Intellectual Defenestration

More teaching notes

Teaching notes on I Peter 2. I taught this in the adult Sunday school this morning, but haven't had time to post it until now:

I Peter 2

It is important to see this passage in the larger context of 1 Peter. While each verse can be studied importantly, Peter is building upon previous material. In verse 1, Peter appears to be drawing out the consequences of his previous thought. What is that thought, then?

Chapter 1, for the sake of review, has two prominent, intertwining themes. First, our faith and hope is in Jesus. Jesus, in turn, can not and will not fail us. Through him, we have been born again, "not of perishable seed but of imperishable" because "the word of the Lord remains forever."

The second theme prominent in chapter 1 is that God is calling us to "be holy as I am holy." This theme is to be fleshed out in chapter 2: Since we have been redeemed by a holy God, we are to be holy.

It is interesting to note that there are two motivations given for our obedience. The first is the nature of God. The second is the acts of God. We are to be holy both because God is holy, and because he loves us. To see one without the other will lead to a lopsided view of one's walk.

With this in mind, let us examine what this passage teaches.

Peter begins this chapter by telling his readers what not to do. We are to remove from our presence all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. The word for malice is fairly general and can refer to all evil things. Peter's point is that there should not even be a hint of wickedness, evil, or falseness in our lives and in how we relate to others.

Instead, we are to "long for the pure spiritual milk." The word for "spiritual" is the Greek λογικον which is usually translated "rational." Here it serves as a sort of play on words to earlier in 1:23. We have been born of the word (λογου) of God, now we are to desire the "word-like" milk of God. And the goal, of course, is to "grow up to salvation" (Gr. εις σωτεριαν).

In verses 4-10, Peter describes what this process of desiring the "pure spiritual milk" looks like. The destination, so to speak, of our desires is Christ. Christ is "a living stone." But not all are agreed on what this living stone is like. To man, this stone is worthless and disposable. To God, however, this stone is "chosen and precious."

An application of this is found in the next verse. As we come to Christ, we become like him so that we, too, are "living stones." The implication of this is that, if we are like Christ in being like living stones, then we will also be rejected by men, but chosen and precious in the sight of God.

The focus, though, is on Christ as our foundation. We are being built up through him into something new: a "spiritual house." There is a purpose for us coming to him and desiring the spiritual milk. As we do this, we become a "holy priesthood" so that we may offer "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." We come to Christ, so that we may be built upon him to give to God.

Peter uses a great deal of temple imagery here. Like the Old Covenant with Israel, the New Covenant has a temple, priests, and sacrifices. But the New Covenant temple is much greater than the Old Covenant system. In the New Covenant, this temple is built of believers, instead of stones. While the Old Covenant had a separate priestly caste within the chosen nation, in the New Covenant the chosen nation is the priestly nation so that every member of the NC is a priest. And, while the OC used bulls and goats as sacrifices, the NC uses "spiritual sacrifices," which, in the context, seems to indicate our righteous living.

What changed? The radical difference between the OC and NC is Christ. This is not to say that Christ was not present in the OC. Rather, every single aspect of the OC was a pointer to Christ. In the NC, however, Christ has been fully revealed and has paid the final punishment for our sins. It is Christ who lays the foundation for the new temple and it is Christ who now makes our sacrifices acceptable to God.

Verse 6 makes it clear who's initiative this is. It is God himself who is laying this foundation. God is the one who chose Jesus and is using him as the chief cornerstone. We contribute nothing to this foundation.

Since God has established this foundation, it is secure. This cornerstone, while rejected by men, is in fact more trustworthy and reliable than anything man can establish. The promise given here is that, if we believe in Jesus, we will never be disappointed or put to shame.

But what of those who don't believe? There are those who have put their trust in Jesus, and those who stumbled upon him. To those, this rock is not worthy of trust, but is an offense, a scandal, something to be rejected.

Whatever one thinks of The Passion (and there are good arguments both for it and against it), this verse can be clearly seen in relationship to it. To many of those who rejected it, the reasons given ultimately came down to, not a debate over cinematography or acting ability or plot, but to a rejection of the reason for Christ's coming. "Jesus was a good moral teacher," many said, "we should focus on what he taught. To revel in his sufferings is nothing but sadism." The idea that the primary reason for Christ's coming was to be an atonement for our sins was, once more, scandalous and offensive.

In all this, however, Peter provides perspective. Even the rejection of Christ is not outside God's sovereign reign. Even the disobedience of those that have stumbled is part of God's plan.

For those who do not stumble upon Christ, there is another destiny planned. God's people are different: we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession." Again, the imagery from the OC is incredibly prominent. Peter is saying that Christians are the new Israel. In God's marvelous plan, no longer is his election centered on one people-group, it has been radically extended to all who will believe in Christ's name. Those who were in darkness and under judgment have now been called into light, been given mercy, and given a new identity: the people of God.

It should be noted that Peter is not speaking of merely a collection of individuals. He is speaking of a new corporate entity. Christ has created a new ethnicity, a new vocation, and a new nation, of which the redeemed are part. He did not save a number of individuals and leave them alone to each do their own thing. Instead, he has called them to be part of a new community, a new people, united to him for his glory.

In the remainder of the chapter, Peter works out what longing for pure spiritual milk and coming to Christ looks like. He begins with the inward struggle ? the greatest enemy is often the one inside us. We are to "abstain from", or "be distant from" the "passions of the flesh." The vocabulary is militant; these passions "soldier against" our very souls. For anyone who has dealt with persistent sin in their own lives, this is very descriptive.

In verse 12, Peter gives as a reason for having honorable conduct an interesting and hard to understand reason. We are to have honorable conduct so that when the Gentiles speak against us, "they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." The NIV translates this as "on the day he visits us." The NKJV, NAS, and ESV render this (ημερα επισκοπης) more literally as "day of visitation." I am not entirely sure what this means, but it does appear to be looking back to Is. 10, the only other place in either the LXX or the greek NT where this phrase occurs. In Is. 10, the phrase actually refers to a day of judgment. If that is what Peter is alluding to, then the idea in this verse appears to be that our living rightly removes any excuse for denying Christ. If we live rightly, then those outside the covenant will be forced to give God glory, even in judgment.

Part of this keeping our conduct honorable is in how we act as citizens of our earthly kingdom. Peter commands us to be subject to "every human institution," whether the king/emperor or the governors who are administering their God-given tasks. For those wanting to know "the will of God", here it is: civil obedience. This may be a very unglamorous role, but it is important. How many times have you heard or seen a stereotype of Christians as obnoxious busybodies intent on forcing their religions down everyone's throat by taking over the government? This stereotype may or may not have basis on actual fact, since the reality is that Christians in America are a diverse bunch, but the lesson is the same: part of our witness is how we act in the governmental realm, whether it be with arrogance and hypocrisy or with humility and honesty.

Not just the emperor deserves our allegiance. Peter is clear: we must "honor everyone." In verse 17, he gives 4 simple and short statements, that are outworkings of the command in verse 16 to live as free people. As those who are servants of God, we are to "honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." Four very simple commands, but in practice difficult to do: how do you honor the guy who's driving in your blind spot in pouring rain with his lights out? How do you love the fellow Christian that you just can't stand being around? How do you fear God when you don't understand what's happening in your life? How do you honor the "emperor" when he's Bill Clinton?

In vv. 18-20, Peter gives specific instructions to servants as to how they might keep their conduct honorable. Possibly, household servants comprised a significant portion of the Christian body of the day. Regardless, the command is the same for them as it is for any of us who answer to a "master": "be subject ? with all respect." Peter makes this command independent of what the master is like. Whether the master is "good and gentle", or whether the master is "unjust" (σκολιοις ? the Greek carries the connotation of someone who is "crooked" or "unrighteous", not just someone difficult to be around), the conduct should be the same: submission and respect.

Peter is fully aware that this may lead to suffering and sorrow, but he also gives a word of caution. We are to make sure that, if we are suffering, we are suffering for doing right and not wrong. The obvious implication is that it is entirely possible for Christians to suffer for acting wrongly. If you are suffering because you were fired for theft, there is no consolation here.

Our calling, instead, is to mimic Christ, who suffered for us. Peter holds Christ up once again as the ultimate example of righteous suffering. Christ did nothing to either provoke his suffering, nor anything to retaliate, but "committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." And the result of what he accomplished by his wounds (a possible reference to the unjust beatings some servants might be receiving) was our salvation. Peter has returned to the constant theme of this book: Christ redeems us so that "we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

This is the hope and power for being obedient to these commands: Christ has redeemed us and is now the "Shepherd and Overseer" of our souls. In him, our works are made pure and righteous. In him, and only in him, will we have the grace necessary to act this way.

April 4, 2004 01:58 PM