1 Peter 2:6-10 ~ 20081123~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

11/23 1 Peter 2:6-10 shame or honor; proclaiming the excellencies of Him

1:22 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 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 to salvation–– 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 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.

6 dioti periecei en grafh idou tiyhmi en siwn liyon eklekton akrogwniaion entimon kai o pisteuwn ep autw ou mh kataiscunyh 7 umin oun h timh toiv pisteuousin apistousin de liyov on apedokimasan oi oikodomountev outov egenhyh eiv kefalhn gwniav 8 kai liyov proskommatov kai petra skandalou oi proskoptousin tw logw apeiyountev eiv o kai eteyhsan 9 umeiv de genov eklekton basileion ierateuma eynov agion laov eiv peripoihsin opwv tav aretav exaggeilhte tou ek skotouv umav kalesantov eiv to yaumaston autou fwv 10 oi pote ou laov nun de laov yeou oi ouk hlehmenoi nun de elehyentev

It is God's word in the preaching of the good news that brings about the new birth (1:23-25). So we are commanded to be like infants and crave pure spiritual milk so that we can grow to maturity (2:1-2). And having tasted that the Lord is good (2:3), we will come to Jesus and keep coming back to Jesus over and over and over again (2:4) to meet him in his word to receive sustenance and nourishment for our souls.

We come to Jesus as a life giving unshakable stone. But as we come to Jesus we see massive conflict. Peter knew this. Peter had been with Jesus as he taught and as hostility rose against him. On that awful night, Peter denied his Lord three times to avoid the consequences of being identified with Jesus. Now Peter was likely writing from a dungeon in Rome because of his unashamed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Peter's readers knew this. They were followers of Jesus who were scattered across Asia Minor, who had become exiles and foreigners in their own hometowns because of their newfound faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the watershed. Jesus said:

Luke 12:51-53 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother–in–law against her daughter–in–law and daughter–in–law against mother–in–law.”

John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

The cross divides:

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Peter has looked at Jesus as a living stone and we as living stones built into a spiritual priesthood offering acceptable sacrifices to God. Peter is looking at Jesus as the foundation stone that God has established and that divides people. He begins by quoting Isaiah 28:14 which is a decree of destruction to the leaders of Israel for their disobedience and unbelief.

Isaiah 28:14-17 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; 16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ 17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”

Jesus is the watershed, Jesus divides people. But Jesus is a stone laid by God the Father appointed and set by him as the cornerstone. He is elect or chosen by God and he is precious or honored in the sight of God. God gave Jesus honor by raising him from the dead. Jesus is a solid foundation to build your life on. Those that put their trust in him will never be shamed. If you are trusting in Jesus, you will not ultimately be disappointed. It may seem now that your persecutors are receiving honor and you are being shamed, but God has established Jesus as the cornerstone. Jesus defines and establishes the shape and direction of the building. Believers in Jesus have their feet on the rock that cannot be moved. Peter draws the application from the text that as the Father honors Jesus, so you who are depending on him will also be honored by the Father. This is in contrast to those who do not believe. Honor for those who believe in Jesus; shame for those who reject Jesus. In spite of their efforts to undermine and overthrow and marginalize Jesus, he has indeed become the cornerstone. Peter is quoting Psalm 118:22:

Psalm 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This appears in a Psalm that draws contrast between trusting in man and trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 118:5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

The original context of the Psalm is the return of the king to the temple in Jerusalem after God has given him victory over his enemies. The 'builders' were the foreign kings who assured their own destruction by fighting against Israel, God's chosen. Peter follows Jesus in his application of this Psalm, not to the foreign nations, but to the Jewish leaders who in attempting to build God's building have rejected the cornerstone. Let's take a minute to look at Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees:

Matthew 21:31-45 (cf. Luke 20:9-19) ... Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. 33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.

Jesus is the divisive stone. Jesus is abrasive and offensive to his enemies. But Jesus will be victorious. Those who trust in Jesus will be victorious in the end. Those who reject Jesus will be ashamed. In verse 8 he quotes a phrase out of Isaiah 8:14. This passage is a warning to Israel and Judah to fear and trust the Lord rather than fearing other nations. Here's some of the context:

Isaiah 8:9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. 11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

God set Jesus as cornerstone to do two things. For those who are willing to stake their life on him as foundation, he is solid and reliable and will bring them honor. To those who choose to fight against him and reject him as foundation, he becomes to them a stone of stumbling and rock of offense. And Peter's commentary on these passages is 'They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do'. The word for 'stumble' can mean a violent beating against something. The cause of their stumbling is their disobedience to the word. Disobedience is synonymous with unbelief;

1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

'The word' is synonymous with the good news message:

1 Peter 1:25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

So they stumble over Jesus because they refuse to embrace the good news message. The question that Peter addresses here is 'doesn't their unbelief frustrate the purpose of God?' God's word is the indestructible life giving seed as he said in:

1:23 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.

If the imperishable good news word of the Lord that remains forever and accomplishes its purpose becomes something that people stumble over, doesn't that nullify its life giving purpose? Peter's answer is 'no, they were destined to be disobedient to the word and stumble.' God's purpose is fulfilled even in those that reject him. It is an encouragement to believers who are suffering at the hands of unbelievers to know that what is happening to them is not beyond the control of their sovereign God. Just as the unbelief and rejection of Christ by the Jewish leaders who had Jesus crucified served the purpose of God by inadvertently accomplishing what God had set out to do (Acts 4:27-28); in the same way, the unbelievers who are grieving Peter's readers with various trials (1:6) are serving the purpose of God in testing the genuineness of their faith (1:7). Peter contrasts their destiny with your destiny:

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.

In contrast, you are an elect race – chosen - descendants of a common ancestor, people with a common heritage, sharing the unity of a common life. Because of the new birth this chosen race transcends the natural distinctions of ethnicity, language and culture. Peter draws his language from Isaiah 43:20:

Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” ...19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?... 20... for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

He calls us 'a royal priesthood.' Jesus, our foundation stone, is both King of kings and our great High Priest. Being built on him, we are a royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God, and we will reign with him. This and the next description come from Exodus 19:6.

Exodus 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

We are a holy nation. We are a community of people held together by the same laws, customs, and mutual interests. Holiness is our distinctive characteristic. We are a people set apart for the Lord.

And we are 'a people for his own possession'. God ransomed us (1:18); he owns us and he delights in us. This language comes from Isaiah 43:21, Exodus 19:5 and Malachi 3:17.

Malachi 3:16...those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

And now he gives our ultimate purpose, our reason for existing as his possession; his elect race; his holy nation; his royal priesthood; it is

9 ... 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.

We are called to proclaim his excellencies! God who spoke into the darkness and said 'let light be' has called us effectually out of darkness and into his marvelous light. Now that we are in the light, our eyes are opened to see the glorious grandeur of his nature and character. (1Cor.4:4-6) Our purpose is proclamation. The subject of our proclamation is God – the excellencies of his being. God is great – make it known! And in the middle of our great high calling, verse 10 calls us to an appropriate humility. Peter reminds us that it is all of grace. We were in darkness and would have remained in darkness had it not been for the great mercy of God. He reminds us with the picture of Hosea, and the unfaithful wife that the forgiving and faithful husband won back and made his own:

Hosea 2:19-23 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. ...23... And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.”’

We were people with no identity; God made us his own people. We were rightly subject to the wrath of God and had no claim on his mercy, and he who is rich in mercy poured out mercy in abundance on our heads! Let us in humility as recipients of God's great mercy proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light!