1st Peter Chapter Two

1 Peter 2:1 (All verses from the English Standard Version)

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

 

LIVING STONES

 

So… so what? In the last chapter Peter was talking about how we were born again, not by perishable things but by the imperishable word of God – the living and abiding word of God. This word remains forever while everything else will perish. And this word is the Good News that has been preached to you! What a legacy!

 

Put away…

Just like to strip filthy clothes off your body at the end of the day we must strip ourselves from these works of the flesh that have created a stench. The Greek here is in the aorist tense, indicating an action that is done once for all. We cannot allow ourselves to be caught up in the sin over and over, for that is the fate of the seed that was sown in the rocky soil and among thorns. When we are baptized there is the initial stripping away of the mindset of sin. Your conscience is cleansed! As we strive in our walk with Jesus we need to continue stripping away any sign of fleshly works to ward off idolatry and faithlessness. We need to rely on God through prayer to help us see any sin that may creep up on us. Look at David’s attitude in this:

 

Psalm 139:23-24 ESV  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  24  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

 

So, in light of the fact that we don’t want to pursue that which will perish, but that which is of our new nature – the imperishable, we must put away the bad attitudes and mindset that come from corruption which manifest themselves as:

 

1-      Malice – kakia – desire to injure; depravity; not ashamed to break laws; troublemaker. This may come from how you were raised or from any bitterness you have held in your heart. You need to part with this mindset and attitude to be able to love forever! God will not permit anyone with this unholy mindset to enter heaven!

2-      Deceit – dolos – guile; with intent to decoy or fool; craftiness. These are the people who like to weave a web of deceit with complicated lying and trickery to take advantage of others. These are those who like to con and find loopholes in everything. They are slippery like fish! With this mindset you will find yourself slipping from eternal life into the lake of fire!

3-      Hypocrisy – hupokrisis – acting; dissimulation; playing the part others want to see. These are the people who don’t have their own faith. They have not bothered to build upon the foundation of Jesus and have instead taken a shortcut and relied on others. That is why they play the part to them. Eventually they get tired of acting and they slip away. These people really don’t know who they are, which is why they are always trying to act some kind of role. They will act all the way into the lake of fire!

4-      Envy – pthonos – having I'll will towards others; spiteful; vengeful, jealous. This is really a mindset of those who lack self confidence. Being they want to be like others because they don’t know who they are, they are constantly trying to equate themselves to others and when they cannot, they desire for others to fail. Misery Loves Company is said about them. Their desire to see others fall will bring them to fall into the lake of fire!

5-      Slander – katalalia – defamation; evil speaking; talking behind your back. Those who have hatred in their heart are consumed by envy. When envy speaks it slanders. They have nothing good to say about anybody. They are always finding fault and complaining about others. They are too cowardly to say these things to the face of others, which is what will earn them the final burning in the lake of fire! They will slander themselves to the second death!

 

These works of the flesh carry the stench of that which is rotting (perishing), and that which is rotting will be thrown into the eternal furnace:

 

Rev 20:12-15 ESV  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  13  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  15  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Rev 21:8 ESV  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

 

a.                  Because God is holy,

b.                  Because you have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and

c.                   Because you are a different person (a new man).

 

Put away these things or they will put you away!

 

1 Peter 2:2

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

 

The word helps you grow into your salvation… makes you living!

 

Like newborn spiritual infants we ought to crave that which will help us grow and mature – the pure milk of the word of God. Christians are not born fully grown anymore than a child is born a man! Christians need to grow and mature to be fully complemented into Jesus (Eph 4:15).

 

Like newborn infants…

It may seem at first glance Peter is addressing new Christians but he is just encouraging us to continue in the mindset of a newborn, who craves that which he needs – pure milk for growth. It is a natural craving that we need to adapt to our spiritual lives, whether we are new in our Christian walk or experienced: it is the daily intake of the word that will help us grow up into salvation!

 

Pure spiritual milk…

The milk Peter speaks of is preceded by two very important adjectives: pure and spiritual.  It is not enough for it to be just milk, but it needs to be pure. For example, no one would give his baby milk that has been adulterated – that has been corrupted by the addition of something that does not belong in it! We humans love to adulterate, we love to add stuff where it doesn’t belong – we think we can make what God has made better! We think that by adding extra things it is more convenient.

 

In the same way, we need to make sure the doctrine we are taking in is from scripture and not from man. We need to make sure we keep the doctrine free of human adulteration – free of rhetoric and invalidating traditions or schemes. The milk is also spiritual, meaning reasonable: logikos: pertaining to reason or logic; of the word: spiritual; pertaining to the soul. This is the same word Paul uses in Romans 12:1 – our reasonable (spiritual) act of worship. How do we know milk is being made analogous to scripture? Let’s look at these passages:

 

2Ti 3:14-17 ESV  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it  15  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  16  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  17  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

 

It is the scripture that makes us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus.

 

1Co 3:1-2 ESV  But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  2  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

 

Heb 5:12-14 ESV  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,  13  for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  14  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

 

In these two passages we see the apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews also using milk as an analogy to what we need to spiritually grow up. The oracles of God, the sacred writing and scripture are all synonymous. They provide the pure spiritual milk we all need.

 

That you may grow up into salvation…

This verse helps us understand the process of salvation. Life itself can be viewed as a state or a process. It helps us to understand that it is both. In the same way the new life we have been given is a process – we need to grow into it! Although we are saved and enjoy fellowship with God by His Spirit and the resurrection of Jesus, we also need to grow up into our salvation. Being in the word, the very source of our imperishable new life, guarantees our spiritual growth and maturity.

 

Php 2:12-13 ESV  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,  13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 

1 Peter 2:3

if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

 

Those of us that have some mileage in our walk with Christ have tasted the goodness of the Lord! Peter makes use of the 34th Psalm in view of Jesus, equating Jesus to the Lord God, spoken of in Psalm 34. To taste means to sample. We've only taken in a little bit! Imagine what it would be like to take in all of Jesus! Wow! It is the difference between dating, courting and being married!

 

God Himself is the standard of goodness. He is quite unlike some of the pagan gods of the ancient world who were all too human in their moodiness, changeability, and lusts. Knowing God is good motivates us to mature in Him and become more like Him. – Disciple’s Study Bible

 

If indeed…

Peter uses the 1st class conditional more properly translated as “since you have”, implying that only someone who has put off the world and died with Jesus in baptism has truly tasted this level of fellowship with God; and at that, only one who has done it sincerely, with a yearning of closer fellowship!

 

It is no wonder that Christians who are growing and maturing continue to crave the word of God daily. This spiritual hunger and thirst is only met by the living and enduring word of God. We’ve seen and experienced the faithfulness of the Lord. We take refuge in Him and see we have no lack.

 

Even those who are recently baptize experience a craving for the word – it is only spiritual! Only by meeting that craving with daily study will you be able to grow! Those who forsake that craving and turn to satisfy the craving of the flesh will be spiritual weaklings – easy prey for the devil.

 

Psalm 34:8-9 ESV  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  9  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!

 

1 Peter 2:4

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

 

Jesus is the Living Stone!

 

As you come to Him…

Indicating a close (Greek pros (πρός)) and habitual (present participle) approach – an intimate association. You long for a deeper and deeper relationship and you pursue it every day in all you do and say. I like how Paul put it:

 

Php 3:7-14 ESV  But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  8  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  9  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--  10  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  11  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  12  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  13  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

Wow! What a description of desire and motive to press onward instead of dwelling in the past! What a motivation – because Jesus has made me His own! This is the way to come to Jesus:

 

1.      Counting everything as loss

2.      Convinced that knowing Jesus surpasses all things

3.      Be willing to suffer the loss of all things

4.      Count all things as rubbish (dung)

5.      Striving to know His power – depending on Him through prayer in all things

6.      Desiring to know His sufferings

7.      Becoming like Him in His death – being baptized means our flesh has died and Jesus lives in us!

8.      Because we will be raised like Jesus!

9.      Forgetting what is behind

10.  Straining (with every possible effort) forward towards what is ahead – heaven!

 

I will call these the Ten Steps Towards Conflict Resolution. These will end any and every conflict that wars with your soul! Even though men have rejected Jesus, we who believe on Him approach Him and draw near to Him. It is a process, like any other relationship. If you want an intimate association you need to make your approach habitual and continual.

 

A Living Stone…

Jesus is not just the foundation of the church, the establishment of God's plan for mankind’s salvation – but Jesus is the Living Rock! He is the rock that filled up the whole earth in Daniel’s prophecy:

 

Dan 2:34-35 ESV  As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.  35  Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

 

All other foundations man has tried to set up, i.e., the four kingdoms of ancient days, have been static and subject to decay and destruction.  But Jesus, the living stone, continues to grow and fill the whole earth because He is alive!

 

The Living Stone is not man made, but God made and approved, in word and in deed.

 

1-      In word: Mat 17:5 ESV  He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

 

2-     In deed: Act 2:22 ESV  "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know…”

 

Those who have rejected Jesus have done so without carefully considering why God has chosen Him as precious. They have not carefully looked at the evidence and have decided to ignore the timeless account of scripture as it details God's involvement and plans for man’s salvation.

 

Jesus Christ the Messiah was the true and only foundation of this spiritual temple; but he did not fit the designs and purposes of the "builders" in Jerusalem who found him totally unsuitable for any use at all in the building they had in mind; therefore, they rejected him. Really, this should have been expected, because their concept of a temple for God was precisely like that of the idol temples which filled the world of that era, namely, a pile of stone, timber and gold. -- Coffman

 

Chosen and Precious…

Jesus was chosen by God, but not only chosen, He is precious! This is the third time Peter uses the word precious.

 

Precious is:

1-      Important – Jesus is the logos – the word of God! As Jesus, the Son, He became the word made flesh.

2-      Priceless – the blood of Jesus, that which forgives all our sin, the atoning sacrifice (propitiation) is priceless. Why? Because nothing else in the whole created realm turns away the wrath of God from sinners.

3-      Invaluable – there is nothing that can compare with Jesus in value. There is nothing you can give in place for Him. There are no substitutes!

4-      Unique – there is no one like Him. He is the Only Begotten – the Only One!

 

Jesus was chosen to do the work of God, which for us is to believe in Him:

 

John 6:28-29 ESV  Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"  29  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

 

We do God's work by coming to Jesus because we believe in Him. We believe the work He was sent to do. We show we believe by putting away all that is of the world and by longing for that which will help us grow in Him: the word of God – Him incarnate!

 

1 Peter 2:5

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 

Living stones…

When we come to Jesus and lay down our lives to be born again in Him, we become like Him – living stones! As we are added to his body, the church, we are being built up as a spiritual house.

 

We are incorporated into the body of Jesus, conforming to Him and becoming precious like He:

 

2Co 5:21 ESV  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Spiritual house…

Peter compares the spiritual house we are building ourselves into to the physical temple where the Levitical priesthood offered sacrifices acceptable to God. Since Jesus is the true living stone, the true foundation, as Peter will substantiate in the next quotation, we are coming together in Jesus to build the true spiritual house God wanted all along:

 

Eph 2:20-22 ESV  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  21  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  22  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

 

This new spiritual house is unlike the old one, made of inflexible stone, incapable of growth and life. This new house is so different than the old institutions amongst men, inflexible and lacking true vision. All who serve in this spiritual house are holy priests, made adequate by the blood of the lamb to offer acceptable sacrifices to God. Any other man-made organization demands the approval of men, which is why they reject Jesus, the only true foundation. But those who come to Jesus are approved by God because Jesus is chosen and precious in God's sight!

 

Holy priesthood…

Aaron and the priests all were consecrated (made holy), by the blood of bulls and goats offered up as propitiation for the sanctification of the service. How much more able priests are we when we have been cleansed by the blood of the Son of God? How much more acceptable are our sacrifices when it is Jesus’ blood that has washed us? It is not the sacrifice that makes us acceptable but the fact that we offer it through Jesus, as servants stained in His blood! And again, what are these sacrifices? What are these works done for God?

 

Spiritual sacrifices…

John 6:28-29 ESV  Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"  29  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

 

Rom 12:1-2 ESV  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

As opposed to the dead sacrifices offered up by the Levitical priesthood, our spiritual and living sacrifice is our very self. This is what true worship is. By not conforming to the world and being conformed to Jesus by letting the Holy Spirit transform us by the renewing of our minds with scripture we offer ourselves as an acceptable sacrifice through Jesus Christ.

 

This is why whatever service or sacrifice we offer now we always do in the name of Jesus. It is not just something we say when we pray: “…in the name of Jesus…” or when we all say “Amen”. Those words we utter are a reminder that we are IN Christ and therefore adequate.

 

2Co 3:4-6 ESV  Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  5  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,  6  who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

Our heart and mind need to be mindful of this, which is why we ought to reflect this service in all we do and say. There is no compartmentalization in our daily living now, no hypocrisy! There is no such thing as “a religious life”, or our “religious duty”. Our entire life has been given as a living sacrifice – to be offered as an adequate spiritual service to our God. This is why there should be no hypocrisy amongst the people of God. We don’t play games. Who we see on Sunday and Bible class should be our true selves.

 

Think about it, what would you do if you saw a priest in the temple of God cursing? Smoking? Drinking? Listening to nasty music? Watching something offensive on the TV? Coping an attitude? etc?

 

1 Peter 2:6

For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

 

It stands…

Peter combines Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 8:14 to show it was God's plan all along to have Jesus as the focus of His eternal plan.

 

These passages cited by Peter, especially in their Old Testament context, show that "Even while the Mosaic service was in force, the Lord was planning on another one and made predictions concerning it." – Coffman

 

God chose what was precious to Him, what was stable and secure, a foundation He could build on confidently. Not only is Jesus this foundation, but more importantly, He is able to deal with the root of the problem: the guilt and shame that separates us from God. He made Jesus our refuge – our safe haven where our sins are expunged and our record is cleansed.  He is our restoration and redemption from time immemorial!

 

CHRIST, THE CORNERSTONE

 

V  In Christ, the Law of Moses ended; and the gospel began.

V  In Christ, the Old Testament culminated; and the New Testament began.

V  In Christ, all history split into B.C. and A.D.

V  In Christ, the wicked find their doom, and the saints find their salvation.

V  In Christ, the old Israel perished, and the new Israel began.

V  In Christ, the infinite past and the infinite future met.

V  In Christ, God and humanity came together.

V  In Christ, God's humiliation and man's glory united.

V  In Christ, the destiny of every man is turned, those on the right entering his joy forever, and those on the left departing from his presence forever.

n  Coffman

 

Will never be put to shame…

Jesus takes away our shame. No matter what you have done or how you feel about it – Jesus is the only one who can actually take the shame and guilt away. He dissolves it because our conscience is cleansed from our past acts. There is no other way a guilty conscience can be absolved since our consciences answer directly to God.  Peter explains later on in this letter:

 

1Pe 3:21-22 ESV  Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  22  who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

 

If we make Jesus our refuge our consciences can be cleansed by entrusting ourselves to the cleansing nature of Jesus. God the Father, the judge of the living and the dead absolves everything in Jesus.

 

Sin not only violates God’s holiness but it violates our conscience. God does not only care about our guilt because it is offensive to him, but because it separates us from Him – we violate our own heritage by the sin that so easily entangles.

 

1 Peter 2:7

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"

 

If you approach Jesus and take advantage of this amnesty, the refuge provided for you, the honor is for you who believe. You have believed God and joyfully accepted his gracious offer! You did not question his gift of grace but gladly embraced it! Remember the work of God:

 

John 6:28-29 ESV  Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"  29  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

 

There are some who do not believe. Those who have rejected God's offer, presuming to know of some other foundation for their lives – something else that would expiate their guilt, if they believe to have any, these will be crushed by the very stone they have rejected. Simeon himself prophesied this upon laying eyes on baby Jesus:

 

Luke 2:34-35 ESV  And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed  35  (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

 

Remember, this living stone; this rock not cut by humans is to fill the whole earth! There will be nothing else out there but Jesus! Some want to believe their own fantasy about eternity, choosing to build on sand, using themselves or someone else as their world view, paradigm or raison d’être. We know what Jesus said about this:

 

Ma