September 23, 2018
Morning Service

Last week Greg began this study of the book of 1 Peter stating it was a book that is very deep to study and much to acquire from God’s Word. As I started my study of Chapter two, this revelation of much meaning was very similar to me also. I found that with few words said, much is meant in the scriptures. As we began chapter two of 1 Peter, I pray the God will reveal to each of us what He desires us to have in our character and hold these words in our hearts to better serve Him in our daily lives as Christians.

1Peter 2:1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 

Here in the first verse of chapter 2 we find the first example of much meaning in the Words of God to glean for the building of our character. Therefore, laying aside all is an indirect reference to the putting off of unfit clothes meaning to cast them off entirely and to no longer practice them. The things Peter encourages us to lay aside is malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. For these attributes of character we can say malice is to denote bitterness of the heart, ill will, a desire to injure others without cause but from mere personal gratification out of a spirit of revenge, in fact malice can be defined by all acts of wickedness. Deceit is an action of deception where the truth is misrepresented and an attempt to conceal the truth or mislead someone by deceiving them to accept a truth which is in fact false. Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which our own behaviors do not conform. It is a faking of having a virtuous character of moral or religious beliefs that a person does not truly possess and a form of deceit to ourselves. Envy is defined according to Webster as the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage. Coveting is also a form of envy to which God commands us to banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Obedience to the tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the heart. Lastly, evil speaking includes all unkind or slanderous speaking against others. This scripture tells us not to defame or damage the reputation of others and is referred to in 2 Corinthians 12:20 as backbiting. We all acquire to a certain extent an amount of deceit and insincerity in the course of life. We learn to conceal our emotions and feelings, and unconsciously come to appear different from what we really are. It is not so with children. In the child, every emotion of the bosom appears as it is. It is one of the purposes of our personal relationship and conversion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to bring us back to this state and to strip off the fraudulent or deceptive natures we acquired in life. In Matthew 18:3 it says, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”

1Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 

Peter speaks as newborn babes or those who were just born, as Christians who had just begun the spiritual life are born again! He tells us to desire the pure milk of the Word or the sincere meaning of the Word. Peter instructs us to the gospel in its purest and most simple form to be the nourishment or sustenance of the new-born soul. We as new-born Christians need to familiarize ourselves with the elemental truths of the Word to be most beneficial because we are babes in the knowledge. The milk of the Word is what we need in order to grow into a Christian who is thoroughly furnished with the Word knowing good from evil. A new-born Christian is nourished with the milk of the Word and without it would perish, thus becoming an essential part of the growth.

1Peter 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 

The apostle in this verse affirms the fact that the Lord is gracious and merciful to us sinners. It is to be noted here that the word taste is used; you cannot taste from a distance but only through a uniting with Christ Jesus. From afar, you can hear, smell, and see, but you cannot taste from afar, but only through a unity with our Lord Jesus. Our Lord is infinitely good, kind, free, and merciful to miserable sinners. He is full of pity and good to the undeserving; He has in Him a fullness of grace. The graciousness of our Redeemer is best discovered by an experimental taste of it.

1Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 

1Peter 2:5 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. 

1Peter 2:6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

1Peter 2:7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” 

1Peter 2:8 and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 

1Peter 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; 

1Peter 2:10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 

1Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 

1Peter 2:12 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. 

Jesus came to the earth appointed by our Father in heaven to be the cornerstone of the building of the church. He was rejected by men and subjected to punishment and eventually death on behalf of mankind. God chose his Son to be the Redeemer of mankind, he would live a sinless life, be wounded for our transgressions, and then die on Calvary for our sins. We too are living stones that build the house of God with Jesus as the cornerstone. The fellowship of Christians is a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. These sacrifices we are to offer are our bodies, our souls, our affections, our prayers, our praises, our money or food, and other duties needed by the church or the fellowship of the church. We must understand that the most spiritual sacrifices of the best individuals are not acceptable to God, but through our Savior and high priest Jesus our offerings are acceptable. In summation of the actions we do to be acceptable, we do them for God through Jesus our Lord whom our Father sent to be our high priest forever more. Peter affirms that in the scripture it states, “Behold, I lay in Zion…” this was said to show the scriptures correlated with Jesus being the foundation stone, the scripture is Isaiah 28:16 stating, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. In weighty matters of spirituality, we must depend upon scripture-proof; Christ and His apostles appealed to Moses, David, and the ancient prophets. The Word of God is the only rule God has given us, it is a perfect and sufficient rule for any matters of spiritual fitness we need and are required. The setting up of the pope as the head of the church is a human contrived concept and an arrogant presumption; Christ only is the head of the church of God and was a chosen work of God the Father. The cornerstone stays inseparably with the building, supports it, unites it, and adorns it. So does Christ by His holy church, His spiritual house. In verse 8 the stone is said to be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, this is because of the disobedience to the Word of God from the chief priests of the day refused Him and the people followed their leaders. The leaders could not be brought to seek justification by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For this, the stone became a stumbling stone and fell upon them in return and punished them with destruction. The Jewish people were the chosen ones of God and exceedingly tender of their ancient privileges, taken into a special covenant with Him, and separated from the rest of the world. “Now,” they say “if we submit to the gospel-constitution, they will lose all this and stand upon the same level as the Gentiles.” Peter tells us we are a chosen generation; we all make one family, a group of people distinct from the common world, of a different spirit, principle, and practice, which we could never be, if not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by His spirit. This is what allows us to offer praises and spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus. We were called out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. We are now enlightened to the mercy of God through Jesus which once we were not. All Christians should look back into their past and make observances of the life they once had without Jesus in their life and compare their life they now have to what it once was and be grateful for God’s mercy. This mercy is available to anyone who wants it, it is a free gift from God the Father through Jesus our Lord and Savior and it is life changing and chain breaking. The bondage of sin is very heavy to bear and through Jesus our Lord, we can be redeemed by His blood he shed for us while we were yet sinners. Peter appeals to us as Christians to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. To live honorable with our conduct because there are people all around us who do not believe and will say that we are evil-doers. In conclusion, if we live honest and decent lives without blame, they will see the good we do and will give glory to God on the day that he comes.

 

I would like to urge all who may be listening to acknowledge Jesus as Lord the Son of God the Father, confess your sins and be saved. If there is any one thing you could do today that will be of any significance, it will be to submit to God and claim the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior.