1 Peter 2:1-8
2 So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; 3 for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.4 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious; 5 and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in scripture:“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,” 8 and “A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall”; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
What stuck out to me was verse 1 “So put away malice, deceit hypocrisy envy slander and like newborn babes.” In light of the previous verses about being born again of imperishable seed through the living abiding word, we are now to love the brothers with that new pure heart and put away malice deceit etc…because we are now able to we have fresh power, fresh new start, clean and new.
This portion also makes me think of the battle I have between the spirit of God (represented by the imperishable seed) and the flesh of man that remains on me. Paul talks about this battle in his letters. I am a host to the living word of God Christ in me, the holy spirit resides inside of me to do all his work, to teach me all the things and to empower me, yet my flesh is still present and resisting this new work. My flesh as Christ said is weak and so I have choices and battles still. whose voice will i obey?
Verse 8 “they stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do.” This spoke to me again about my chosen-ness, just as some souls are destined to obey Jesus and grow up into salvation and become a spiritual house and holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifice , others are destined for disobedience, destruction and wrath. Some of these realities are beyond our control. This is a difficult thing to understand. Did God see that they would never turn to him and repent therefore he gave them over to their own lusts? Did , as he said, choose some for glory and others not? Did he reach out to those he loved more? I don’t know but according to this verse some are destined for disobedience.
This portion of Peter is a great prayer:
Lord, grow me up into salvation, grow me into the spiritual house you’ve called and chosen me to be, may I be worthy to make offerings to you that are pleasing and acceptable do not put me to shame. Lord I believe in you thank you that you have destined me for life truth and obedience to your son. Thank you that you are good and permit me to taste of your goodness. I praise you for giving us the cornerstone the living stone that we may believe and be saved . Help me put away the evil in my tongue those things that would feed my flesh and natural man, rather Lord help me love with a pure heart. I pray that the imperishable seed in me would produce according to your will and plan and truth and life. Help me over come the battles between spirit and flesh show me what is spiritual milk. What is the spiritual house and sacrifice you have called me to make and offer.Amen
Peter is comparing these elect exiles, who are Christians to newborn babies perhaps because their faith is new. Are they Jewish people who have accepted Jesus as the messiah and the messenger in who they delight. Are they gentile believers? This is the good news regardless: that God’s word now can dwell in man. This is the new covenant Jeremiah speaks of. Christ is the stone now, the living stone. Just as the commandments of God were written on Stone tablets that could be broken and were in fact shattered by Moses, Christ is now the living stone on which the words of God are which cannot be broken or die and the grave cannot hold him and death cannot shatter him, he is a living word able to be stored on human hearts and change lives.
my faith place 