting what his readers were BEFORE their conversion with what they are now. The expression, "NOT A PEOPLE" alludes to Hosea 2:23: "And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God.'" This OT prophet represented a living symbol of God's willingness to forgive sin and to redeem mankind. Even though Hosea's wife, Gomer, was constantly unfaithful, he forgave her and rescued her from a life of slavery. Like Hosea's Israel, all Christians as a whole-the church-have been changed in a glorious before and after story: BEFORE, we were "NOT A PEOPLE," but belonged only to ourselves and served only our own selfish desires. But now, in Christ, we have become "THE PEOPLE OF GOD." We now belong to Him, have a purpose, and have a shared destiny with Him in eternity. Moreover, BEFORE we knew God, we "had NOT RECEIVED MERCY" and deserved judgment for the full penalty of our sins. But through faith in Christ, we "have RECEIVED MERCY" and have been forgiven of our sins, once and for all-a completed transaction.
APPLICATION 4: In the Church Age, God does not just dwell among us but resides in every believer by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God made Israel His own unique possession by dwelling among them in their land (Ex.19:6); but in the Church Age, God does not just dwell among us but resides in every individual Christian by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and He promises to never leave us (John 14:17; Matt. 28:20). Although method's differ, the church's vocation is essentially the same as Israel's: To be the instrument through which the light of God reaches individuals who still sit in spiritual darkness.
