1 Peter 2:1-10 (NKJV) Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People (Ps. 118:22; Is. 28:16)
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Verses 1-3 need to be connected with 1 Peter 1:25. The quote shows the context better. 1 Peter 1:22 – 2:3 (NKJV) Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
V1 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking…” As Christians we now must set aside these evils and seek God’s good law. The Greek word for “malice” is (G2549) κακία kakia, which means an evil mind. Thus, referring to thinking, motives, and attitudes. Deceit is (G1388) δόλος dólos, which means following or believing a decoy, thus deceit. Hypocrisy might be seen in a person who talks and acts like a Christian in church but not anywhere else. God honors truth, so deceit and hypocrisy must be avoided (Exodus 20:16 and Colossians 3:9). We need contentment not envy (Hebrews 13:5). Evil speaking could reveal itself in countenance, body language, tone of voice, words, and/or gestures. Five things in the Law of Christ that we are not to have or do: malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all types of evil speaking.
V2 “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…” There is only one way to grow spiritually and that is to read and study the Scriptures in their plain, normal sense. Compare Proverbs 2:1-6 and Ephesians 4:13-15.
V3 “…if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” If we are truly believers, then we will want to grow up in spiritual maturity having the fruit of the Spirit serving God and our fellow Christian to glorify God is all we do.
V4 “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious…” The Temple in Jerusalem had a cornerstone; believers have a cornerstone, too, and it is Jesus Christ. The corner stone of a building is THE standard for all other measurements thus guaranteeing a square and strong building. Jesus in His life and ministry taught us. He being our standard for the faith.
V5 “…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” All believers are living stones. House is in the sense of a family. Christians are a family being a priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices as praise, thanksgiving, ourselves (Romans 12:1-2), gifts (as in Philippians 4:18), etc. All believing males and females are qualified.
V6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” No other teacher can compare to Him who is chosen by God (Isaiah 42:1) and precious in His sight (Matthew 3:17 and Matthew 17:5). Our faith in the Lord Jesus strengthens us to not be ashamed, and we will not be ashamed when we stand before Jesus at the Bema Seat judgment (Romans 14:10-12, 1 Corinthians 3:10–4:5, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10). The quote is from Isaiah 28:16.
V7 “Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone…” Note the contrast between the believer and the unbeliever. Compare the attitudes and actions of the Jewish leaders and teachers with the “sinful” woman in Luke 7:36-50. The woman honored the Lord Jesus. She was the believer (Luke 7:50). The quote is from Psalm 118:22.
V8 “…and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” The quote is from Isaiah 8:14. Unbelievers have difficulty with Jesus the person and His ministry. A believer considers Jesus to be the stone we want for our lives. The unbeliever considers Jesus to be a heavy stone to be cast off. They stumble on Jesus because they want a Jesus to their liking.
——–V9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” The Greek word for “chosen” is (G1588) ἐκλεκτός eklektós, which means a choice as in “I’ll take that one.” Why would God chose someone over another. The conditional is faith (Hebrews 11:6). A royal priesthood might mean one of two things: 1) the priests of a king or 2) the priests are princes/princesses of the royal family as Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-19). A holy nation is a group of people whom God has sanctified here the believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. We are special because we trust in God. Compare Ephesians 1:14 (the word purchased and in the New Living (NLT), 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (obtain), and 2 Thessalonians 2:14 (obtain). The Greek word for “special” is (G4047) περιποίησις peripoiēsis, which means to acquire for ourselves and also something we guard and preserve because it is special. We are special to God, because we believed in Jesus. Our purpose, then, is to proclaim who God is, His character traits, His actions, His salvation, etc. as in Psalm 27:4.
V10 “…who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” Even if we are Jew or Gentile, we are nothing in God’s eyes. Yet, in His love and mercy, He sought us. We are that precious. Note God seeks us (Luke 15:1-10); we can’t and don’t seek God (Romans 3:11). Compare Ephesians 2:4 and Luke 6:36. We are now special because of God’s mercy and grace.
We learn:
- Some things we must never do
- The greatness of Jesus Christ
- That Jesus is THE standard for Christian life
- God considers believers to be special