Sermon series: AN EXPOSITION OF FIRST PETER

Subject: The Nature and Function of the Christian Church

1 Peter 2:1-10 (Amplified Bible)
"So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind.
Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation, since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.
Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight. [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.
For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen (honored), precious chief Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall never be disappointed or put to shame.
To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him) is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone, and, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy."

Christianity is not only to be believed; it must also be lived out in our day-to-day activities and relationships.
Life begins with birth, and in the first chapter of this letter of Peter, he has reminded us of the reality of the new birth, of being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible or eternal seed...with

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The very life of God almighty! God has invited us to be born anew of the Spirit so that we might have life eternal.
Peter has already informed us this new life in God has been made possible through Christ as the unblemished Lamb of God who sacrificed His life at Calvary for the sins of all mankind. We have been redeemed from our life of sin and cleansed by the precious blood of Christ.
And then Peter writes in verse 22: "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 love."
Love is at the very center of Christian lifestyle. In fact, love is the very character, the very essence of God. And Jesus contended that it would be by this love that everyone would recognize His disciples.
Peter teaches us that we should love in three specific ways.
LOVE SINCERELY.
To love sincerely is a love that is genuine without hypocrisy. It is unfeigned love which is without pretense or without acting a part. It is authentic, like God Himself. In order to have sincere or unfeigned love, our text tells us that there are two prerequisites. First, we must have "purified souls." A purified soul is one that has been cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Second, we must be those who obey the truth through the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the source of all truth. To love sincerely, we must walk in obedience to the teachings of Christ. "He who says he abides in Him (Christ), ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)
LOVE FERVENTLY.
The word "fervently" means to love deeply or intensely, with all our strength. "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) Despite our differences and disagreements we can have genuine affection for one another, and as we grow in holiness we can learn to love one another deeply, even if it means straining every spiritual muscle we have! Such love is not possible in the world at large, for it doesn’t understand the love that results when people’s sins are forgiven and their souls purified.
LOVE WITH A PURE HEART.
Just as our love must come from God, so must a pure heart. This is what Paul writes to

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young Timothy, "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)
So Peter has told us that the quality of loving one another sincerely, fervently, and with a pure heart flows from that marvelous and necessary experience of "having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."
With that background, "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (2:1-2)
The Christian is born to a new order and community of life. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14)
It is not enough to strive for the positive virtues of Christian discipleship; there are unchristian habits and attitudes and customs to be discarded.
Greco-Roman culture was saturated with a pagan spirit against which Christians had to contend night and day. He was in veritable spiritual warfare against degrading and disintegrating practices and ideas which threatened his personal integrity and his social relations. It is the same world we live in and it is the same spiritual warfare that every child of God faces today!
Because the Christian was faced with such a world and animated by the mind of Christ, Peter admonished him to dissociate himself from all the evil and wickedness of the pagan world, from the devious deceitfulness of the unstraightforward, from the pretending duplicity of those who conceal their evil motives behind a friendly face or gesture, from the slanderous back-chat of those who are always disparaging others.
Lay aside all evil, writes Peter. James shares the same counsel as Peter when he writes, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness" (James 1:21).
True repentance must always begin with put-

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ting off evil and turning from it. That is the way we should always approach evil. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1)
Our text tells us the kind of sins which we should lay aside, cast off, get rid of.
First, malice is noted. It is the word most frequently used for evil and wickedness; it includes all the wicked ways of the heathen and Christless world. It is the sins and faults of character which would hurt and injure the great characteristic Christian virtue of brotherly love.
The next sin which we must get rid of is deceitfulness. This refers to two-facedness, the trickery, the conscious deception of the man who is out to deceive others to attain his own ends. It describes the person whose motives are always adulterated and never pure.
Hypocrisy describes the person who all the time is acting a part, concealing his real motives, a person whose face does not match his heart. The hypocrite is the man who may well enter the Church from the wrong motives, and whose alleged Christian profession is for his own profit and prestige, and not for the service and for the glory of Christ.
Envy, one of the last sins to die, is listed by Peter. It reared its ugly head even in the apostolic band. The other ten were envious of James and John, when these two had seemed to steal a march upon them in the matter of precedence in the coming Kingdom. Even at the Last Supper, the disciples were disputing about who should occupy the seats of greatest honor. Envy can only die when self dies.
Gossiping, or evil-speaking, should never be an activity of a born again Christian.
Disparaging gossip is something which everyone deplores, and which everyone admits to be wrong, and which at the same time almost everyone participates in. There is nothing more productive of trouble and of heartbreak, and nothing which is so destructive of brotherly love and Christian unity.
There is a power available to every born again Christian to overcome the above mentioned sins...and that is power of the indwelling Word of the Lord. "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." (Psalm 119:9) "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11) "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord

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are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Psalm 19:7-8)
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (v.2)
The Christian’s new God-given life needs appropriate nourishment, if it is to grow into full enjoyment and realization of salvation. This nourishment should, therefore, be sought after and delighted in with the same intense zeal and active eagerness with which very young infants yearn for and welcome feeding-time.
By using the term "newborn babes" Peter was not implying that his readers were young believers; indeed, some of them had been Christians for many years. Instead, he may have been picking up the reference to being born again in 1:23. Peter was saying that believers should always crave more and more of God’s Word in the same way a baby eagerly desires milk.
"The pure milk of the word" is reference to the unadulterated, perfect wisdom from God. The Greek word (adolos) is an almost technical word to describe corn that is entirely free from any chaff or dust or useless or harmful matter. In all human wisdom there is some admixture of that which is either useless or harmful; the Word of God alone is altogether good.
For the Christian, to study God’s Word is not a labor but a delight, for he knows that therein his heart will find the nourishment for which he longs.
In verse 3, Peter quotes from Psalm 34:8: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trust in Him! Oh, fear the Lord you His saints. There is no want to those who fear Him."
The fact that God is gracious and kind is not an excuse for us to do as we like and to trust to God to overlook it; it is an obligation to toil upwards and onwards to deserve that graciousness and that love which have been so kind to us. The kindness of God is not an excuse for laziness in the Christian life; it is the greatest of all incentives to effort.
Verse 4 in our text reads: "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious." Using a new metaphor here, Peter employed Old Testament imagery to describe believers’ relationship with God. Believers can constantly come to or approach Christ. The words "come to" do not refer to initial salvation, but to constantly drawing near and coming into Christ’s presence. In the Old Testament, only the priests had that privilege; under

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the new covenant, all believers can enter into God’s presence at any time, with any need.
Peter described the One to whom believers come, Christ, as a living stone. We find these words in Psalm 118:22: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Cornerstone." Jesus had applied these words to Himself which He spoke of being rejected by His own people. Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’" (Matthew 21:42)
Also, Peter had quoted this Old Testament verse in his speech of the day of Pentecost. "Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone." (Acts 4:11-12)
When Peter made his great confession of faith at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said to him, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church." (Matthew 16:18) It is on the faith of the loyal believer that the Church is built; the believer is like a brick in the edifice of the Church, built by faith in the Living Stone, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"You are members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in Whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God." (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Cornerstone....what is it? The dictionary gives us this definition: "A stone which lies at the corner of two walls and serves to unite them; specifically, a stone built into a corner of the foundation of an important edifice as the actual or nominal starting point in the building."
That is the role of Jesus Christ in the Church. Jesus is a lively stone and the chief cornerstone who seeks to be the master builder of our lives and who desires to build us together into a holy temple in the Lord—His Church. "Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (v.5)
In our text, the Christian is likened to a living stone, and the Church is likened unto a living edifice into which he is built.
Clearly it means that Christianity is community. The individual Christian only finds his true place when he is built into the edifice of the Church.

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The free-lance Christian, who would be a Christian but is too superior to belong to the visible Church upon earth in one of its forms, is simply a contradiction in terms. Individualistic Christianity is not Christianity; Christianity is community within the fellowship of the Church.
Peter knew from experience that no Christian can live out his Christianity in isolation. Time and time again he had boasted of his self-sufficiency, only to fail and be re-established by the steadfastness of Christ. Those three years with Jesus had introduced him into a fellowship which was an inevitable and necessary part of the faith that centered in Jesus Christ. He knew now that no Christian can live in isolation from his brethren.
No individual Christian makes a church. Paul thinks of Christians as members of the Body of Christ, members mean absolutely nothing when severed from the body. So Peter declares that Christians must come to the building, not once in a first "careless rapture" of conversion joy, but again and again and with increasing surrender, so that Cornerstone and living stones may be cemented and fused together into a glorious edifice which reveals the glory of God in Christ.
We must not forget the reason Peter is writing this letter! He is writing to people who are under persecution and in deep trials. He is pointing out the great truths of our Christian faith to which they must cling and never lose the focus spiritually. Our salvation, our inheritance, our Savior and the Word...these are truths to which we can anchor our faith and hope. In the passage before us, he is reminding them of the community of believers, the Church, to which they belong and the functions they fulfill in this great eternal family of God.
In the household of God, we are priests unto God!
Peter has gone back to Exodus 19:6 where we find these words: "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5-6) The Old Testament priests entered God’s presence at specific times and only after carefully following ritual cleansing instructions; God’s people can enter God’s presence at any time. "Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest who has passed through the hea-

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vens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us there for come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)
The priest offered sacrifices and as living stones, we are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
What comprises these spiritual sacrifices?
"I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)
We offer ourselves and our wills to God’s control. "Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2)
We offer love to God and to others. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name." (Hebrews 13:5)
We center our lives around continual praise to God. In fact, Peter tells, us that because we are God’s special people, we are to proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Paul writes to the Christians at Colossi: "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. (Colossians 1:12-13)
We, as Christians, belonging to the Church, the Body of Christ, the Family of God, are to be a joyous community, constantly and gratefully declaring the "wondrous works" of a God who has rescued us from Satan's darkness and slavery and has brought us into a life of love and truth and hope. The whole Church is to be a witnessing community. Through its corporate testimony and the testimony of every believer, we take the gospel into the home and work and society. In this way the gospel about the mighty works of God is proclaimed to and in the world. Worship, witness, and loving service are the great hallmarks of the Christian Church, and the three of them issue from the mighty act of God in bringing deliverance to "captives" and to those who "sit in darkness."
In times of persecution and trial, the Body of believers, the Church, is a wonderful source of strength, of fellowship, friendship and encouragement. To be a member of the Church is a solemn and glorious privilege. We are the Family of God, a Holy Nation!