Sunday, October 16, 2005
1 Peter 2
After teaching the faithful that their regeneration was by the very Word of God (1:22-25), he reminds us again that as we are regenerated by the Word, so also by it are we sustained and grown (2:1-3). In verses 4-10 he proceeds to teach principles which are foundational to understanding the church of Christ as the people of God. Peter identifies the living Stone – the cornerstone of the spiritual building he proceeds to describe – as Jesus Christ himself. He is the foundation of the living. Note the parallelism used by Peter in verse 5 to the OT sacrificial system. The OT dwelling place of God, the temple, was built with stones hewn by the hands of men. But this house Peter describes is made from “living stones” – those who have been made alive in Christ. The OT sacrificial system has been fulfilled in the person of Christ. The OT temple has been replaced by the church – God dwells among and in the midst of His people through the person of Jesus Christ. The comparison here is between the church and the OT temple. The type that was given by the institution of the OT temple has been realized in the church itself. O how this amplifies divine grace! How much more excellent is reality than the type! Peter then gives the reason that God has established this “spiritual house” (v.5) built from “living stones”: it is that we might “declare the virtues of the One who called you out of darkness into His amazing light.” (v.9)
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2 comments:
That problem still exists in the church today. There is plenty of "phileo" love demonstrated among Christians, but not nearly enough "agape" love. Peter is asking for self-sacrificial love for other people. It's hard; it's very inconvenient to do that. You can lose a whole weekend doing it! You can even lose sleep doing it. You can even lose weeks because you care about someone else. But that's the way Peter wants us to live: in fervent love for one another from the heart. And that does not allow complaining inside or to other people that you have stretched yourself out to minister to somebody. By the power of the Holy Spirit, adopt a lifestyle of constantly reaching out, going beyond the normal bounds to a fervent love for the brethren.
Learning how to do that is a process. We are all so different from each other. Sometimes we feel if others would just live like we want them to live, we could really get along. But no, no one checks with us. People just show up in our lives with their strange (to us) habits, their different manners, different dress, looks, smell, etc. Then when we do stretch out to people, we complain because we are doing all the stretching and there's none coming from the other side! How about a little mutual stretching? But, Peter tells us, we have been purified, we have been born again, and those realities have immediate consequences in our lives to enable us to love one another right now. We have been "born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishablethe living and abiding word of God."
You are right on, brother. This is great practical wisdom that shows that you "been there, done that"! Our Lord's doctrine is so practical isn't it?
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