1 PETER PART FIVE

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

In this series so far we have learned that Peter wrote this letter to followers of Christ who were scattered in the area of Asia Minor, what is now modern-day Turkey. His main emphasis in this letter was to remind Christians of the hope they have in God because of the gracious salvation provided for them in Jesus Christ as well as how the gift of the Holy Spirit within them works to lead them in sanctification. We continue now to learn even more about this wonderful salvation that God blesses His children with and how we are to live as Christ and love one another.

 

1 Peter 2:2-3

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

 

Peter uses the word crave, or yearn in some translations, here to communicate the intensity that a believer should have for the God’s Word. The Greek word is “epipothein” and it is a very strong word which communicates a deep desire and intense longing. One thing that we know from observing newborn babies is they crave their mother’s milk. There is an intense urge to feed on nourishment. Possibly it is instinct, possibly hunger pains, but whatever the stimuli you know that they want milk and they want it NOW! The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to use this comparison between newborn babies and newborn Christians because it was so graphic and appropriate. The point here is that when we are a newborn Christian we crave to know more about our Heavenly Father who granted us mercy and grace and who forgave our sins because of His Son Jesus Christ. We desire to know more about Christ because we love Him and wish to be like Him. We know the Holy Spirit lives within us and we desire to respond to His convictions and expressions of compassion. We sense with our body, mind and spirit that the Spirit is seeking to teach us in the things of God. We should persist in this desire all through our life as a follower of Christ.

 

The phrase “pure spiritual milk” indicates that this “spiritual milk of the scripture” is the more basic or simplistic doctrines of scripture. In 1 Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12-14 Paul makes a distinction between easier to understand spiritual truths as compared to deeper concepts which he refers to as “meat.” Peter is also referring to the pure and unadulterated Truth of the Holy Word. Pure milk has no additives or preservatives in it. New born babies benefit from their mother’s milk because of its nutritional contents and purity. A baby will turn away from a bottle containing tainted milk but will voraciously feed on their mother’s pure milk. Peter is telling us that a new Christian should “want the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth!” They should have a distaste or aversion to inaccurate worldly ideas and concepts. They will voraciously seek the established pure Truth that comes only from God. God has built into newborn babies the instinct and the passionate desire to crave pure mother’s milk and the Spirit instills in us this same type of desire for the elementary teachings of God. The Spirit cooperates with us to illuminate the meaning of God’s Word. He uses this knowledge to train us in righteousness and show us the glory of Christ in Holy Scripture. He also ministers to us through the Word to bring us to maturity in the faith. When a newborn baby eats appropriately and consistently they grow healthy and it is the same with a newborn follower of Christ. When we feed on pure Truth from God we grow strong, stable and secure in our faith. This leads to a filling with the Spirit and spiritual maturity. We then advance from feeding on “pure spiritual milk” to the meatier aspects of Christian doctrine. We become wise beyond our years, courageous beyond our own power and gentle and loving beyond our own natural capacity. We become Christ-like. Edmand Clowney in his commentary on this passage states that when we feed on this pure spiritual milk of the Word our “faith is purified, love is intensified, grace is tasted as we are tested.”

 

We see Peter’s emphasis on spiritual feeding on God’s Word substantiated by Jesus’ example when He was tempted in the wilderness and His response to Satan regarding turning stones into bread. Jesus was extremely hungry after fasting 40 days and nights, but responds to Satan with these words in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. So we see that our source of nourishment as followers of Christ is directly related to the Word of God. Spiritually feeding on the Word and living our lives centered on it grows us in Christ. Colossians tells us that as we live an obedient godly life we please God, bear fruit and grow in the knowledge of God. We are also strengthened in power and increase in spiritual endurance and patience.

 

Colossians 1:10-12 – “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

 

This process of craving for God’s Truth and growing in spiritual maturity gives us the opportunity to, in a sense, taste what God is like. This is a descriptive image of forming a deep relationship with God and is spoken of in Psalms 34:8, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” What a tremendous process God has created for us to grow up in our faith. Various scriptures establish the fact that God has great plans for us in our relationship with Him.

 

Jeremiah 29:11-14 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

 

Lamentations 3:25-26 – “The Lord  is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

 

Peter next shares one of the prime reasons He has chosen us to be in His family.

 

1 Peter 2:4-5

“As you come to him, the living Stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

 

Here Peter refers to Christ as the “Living Stone” and then proceeds to lay out a godly blueprint for a building plan God has set in place for His church. This creative image is both accurate and perceptive. Peter draws this name for Christ from Isaiah 28 where there is a prophecy of Christ as the precious Cornerstone.

 

Isaiah 28:16

“Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

 

In building a large structure the cornerstone of the foundation would be the first stone to be put in place. The angle of all the walls and the courses of the stone walls would be extended from this first stone, the cornerstone that was put in place. This cornerstone had to be straight, strong and true for the building to be sturdy and durable when finished. Christ is the “Living Stone” because he rose from the dead. The Jews and the world rejected Christ as the “Living Cornerstone” and crucified Him. But this did not frustrate the plans of God. We already learned from 1 Peter chapter 1 that Jesus Christ was chosen by God before the foundations of the world were made that He would be the Savior of mankind. God’s will was never in jeopardy. God’s holy plans are always fulfilled. So despite being rejected by men, Jesus rose from the grave and proved He was the “Living Stone.”

 

Another aspect of Jesus being the “Living Stone” is the fact that He provided the standard and foundational start for all other “living stones” or followers of Christ to be placed together to form the Bride of Christ, the church. Here Peter continues with this illustration by stating that we are “living stones” that are being built into a spiritual house. Here he is referring to God’s spiritual family, the church. What a marvelous visual image this is for us to perceive. The foundation upon which we build our faith and our Christian life is Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone. The bonds we have with other followers of Christ are strong, straight and true, because they rely upon the strength of Christ Himself.

 

Peter continues with this illustration and expounds upon it in verse 6 through 8.

 

1 Peter 2:6-8

“For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they were destined for.”

 

Peter continues to reference Isaiah 28:16 in his discussion of Jesus as the Cornerstone. Psalms 118:22 also speaks of this image of Christ as well.

 

Psalms 118:22

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.”

 

Peter tells us that whoever believes in Christ as the Messiah, Savior, Lord, Master, Cornerstone of the Church will never be put to shame. We may face hardship, testing, trials and storms in life, but we will never be shamed by the fact that we know Jesus as our Savior. People may taunt us and try to embarrass us by the fact that we are followers of Christ, but our faith is nothing to be ashamed of and so therefore we cannot ever be shamed by what we believe. It is only those who believe in false teaching, falsehoods, lies and deception that can truly be shamed because they believe in that which is not true. Others can be shamed because of the sin that is present in their life because they habitually think and participate in, thoughts and actions that dishonor God. They fail to repent and thus live shameful lives. As followers of Christ we are forgiven of our sins, past, present and future. Any sins we commit we know we are already forgiven of, but we still confess them in order that we can restore our relationship with God. A fact of life is that our faith is only as good as the object of our faith and faith placed in Christ is on firm solid ground. Nothing is more powerfully stable and sure as Jesus Christ our Lord. Peter also shares here that this same “Living Stone,” is the cornerstone that causes men to stumble because they fail to accept Him and the Living Truth of God’s Word. They rebel against Him because of His convicting ministry and His demand that they accept Him as Lord and Master.

 

In the next part we discover we are members of a royal priesthood and gain instruction in how we are to live.