1 Pet. 2:6-8 - Christ - Cornerstone and Stumbling Block

6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

vs. 6 - "Precious corner stone..."The real key is 1 Cor. 1:23 - but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. The Jews could not accept Christ was the fulfillment of all prophecy. They stumbled over the very cornerstone of God's eternal plan for salvation. They could not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He did onto fit their perceived notion of who and what the Messiah was to be and do.
We Gentiles pride ourselves in logic and wisdom. However, Christ's life, death, burial and especially the resurrection just do not make logical sense. The Bible tells us what was done for us, but it does not explain how it works. That is God's sphere of responsibility, not ours. We stumble over the same "stone" but for a different reason. We get tripped, the Jews get tripped up on faith in Jesus Christ.
Does it matter what the cause of the stumbling might be - ideology, dogma, logic, reason? When we are stymied at the starting point of faith, when we can't get past the claims of Jesus, there can be no salvation. See Isa. 28:16; Psa. 118:22; Isa. 8:14.

vs. 7,8 - "This precious value..." - The corner stone is precious (it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and our Savior). The only reason it is precious to you and I as believers, is that it is the foundation of our new life. I say "the only reason" because if you do not accept His sacrifice, His payment for your sin, the value to you is meaningless. If you believe, you have the most precious gift - eternal life. If you reject Jesus, God's wrath remains on you. See John 8:36 - "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Too often we tend to fall into the trap of the world in that we tend to think that God condemns people to hell. That is negative thinking from the Devil. God seeks to save the lost. We are all lost because of our sin. Jesus came for the sole purpose of rescuing us from ourselves, to provide us the means to spend eternity with Him and the Father.

"but for those who disbelieve" - There will be many who choose not to believe that Jesus saves. Even when He did miracles in their towns, they wouldn't believe. In one instance they asked Him to leave their town! This one stone, amongst all the other stones out there, is the only way to salvation. This one stone is God Himself, not some pretender. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we might be saved." Acts 4:12. This is a seminal moment in each person's life. What do you 'do' with Jesus? There are only two choices - accept Him as Lord and Savior, or reject Him. There is no middle road - you make a choice. The choice is not necessarily final, unless you reject Him all the way to the end of your life.

***

1 Pet. 2:4-5 - We are the living spiritual house for a living Christ

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

vs. 4 - "living stone..." - Christ is a living stone, precious to God, but rejected by man. We do not think of stones as alive. A stone is just a rock. (Note: I have a friend who informed me there is a difference between a rock and stone. A rock is what you pick up, say in a mountain river. When you take that rock and place in your landscaping, it becomes a stone. A stone is a rock placed with purpose.) (Okay, then. Back away slowly...) But this stone, the corner stone of our faith is alive. He is risen! He is alive! See: Acts 2:22-24 - "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." , Acts 3:13-15, Acts 4:11 - "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone."; 1 Pet. 2:6-7 -

With our modern technology for building structures, we seldom think of 'cornerstones'. Before concrete and steel there was stone. The cornerstone marked the starting or reference point for the structure. When we design buildings, whether a church or a factory, the architect sets a "0/0" (zero/zero) point. This is the starting point for a building, and it usually is a corner. Don't belittle the importance of a cornerstone. From that point all the dimensions in the building are measured. All dimensions are from the "0/0" point, so the building shape and size will remain true. If measurements are additive from column to column across the span of the building, errors will mount up.

Christ is our starting point for our faith. He is the anchor for our belief. When our life is lived in close relationship with Him, we will live according to His wishes, and can keep errors to a minimum.

vs. 5 - "being built up as a spiritual house" - We are a spiritual house, the church for Christ and the Lord. See: 1 Cor. 3:8-9,16 - ...You are God's field, God's building; 16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? See also: Eph. 2:20-22 - ... because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We are each individually the house, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, Christ, and the Father. Collectively, and individually, we the believers are the dwelling place of the Lord. What a interesting collection of images -

1. We are family, children of God.
2. We are friends; no longer enemies.
3. We are the dwelling place, the home of the Lord - individually! Not just the church body, but each of us is where Jesus dwells.
4. We are the bride of Christ - a marriage.
5. We are a temple for the dwelling of God - I think this is referring to the corporate body, the collection of individuals.

We are all of these, and perhaps more. See Gal. 6:10. I sometimes visualize each of us as little spiritual Lego block being joined with other spiritual Lego blocks into a fantastic cathedral for the Lord. God lives in each one of us, and is worshipped in the edifice we form - the church.

"Holy priesthood" - What was the function of the priest? Is the priest a intermediary between us and God - there is no way for us to address God, come to Him without the priest? It's complicated. Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit we have direct access to God. Through Jesus Christ we need no human intermediary. See 1 Pet. 2:9; Isa. 61:6; Rev. 1:6. In essence we are ourselves our own priest - no human intermediary is required.

When the Jews prayed to God, a priest was not necessary. See: Jer. 29:11, 12 - When the Jews sought God, He let them find Him without intervention from the priests. But when it came to the rituals, sacrifices and offerings, the priests were the conduit to God.
However, we are called to spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him. How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? Rom. 10:14. Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as "Cru") had a saying, "Share the Good News of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and leave the results to God." We do not save, only Jesus and faith in Him does that. In this sense we are 'priests' - conduits between mankind and God.

"... Spiritual sacrifices" - No longer are the sacrifices of the old covenant viable. Our sacrifices are now our bodies, our selves in service to the Lord. See Rom. 12:1 - Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice - alive, holy, and pleasing to God - which is your reasonable service.; See: Heb. 13:15; Eph. 5:2; Phil. 2:17.

***

1 Pet. 2:1-3 - Grow to match your salvation

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

---

vs. 1 - "Therefore" - Peter has laid out the reasons why you should live for Christ in the previous verses. Your salvation was purchased with blood. You are no longer slaves to your previous ignorance. You have received the message, and God's word is pure and eternal.
Now, based on these facts: you have been born again by, and through, the word of God, and since you have been redeemed by the blood of Christ you must stop doing the following things - malice,deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. Paul is not saying that you or I do all of these problem activities. But it is clear that all of us do some of them. Any one of them, let alone all of them, is enough to damage the relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.

1. "... malice" - meaning: ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity, wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws, evil, trouble guile.
2. "hypocrisy" - meaning: stage-playing, acting, the histrionic art; hence, it came to mean acting a part in life, etc., to pretend, to feign;
3. "envy" - meaning: "to look with ill-will," etc., toward another, it is different from jealousy; "We are jealous of our own; we are envious of another man's possessions. Jealousy fears to lose what it has; envy is pained at seeing another have."
4. "slander" - meaning: backbiting, evil speaking, defamation.

These attitudes and actions are not of Christ. See Eph. 4:22, 25 - that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit ... Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.; Col. 3:8,9 - But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.

vs. 2 - "like newborn babies, ... grow." When we become Christians we are born again. We are not born full-grown spiritually, and we must grow. See: John 3:3-8; Matt. 18:3; Mark 10:15; 1 Cor 3:1-2; see Heb. 5:12 - For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
We can only grow if we spend time in God's word - the nourishment is there. We can grow when we meet and study and pray and worship with other believers. The gospel of the New Testament does not envision a solitary Christian life. We can then grow to match the salvation we have received. See: Phil 1:6, Phil. 2:12b-13 - So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Phil. 3:20-21, 3:15; Gal. 3:2-3, 5:22-23; See Eph. 4:1 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.

vs. 3 - "If you have tasted..." - It probably should say "since", or "because" you have experienced God's kindness. The "if" could make us think, initially, that he is questioning their faith. Peter is not. It doesn't make sense for Peter to address the people he has been talking to in the preceding 27 verses as though they may not be Christians. In the first verses of chapter 1, he addresses them as brethren in Christ. Why, then, would he question them by saying "If you have tasted..."

Could Peter be wondering if they really experienced the kindness of the Lord with respect to living the Spirit-filled life? This is a tenuous line of reasoning. Consider, in verses 1 & 2, Peter is telling his Christian brethren to grow in respect to the salvation they received. It make more sense for him to be encouraging them to grow because they have received the mercy (kindness) of the Lord.

**

1 Pet. 1:22-25 - Purity by Belief, Obedience, and Word of God

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring 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 OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.

vs. 22 - "in obedience to the truth" - By obedience to the truth we have been made pure. The truth: There is no other way to be saved from our sins, see Acts 4:12. See also: John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Christ's love for us means we are purified because His sacrifice met the stringent (impossible) requirements, see: Eph. 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her; Rom. 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Without being pure, that is: holy, we cannot be with God, we cannot be God's children, and yet "such we are" 1 John 3:2

"love of the brethren" - We should love each other from within, because Christ lives in our hearts and loves each of us as His own. It is important to know even though we all are the church and form the temple for Jesus, and He died that the whole world could be saved, our salvation is NOT a group salvation, it is individual. He died for the whole world, but we are saved one-by-one. He knows each of us by name. He knows every member of His church. He can love these through us. See: Rom. 12:9-10 - Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.; Heb. 13:1 - Brotherly love must continue.

vs. 23 - "Born" of the "imperishable seed" of the "word of God". - I am relatively sure it is possible for someone to come to salvation merely by seeing the world around him. Truly the creation of God is amazing, but there is conflicting data. We get blackberries, which are sweet and tasty when we eat them. At the same time there are black bears, who want to eat us. Both are in God's creation - one good, one not so much. God has given us the Bible, the word, to clarify His intentions toward us. And since this is information supplied by God, we would not expect it to change, but remain true forever. See Isa. 40:8; Psa. 118:89.
When we hear, or read the words of God, there is the real opportunity for the Word to take hold and blossom in our minds and hearts. When this happens we begin to understand the great blessings we have received. See: Matt. 13:1-9, Matt. 13:23 - But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands; John 12:24-26 - I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain;

Note: it is not our doing that causes the transformation.
Our part is to hear and believe. "Believe" and not just have intellectual knowledge. "Believe" as in placing your life in His hands, total trust, similar to going into surgery knowing that your life is completely in the hands of the doctors and nurses. You are helpless and completely at their mercy, yet you do it trusting the doctors to do the right thing. Confessing Jesus as Lord and as your personal savior is placing your life - the one right now, and the one that extends to eternity - in His promise of salvation. 1 Cor. 3:7-9 - So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, but each will receive his reward according to his work. We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God's field, God's building. The word of God is planted in our hearts, when it is brought to fullness and we give our lives to Him, word of God is fully bloomed in our lives.

vs. 24-25 - "All flesh is like grass" - God's word is more reliable than we are. We are temporary. When we look at our lives, and see the span of 60-80 years and think it is a loooong time. In reality the difference between the life span of grass and our life span is inconsequential, insignificant when compared to an eternal God. This is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, from Psalms to Revelation - we are fragile and will disappear, God is eternal and His promise are forever. See Isa. 40:6-8 - A voice says, "Cry out!" Another asks, "What should I cry out?" The first voice responds: "All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable."

*** End of Chapter.

1 Pet. 1:20-21 - Christ - Chosen from the beginning

Christ - Chosen from the beginning

20 - For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these 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.

vs. 20 - "foreknown... but... in these last times" - The plan of salvation was decided upon before the foundation of the world. But it is at the time Christ appeared that the plan was revealed, for our sake. See: Col 1:19-20, 27 - For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven... God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

"the sake of you" - Christ died and was buried for our sake, and was resurrected for our sake, that is, we who believe in Him and God. He did not do this salvation plan just to prove He could, or to humiliate Satan (although those are good things). His purpose is to demonstrate His love for us. God demonstrated His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom. 5:8

vs. 21 - "raised Him from the dead... gave Him glory..." Again, if there is no hope in the risen Christ, there is no hope at all. See: 1 Cor. 15:19 - For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone. Eph. 1:19,20 - and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength. This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms; Heb. 2:9 - but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God's grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone.; 1 Tim. 3:16 - And we all agree, our religion contains amazing revelation: He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Our hope is based on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. You need not wonder if you are acceptable to God. You need not wonder if the scales are balanced in your favor. A common thread we hear is, "I think I have done more good than bad." As if God grades on a curve. Or we like to view God similar to the statue of Justice - blind, showing no partiality and with a scale that weighs the evidence. We hope our good lives outweigh the bad things we've done. It is all rationalization. It is all hopeless if we have to depend on ourselves. The gap between sinful mankind and righteous holy God is too big to be bridged by us.

Thanks be to God and Jesus Christ - the bridge has been built for us, not by us, but for us. God provided the perfect price for our sins. God stamped PAID by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus ascended to glory to wait for each of us to come before the throne of Almighty God and be acknowledged as one of His own. Saved, justified, sanctified, and suitable to see God face-to-face without fear. No longer enemies in our sins, but friends, children of God. One of my favorite verses: Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 John 3:2

***

1 Pet. 2:24-25 - Christ bore our sins; He is the protector of our souls

24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

vs. 24 - "bore our sins in His body on the cross" - Christ, the High Priest, offered a sacrifice that atoned for all sin, because it was a perfect sacrifice, totally without sin, without blemish. Remember, the sacrifices made on the altar in the tabernacle or temple were temporary, and had to be done every year.
Passover - Lev. 23:4-8; Deut. 16:1-8 an annual observance reminds us that Israel was freed from bondage in Egypt by the death and blood of an innocent. We have been freed from the bondage of sin by the death of an innocent and perfect sacrifice.
Atonement - Lev. 16:1-34 an Annual observance requiring a sacrifice to cleanse the nation of Israel of any sins or uncleaness that remained on them despite the regular sacrifices made during through the year. All of our sins have been sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We can do nothing for ourselves, it had to be done by God Himself. This is no longer a yearly rite to be observed. The sacrifice by Christ was complete and total and eternal.

"die to sin and live to righteousness " - When we accept Christ, our old self dies, a new self is born of the Spirit. The old self is dead in sin, the new self lives for Christ. See: 1 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20. I picture the 'old self' on death row. Convicted criminals scheduled to be executed for their crimes are not immediately put to death. Instead, they live until all the appeals are exhausted. Our old sinful nature has been condemned to death - this has been true since the Garden of Eden. In our legal system a sentence can be commuted by a governor or President - the convict goes on to live, without any change in the essence of the person - they are still criminals, still guilty. Our old nature is on death row. God has declared the old sinful nature dead, ultimately, finally, completely. He has given us a new nature which will always live with Him, for eternity. Our new nature will be forever. By His death we may live. Until we go to meet the Lord in heaven, there will be the old nature and the new nature resides in us; the two will constantly be warring each other.

Living the Christian life is a learned skill.
I read that a bad habit never goes away, it can only be overwritten by a new good habit. ("The Little Book of Talent" by Daniel Coyle) The book is about how successful athletes get to be successful. Professional athletes are talented, no doubt, but they WORK harder at their craft than we amateurs. They work thousands of hours, tens of thousand of hours to perfect their craft. Amateurs practice a skill until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong. We need the same attitude toward our Christian life. It is not a fix-it-and-forget-it lifestyle. Because of our old sinful nature, we must work every day to live worthy of the price paid for us.

vs. 25 - "continually straying like sheep" - We are like sheep that have gotten lost, don't know which way to turn, without direction or purpose. Jesus, the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls, gives guidance, direction and purpose.
Isn't the concept of Jesus being the Shepherd and Guardian wonderful! The one who created the universe cares enough for you personally that He wants you to succeed. He wants you safe. He wants you to live abundantly. John10:10 He is willing to personally instruct you in how you may succeed - He has given you the Holy Spirit to help and teach and instruct. The One who has legions of angels at His command to protect you, though He doesn't need them - He is omnipotent. He guards you! If Jesus is for you, there is no one who has a chance to harm you.

***
End of Chapter