Peace Lutheran Church

In the first two chapters of 1 Peter, the Apostle seeks to embolden, support, and encourage these early Christians with a series of exhortations that challenge these congregations to remember who they really are by the grace of God:

1. An exhortation to have Hope:  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13

2. An exhortation to Holiness: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,  (15)  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  (16)  since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16

3. An exhortation to Fear God:  And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,  (18)  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,  (19)  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.  (20)  He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you  (21)  who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:17-21

4. An exhortation to Love One Another: Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, (23)  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;  (24)  for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,  (25)  but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.1 Peter 1:22-2:1

5. An exhortation to Desire the Word of God:    (2)  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation–  (3)  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3

In this week’s sermon we will reflect on the Apostle’s vivid description of how God is making Christians into a Spiritual House built upon the person and work of Jesus Christ.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,  (5)  you yourselves like living stones are being built up as 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 whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  (7)  So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”  (8)  and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  (9)  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  (10)  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:4-10

1. What images come to mind when you hear the word “church”? People often have a strong emotional attachment to church buildings…what difference does it make to you when you consider being a part of a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5)?

2. In what ways is Christ “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” to you..and for those you know? (1 Peter 2:8)?

3. What difference does it make to you to know you are chosen by God and that you belong to Him (see 1 Peter 2:9-10)?

4. We often are measure our attachment to a congregation by the extent to which we feel connected to the pastor and other church leaders. How might the fact that “God” is doing the building change the way you look at being a part of a particular fellowship of believers?

5. Pay attention to the names that Peter uses to describe Christians in this passage. Which is most confusing? Challenging? Comforting? Which of these terms can you relate to the most?

1 Peter 1:22-25 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, (23) since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (24) for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, (25) but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

2:1-3 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. (2) Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation– (3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

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1 Peter 1:22 is difficult to translate. Here are some different English translations:

(ESV) Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

(GNB) Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.

(NIV) Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart

(NLT) You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

(CEV) You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart.

1:22 purified. Purification comes from obedience to the truth, and this result in love for others. In the Old Testament, people engaged in rituals to purify objects and people so as to make them worthy for the use by God (Numbers 8:21; Numbers 31:23). In the New Testament, purification is of a moral nature. Christians are called upon to rid themselves of those vices, passions and negative attitudes (1 Peter 2:1) that make it difficult to love others.

1:22 a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. The love indicated here by Peter is philadelphia and refers to love between Christian brothers and sisters. This love is marked by choices and not sentimentality.

1:22 earnestly. This means to stretch to the limits (Luke 22:44; Acts 12:5; Luke 10:27). Only those whose “souls” have been “purified,” i.e., saved, have the capacity to love like this. Such love exhibits itself by meeting others at the point of their need (1 Peter 2:17; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 Peter 4:8; John 13:34; Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:1-8; Hebrews 13:1; 1 John 3:11).

1:23 Imperishable vs. perishable seed. The word seed is here reminds the reader of life. There is life that comes to us from our human parents and it will eventually come to an end/perish. There is also a life that is imperishable/eternal that comes from God when we are “born again” or regenerated.

1:23 through the living and abiding word of God. Building on the seed and sowing images in the previous verses, the word of God AKA the Scriptures are described as alive and living in the believer. The followers of Jesus have been reborn through the living word, the gospel (1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 2:2), and it is imperishable (1 Peter 1:24–25).

1:24–25. Here Peter quotes the prophet Isaiah 40:6-8 (following the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint), where the word is the future message of salvation in the time when God would redeem his people Ssee also Isaiah 52:7-8).

2:1 put away. This verb was used to describe taking off one’s clothes. They must strip off, like spoiled and dirty clothes, their old lifestyle.

2:1 all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. These are terms that refer to attitudes that disrupt a community and make relationships difficult. Hypocrites are actors who pretend to be one thing while, in fact, they are concealing their true motives. Envy is jealousy of another’s place and privilege. Slander involves speaking evil of others when they are not there to defend themselves. They are to rid themselves of all those behaviors which work against brotherly love. The list Peter uses here is similar to other such vice lists in the New Testament (Romans 1:29-30; Ephesians 4:31. The similarity of the wording in some of these early Christian“vice lists” suggests that there was a common baptismal liturgy used in the early church. It might also follow some teaching by Jesus no longer available to us.

2:2 desire the pure milk of the word. Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving for and a delight in God’s Word with the intensity with which a baby craves milk (Job 23:12; Psalm 1:1-2; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119; Jeremiah 15:16).

Reflection Questions:

1. What is a good test to see if you are really experiencing a change of heart (1 Peter 1:22)?

2. What makes loving others deeply and actively possible (1 Peter 1:23-25)?

3. How would you characterize the kind of love you have for others lately?

4. What is the “pure spiritual milk” we are to crave? In what way do you still need this milk?