Explore the Bible
Dean, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
DISPLAY A NEW IDENTITY
1 Peter 2:1–12
In Personal Life (1–3)
The things “newborn babes” must rid themselves of include “all malice.” “All” means “every kind of,” and “malice” in the New Testament means “active ill will, a vicious nature bent on harming others.” The Greek word for “deceit” indicates a bait, snare or trap, hence trickery. It points to the intentional deception of a man out to fool others to reach his own ends. Used of an actor on stage, “hypocrisy” (literally “playing a role from behind a mask”) suggests pretending to be something one is not. “Envy” is the spirit that keeps one from rejoicing over the blessings others receive. Worse than jealousy that just wants for itself what another has, envy is the bad spirit that does not really want what some other person has but wishes that person did not have it. “Slander” is “running down” another person, even if what is said is true.
New Christians — indeed all Christians — should long for pure spiritual milk that nourishes spiritual life. There is a play on words in the original language of the New Testament. “Spiritual” in verse 3 comes from the same root as “word” in 1:23 and 25. This is a subtle indication that nourishment for their growth must be the word of God. Immature Christians grow not through work but through the Word. The purpose is to grow up “unto salvation” (words that appear in the oldest manuscripts but are omitted in the King James Version). Once again, Peter thinks not of the front end of salvation but of its final end. All who have experienced the saving kindness of Christ can mature on the Word.
In Church Life (4–10)
Being a Christian involves more than a one-to-one relationship with God. It involves also a relationship with other believers in the community of faith.
From the Jerusalem temple God moved to a spiritual house with Jesus Christ as its “chief cornerstone” and “the head of the corner.” The word in verse 6 means the cornerstone of a building, and the one in verse 7 means the capstone of an arch, both the key to the whole structure. Each believer is not only a stone in the spiritual temple of God but also a priest who ministers before God in the structure, bringing spiritual sacrifices, probably offering the whole person to God in a new life.
Peter describes the church as “a chosen people,” picked out by God from all peoples on earth. It is “a royal priesthood,” with emphasis on the “priesthood,” i.e. a community of spiritual equals over whom God exercises royal rule. It is “a holy nation,” key word “holy,” meaning “set apart to God’s purpose and for His use.” “A people belonging to God” means a people owned by God as His special treasure. These verses are full of quotations from and allusions to Old Testament passages.
Whatever the church is, she is for a purpose, namely, “to declare the praises” of the God who called the saved out of sin’s darkness and shame into the marvelous light of salvation. The word translated “declare” describes the activity of a messenger in the Greek theater who proclaimed what happened offstage, out of the audience’s sight. If the messenger did not tell the audience, they would not know. The focus is on verbalizing the virtues — the eminent qualities and great deeds — of the Savior God so that others will want to know Him, too. “A word without a life is idle gossip; a life without a word is an uninterpreted parable (Motyer, Philippians 98).”
In Social Life (11–12)
These verses introduce the larger section that follows (2:13–3:12). Again (cf. 1:1, 17) Peter describes his readers as “aliens,” permanent residents in a country not their own, and “strangers,” temporary residents in a foreign country. Further he calls on them to avoid the desires or “lusts,” (NASB) of the world in which they temporarily live. Instead they must live good lives in the presence of their pagan neighbors in order to silence slanderous accusations. The day of visitation may be the day of divine judgment but in the New Testament usually indicates a day in which God shows mercy, i.e. the day of salvation for all Christians or perhaps the day a pagan becomes a new believer.
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