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Bible Study: 1 Peter 2: 1-25
A Commentary of the Book of 1 Peter
By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins
Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible
Bible Study 1 Peter 2: 1-25
Text:
As Living Stones, God’s Chosen Family
2 Therefore, laying aside all [a]malice and all deceit and [b]hypocrisy and [c]envy and all [d]slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the [e]pure [f]milk of the word, so that by it you may grow [g]in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted [h]the kindness of the [i]Lord.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is [j]choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, [k]are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in [l]Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes upon [m]Him will not be put to shame.”
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“The stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief corner stone,”
8 and,
“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed.
9 But you are a chosen family, 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.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul, 12 by keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may [n]because of your good works, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of [o]visitation.
Be Subject to Authority
13 Be subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent [p]by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. 15 For [q]such is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free people, and [r]do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the [s]brethren, fear God, honor the [t]king.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are [u]crooked. 19 For this finds [v]favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.
Christ, Our Example
21 For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps, 22 who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. 24 Who Himself [w]bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to [x]sin, we might live to righteousness; by His [y]wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Verse by verse commentary
Verse 1: “Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,”
Someone once said, “when you see a ‘therefore’ in the Scriptures, see what it is there for.” The “therefore” in chapter 2 follows the verses in chapter 1 that state that we were born again through His incorruptible seed which endures forever. As a result our lives must be lived differently. The Christian’s new life can’t grow unless sins are renounced. When that purging takes place, then the Word does its work enabling the believer to grow in grace.
Verse 2: “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow [c]in respect to salvation,”
Peter continues with the example of a new born baby desiring physical nourishment. Christians should have the same desire for spiritual food that a healthy infant has for its mother’s milk. “Pure milk” does not refer to elementary teachings, but rather that what is taught is “pure.” “Pure” means unadulterated. The message is about holiness and purity. In difficult times like the church was facing, they needed pure spiritual food, not something mixed with the world’s ideas and influences.
Verse 3: “if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
At salvation, all believers experience the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ when they place their faith in Him. That fact should encourage believers to grow in sanctification and holiness as they study His Word and apply it to their lives.
Verse 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,”
“And coming” to Christ includes initial repentance and faith, both gifts from God. The Greek tense of the verb implies a continual drawing near as well. The Christian life is like riding a bicycle. If you stop pedaling, you fall to the ground. In the same way, if you stop growing spiritually, you fall back into a life of backsliding (the most miserable of existences).
Verse 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.”
The stones are “living” because you have been born again. Christ is the Cornerstone and we are living stones. We are being transformed daily into the image of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives. The phrase “are being built up” is literally translated as “allow yourselves to be built up, build yourselves up.” We need to daily submit to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to mold us and make us as holy as sinful flesh can be.
Verse 6: “For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.”
The cornerstone was laid at the place where two walls come together and of special importance for the stability of the entire building. The church was established on the prophets and apostles, who are held together by the chief cornerstone, i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, there are no Apostles of Christ (hand picked by Christ Himself), only apostles (meaning sent ones) of the church. Notice, Peter affirmed his belief in the Divine inspiration of Old Testament Scripture by quoting Psalms and Isaiah. Three Old Testament Scriptures employing the “stone” metaphor are used by Peter to show that Christ’s position as chief cornerstone of the new spiritual house was foreordained by God in His Sovereignty.
Verse 7: “This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief corner stone,’”
To reject Christ is to refuse the only hope of salvation. There is only one way to God and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 8: “and,
‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’
They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed.”
There are only two choices: believe in Christ and be saved or disbelieve Christ and be damned. The lost were not appointed by God to disobedience and unbelief. Rather, the lost were appointed to hell because of their disobedience and unbelief. Judgment on unbelief is as Divinely appointed as salvation by faith.
Verse 9: “But you are a chosen family, 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;”
Notice that the believers were chosen, holy, and possessed by God. The reason they were there was because they were “called …out of darkness.” No one comes until they have been called and no one called refuses to come. In this verse and the next, Peter, applying the Old Testament terms for Israel to the church, makes the case that the Old Testament saints and New Testament believers are one people of God. This does not mean that God deals the same way with people at different times, but rather God has a people both before and after the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is always by grace through faith.
Verse 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 quotes from the Old Testament book Hosea. In the Old Testament, the prophet Hosea prophesied that Israel, though outside of God’s blessings for a long period of time, would eventually come to be reclaimed by God’s mercy. God’s dealing with Israel was somewhat of a pattern for His dealings with the believers under the New Covenant, who previously were outside God’s covenant, but have been brought under the mercy of God by faith in Christ. The family of God is composed of both Jew and Gentile and from every nation. Gentiles were once not a people of God, but were now engrafted into the true believers from Israel. Unbelieving Israelites have been broken off from the vine of faith.
Verse 11: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul,”
We are to remember that we are just passing through this life and this world is not our forever home. Christians are foreigners in a secular society because their citizenship is in heaven. The “ fleshly lusts” can prevent us from making an impact for Christ before others. Those lusts, primarily overeating and sexual are the two most prevalent ones in my opinion, will wage a military style campaign against your soul. To do what Christ has determined you to do, control your lusts.
Verse 12: “by keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good works, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
The Christian must outwardly live among non-Christians in a way which reflects his inward transformation when he became a new creation in Christ. The early Christians were falsely accused of rebellion against the government with such false charges of terrorism, atheism, cannibalism (concerns about the Lord’s Supper), immorality (because of their love for one another), damaging trade and social progress (preaching against man made idols), and leading slaves into insurrection. The “Day of Visitation” is the day of wrath when the Lord comes again.
Verse 13: “Be subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,”
This verse introduces the teaching of voluntary submission and obedience to those in civil authority. A Christian should submit to government authority because this will commend Christ to others and keep reproach from His name. Scripture teaches elsewhere that submission is required as long as it does not involve violation of the law of God.
Verse 14: “or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good.”
Christians are to obey every institution of civil and social order on earth. This includes obedience to the national government (“governors”), the state government, the police, courts and judges. However, when the government tries to force a Christian to do what is against the law of God as explicitly stated in Scripture, the believer must refuse to submit.
Verse 15: “For such is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
God is concerned with how He is represented to nonbelievers by those that claim to belong to Him. Many times people ask, “how can they know the will of God?” The Bible makes several statements about what God’s will is. In this verse, we are told that it is God’s will that we do good to others because of the effect it will have on the lost. Let us strive to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in a way that demonstrates our obedience to His will.
Verse 16: “Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God.”
The Legacy Standard Bible translates the Greek word doulos as “slave.” That is a far better choice than the typical translation “bondservant.” Our freedom is the freedom to surrender as a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t use our freedom to sin, but rather to a life of slavery to Christ.
Verse 17: “Honor all people, love the brethren, fear God, honor the king.”
To “honor” is to highly esteem another and it refers not just to obedient outward duties but also inner respect from the heart. The Greek word for “love” is a form of agape. That is the most sacrificial form of love. It is a love that gives you what you need, not necessarily what you want. The Greek word for “fear” means respect, reverence and awe.
Verse 18: “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are crooked.”
The Greek word translated “servants” was not the word used earlier translated as “slave.” This word referred to a domestic servant. In a way they were treated like slaves, but they were not the lowest level of slavery. The vast majority of such servants were slaves and were treated as property. To a large extent the economy of the first century depended on slavery. Like other New Testament writers, Peter does not condemn slavery, and slaves are commanded to obey their masters. Again, Peter is telling the servants that should not be a reproach to the name of Christ. In part, they do so by obeying their masters.
Verse 19: “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously.”
Favor with God is found when a servant, i.e. an employee, is treated poorly, accepts his poor treatment with faith in God’s Sovereign care, rather than responding in anger, hostility, discontent, pride, or rebellion or lawsuits. There is a time that lawsuits are appropriate and necessary, but they should not be our first response.
Verse 20: “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.”
Peter explains that the favor comes when you are treated poorly and it wasn’t deserved. However, if you deserve the ill treatment, there is no special favor for your endurance.
Verse 21: “For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps,”
Contrary to the teaching of most ministers, suffering is expected in this life and part of God’s Perfect Plan. Suffering is a part of the Christian’s calling because it was part of Christ’s calling. Christians are united with Christ in His sufferings as well as His resurrection. He provides a perfect model for Christians to follow.
Verse 22: “who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;”
Christ was Perfect in every way. His Perfect obedience qualified Him to be your substitute on the cross. This verse is a quote from Isaiah 53: 9. Christ was the perfect example of patient endurance in unjust suffering because He was sinless, as the prophet said.
Verse 23: “who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
Christ provides the perfect approach to unjust suffering. First, He did not retaliate or respond physically in anger or revenge. Second, He made no verbal threats. Third, He submitted completely to God the Father.
Verse 24: “Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.”
Christ was the Perfect sacrifice for the elect of God. “Bore” means to carry. See the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross carrying a sack of your sins. When that becomes real to your heart, you will be broken before Him in thanksgiving. Christ died for our sins so we don’t have to die a second death in hell. The last phrase is another quote from Isaiah 53. Through the physical wounds of Christ on the cross, believers are healed spiritually from the deadly disease of sin. Physical healing may come now from a miracle of God, doctors and medicine, or at glorification (eternally withChrist), when there is no more physical pain, illness, or death. The verse is intended for spiritual healing, not physical.
Verse 25: “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
“Returned” most likely includes your initial salvation experience and perhaps a rededication of your life to Christ. Once one is saved, he should no longer stray as one used to, but rather a process of sanctification (being set apart) more and more into the image of Christ should be result.
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