Authentic Churches: Built on Christ

Without Christ, there is no reason for us to gather.  There is no call for us to do anything together. Without Christ, there is no church. 

In Christ, though, we have every reason to come together. As we come to Christ, we come with other believers—the church—and everything we do together is built on and grows out of our relationship with Christ. The Point is: everything in the church centers on Jesus Christ.

The passage today is 1 Peter 2:1-12. Peter wrote this letter from Rome in the early AD 60s to churches in the northern part of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). First Peter 1 focuses on joy and holiness, while Chapter 2 stresses abiding in Christ as the source of holy living for the people of God, the church.  

Appealing to Christ’s sufferings as a model, Peter encouraged these Christians to stand firm despite persecution.  The same applies to us today.  He starts off this study by telling us how to do it.

1 Peter 2:1-5

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 
3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 
4 As you come to him, a living stone ​— ​rejected by people but chosen and honored by God ​— 
5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

To live holy lives, those who have trusted in Christ must remove behaviors that cause problems with others.  So Peter urges us to “rid ourselves” of five selfish natures that fractures the love that Christ commanded his followers to have.  He tells us to rid ourselves of “all malice”, a term the describes attitudes or actions that inflict harm upon others or that lead us to hold grudges.  He tells us to rid ourselves of “all deceit” a Greek term that literally referees to bait, a lure, or a snare.  It also encompasses fraud and cunning, involving not speaking truth about, or to others.

We are told to rid ourselves of “hypocrisy” a term meaning pretending to be someone you are not to make yourself look better.  In Greek the term means play acting, creating an impression that is contrary to one’s real purposes.  We are told to rid ourselves of "envy". The Greek word is also translated as jealousy or spite.  It involves attitudes and actions that have their source in a self-interest that seeks to advance one’s self even at the expense and harm of others.  We are to also rid ourselves of "slander", speaking evil about a person.  It involves those who engage in backbiting and defamation.

Peter tells us to be like newborn infants that crave the milk that they need to grow.  In order to grow and develop properly, newborn infants need to take in the nourishment of milk.  The Greek Word used here, desire, refers to an intense craving to possess something.  It indicates an active rather than passive stance in seeking proper nourishment. The pure milk which enables believers to grow in their faith is the Word of God – timeless wisdom from the creator of ALL.

Verse 2 encourages us to “grow up”.  Salvation in its fullest sense requires life-long growth in Christ. Generally the term salvation refers to being rescued or delivered from something, in this context from sin, death, and judgment. It involves both the initial event of permanently restoring the individual in a right relationship with God and the ongoing renewal of the individual so that he or she is evermore capable through the power of the Holy Spirit to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Salvation can be spoken of as an initial, past event (conversion, justification), as a process occurring in the present (sanctification), and in a future, final sense (glorification).  We walk a path from decision, through learning, and into our nature with God.

In Verse 4 Peter refers to Christ as a living stone.  Paul also used this image in referring to Christ as the basis for solid, unmovable, unshakable, foundational faith in God and as the cornerstone of the body of Christ, the church.  Verse 4 also notes that Jesus was rejected by most people and especially the Jewish religious leaders who had Him crucified. It also notes that Jesus was chosen and honored by God. The Greek term for chosen means to be selected. Jesus is God’s one and only Son and the Messiah. Honored figuratively means to be valued and precious. Although Jesus was rejected by people, He is chosen and honored by God, who vindicated Him through His resurrection and exaltation.

Verse 5 calls for us to be living stones of a spiritual house. When people put their faith in Christ, they become living stones in the spiritual house that God is building (the body of Christ, the church) which has as its cornerstone Jesus Christ.  We are part of a Holy priesthood. The word holy means to be consecrated, set apart for a purpose. Another term for it is sacred. Believers in Christ have been set apart to God. In the Old Testament, the priests offered sacrifices to God in the temple. Believers are both the new temple of God and priests of that temple who serve to offer spiritual sacrifices indicating  the believers’ purpose as holy priests. 

Acceptable. The Greek term means to be well-received, approved. All the various spiritual sacrifices we offer are done through Christ in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and therefore are acceptable to God.  

Next, Peter relates to us the story of a cornerstone.

1 Peter 2:6-8

6 For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 
7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected — this one has become the cornerstone, 
8 and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

Stone was the predominate building material in the Old and New Testament times.  Building with stone was very much like building with dominoes or wooden blocks. The “stacking” of stone is initiated with the placement of the first stone and the first stone sets the orientation. Just as a specific stone is the foundation for a building, Jesus said that faith in Him as God’s Son was foundational for the church.  The term Zion is used in the Bible to refer to both the literal city of Jerusalem and the heavenly new Jerusalem.  When God raised Jesus from the dead, He made Christ the chosen and honored cornerstone of His building, the church.  

The cornerstone functioned as the foundational part of the building; all other stones were positioned in relation to the cornerstone. As God’s spiritual Temple is built through the ages, we follow Christ’s lead and join in God’s church as the foundational cornerstone directs.  We don’t just lay a rock randomly in the building, the walls would not long stand as a jumbled mess.  BUT when we are in accord with Christ we are like a well fit dry stone wall that can withstand anything.

The Greek word was also used for the capstone, the stone at the top of the arch that completes the structure. Christ is both the cornerstone and capstone, the foundation and completion of the church. 

The Jews considered those who believed in Jesus to be shamed because in their view Jesus was crucified as a person cursed by God. However, the reality is that those who believe in Jesus “will never be put to shame,” meaning that at the end of the age they will not face God’s judgment. Rather, their faith in Christ will be vindicated, and they will be glorified and honored.

Honor describes the exaltation and value of a person or object based on his/her/its use or worth. This honor will not fully come in this world (the domain of Satan) but rather in heaven.  Those who do not believe that Jesus is God’s Messiah will receive only judgment and condemnation for their sins.  Judgment and condemnation from who? Remember the Bible teaches that “Judge not let you be judged.” As we sin there will be many sources of judgment as humanity serves as each other’s Jude.  In the end, however, ALL of creation will abide by God’s judgment (accordance with wisdom), the most important judgment of all.

The stone that the builders rejected refers to a quotation is from Psalm 118, which describes the psalmist’s victory over his foes through the power of the Lord. Here Peter applied Psalm 118:22 to Jesus’s victory on the cross over sin and Satan despite the evaluation of the Jews and other unbelievers.

A stone to stumble over . . . a rock to trip over in verse 8 describes encounters with Christ (the stone/rock) which separates those who believe in Him from those who refuse to believe. Those who refuse to believe stumble and fall because they reject God’s fullest revelation of Himself in His Messiah Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers.  God’s response to rejection of Jesus is judgment: eternal separation from God in hell. Both Peter and Paul wrote about God’s final, eternal judgment upon those who reject God’s offer of salvation through Christ.

Next we see Peter’s description of our mission.

1 Peter 2:9-12

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 
12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s chosen people.  Now Christ is the chosen of God to be the Messiah.  Jesus has chosen his church so that all who choose Jesus are chosen by Jesus to serve as a royal priesthood.  

Royal refers to God as King. The priest’s job was to be an intermediary between God and the people. Through Christ believers have direct access to God. However, believers are also intermediaries between lost humanity and God as they proclaim the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

During the reigns of Kings Saul and David, Samuel, an Old Testament prophet, seer, and judge, exhibited great influence over these two kings. He anointed both men prior to becoming kings and served them as God’s messenger. When Samuel died in 1012 B.C. there was a void in religious leadership and, to a certain extent, David assumed some of this role taking on a number of roles typically performed by the priesthood.  With David the role of Royal Priest became "a thing."  

David made two significant decisions that would change Judaism: He moved the Ark to a permanent resting spot within the capital. And he planned to build a temple where it would be placed. The Temple would become the religious focal point whereby the Hebrews would observe and celebrate holy days in addition to making blood sacrifices. David took an active part in what would normally be considered priestly activities. When the Ark was moved to Jerusalem, David was a part of the retinue accompanying it. “David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets”( 2 Sam. 6:14-15 [NIV]). Not only did David take an active part in transporting the Ark – he also dressed like a priest. David wore a linen apron, the priest’s apron.

Believers have been set apart to God in Jesus Christ. Their primary purpose is to proclaim the gospel of salvation. They also glorify God through their deeds.

The purpose of the church is to proclaim (or “announce”) and this referred to the duty of a herald who announced news of his king or ruler. Praises are responses to God’s mighty deeds; Peter referred here to salvation. It is the duty of every Christian to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be called is to be invited or summoned, in this context by God to receive the salvation that is found in Christ alone.

Prior to their salvation, believers lived in the darkness of a world separated from and hostile to God. Now they are called into his marvelous light. The Greek term for marvelous can also be translated as “glorious” and “wonderful.” Believers are transferred from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of God.

Every person’s spiritual condition prior to salvation, was one of conscious & literal separation from God. Christians, who through Christ have been reconciled to God and adopted into His family are commanded to glorify God by living a Christ-like lifestyle.

Following their conversion, these believers had become strangers (“foreigners”) and exiles (“aliens,” “pilgrims”) in this physical world.  They had changed their allegiance to God and thereby become “citizens of heaven”. So, we are literally like illegal aliens in the United States, but rather than clamoring to get INTO a country we are seeking to get out of this physical only realm and into God’s Spiritual Kingdom.

Peter further described the battle against sinful desires that Christians must fight continually. The Greek term soul represents the self, the innermost part of a person.  Our conduct refers to a person’s way of life, one’s lifestyle.  Peter tells us that our lifestyle should be one of honor. Using the Greek term describing how a person’s actions should appear to others, as being morally good and virtuous, but not in a hypocritical way, but in truth, in love, and authentically.

We are to do this among the Gentiles, the Greek term can also be translated “nations,” “pagans,” or “peoples,” and is used to refer to all unbelievers.  Evildoers refers to those who act badly and commit crimes. So while we live in this physical world WE are directed to live with honor, act as Jesus directed, and DO good to others for the glorification of God.  This is our lifestyle charge, because unbelievers will observe the good and wholesome actions of believers and bring glory to God.

The church is a body.  It is made up of individual parts. Each of us influences the focus of our church and its priorities. Let each of us be an example to others as WE strive to center everything on Christ.