I Peter Ch. 2:1-3 “Remain an infant”
Ch.2:1-10 Well-made by the Word
Ch.2:11-17 Sojourners in society
Ch.2:18-25 Servants because of our Savior
INTRO
Vs. 1 Peter’s premise in these first three verses is because we have been born again. God has given us a new ability to Love others as He has loved us. To do so he shows them how “love” is different, by reminding them five characteristics that won’t be seen in God’s love. In fact, the believer is called to “separate themselves” from these five characteristics one and for all:
Malice: This word in the Greek just means wickedness in general
Deceit: This word means to catch with bait and the idea is the use of words to get what a person wants, flattery.
Hypocrisy: we are familiar with this word as it describes an actor playing a role as they are impersonating something they are not.
Envy: This word is self-explanatory and will usually be accompanied by the last, evil speaking.
Evil speaking: This word in the Greek means to speak down or slander another person.
When Christians are growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus they will be peacemakers not troublemakers and as such will promote unity in the body of Christ.
Vs. 2 In contrast to that Peter says that we are newborn babes into God’s family and as such should be growing as we are in the nursery of heaven now. How completely amazing is it to realize that as His children our weakness fraught with evil habits and dullness of vision due to our fallen heredity will never drive God away from us instead, they draw Him nearer as a tender parent to a needy infant! It is a great heavenly paradox that our maturity in Christ can only come about as we remain like an infant: Dependent upon Him and hungry for His word! To accomplish this, we need first “desire” an intense yearning or appetite for the Word of God. Loss of appetite is one of the most dangerous symptoms of starvation and so too in the spiritual realm. This is why we need to rid ourselves of the five-junk food items in communication mentioned above as it has taken away the appetite for “the pure milk of the word.” Furthermore, it ought to be noted that you cannot merely attend a restaurant or look at your food on a plate at a bible study if you are going to grow you will need to eat!
Vs. 3 Finally Peter tells them that another way to stimulate your appetite for the Word of God is to remember its “taste” and how much you enjoyed it in the past. We don’t just eat because we need to, we eat because we enjoy its taste! A spiritually healthy Christian is a healthy Christian!
1 Peter 2:4-8
“From clay pots to living stones”
Vs. 4 The living stone
Vs. 5 The spiritual house
Vs. 6-8 Cornerstone or stumbling stone?
Intro
The second aspect with Peter’s point that “Vertical holiness ought to create horizontal togetherness is found in verses 4-8, that we are bricks in the same building and next we will continue with:
Vs. 2:5 We are servants under the same Master
Vs. 2:9-10 We are citizens of the same nation
The subject at hand is the work of our “great salvation” as it relates beyond just to our personal transformation to the making of a “great society”, a spiritual fellowship as we realize that we are a part of a much larger loving family known as the Church. The first part of this process is what we have already examined and that is, the making of the individual ready to be a part of this great society known as the church. The concept is wonderful to examine as we are told in 2 Corinthians 4:7. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
This treasure Paul said was placed in “common ordinary fragile clay pots,” was defined for us by Paul in verse 4 as the “glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” So then Christian, we now have the answer to one of the most complex questions asked, “What is the purpose of man”. The answer in the Bible is that; Humanity was created by God to be containers, Tupperware, Ziplock bags… clay pots! It is without question the greatest mystery with regards to God; why would He choose to place the greatest treasure there is, defined as the “glory of Christ, who is the image of God” in us “clay pots”?
Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for the answer as in the very same sentence Paul tells us the purpose, “that the excellence of the power may be of God and not us.” Furthermore God has a plan for us containers or “clay pots,” according to Paul in the verses 8-10 is that; “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” I pray you caught that: We containers of Christ are to be:
- Hard-pressed on every side
- We are to be perplexed
- Persecuted
- Struck down
While those four things are by design of God for us containers of Christ it is equally clear that the purpose of those four things is NOT to:
- Crush us
- Cause despair in us
- Forsake us
- Destroy us
God has a plan for us containers of Christ clearly stated by Paul that we will be: “carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Simply put we are designed to leak!!!! This is why we continually need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be in the Word of God. God wants us to leak out His truth and love upon a fallen humanity and it is imperative that the church understand this truth so that they won’t be engaging in two activities that can be counterproductive for God’s work of causing us to leak out on a fallen humanity:
Decorating our pots: We do this to make them more attractive to others, so that we can show them why God would love us. All such activity will lead to the second of these two activities. What the world needs to see in us containers, “clay pots”, is authenticity !
Being full of ourselves: As containers we are designed to be full, and the only question is of what…we will either be “full of ourselves” or “full of God” but it is certain we can never be full of both at the same time.
Now we come into the placement of these “clay pots” into this “great society,” which Peter defines as “Living Stones”. Again, it is such an amazing process to see: God transforms ordinary rocks; born and bathed in dirt, then begins the transformation of us rocks into precious jewels that will one day in eternity adorn His crown. The process that He uses takes time and will require destruction of part of the rock that will become a jewel. It will take cutting away a part of the rock grinding parts of it away, cutting sections off that will enable the “glory of Christ, who is the image of God” to reflect on the angles. He will have to cut us just the exact way to catch His glory. Then there will be the polish as He will use finer and finer grit to bring the rock to a gemstone. It will be fashioned by Him, He will perfect our facets in our lives to optimize us so that we will, for all eternity, flash His glorious work in our lives!
Vs. 4 The living stone
Vs. 4 Peter explains how this all works by saying, “Coming to Him (Jesus), as to a living stone”. Notice that those two words “as to” are italicized which indicates to us that they are not in the Greek text and were supplied by the translators to help make sense of the passage. The problem is that there is no such metaphor as there exists no such thing outside of Jesus as He is the only “Rock” of our salvation. He is the only way to our “Great Salvation” and any reference to humanity being connected to God apart from their connection to Jesus would cast them at the other end of being “Living Stones”.
The consequences of our coming to the rock of our salvation is that we become “living stones”. Peter must have thought back 30-years earlier to his answer to Jesus’ question and Jesus replied back in Matthew 16:15-18 when he made this statement in this letter. “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Next Peter informs his readers that Jesus, “THE Living Stone,” was rejected and the Greek word means “disallowed, not disqualified, which means that the error was not in Jesus, but those who rejected Him. There is a rabbinical parable talked about Psalm 118:22 which is what Peter quotes in verse 7 that tells the story of the time during the building of Solomon’s temple as it was forbidden to hear the sounds of hammers at the construction site. This had practical implications as it meant that the 20-ton stones were made with shop drawings but constructed many miles away. Each stone was cut specifically for its exact spot in the temple. From the very first stone there was an exact plan for each stone, and they were like a jigsaw puzzle and not like Lego’s. The very first stone to be delivered was the most important stone as everything would be built around that stone, even though it would be the last stone placed; it was known as the chief cornerstone.
When the stone arrived to the construction site the builders didn’t recognize it nor its importance so they tossed it aside and as years passed grass grew around it, brush overtook it to where it was no longer visible, they just completely forgot about it until one day the builder sent word to the quarrymen that the building that was built completely around the chief cornerstone was now ready for it. The quarrymen sent word back saying that they already had it and a panic arose because without that capstone the building was worthless. They frantically did a search, and someone finally remembered that they had tossed it aside having “disqualified” it not believing it was of any use. They found it hidden in a refuse pile overgrown with brush and praised God as they set it on the wall completing the work. Humanity may have “disqualified” Him, the religion He was born into humanity by may have cast Him aside, people may not see any need for Him but rest assured Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone and as such He was “Chosen” by God the Father. That word in the Greek is NOT a verb but a noun, literally “Chosen out One” He was the only one who could fit the building God has designed for humanity. And because of this He alone is “precious,” that makes Jesus irreplaceable!
Vs. 5 The spiritual house
Vs. 5 Because of Who Jesus is we can understand the building that God has in mind when it comes to the church. I believe that we can see three important truths with regards to the individual “living stones” of the church as it relates to the believer:
- We cannot prepare individual living stones without the Chief Cornerstone Jesus.
- We cannot build the individual living stones into the church apart from Jesus.
- The Chief Cornerstone is THE strength of the structure.
Before we can be living stones we must be connected to Jesus THE LIVING STONE. He is the fundamental relationship we all must have as everything in life will be of one of these five truths:
- In Christ
- Through Christ
- By Christ
- With Christ
- Unto Christ
Peter explains the dimensions of these “living stones” as he calls them two things:
A spiritual house: We learn by this that we cannot become a great society without great piety. Without Him the church that He is to be the Chief Cornerstone will only be about connections, clubs and superficial relationships instead of an enduring brotherhood that is built upon faith.
A holy priesthood: Since the building of God is identified as the temple of God then there must be priests. What an amazing reality it is when we consider His priests: Those who were once worthless rubble of ruined lives have become transformed into the spiritual fabric of the building of God’s Temple. And since they are being built into this temple they don’t merely “Go to church, they are in fact, the church” and are called to serve Him. Our sacrifices are no longer animals but our own hearts in service to Him and each other. In the temple they had to “offer UP” the sacrifices as the brazen altar was 4 ½ feet high and was at an incline so that the priests would carry up the sacrifice. The sacrifices that we make now are acceptable to God only because they are THROUGH Jesus Christ. It is amazing to realize that our “mud cookies” are pleasing to God because they are through Jesus!
Vs. 6-8 Cornerstone or stumbling stone?
Vs. 6-8 Jesus is not only the foundation stone of the church He is also the one who holds it all together. The preciousness of the “Stone” (Jesus) is for us who believe but for the unbeliever He is a stone of stumbling. But to the “Disbelieving” who have cast Him aside He is a bolder in their path of life and obstacle which they attack as it hinders their progress on the road to ruin and destruction. Even in this we see the mercy of God who is willing that His Son be attacked if it slows the progression of sinners on the pathway to eternity of desolation! Oh, dear one, why not instead of seeing Jesus as a mere obstacle turn away from your destruction and you will see Him as the “Rock of your salvation”.
1 Peter 2:9-10
“A sanctified society”
Vs. 9a Fourfold description of the church
Vs. 9b The church’s mission
Vs. 10 Witness ware
Intro.
Peter finishes this section with another description of the new society birthed by our personal transformation and this one parallels the description God gave Israel in Exodus 19:5-6 where He calls them, a “special treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. This isn’t a suggestion, by Peter, that God is done with Israel as God will fulfill all of His promises and covenants with them. These two verses describe primarily from First (Old) Testament phraseology, the kind of Great Society the church has become. Grammatically, these four descriptions are not verbs, they are nouns! That revelation ought to cause us to realize that God does not see His Church based upon what they DO but rather what they ARE, it is this truth that should cause each and every member of God’s family to realize that: “Who we are equals what we do and NOT what we do equals who we are!” Furthermore, Peter gives us, “The expressed mission of this Great Society” saying, “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.”
Vs. 9a Fourfold description of the church
Vs. 9a The words “but you” at the start of the verse indicate that Peter is contrasting the unbeliever of verse 8 who stumbles at Jesus and the believers who are now a part of the Church. Peter tells his readers four things about our “great society”, known as the church. Each of these four things emphasize the importance of unity and harmony of the church:
Chosen generation: The word in the Greek for “generation” doesn’t refer to a span of a lifetime but rather a group or race of people with a common ancestry! We belong to ONE FAMILY, and all share the nature of the Living God. This immediately speaks of God’s amazing grace as just like Israel He didn’t choose us because we are great people but as He said to Israel in Deut. 7:7-8 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Israel was chosen on the condition that they would abide in God’s covenant but harden their hearts even after God’s repeated grace and discipline which culminated in their inability to recognize their Messiah. We must note this and understand that God’s choice is based upon His love not our goodness! Jesus said it this way in John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Before God’s work in our lives we weren’t God’s people, we were sons and daughters of disobedience, children of wrath as it were. God has purchased us by the precious blood of Christ (1:19). Now we are an “elect race,” moving in the world but never being of the world, standing out in contrast to the world’s citizens.
Royal priesthood: The word in Greek for “Royal” is the word that means “king” so here we have a break from Judaism as the Levitical priesthood could only be priests and never kings. The King-Priesthood belongs to the King of Kings, this suggests that not only our mission must be His but so too all praise and glory! But because Jesus believers are King priests as we are associated with Jesus who according to Hebrews was a priest in the order of Melchisedec We are all priests serving in the same temple! The body of Christ is made up entirely of royal priests and as such there are two important realities:
- Because we are Royal priests: “No man stands OVER us in our relationship to God!”
- Because we are all priests: “No man stands BETWEEN us and God!”
We have “kingly and priestly prerogatives”! Oh, dear ones it is never the clothes of a robe that makes us a priest it is the work that identifies us as one! Without the work no one will notice the robe, they will just wonder why we are still walking around in our bathrobe! Our royalty and our priestliness are derived solely from Jesus and have not been earned but given!
Holy nation: The Greek word for “Holy” means set apart or different and “nation” is a word that means a multitude of people of the same nature. We are citizens of the same heavenly homeland. The Christian community is the King’s House Peter says that we have been set apart to belong exclusively to God, Paul in Phil. 3:20 said that our citizenship is in heaven, and it is for this reason that we are called to obey its laws and seek to please our King of Kings.
It is clear from reading the first testament that God often forgot that they were to be a holy nation as they often sought to be of the world and not just in the world! We are a people whose policies are purities. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:19-20 “You are not your own. For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We are called to reign with Christ, but we are also called to serve Christ!
His own special people: The Greek word for “special” literally means to “make around” its meaning is to make something and then surround it with a circle that indicates ownership. In the Greek translation the word was used for Isa 43:21 and the phrase, “These people I have formed (encircled) for Myself”. We are a people for God’s own possession, we have all seen those t-shirts that have the opening words “Property of…” we are in every sense the “Property of God”! Have you considered the truth that each child of God is God’s unique possession? We are His “living stones” in the same building as the temple of the Holy Spirit. While we have no worth or value, we have become precious due to God who has prized us enough to send His Son to purchase us with His own blood. If we center our attention and affection on Jesus Christ, we will walk and work together with fellow Christians in harmony. But if we focus on ourselves, we will stop the work for God and unity. Saints, Unity must never eliminate diversity! We aren’t all alike, we aren’t all going to agree on everything. We are all living stones in the same temple building, but each stone is unique, one of a kind. The absence of diversity is NOT unity, it is uniformity and uniformity is boring. We are all “one of a kind” masterpieces hand fashioned by the Living God. Christians and churches are often called to different ministries and different methods, but we must never let such things divide us. Augustine said: “In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things, charity.”
Vs. 9b The church’s mission
Vs. 9b With these four incredible truths about this great society known as the church it begs to ask the question of why He did so. What is the mission of this new society known as the Church? It is twofold:
Vs. 9b I don’t normally think asking God why He did something the way He did is always a good idea it all ways is a good idea when He reveals it to you in His word like he does in the same verse where we read, “that you may proclaim the praises of Him”. God has taken a group of people who had; no rights or claims to His grace, no access to His goodness and He included us into His plans of salvation, and it ought to be that with such truth the world would hear our praises of Him above the mountain tops and beneath the ocean floor. The word “proclaim” in the Greek means to “show forth, tell out” or advertise! Wow just think about that in light of God’s work…we are God’s lit billboards on the dark Highway of humanity. The lost world living in darkness is to look at our lives and notice His “Marvelous light.” I love it!!! We are to advertise according to this passage the “praises of Him” and the Greek words here mean the “excellencies, gracious dealings, and glorious attributes”. It ought to be the aim of every Christian to speak of God’s fame and never to seek our own! God’s goodness and nature to a world that so desperately needs it. Were it not for God, we still would be on that same “highway to hell”, (sorry I could resist but I should have)? Oh, all we need to do is read the pages of our Bibles to see what happens to people when they forget what God has done for them and what responsibility His work in us produces through us. We are God’s advertisement to the world ONLY because of His abundant mercy and Grace! Furthermore, we shouldn’t forget we are citizens of heaven and living in the enemy’s territory and he is always watching as well as his citizens. So, because of this we ought to shine God’s grace and mercy every chance we get.
Vs. 10 Witness ware
Vs. 10 We are to be a “Sanctified Society” as an elect race that radiates God’s character and nature. As such we ought to be above all people abounding in optimism as we have already overcome the impossible because we have been called out of darkness and into the light, we are those who have overflowing joy in the Lord. Since through Jesus we have experienced the miracle of transformation in the past we ought to be excited about the present and the future! Our citizenship shows forth the excellence of God! The believer’s daily life should manifest our relationship with Jesus! There are far too many believers today that let their Christian t-shirts do their witnessing for them instead of their lives! The early church didn’t walk around with witness robes, they instead wore the righteousness of Christ and reached their generation!
1 Peter 2:11-17
“Sojourners in society”
Vs. 11-12 How we practice our Salvation
Vs. 13-17 How we present our Salvation
Intro.
The passage under consideration here is a continuation of two subjects that Peter had just written about in verse 9-10, namely that we are to be “proclaiming the praises of God as those who were not a people of God and recipients of His mercy, but NOW are”. The questions Peter answers are two practical ones that goes into some detail of how this would look in his world at the time he wrote this letter:
Vs. 11-12 How we practice our Salvation: “What should be read on our billboard that is advertising God’s transformation in life!”
Vs. 13-17 How we present our Salvation: “Who is reading the billboards of our advertisement.”
Vs. 11-12 How we practice our Salvation
Vs. 11-12 I find it interesting that before Peter launches into the public aspects of a “Sanctified Society” looks like in a world caught in darkness, he first reminds them that WHO they are, as he addresses them as the beloved and the Greek has it that they are the “dearly loved ones” of God. Next, he reminds them of their temporary status that where they are now is not their home. Our position in the world is both temporary and with a purpose as we are placed right alongside those OF THE WORLD, but we are ONLY TO BE IN THE WORLD BUT NEVER OF THE WORLD. We must always realize that what God would have us do and behave always comes from His work in us to make us WHO WE ARE!
Vs. 11 “Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against your soul”: The word “lusts” here doesn’t refer to only sexual temptation but literally “strong cravings and desires”. The jealous eye, envy and all kinds of selfishness all are included. Furthermore, Peter says that these “strong cravings and desires” have the nature in them to carry on a military campaign against the center of your emotions, intellect and will. What does the life of a person living in this world look like that would impact the world with the claims of Jesus? The plea of Peter is one that speaks of the passion of moderation, the imposing grace of noble self-restraint! It is one that can recognize the different value between pigs and pearls and can distinguish the tone and tune of the barking dog of the flesh and the sweet sound of the Savior from the sanctuary. The ultimate purpose of redemption is to transform a disorderly race into an orderly family!
As within all things that pertain to this life with freedom and privilege comes a sense of responsibility and how much truer is the “privilege” of being a child of the King? No freedom permitted must ever graduate to become a license instead they mature into a restraint! The connoisseur always has a better palette to distinguish and appreciate fine foods in their appetite that does a glutton. When the Divine is visual in a human, people will be wooed into heavenly fellowship not by the eloquence of our speech but rather by the radicalness of our behavior. The imposing grace of God manifested in our noble behavior according to verse 15 will silence the “the ignorance of foolish men.
Vs. 12 “Having your conduct honorable among the gentiles…”: Peter’s admonition wasn’t just centered on what they should do but that they realized their position in the world. They wouldn’t create a society that isolated itself away from the PEOPLE of the world only from the PRACTICE of the world. At this time the church was faced with limitations, such as how could they share Jesus’ truths to people when they were denied the opportunity to speak of God’s praises?
Peter’s answer was “YOUR CONDUCT”, “that they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God on the day of visitation.” As citizens of two worlds, we have a civil duty and responsibility to “advertise” to the people of this world the glorious benefits and opportunities of belonging to our “Sanctified Society”.
The “day of visitation” speaks to the longevity of our testimony. Specifically, that God will use the conduct of our lives in conjunction with the witness of our words to NOT return void as it will bring citizens of this dark world into the Kingdom of the Son of His love!
Vs. 13-17 How we present our Salvation
Vs. 13 Now Peter tells his readers of both the operation and logistics of the above two admonitions. The words in Greek “submit yourself” means to arrange in a military fashion under the command of a leader. And Peer says that they were to do so in every “ordinance of man” which refer to the laws of the land. It is good to remind ourselves that we are talking about an ancient Room that was far more wicked than even our nation at this time. It is only when the commands of the ruler’s clash with the commands of the King of Kings that we are no longer under obligation to submit but even in that we are to accept the consequences of our disobedience! We are citizens of America because first and foremost we are citizens of heaven. Or if you will; “We are God’s freemen, because we are His slaves!” Peter tells us that our primary motivation is “for the Lord’s sake” and there are three possible interpretations of this phrase:
- Some think that it means that Christians should submit because Jesus Himself submitted to the authority of the government.
- Others think that the phrase is a reference to the Christians actions in submission to the governing authorities which bring unbelievers to Jesus.
- The third is that by our submission to the laws and authority of the government which God has allowed to be over us we are submitting to the Lord.
Vs. 14-15 Peter might be alluding to Daniel who found himself under the authority of Nebuchadnezzar when he said to him in 2:37-38 “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.” Then later said in 4:17 “That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” And if you remember Nebuchadnezzar was removed from the throne until he learned that lesson. Notice that Peter starts with the King or Emperor and in this case, it was Nero, but it wasn’t just to the head of state but to the other officials as well Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” It is the will of God that followers of Jesus be subject to the governments and laws that He in His sovereign grace has placed them. We are a bondservant of Jesus and must never forget our high privilege, as a servant of Christ we must always remember that a servant of Jesus has no rights as we have taken upon ourselves only His rights! The Christian life is never beautified apart from civil obligation. When it is ignored or neglected our spiritual devotion is affected! The best way we can witness is through our transformation, not just our information. If we are going to witness to people, they ought to be able to see it in the fact that Jesus has made us the best citizens as “Good works” need to be placed ahead of “Good words”.
Vs. 16-17 Peter says that our liberty in Christ ought to produce a responsibility not a “license”! The limitation of this submission is best understood in the context of Peter’s own actions in Acts 4:19 and 5:29 where we are told that, “Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.” Then in 5:29 “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” They submitted to the institute but refused to stop preaching! We can respect the office even if we cannot respect the person in it. Our freedom is a tool to build into people’s lives not tear down their institutions.
Verse 17 seems to have been an early church motto of a fourfold application of what Peter had just been sharing.
Honor all People: We are to be kind, compassionate, treating everyone better than ourselves. As recognize the worth of folks! The idea here is that the Christian is always to view the people of this world as those who no matter how much we disagree with their positions over us they are always going to be people who Jesus valued enough to die for therefore they ought to be valued by us! We must view people as He does!
Love the brotherhood: Love is not a mere sentiment it is an action of sacrifice as we make people a priority over ourselves. We need to demonstrate to everyone we meet what living in Jesus has done in us so that they will want to know our Heavenly Father and become a part of our brotherhood.
Fear God: The fear here is not of Him as much as it is of us, that by our actions could injure our enjoyment of His presence in our lives. Oh, to be motivated so that the thought of not having His presence, joy and peace be accessible to us prevents our separation from Him!
Honor the king: we are called to respect the institutions that God has placed over us, and it is coming from the perspective of the King of Kings.
The beautiful Christian life is such that people are to be wooed into heavenly fellowship!
1 Peter 2:18-25
“Servants because of our Savior”
Vs. 18-20 Exhortation
Vs. 21-25 Example
Intro
Peter’s words of encouragement have turned to strong exhortation as the focus of his words are now upon; “How to live in a world that hates you and what you stand for”. Last week it was seen in both:
- What you didn’t advertise: “Fleshly lusts that war against our soul”.
- What we should advertise: “Our honorable conduct and good works”.
It was also noticed that our heavenly citizenship must be seen in our earthly citizenship and that as such, “for the Lord’s sake”, we must be in submission to those to whom the Lord has placed us under that govern our lives. Now Peter takes up an equally difficult section of who’s reading our billboards and how we are to make sure that what we are advertising is Jesus and not our own selves. With over 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire at the time of Peter’s letter, slavery was a way of life.
Furthermore, slaves were employed in every occupation imaginable from menial labor to professions like doctors and teachers. While the thought of human trafficking and slavery is detestable in any society it is important to realize that Peter’s words are in no way meant to condone the practice but rather the best way to transform the practice. Since this was the world in which the first century church was born, Peter is forced to accept the practice as the norm and directs the slaves on how to conduct themselves as “freed people,” living in a social arrangement of forced slavery. The breakdown of this section will be:
- Vs. 18-20 Exhortation
- Vs. 21-25 Example
Those who had come to the transforming grace of the gospel through Jesus have become freed people living in an enslaved world. As such they may have thought that such spiritual liberation would guarantee personal and political freedom but what Peter and the other New Testament writers say is that “spiritual liberation” doesn’t mandate “personal and political freedom,” it mandates “personal and political responsibility”! It is important to realize this historical truth: By the practice of these words of Peter and other New Testament writers the terrible institution of slavery in the Roman Empire was overthrown by God though He never had any of His servants preach against Rome or slavery. Today in our country currently there are no Christian slaves in the sense of Peter’s exhortation but in the broader application this can be applied to Christian employees.
Vs. 18-20 Exhortation
Vs. 18-20 The word in the Greek for “servants” is one that indicates “household slaves” and the focus of the text is that of specifically Christian household slaves who are now given a special admonishment as they formed a large part of the early church society. They are exhorted to “serve in submission” and we note that Peter clarifies the expectation is to be administered regardless of the way they are treated by their owner or boss. The word “fear” is in the context of verse 19 and the motivation behind such submission as being “commendable. because of conscience towards God”. In other words, the Christian slave ought to be fearful, as we noted last week, that such non-obedient behavior, or any rebellion would reveal to God that we weren’t His freedmen but rather still in bondage to the world.
Dear ones, “No one who has surrendered to the will of God in all areas of their life can ever be anything other than FREE and as such completely victorious. Because of this fact we must be a people who live our life not as people who are out to win their freedom and to gain their independence but instead as those who have already been granted their freedom and have already gained everything there is to gain.” Our submission is non-negotiable based upon how others treat us. It could be we are blessed to have “Good and gentle” owners that were good at heart and yielding and indulgent. Or they could have the misfortune to have those who were harsh and were dead set against Christians. The Christian slave obligation didn’t change based upon their conditions as they were never man’s servants but Jesus’. It is the ignorant or shallow Christian that says it is never the will of God that they suffer. Those who believe such a lie demonstrate that they have spent little or no time at the Cross of Christ. Jesus could have with all the power, knowledge and authority at His disposal, dispatched all of heaven and earth to rescue Him but instead of His deliverance, His obedient suffering and sacrifice led to our deliverance and not His own!
A servant should submit not on the grounds of their master’s goodness towards them but rather on their Heavenly Masters goodness towards them! The blessing is not in enduring the wrong we have done as Peter says you had it coming. No, the blessing and witness is in loving and serving people when you aren’t treated well. Now in today’s employer and employee relationships the worker can switch jobs if mis-treated and I’m not suggesting to anyone that the Bible is saying it is wrong to do so. What I am saying is that God often works in reaching people who continue to love and give people their very best even when they don’t deserve it by the way they are treating us! The nature of “GRACE” is “Unmerited Favor” and if we are only loving and serving with a whole heart those who treat us well then, it’s not “GRACE” or “Unmerited Favor”. What Peter is revealing is also important for another reason that goes against our logical mind; “Sometimes our obedience and submission to God’s will in our lives doesn’t produce favorable results towards us”!
Sometimes submission to the Lord’s will and obedience to His word will lead to greater and greater persecution and hardships. Why would God allow that in our life if we are obeying His will and submitting our lives to Him? Well because God is wanting our “purification and transformation,” and one the other end He may be using our submission to His will as a witness to the persecutors we are extending “Unmerited Favor” towards. In so living this out we are living “Billboards,” reflecting Jesus’ grace to a world that may not see it any other way! Human tendency is to fight back, defend our rights or protest injustice. Yet Peter by way of the Holy Spirit is saying that any person can do that, but it takes a Holy Spirit empowered believer to submit further and allow the injustice so that God can reach a person in a way of Unmerited Favor! It is important to realize that the truth that what Peter is writing about was one that he had to grow and mature into as in Matt. 16:21, he argued with Jesus over this kind of submission and John 18:10-11 after pulling out his sword cut off the servant’s ear in the Garden and received a rebuke from Jesus over it as he reversed the effects of Peter’s lack of submission. Peter had learned over the years that submission that leads to suffering always leads to glory!
Vs. 21-25 Example
Vs. 21-25 “For to this you were called” Peter says! The context is that of what he has just said and that is we are called to be distributing Unmerited Favor to those who mistreat us! To further illustrate this truth Peter uses Jesus as the example and seeing that Jesus reminded His disciples in John 15:20 that a “Servant isn’t above his master” we are to emulate Jesus! The phrase leaving us an example and that you should follow His steps carries two great word pictures:
“Leaving us an example”: The Greek is “writing under,” and it is the practice that teachers employ to teach them how to write by tracing under the letters of words. Saints, Jesus’ example is something that we all ought to be tracing His words and works in our own hearts!
“Follow His Steps”: This is also a way to teach children how to walk carefully in difficult terrain by having a child put their footprints in their father’s so as to avoid the dangers that they would be unaware of if they just blazed their own trail. No person can ever claim that they are walking with God if they aren’t walking in Jesus’ footprints!
The quote is out of Isaiah 53 and reminds the readers that Jesus didn’t ever fail towards God or humanity in word or deed, there has never been a less deserving person to receive the punishment than Jesus. No one has ever been less guilty than God the Son who had the sin of all humanity from all-time placed upon Him who knew no sin of either commission or omission. He not only took all the insults and rebukes of those whose sin was being laid upon Him, the only action He took was to bear their sins as He committed His righteousness before the only true Judge the Father.
Dear ones, let us always remember when wrong and injustice is being done towards us, and we want to defend or retaliate or fight back; it’s always better for us to realize that the greater security in life is always to remember that it is far better to be “Loved by God” then it is to be “liked by humanity”! It was never Jesus who was on trial, it was religion and fallen humanity. The stripes being mentioned here, and the healing is in context not physical healing but our redemption. While I believe that God can and does heal today, to use this text as a proof text for such a position is not good Bible study. Jesus’ submission was never proof of His weakness, it was proof of His power, and so too with our submission! There is no greater way to witness of the grace of God than to be willing to be living, practicing examples of it in every situation that comes our way. No person who has died to self and become a servant of Christ shall ever be a master without displaying their Master!