Explore the Bible: March 16

God’s People • 1 Peter 2:1-10

By Arthur Story 

This week’s text, 1 Peter 2:1-10, points to our unity and our identity in Christ as growing believers, as building blocks for His work, and as His unique people. 

In 1 Peter 2:1-3, we learn about growing in our faith as a follower of Christ.  In order to grow spiritually, we need to avoid things that stunt our growth and seek what fosters growth.  This is no different from how we grow in other areas of our lives. For example, to grow physically we eat a good diet, we get a proper amount of rest, and we manage things like stress, illness, and prolonged use of medications that can undermine physical growth. In 1 Peter 2:1, we are told to remove some specific activities concerning attitudes and speech from our lives.  We are instructed to rid our lives of five behaviors that are counter to Christ and will stunt our spiritual growth. The five behaviors we need to get out of our lives are endeavoring to do evil to others, fraud, deception, jealousy, and speaking evil of others.  These are all hindrances to spiritual growth and will keep us from properly maturing as followers of Jesus. In addition to casting off these hinderances to our growth, we are to actively foster growth in our salvation. This is the outcome of craving the Word. In Scripture, we see the answer to moving from a state of being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive (Romans 10:14-17). We see that embracing Christ, because of our need for forgiveness and the truth revealed about Him, brings eternal life (Acts 4:8-12). In addition, we see that continuing in the study of Scripture and embracing the truth from it leads us to growth (1 Peter 2:2) and to our being different and living differently than those apart from Jesus.

In 1 Peter 2:4-8, we see our connection to Christ as living stones. Christ is identified in the text as a living stone, a precious corner stone, and the stone the builders rejected. Christians are aligned with Christ in each of these identifications. First, God is building a living spiritual house with believers. I pass by a church sign going back and forth to my house almost everyday that reads, “Future meeting location of ….. Church.”  I look for the sign each time I’m on that road, because it is clear and correct in its meaning; the church is a people, not a building. The church is the people that God is using to build His kingdom and to fulfill His will here. Second, Jesus is also identified as a precious corner stone.  This is important to us because a corner stone sets the foundation for what is being built. Like a building’s corner stone sets the standard and alignment for the building, Jesus is our starting point in being a part of what God is building and Jesus provides us with directional alignment on how we are to live. Lastly, Jesus is the foundation that has been rejected by those who are disobedient to His word. Like Him, we also will be rejected because of our message about Him to those who refuse to believe (John 15:18-21).  

In 1 Peter 2:9-10, we see our uniqueness as God’s people. We are God’s chosen people united in Christ. By God’s mercy, we are different from each other in many ways, but we are bound together in Christ. We have different appearances, personalities, languages, abilities, spiritual gifts, etc., but we are united in Christ Jesus. Our connection to Jesus binds us to each other so that we willingly serve each other and sacrifice our own desires for the benefit of fellow believers and also for the lost (Philippians 2). While we are united with other believers, we are distinct from those apart from Jesus. We are different because we have been purchased by God through Jesus’ redemptive work for us (Philippians 3).  We are His people, who have received mercy from Him, and we have been brought out of our former sinful life of ruin so that we can live eternally and abundantly.  The uniqueness of our relationship with God as His children comes with the responsibility and the desire to proclaim Him to this world.  

As you meditate on, pray through, and join with others in the study of 1 Peter 2:1-10 this week, remember that you are intended to grow spiritually, are a living part of what God is building, and are one of His unique people entrusted with proclaiming Him to the world.

Story is a member of First Ridgeland Church, Ridgeland.