CHRISTIANS ON CAMPUS
BIBLE STUDY
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
The Christian Life under the Government of God
CHAPTER 2
III. Growth in Life and Its Results
2:1-10
A. Growing by Feeding on the Milk of the Word unto
Full Salvation
vv. 1-3
1 Therefore putting away all malice and all
guile and hypocrisies and envyings and all
evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, long for
the guileless milk of the word in order that by
it you may grow unto salvation, 3 If you
have tasted that the Lord is good.
B. Transformed unto the Building Up
of a Spiritual House for God's Dwelling,
a Holy Priesthood for God's Service
vv.4-8
4 Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by
men but with God chosen and precious,
5 You yourselves also, as living stones, are
being built up as a spiritual house into a holy
priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For
it is contained in Scripture: "Behold, I lay in
Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious; and
he who believes on Him shall by no means be
put to shame.'' 7 To you therefore who
believe is the preciousness; but to the
unbelieving, "The stone which the builders
rejected, this has become the head of the
corner,'' 8 And, "A stone of stumbling and a
rock of offense''; who stumble at the word,
being disobedient, to which also they were
appointed.
C. To Tell Out the Virtues
of the Calling One
vv.9-10
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired
for a possession, so that you may tell out the
virtues of Him who has called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light; 10 Who
once were not a people but now are the
people of God; who had not previously been
shown mercy but have now been shown
mercy.
Footnotes
1 Peter 2:1 note 1, therefore
The exhortation in vv. 1-10 is based on what is unveiled in ch.
1. Three main things accomplished in the believers by the
Triune God are stressed in ch. 1: the Father's regeneration
(1:3, 23), the Son's redemption (1:2, 18-19), and the Spirit's
sanctification (1:2). These make the believers a holy people,
who live a holy life (1:15-16). Based on this, Peter charged the
believers to grow in life (v. 2) for the building up of a spiritual
house (v. 5).
1 Peter 2:1 note 2, malice
The five negative things mentioned here constitute a
sequence. Malice is the root, the source, and evil speaking is
the expression. Guile, hypocrisies, and envies are the
downward steps of the development from the source toward
the expression.
1 Peter 2:2 note 1, newborn
Born through regeneration (1:3, 23), the believers become
babes who can grow in life unto further salvation, and that for
God's building, by being nourished with the spiritual milk.
1 Peter 2:2 note 4, grow
To grow is a matter of life and in life. We received the divine
life through regeneration, and we need to grow in this life
and with this life by being nourished with the milk conveyed
in the word of God.
1 Peter 2:2 note 5, unto
I.e., resulting in. Growth in life results in salvation. Salvation
here, as the result of growth in life, is not initial salvation.
God's full and complete salvation has a long span —from
regeneration, including justification, to glorification (Rom.
8:30). At regeneration we receive initial salvation (see note
Text and footnotes taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible
5(5) in ch. 1). Then we need to grow by feeding on Christ as
the nourishing milk in the word of God, unto full salvation,
unto maturity for glorification. This will be the salvation of
our soul, which will be revealed to us at the revelation of the
Lord Jesus (1:5 and note 5; 1:9-10, 13). However, according to
the context, unto salvation here refers directly to being built
up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up
spiritual sacrifices in v. 5, and to tell out the virtues of
Him...in v. 9.
1 Peter 2:3 note 1, tasted
The Lord can be tasted, and His taste is pleasant and good. If
we have tasted Him, we will long for the nourishing milk in
His word (v. 2).
1 Peter 2:4 note 1, living
A living stone is one that not only possesses life but also
grows in life. This is Christ for God's building. Here Peter
changed his metaphor from a seed, which is of the vegetable
life (1:23-24), to a stone, which is of the minerals. The seed is
for life-planting; the stone is for building (v. 5). Peter's
thought went on from life-planting to God's building. As life
to us, Christ is the seed; for God's building, He is the stone.
After receiving Him as the seed of life, we need to grow that
we may experience Him as the stone living in us. Thus He
will make us also living stones, transformed with His stone
nature, that we may be built together with others as a
spiritual house upon Him as both the foundation and the
cornerstone (Isa. 28:16).
1 Peter 2:5 note 1, living
We, the believers in Christ, are living stones, like Christ,
through regeneration and transformation. We were created of
clay (Rom. 9:21). But at regeneration we received the seed of
the divine life, which by its growing in us transforms us into
living stones. At Peter's conversion the Lord gave him a new
name, Peter —a stone (John 1:42); and when Peter received
the revelation concerning Christ, the Lord revealed further
that He was the rock —a stone (Matt. 16:16-18). By these two
incidents Peter received the impression that both Christ and
His believers are stones for God's building.
coordinated body of priests is the built-up spiritual house.
Although Peter did not address his two Epistles to the church
or use the term church in this verse in stressing the corporate
life of the believers, he did use the terms spiritual house and
holy priesthood to indicate the church life. It is not the
spiritual life lived in an individualistic way, but the spiritual
life lived in a corporate way, that can fulfill God's purpose
and satisfy His desire. He wants a spiritual house for His
dwelling, a priestly body, a priesthood, for His service. Peter's
view concerning the believers' corporate service in
coordination is the same as Paul's in Rom. 12. This service
issues from the three vital steps in the spiritual life: being
born anew (v. 2a), growing in life by being nourished with
Christ (v. 2b), and being built up with the believers.
1 Peter 2:6 note 2, chosen
Christ is a stone chosen by God to be the cornerstone for His
building (Eph. 2:20).
1 Peter 2:7 note 1, precious
In Greek, a word kindred to precious in vv. 4, 6. The very
Christ chosen by God as a stone, even a cornerstone that is
precious to God, is the preciousness to His believers; but to
the unbelievers He is a rejected, despised stone.
1 Peter 1:9 note 1, race
Race, priesthood, nation, and people are all collective nouns,
referring to the believers corporately. As a race, we, the
believers, are chosen; as a priesthood, a body of priests, we
are royal, kingly; as a nation, we are holy; as a people, we are
God's possession, a possession particularly acquired and
owned by God as His treasure (Titus 2:14 and note 3). Chosen
race denotes our descent from God; royal priesthood, our
service to God; holy nation, our being a community for God;
and people acquired for a possession, our preciousness to
God. These are all in a corporate sense. Hence, we need to be
built together (v. 5).
1 Peter 2:5 note 2, built up
Feeding on Christ by taking in the nourishing milk in the
word of God is not only for growing in life but also for
building up. Growing is for building up.
1 Peter 2:5 note 6, holy
Spiritual denotes the capacity of the divine life to live and
grow; holy, the capacity of the divine nature to separate and
sanctify. The house of God subsists mainly by the divine life;
hence, it is spiritual. The priesthood subsists mainly by the
divine nature; hence, it is holy.
1 Peter 2:5 note 7, priesthood
The holy priesthood is the spiritual house. In the New
Testament three Greek words are used in relation to the
priests: hierosune, referring to the priestly office, as in Heb.
7:12; hierateia, referring to the priestly service, as in Heb. 7:5;
and hierateuma, referring to the assembly of priests, a body of
priests, a priesthood, as in this verse and v. 9. The
Text and footnotes taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible