| Proclaiming His Praises
Peter, like each of the New Testament writers, gave a great deal of attention to explaining and reaffirming who those in Christ have become. Discovering our self identity is foundational to living a transformed life. It can be likened to our human genetics. The potential of who we will become and what our bodies and minds are capable of is already written in our DNA. It is up to each of us to know and then demand of ourselves the full potential of who we are ultimately capable of becoming. It is the same spiritually. We have been born again, placed into a new humanity that has amazing potential. It is for us to know and then act on that potential that God in grace has given to us all as new creations. Peter's call to live lives free of malice, deceit, and hypocrisy (v. 1) is predicated upon now being "newborn babes" in Christ. The potential of our new lives can be discovered as we desire the truth of God's Word and integrate it into our lives (v. 2). Consider His brief description of all who are born again. We are told that we have become living stones that are being fit together with other believers into a spiritual temple to offer up sacrifices of worship to God (v. 4-5). Furthermore, we find in our new "self concept" what we can expect of ourselves as being a chosen, special people who are now citizens of a spiritual, holy nation. The marvelous riches of being taken out of darkness and placed into God's light have given us an internal passion to reveal and proclaim His glorious grace, as those reborn into His spiritual family and members of His Kingdom of divine abundance (v. 8-9). In this new life we have been given, we are able to reveal the great riches and fruit that comes from being born again. We are able to live honestly (v. 1), show respect for human government (v. 13-17), and absorb unfair treatment with grace and forgiveness (v. 18-25). Discover who you really are! Then, live it out to bring praise to God for His provision to change a fallen world with His transforming grace. | |||
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| 1 Peter 2:1-25
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected 8 and "A stone of stumbling They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Living Before the World11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Submission to Masters18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. | |||
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| 1 Peter 2:1-25 v. 1 Therefore – This is a reference to the conclusions drawn from the end of the previous chapter. laying aside – apotithemi (Gk.) to willfully put away or get rid of malice – kakia (Gk.) Ill-will, desire to injure. This word depicts a desire to cause harm to another or a desire to see somebody in pain. deceit – dolos (Gk.) Craft, deceit, guile. To deceive is to mislead or trick someone. Because there are so many ways to deceive others, Peter says, we should lay aside all deceit. Christians are to walk in truth (3 John 1:3-4). hypocrisy – hupokrisis (Gk.) The acting of a stage player, play acting. To practice spiritual hypocrisy is to pretend to be spiritual and have high morals, beliefs, or principles. envy – phthonos (Gk.) Jealousy, spite. This would mean to resent someone's success or good fortune while desiring it for yourself. evil speaking – katalalia (Gk.) Defamation, backbiting, slander. The author uses a broad term here to cover every kind of evil speaking. v. 2 as newborn babes – We are told in scripture that we have been born again (1 Peter 1:23), therefore every Christian starts out as a spiritual baby. Likewise, we must come to God humbly and dependent, (Matt. 18:3, Mark 10:15). pure milk of the Word – Referring to the Word of God (1 Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12, 13). A newborn baby must drink milk in order to survive and grow strong. Likewise, a new Christian must desire the pure milk of God's Word if he is to live and grow spiritually. grow – Our spiritual growth is directly related to whether we are thirsting for and drinking in the pure milk of the Word or not. This is a major factor to spiritual growth. v. 3 tasted – geuomai (Gk.) to eat, taste the flavor and experience gracious – chrestos (Gk.) benevolent, full of goodness and kindness if – Peter is saying that the things he is writing about here only apply to those who have truly tasted that the Lord is gracious (Ps. 111:4, 116:5, 145:8). v. 4 living stone – Peter is using allegorical language here while employing some OT concepts. In the next few verses he will compare the living organization of the church with the Jewish Temple of God. Jesus Christ is the living foundation stone for God's true temple, the church. Peter is also quoting an OT prophecy concerning the coming Christ who would be chosen by God but rejected by men (Ps. 118:22; Is. 49:7, 53:3). v. 5 spiritual house – Peter is talking as a Jew familiar with the Temple, the sanctified house of God. Under the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, we are the new house or Temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19), and not just we as individuals, but the joint gathering of all believers, the Church (1 Cor. 12:14-28). holy priesthood – Instead of the old priesthood made up of the sons of Aaron, we have a new priesthood made up of the sons of God through Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:6, 5:10). through Jesus Christ – The only way we can offer up sacrifices acceptable to God is through Jesus Christ. He is our great high priest of the New Covenant (Heb. 2:17, 3:1, 4:14-15, 5:5, 6:20). He is also the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins (Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12-14; 1 Peter 1:18-20; 1 John 1:7, 2:2; Rev. 1:5, 5:9). v. 6 contained in scripture – Peter has been quoting from Isaiah 28:16. chief cornerstone – A chief cornerstone is laid in the foundation, at an angle of the building where its two sides form the groundwork of a side and end wall. And this also is a great illustration to show that, in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles were to be united; and this is the reason why it was called a stone of stumbling, and rock of offense; for nothing stumbled or offended the Jews so much as the calling of the Gentiles into the Church of God through the Messiah. Giving the Gentiles the same holy privileges and access to God, which had been before peculiar to the Jews only was a great offense and stumbling block to the Jewish leaders. v. 7 disobedient – Here, as elsewhere in scripture, disobedient and unbelieving are interchangeable terms. Both words are from the same Greek word apeitheo, which means to refuse to believe and obey. v. 8 stumble –The OT prophesied that there would be those who reject God's words of salvation and because of their disobedience they would stumble never to rise again (Is. 8:13-15). appointed – tithemi (Gk.) to set, put, place, fix establish, ordain v. 9 generation – Peter uses terms in this verse usually associated with the children of Israel to speak of God's chosen people in Christ. He reveals that these terms now pertain to the church, which is comprised of both Jews and Gentiles (non Jews) who have put their faith in Jesus. priesthood – A priest is one who offers sacrifices to God and intercedes on behalf of man unto God. God has made every believer in Christ to be a royal priest (Rev. 1:6, 5:10). holy nation – This phrase formerly used to describe the nation of Israel (Ex. 19:6), is here used to describe the Christian church. His own special people – All believers in Christ are God's own special people. According to this verse, the Christian's identity is high, holy, and special to God (compare Ex. 6:7; Deut. 14:2, 26:18; Titus 2:14). proclaim – Peter reveals here the reason that God has raised us up to such a high position as priests. The Christian's purpose and calling is to bring Glory and praise to God. darkness – Peter here identifies what God called us out of, and what we were called into. Darkness refers to the spiritual blindness and ignorance that dominated our lives when we lived in sin and separation from God (1 John 1:5, 6; 2:8, 11). light – Refers to the Christian's walk in truth and righteousness in Christ (Is. 9:2, 60:1-2; Matt. 4:16; Luke 1:79; Eph. 5:8, 11; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 5:4-8). v. 10 not a people, but now are – Now we belong to the family of God and enjoy love and unity among all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. obtained mercy – Again, Peter uses comparative language to show what great advantages we now have because of Christ. To receive mercy is to be given release from the penalty or punishment for sin. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Justice is getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. In our past state before Christ we were without God's mercy and headed for judgment. But now, in the present, we have received mercy from God because of the grace offered us in Christ. v. 11 beloved – agapetos (Gk.) Esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love. Peter speaks to followers of Christ in terms of love, as loving family members. beg – Peter's choice of words reflect the compassionate heart of God toward us. sojourners – paroikos (Gk.) a stranger, a foreigner, one who lives in a place without the right of citizenship pilgrims – parepidemos (Gk.) One who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives. In the NT, which refers to heaven as our native country, a pilgrim is one who sojourns on earth (Phil. 3:20). abstain – apechomai (Gk.) to hold one's self off, refrain. The Greek tense of the word indicates an ongoing and continual effort to resist. fleshy lusts – Fleshy lusts can refer to any animal appetite. For an example of fleshy cravings and desires contrary to the desires of God's Spirit (Gal. 5:19-21). war – Peter is declaring that our fleshy desires literally war against our soul. It is a battle to conform our soul either into God's will or Satan's will. See Romans 7:23, 8:13; Galatians 5:17; 1 Timothy 6:9,10; and James 4:1. v. 12 Gentiles – ethnos (Gk.) The nations. This particularly refers those groups of the world who do not know God. Peter reminds us that God's people are being watched by those who are not God's people. honorable – kalos (Gk.) Beautiful, choice, commendable, admirable. In this context means living in such a way that those who live in darkness would be attracted to the Light and be saved (Matt. 5:14-16). day of visitation – This is referring to the day in which God visits us and the works of our lives are inspected. For the disobedient, this would mean judgment and punishment (Is. 10:3, Hosea 9:7). For the Christian, this would mean reward (2 Cor. 5:10). v. 13 submit – hupotasso (Gk.) to place or rank under, to yield to, to obey every ordinance – Christians should be known as a people who follow the rules and obey the laws of the land (Luke 20:25, 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 1 Peter 3:1). ordinance – ktisis (Gk.) the act of founding, establishing, building, etc. for the Lord's sake – To the Christian, every act of submission to earthy authorities is for the Lord's sake in order to bring Him glory. King – This is referring to an earthly king. According the laws of men, a king would have the supreme or most superior authority in the land. Peter is plainly teaching that Christians are to respect and obey that earthly authority. supreme – huperecho (Gk.) superior, higher v. 14 governors – hegemon (Gk.) A leader of any kind, a guide, ruler, commander, sovereign. We are not given the luxury to pick and choose which authorities we will obey and which ones we will resist. According to scripture, Christians must submit to all earthly governors. sent by Him – Peter is reminding us that as a rule, the powers of government are established to keep order and punish evildoers. With this in mind we are to respect, value, and honor these powers. praise of those – Again, as a rule, if you do good, you will receive praise from those governing authorities sent to keep order. v. 15 will of God – Peter takes pains to make clear that what he is telling us is God's will because this instruction may appear to many believers to go against their perception of God's will (Eph. 6:5-7; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; Heb. 10:36; 1 Peter 4:1, 2, 19). ignorance – agnosia (Gk.) not knowing, without knowledge foolish – aphron (Gk.) without reason, senseless, ignorant v. 16 liberty – eleutheria (Gk.) moral freedom or license cloak for vice – A covering for sin or an excuse to do evil. bondservants – doulos (Gk.) A willing servant. In this context, one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men. A bondservant of God is one who is a slave by choice rather than force. v. 17 honor –The scripture never teaches us to look down on or disrespect anyone. We are to treat all human beings with respect and dignity, even if they are not like us or oppose us. brotherhood – adelphotes (Gk.) fraternity, brethren v. 18 servants – oiketes (Gk.) Refers to a domestic house servant rather than a common slave. A common slave would have much less of a choice in his response to his master's behavior. This servant is one who is a fellow resident with his master. Today, this term might refer to an employee. masters – despotes (Gk.) Can refer to lord, ruler, boss. submissive – Throughout scripture we see that God commands us to honor established authority structure. This thinking is applied to government (Rom. 13), to the Body of Christ (Heb. 13:7, 17), to marriage and family (Col. 3:18-21), and to employment (Col. 3:22). with all fear –This fear is in regards to our reverence towards God not man. This is further backed up by verse 19 because of our conscience toward God, which should be our motivation for all good behavior. not only – We should not change our behavior based upon whether the human master we are working under is kind or wicked. v. 19 conscience – suneidesis (Gk.) The internal sense of what is right and wrong that governs somebody's thoughts and actions, urging him or her to do right rather than wrong. endures – The Greek word for endure is hupophero, which means to patiently bear up under pressure. Peter is painting a picture here of one who is suffering unjustly, yet continues to do right. v. 20 beaten for your faults – There is nothing glorious or praiseworthy about being punished for a wrong you did or a crime you committed. commendable – There is a type of suffering that actually pleases God. God is actually pleased with us when we continue to do good when suffering wrongfully. The reason is given in the following verses. v. 21 called –The Bible teaches us that suffering is part of the Christian life. God even uses our suffering to His glory and our good (Rom. 8:28). suffered for us – Christ is our supreme example (2 Cor. 5:15). leaving us an example – Peter declares that we should follow in His footsteps . v. 22 committed no sin – This is a major doctrine of the Christian faith. Jesus was the only sinless person who ever lived (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15, 1 John 3:5). deceit – dolos (Gk.) craft, trickery, guile v. 23 reviled – loidoreo (Gk.) to reproach, rail at, heap abuse upon suffered – pascho (Gk.) This word covers a broad sense of pain and can go beyond mere verbal abuse. The natural response to verbal or physical abuse is to strike back or at least threaten harm if you have the ability to do so. Again, Jesus' example to us is to patiently endure suffering without retaliation or revenge. judges righteously – Here is the secret strength of having the ability to patiently endure suffering. Jesus was trusting God to judge righteously in the end. v. 24 bore our sins – This is a description of what we call, the atonement of the New Covenant. Atonement is the making of reparation for sins by satisfactory payment with the goal of reconciliation between God and people. Under the Old Covenant, God required animal sacrifices to cover the sins of His people. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29, 36). Jesus was literally punished for our sins in our place so that we ourselves might escape the judgment of sin and not suffer punishment. on the tree – A reference to the cross. having died to sins – Because Jesus died for our sins in our place, we then are to consider ourselves as having died to sin. Paul discusses this concept in depth in Romans 6:4-14. live for righteousness – As Christians, we have been given new lives. Our old life in sin is dead. Our new life in Christ is to be lived out in righteousness. Righteousness is the condition of being right with God. Righteousness can also be described as a state of rightness of thinking and living that is acceptable before God. by whose stripes you were healed – The stripes referred to here are the brutal lashes from the whipping Jesus took as He was being scourged when He made atonement for our sins (Is. 53:5). v. 25 like sheep going astray – God often refers to His people as sheep who need a shepherd (Is. 53:6, Eze. 34:6). Sheep are not very intelligent and need constant shepherding lest they go astray. Sheep cannot survive without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36). shepherd and overseer – Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-14). He is our shepherd and the One who watches over our souls. | |||
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| But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light –1 Peter 2:9 We read these words, Lord, and thank You that we have been given such a special place with You, God. We ask today, Jesus, for hearts unafraid to reach toward this amazing future that You have for each of us. We know that You desire to transform us, to change our lives, and that it is only we who stop that from happening. It is a marvelous light that You shine on us, Lord. We pray to embrace that transforming and life-changing light. | |||
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2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
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.
All Things New
