1 Peter Study #4

“Stones for the Temple”

1 Peter 2:1-8

Study #4 in 1 Peter Series 

INTRODUCTION:

One of the great challenges of expository Bible study is to tie the individual studies together so that there is a continuity, a flow of thought from one study to the next. In a small group where we generally have one study per week it is easy to lose the plot if we don’t work diligently to make the connections. 

For example, in the case of 1 Peter the author wrote this not as a study curriculum but as a letter, and he was careful to link his thoughts together. In chapter 1, which we have examined in our last three studies, Peter laid out God’s amazing plan of redemption, which began in eternity past before the Fall of man had even occurred. Knowing that we would sin and fall short of His glory God designed a plan to save us. He did this through the gift of His Son, who in the fulness of time came to earth, became flesh, lived a sinless life, went to the cross and died in our place, and on the third day rose victorious over death and the grave. That One was Jesus, the Christ, our Savior. Through Him we have redemption, and forgiveness, and the promise of Heaven. Peter speaks of the inexpressible joy that we experience in knowing Christ and in knowing that we have been made children of God by His grace through our simple faith in Jesus. Then Peter reminds us that this awesome privilege of being sons and daughters of God involves not only privilege but responsibility as well. We are to live holy lives because our Heavenly Father is Holy, and everything we do or say is a reflection on Him. To help us walk uprightly in a way that honors Him, He has given us His Holy Spirit who enables us to do this. Moreover, Peter tells us that another way we honor God is to love and honor one another as fellow members of God’s family. This honors and pleases our Father. 

Before we move on let’s reread the last few verses of chapter one to refresh our memories and help us link these concepts and contexts together. 

¹⁷ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. ²² Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, ²³ for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God. ²⁴ For,

“All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
²⁵ But the Word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the Word which was preached to you. 

TRANSITION:

Now our text for today’s study is 1 Peter 2:1-8. Let’s read it through one time before we start to unpack it bit by bit.

¹ Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, ² 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. 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. ⁶ For this is contained in Scripture:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious Cornerstone,

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 Cornerstone,”

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. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

·       “Therefore…” – This word obviously serves as a hinge between what Peter has just said with that which he wants to now present, the latter being dependent upon the truth that he has already laid down.

·       “…putting aside…” – This is one word in Greek, apotíthēmi (ἀποτίθημι), a verb meaning to take off, to lay aside, or to put away. With this Peter uses the word “all” meaning “every bit, leaving no leftovers or exceptions.”

·       “…all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all slander” – Peter mentions 5 deadly sins that people use to sin against one another and thus inflict serious wounds.

§  Malice = kakia (κακία), malignity, ill-will, the desire to injure others.

§  Deceit = dólos (δόλος), deception, craft, guile, dishonest intent.

§  Hypocrisy = hypócrisis (ὑπόκρισις), dissimulation, posing, pretention, the acting of a stage actor.

§  Envy = phthónos (φθόνος), but not just envy, which is wanting to be what the other person is and possess what the other person has, but it goes beyond this to desire harm for the other person. This is the fundamental difference between the Greek words ζῆλος (zélos) and φθόνος. Zélos says, “I want what you have.” Phthronos, however, takes zélos the next step beyond because it is filled with evil intention. “I want what you have, and I also want you to fall and break both your legs.”

§  Slander = katalaliá (καταλαλιά), defamation, backbiting, evil speaking.

·       Why does Peter bring up these 5 nasty sins that people use against one another? It is because if we are practicing these things we cannot really know God, or understand His Word, or be in fellowship with His people. These words describe how unbelievers treat one another but they should never describe the behavior of God’s children.

 

Verses 2-3: …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.

• “…like newborn babies” – Babies are simple creatures. There are only a few things they really want. They want to eat regularly, on demand. They also want to be burped, cuddled, held and adored. But mostly they want to nurse, because they crave their mother’s milk. Peter says that we should be like them regarding the Word of God.
• “…long for the pure milk of the Word,” – The words “long for” reflects the Greek imperative verb that means “to crave, to desire greatly, to pursue with love, to long after.” This is the main verb of the sentence, and it is stated as a command, meaning that it is not optional but imperative that we comply. Let me ask you, do you crave the Word of God? Do you want it the way a newborn baby wants his mother’s milk? The word “pure” here is the Greek word ádolos (ἄδολος). You might recognize this as a form of a word from verse 1, the word for “deceit.” When you take the word dólos and stick the letter alpha (α) in front of it, it negates the word, making it mean “un or without” that quality. Thus, ádolos means “pure, guileless, unmixed, unadulterated, without impurity.” The Word of God mixed with anything else, is no longer the Word of God! Remember that!
• “…so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” – Don’t get this wrong. We don’t grow into becoming Christians. That is not what Peter is saying. Rather, he is saying that we must grow in our salvation. We are saved. That describes the state of our being. But now, having been saved and made new, growth in grace in in the knowledge of Christ should be our top priority.
• “…if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” – This is a 1^st Class conditional construction, meaning that the truth of the statement is assumed, thus making it rhetorical in nature. This being the case it could just as easily be translated, “…since you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” Peter is giving his readers the benefit of the doubt that they are truly believers and have tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good in every way.     

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 Him as to a Living Stone…” – Jesus Christ is that Living Stone that the builders rejected. He is the Cornerstone upon which the Church and the Kingdom are established. He is the Petra. There is no other foundation. Paul said it this way in 1 Cor. 3:11, “For no man can lay a Foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Notice too, “And coming to Him…” Peter expects that if we really love Jesus, we will have the desire to draw ever nearer to Him, and we will allow nothing to keep us away. We will do whatever it takes to be close to Him.
• “…which has been rejected by men” – John 1:11 tells us that, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” He presented Himself to the people of Israel as their long-awaited Messiah, but they rejected Him, spat upon Him, and crucified Him.
• “…but is choice and precious in the sight of God” – Jesus is God’s own beloved Son, forever existing with the Father, in perfect union with Him. He is precious in God’s sight.  

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.

• “…you also, as living stones” – This is really interesting! Jesus is THE Living Stone. We are living stones too but not like Him. It’s like this. Jesus is THE Son of God. We are sons of God too. Do you understand? We share in His likeness but not to the same degree.
• “…are being built up as a Spiritual House [i.e., Temple] for a holy priesthood” – God is building a Temple for Himself, for His own glory. Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone, the Living Stone. But we, as God’s redeemed blood-bought sons and daughters, are also living stones in that great Temple that He is constructing. But don’t miss this—not only are we stones in Temple of God, but we are also priests of the Living God, members of a Holy Priesthood, of which Jesus is our Great High Priest (cf. Hebrews 4:14, “Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”
• “…to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – So, what is our job as priests of the Most High God? Answer: to offer up acceptable spiritual sacrifices to Him through Jesus, our Savior. Wow! That is mind blowing! What honor we have been given, and what awesome and weighty responsibility, not to be taken lightly.

Verse 6: For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

• “For this is contained in Scripture…” – Obviously Peter is about to quote Scripture to support his argument, but from where is he drawing his texts?
• In verses 6-8 Peter pulls three verses from the Old Testament. Here in verse 6, he quotes Isaiah 28:16 to show that Christ is the Cornerstone that God laid in Zion as the foundation stone for the spiritual temple He is building. Notice that God is Sovereign in His choosing, “Behold, I lay in Zion…a precious Cornerstone.” Then the phrase “in Him” leaves no doubt that God is referring to Christ. 

Verse 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 Cornerstone,”  

• “This precious value, then, is for you who believe;” – Peter says that what God is doing He does for the benefit of us, His children who through faith have been saved and brought near. For us this whole story is precious. In support, Peter quotes Psalm 118:22. But then Peter raises the question about those who refuse to believe, who reject Christ. In fact, verses 7-8 are a stark warning to unbelievers. Peter says that even though men rejected Jesus, He has become the Chief Cornerstone in His Church. Nothing could hold back God’s plans.    

Verse 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.

• “…and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’” – Peter’s argument continues from verse 7. To add even more support he quotes Isaiah 8:14 to show that those who reject Christ as God’s chosen and precious Cornerstone will end up stumbling over Him at every turn. No one can avoid Him. No one can run away from Him. Sooner or later, those who reject Him will be crushed by Him. The day will come when that Rock will fall on them and they will be utterly destroyed.
• “…they stumble because they are disobedient to the Word” – I believe this has a double meaning. God has revealed His plan of salvation in His Written Word, the Bible. Unbelievers stumble because they refuse to believe and obey the written Word of God. Moreover, the Scriptures also clearly reveal the Living Word, the Eternal Logos, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ, the “One who was slain before the foundation of the world.” He came and lived among us, a perfect man, who most people rejected. In fact, we killed Him and thought we did the world a favor. But God raised Him on the third day, according to the Scriptures and He lives, making intercession for us at the right hand of the Father, and soon He will return to earth to carry His children home.
• “…and to this [doom] they were also appointed.” – Here we must confront a somewhat difficult situation. My version, the NASV 1995, along with several other translations, supplies the word “doom” or “fate” or “destiny” here. The problem is that in the Greek text written by Peter there is no such word. It just says, “…and to this they were also appointed.” I have no doubt that by this Peter was thinking about the fate of those who reject Christ but still, we have no right to add to the Scriptures and put words in his mouth. I believe he was just pointing out that it is inevitable that those who are disobedient to the Word should stumble over Jesus and thus suffer the terrible consequences.

• Interestingly, Jesus spoke of Himself as The Stone of Psalm 118:22 in his sermon recorded in Matthew 21:42-44 and He pulled no punches about what will happen to those who reject Him. Jesus said to them, “⁴² Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? … ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” That seems pretty straightforward to me. Jesus left no doubt that those who reject Him will suffer eternal loss. 1 Cor. 3:11 says, “For no man can lay a Foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” He is that Foundation Stone. Jesus is the Rock of Salvation for those who have believed in Him. But He will be the Boulder that crushes all those who reject Him. 

CONCLUSION:

So what conclusions are we to take away from this passage? Read back over verses 1-8 and jot down a few life lessons that stand out to you. Then give some thought to how you will implement these truths in your own life.