It’s no surprise, then, that the person who wrote 1 Peter and attributed it to the apostle should use the metaphor of rocks or stones, encouraging Christians to think of themselves as living stones built into the body of Christ. That promotes a Jesus-centered world view from the inside out.

 

 

 

The opening verses of chapter 2 build on earlier exhortations calling Christians to live as new and different people (1:13-25). The author had no qualms about mixing metaphors: he addressed believers as babies who need milk, as living blocks of stone built into a temple, as priests within the same temple, and as a specially chosen nation. Along the way, he cited various Old Testament texts to support his views. 

 

Becoming a new person in Christ involves transformation of the old self. Thus, he calls believers to strip away “malice, guile, insincerity, envy, and slander.” 

 

“Rid yourselves” (NRSV) or “get rid of” (NET) suggests a turning away from one’s pre-Christian behaviors: the same word introduces similar lists in Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22, 25; Col. 3:8; and Jas. 1:21. It suggests the image of taking off an old garment to put on a new one. [DD]

 

The writer’s litany of negative attire to be discarded includes “malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander” (v. 1). The word for “malice” is a general term for wickedness, while “guile” begins a list of negative behaviors that disrupt community and hurt others. 

 

In Greek, the last three vices are written in the plural form. “Insincerity” is the Greek word from which we derive “hypocrisy” (hupocrisis). Envy is at the root of selfish behavior that seeks to advance oneself above others. Slander involves language that intentionally defames or harms others. 

 

The author probably did not know many in his audience personally. Perhaps that is why he chose rather generic terms for harmful habits to be put away. If you were writing a similar advice letter today, what negative attitudes or practices would you encourage new believers to discard? Are there things you might accept that other Christians would reject? 

 

You may be able to name specific habits or ways of thinking that you consciously put away when you became a Christian. Are there other changes that remain to be made?

 

Believers should not only put away what hinders spiritual growth, but hunger for what enhances it. Peter called on the repentant and newly innocent Christians to think of themselves as mere babes in the faith, seeking to grow through imbibing “pure, spiritual milk” (v. 2a). 

 

This implies that many of the readers were recent converts. “Long for” is a strong verb that suggests a hungry yearning, no less essential to survival than a newborn’s instinctive appetite.

 

The substance of the metaphorical milk is not identified, though it is described as “pure” (free from deceit) and as “spiritual” or “genuine.” The latter word translates logikos, which the King James Version inaccurately rendered as “of the word.” The term’s primary meaning is “rational” or “genuine.” The translation “spiritual” is figurative.

 

This verse is not about Bible study, then, as many KJV readers have inferred and many preachers have declared. Rather, it is a call for new believers to seek every opportunity for trustworthy guidance and spiritual growth. [DD]

 

What might this involve? Fellowship with other Christians, worship as part of the community, communion with God through prayer, and a conscious effort to follow Jesus in loving ways can all strengthen believers. Few Christians in Peter’s audience would have access to Old Testament writings, and the New Testament was still being written. They would need to learn about their faith from the teaching of pastors, itinerant evangelists, or letters such as this from church leaders. [DD]

 

How would this help believers “grow into salvation” (v. 2b)? The writer is not suggesting that new believers had no experience of saving grace. The phrase speaks to the importance of growing in one’s appreciation and experience of salvation. Those who have truly tasted the good life God gives will want more (v. 3). [DD] Salvation has both present and future dimensions: those who trust in Christ live in a state of grace, but have yet to know the final, full, and eternal extent of salvation. [DD]

 

 

 

With v. 4, the writer shifts metaphors. Instead of newborn babes, he now asks believers to think of themselves as stones, citing Christ as “a living stone, rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.” [DD]

 

Christ followers should likewise think of themselves as living stones that make up the greater temple of Christ’s body (v. 5a). Such stones are not static and unchanging, like the carefully shaped limestone used in many ancient temples. Rather, as we grow in maturity and faith, we continue to be formed and shaped both as individuals and as a church. 

 

Peter calls on believers who have been “built into a spiritual house” to live holy lives as priests who offer “spiritual sacrifices” appropriate to the worship of Christ (v. 5b). The work of Christ rendered animal sacrifices obsolete. Instead, we offer the sacrifices of faithful and worshipful living. 

 

The new believers in Asia Minor would face many trials, being “rejected by mortals” just as Christ was spurned by many. Yet, they could find comfort in knowing that they were “chosen and precious in God’s sight.” 

 

The author reinforces this image by recalling several Old Testament texts (vv. 6-8). The laying of the chosen cornerstone reflects Isa. 28:16, while its rejection calls to mind Ps. 118:22, and its role as a stumbling block for unbelievers derives from Isa. 8:14. 

 

Early believers interpreted these texts as prophetic references to Jesus, who was rejected by mortals but chosen by God and destined to become the cornerstone by which all others would be judged. As Christ stood firm in trials, the new believers were called to do the same. [DD]

 

 

 

Those who cherish the doctrine of “the priesthood of the believer” have long loved v. 9, which picks up on the metaphor of believers as priests from v. 5. Quoting from God’s commission to Israel in Exodus 19:5-6 (and possibly Isa. 43:20-21), the author affirms a new status for the new believers: “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.” [DD]

 

These labels speak not only to our privilege as God’s chosen people, but also to our responsibility to live as priests who serve God in the world. In ancient Israel, priests were called to intercede with God on behalf of others, and to teach others about God so they could worship in their own words. 

 

In other words, the work of a priest is to represent fellow humans before God, and to represent God to their fellow humans. The author of 1 Peter believed that God has chosen all believers to live as priests, not just ordained clergy or other professional ministers. As such, every believer is called to a holy life that shows reverence to God and points others to God. 

 

We are not called as God’s chosen people and royal priesthood for our benefit alone, then, but that we might serve as witnesses in the world. As God has called us out of this world’s darkness and into divine light, so God commissions us to lead others from spiritual darkness into light (v. 9b). 

 

The reference to believers as God’s special people led the writer to recall another Old Testament text, this one from the prophet Hosea. With his own broken marriage serving as a metaphor for Israel’s desertion of God, Hosea gave his daughter the name Lo-ruhammah (“Not Pitied”) and his youngest son the name Lo-ammi (“not my people”). Hosea did not give up on his children or on Israel, however, but looked to a day when God would have pity on “Not Pitied” and would say to “Not My People” that “You are my people.” He, representing Israel, would respond “You are my God” (Hos. 1:9, 2:23). 

 

The author of 1 Peter believed that very prophecy was being fulfilled as new believers responded positively to God in Christ: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people,” he said. “Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (2:10). [DD]

 

Have you experienced both sides of the relationship described here? Can you recall a feeling of guilt before God, knowing how far you had fallen short of God’s ideal? And do you recall the sense of relief that comes with repentance and the joy of knowing that God has forgiven your sins?

 

The author of 1 Peter wanted the Christians who read his letter to remember their former lives apart from God, and to adopt a new way of living, forgiven and beloved and focused on Jesus.