"To Believe or Not to Believe" - 1 Peter 2:7-8

[7] So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” [8] and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (1 Peter 2:7-8 ESV)

      I struggled with this one for quite a few days to entirely wrap my head around the nuance of what is being said here.  What finally helped was reading the Apostolic Bible Polyglot version (ABP), so I am posting that below:

[7] To you then a stone of value-- to the ones believing; but to the ones disobeying, a stone which [rejected the ones building], this one became for the head of the corner,  [8] and a stone of stumbling, and a rock causing offence, which they stumble against the word, being disobedient; to which also they were appointed.

(1 Peter 2:7-8 ABP, Italics as exist in text)

      What these few verse are about is basically Christ as a concept to two different groups of people.  On one hand you have the believers.  Something caused them initially to believe.  Something in their own experience convinced them that without Christ something was missing in their life, and they have been able to trace the differences His presence has made in their lives.  Once this revelation comes to someone, they start to build a belief system.  One brick of understanding at a time, new truths are learned and built together into an understanding.  In turn, each new revelation of truth points to and affirms other bricks of truth forming a solid structure of belief.  When viewed through the lens of revelation, of being able to see Christ and His effects on your life and all the other truths inherent there, we are able to see and (humanly) understand Christ.  This is an understanding that evades the non-believer.
      Since they do not have the prerequisite truths, and feel no personal experiential connection to Christ, He confuses them.  They cannot see Him as He truly is because their perception is veiled.  This I believe is what Peter is talking about; that Christ is a stumbling block to the unbeliever.  I have experienced this figurative wall before in my talking to certain people.  They seem to come close to the truth of Christ sometimes, but even when it is staring them in the face they seem to be unable to take hold of it and truly grasp it.
      This is where i struggle to understand.  This is where questions of free will and choice come into play.  I cannot deny the use of the word "appointed" near the end of the verse (although from what I can gather from Strong's and not having a great understanding of greek, it seems to be a passive verb for whatever that is worth.)  Taking hints from the verses that follow that talk heavily of the transition of God's people from nothing to an "ordained priesthood" it makes me think that the difference between unbelief and belief may rest in God alone.  Where does that initial revelation come from?  That moment that we say, "Him, Christ... I need Him!"  It seems that in order for us to come to Christ, He must first call us.  I know this is a hard concept... "But what about those He chooses not to call?  Does He damn them due to His own seeming inaction?"  These questions are centuries old and some of the most difficult theological mountains I have ever come across.  I am not trying to shrug them off either, but I do know that I will not find the answer today in this blog post.  But because of my personal revelation I have faith.  I have faith that God is perfect and just, holy and sovereign, and I trust Him.  Father, help me to understand your mysteries and lead me ever more into the truth of who you are-- and help me be a bridge for your revelation to others.

"A Temple of Flesh" - 1 Peter 2:4-6

[4] As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, [5] you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [6] For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:4-6 ESV)

      Here Peter transitions into a picture that dominates a good half of this chapter.  He begins with a description of Christ as "a living stone that the builders rejected."  This is a description of Christ first used in Isaiah, which Peter quotes in verse 6 (Is. 28:16).  There is a lot here, so let's break it down.
      There is significance in the use of the specific word "Cornerstone" in reference to Christ, rather than just stone.  In the building of a building, a cornerstone was a pivotal part of it's construction.  It was load-bearing for at least two sides of the whole, and if it were weakened, the entire structure could be in danger of collapse.  It is not hard to see the metaphor here; that Christ is our foundation and our strength and that we are not to stand alone but to be built on top of him and each other into a strong building.
      It is also significant to note that God prophesied Christ's rejection by man.  Since long before He set foot on the earth, Israel had been on lookout for Messiah.  What they expected however, was an earthly savior.  Someone who would swoop in and save them from Roman oppression and re-establish the kingdom of Israel.  When Christ did arrive on the scene, he was met with hard hearts.  He was not met by a crowd ready and willing to accept this humble man and the lifestyle he embraced and heralded.  He was met by a crowd shouting, "crucify him!"
      And now to what Peter is saying in these few verses.  So now that we understand Christ as cornerstone, rejected by men but holy and pleasing in the sight of God, we can understand verse 5.  In verse 5 now we too, as followers of Christ, are living stones.  We are being built together with Christ as cornerstone into a spiritual house.  Ever since the time of Moses and the Tabernacle, and later with Solomon and the Temple, God had maintained a physical dwelling place, a building, where his very essence dwelt on earth.  It was a place of great power and there were protections in place to spare people the awesome power of God's direct presence, as their sin-filled lives and his unfiltered presence could not coexist in close proximity without bloodshed.  But then came the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the ultimate shedding of blood.  With this act the great curtain separating man from the holy of holies within the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom by God, symbolizing that there was no longer a need for this separation.  What Peter is describing here is that as a result of Christ's sacrifice, God will no longer dwell in an earthly building.  God will no longer only be accessible by the priesthood, once a year, after so many animal sacrifices to temporarily cleanse their sin.  No, from now on God will physically dwell in the hearts of His people.  We, with Christ as cornerstone, are now the great Temple!  The Church is God's dwelling place on earth.  Our good works have been made into acceptable sacrifices to God through the power of Jesus' blood.  We as followers of Christ have all been made practicing priests.  And this priesthood is part of the inheritance we spoke of in Chapter 1.  Praise God for what He has done to bring us back to Himself!
 

"Spiritual Milk" - 1 Peter 2:1-3

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV)

      The beginning of chapter two is really just the finishing of the same thought we left off on in chapter 1.  We left off talking about living a holy life, and embodying our new identities as followers of Christ.  Verse one is a list of attributes and activities that are inconsistent with the holy life.   Also, this list is focused heavily on wrongs that are specifically against others- malice towards others, deceit of others, envy of others... they are all things that fly in the face of his earlier admonishment to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart."
      Then there is the longing for pure spiritual milk-  When we are born we know very little.  We soon learn to desire milk for the relief it brings to our bodies natural hunger.  In much the same way, Peter advises that we cultivate a natural longing for the things of God, and that it be our sustenance.  But we are not to stop there.  We are not to be forever content with milk.  Milk has a definite purpose.  It is full of nutrients and is very easy to digest for the infant, making it ideal for promoting growth of the young one.  But, there comes a time when the child needs to be weaned off of this milk and move on the solid food. The writer of Hebrews chastises his audience for not following this very progression.
      So what is to inspire this natural longing in us?  Peter tells us that if we taste the goodness of God, that this longing will result- a longing to grow; in maturity and in closeness with Him.  I think tasting the goodness of God is something that is easily done if we pay attention.  At one time or another we have all been on the receiving end of His goodness, and sometimes all it takes is a moment to stop and recall.  What can we be thankful for that He has provided? Think about that.  How has my life changed because of Him?  Think about that.  His goodness will create within us a longing for more-  May we never be satisfied with enough of Him.

"...Now Act Like It!" - 1 Peter 1:22-25 Commentary

[22] Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, [23] since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding 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, [25] but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25 ESV)

      The emphasis of much of 1 Peter chapter 1 is identity - specifically, our new identity as heirs of the heavenlies.  We have already discussed how we have traded the death we were once due for the life that only Christ can offer.  But does it end there?  Do we just sit in that assurance that we now belong to life and will live it forever.  No.  Eternal life is coupled with eternal purpose.
      We are born with a soul-  It is within us and it is where all of our actions are birthed, and from childhood, those actions are tainted by the curse of Adam- our earthly inheritance of sin.  But this natural bend and tendency towards sin is put to death along with Death, it's ultimate penalty, when we first hear of, and later respond to, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This is the "good news" or the Gospel.
      There is a moment in every Christian's life when the document is signed in a way... when the adoption becomes legal... when we respond to what Christ has done for us and his offer to make us his children (and simultaneously also his bride- we don't have an equivalent human relationship that fully encapsulates our relationship to the divine, so He uses many pictures.)  It begins in us with a dawning of the truth, "Christ died for me- for all of us- to free us from sin and death."  Then we respond by having faith and accepting his invitation for adoption, not by some magic prayer or mantra, but by sincere intention of the heart.  But then what?
      There is more to our response than just acknowledging we have been adopted-  Does a kid adopted from a life on the street by a suburban family return to the sleep in the gutters?  No!  He acts in a way consistent with his new family-  The focus here is not that his old ways were somehow wrong, but that it is not appropriate for him to continue to act like an orphan.  He does not need to beg on the street corner for food when the family that has lovingly adopted him is home lovingly preparing a delicious celebration feast!           And here Peter counsels that the way in which we act now that we are a part of Christ's family is to love.  We are free from only ever knowing the soul's inward bend to sin, and indwelt now by the Holy Spirit, and surrounded by the assembly- the rest of our new family- who spur us on to good works, our lives reflect that of Christ.  Sincerely and earnestly love from a pure heart is what the text says.  Let your love flow from the deep wells within that have been transformed by the power and revelation of the truth of who Christ is and what he has done.  If I may paraphrase the close of the first chapter of 1 Peter, "You've been made a son, now act like it!"

"The Resurrection is Essential" - 1 Peter 1:20-21

[20] He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the 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. (1 Peter 1:19-21 ESV)

      Christ was always part of the plan.  As a lamb is raised and protected intended for a sacrifice, or the fattened calf is so fattened in preparation for a feast, Christ was, before any of creation, planned to be the mode by which God's perfect will would come to pass.
      This was written just after the time of Christ's manifest human life.  This was written in a time where Christ's physical "footprints" were still fresh; many who had seen him face to face were still alive and could recall moments and conversations with him never recorded by biblical scribes.
      Christ enables us to believe in the Father - and particularly, Christ's resurrection is the crux on which it all sits.  Without the resurrection from the dead, Death would still be victorious- it would have succeeded in silencing Christ in the same way that it had countless prophets before him as they eventually each succumbed to the grave.  Only in the resurrection are the prophecies fulfilled and God proven to keep his word.
      And because Christ was able to lay claim to victory over Death, we are then able to partake in that victory as well via our status as heirs- via the inheritance.  Faith and Hope can remain in God because the resurrection shows that he has the power and authority over both life and death, and that he follows through on his word.
   

"A New Father" - 1 Peter 1:17-19

[17] And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile*, [18] knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:17-19 ESV [footnote added])

      The Father in Heaven is a righteous judge and He knows each of our deeds.  He is able to keep a perfect tally of just what we are owed as a result of them.  Peter here counsels to be mindful of the price on our heads, and approach our Lord humbly, with fear, or "reverential awe" as I think it is better translated.  Once we recognize how great of a debt we owe, we can recognize how greatly we have been forgiven, for in the following verses we are given a promise of absolution.
      The main message here is the contrast between our former and future stock in eternity.  Peter makes reference to two vastly different inheritances, and the means of our transference from one to the other.  The "futile ways of our forefathers" from verse 18 is the first inheritance.  It's our birthright and lot in life- every son of Adam will inherit the struggle of sin and the promise of Death.  I read "futile ways" as our attempts to deal with this sin on our own, and since human power alone is never enough to defeat sin and Death, it is indeed an exercise in futility.  Even the Levitical sacrificial system was not enough to absolve man forever, it merely existed to point the way to the future solution, to give man a frame of reference with which to recognize it's appearance.
      Peter speaks of that solution in Christ's blood, using Levitical sacrificial imagery equating Christ with the passover lamb which must always be "without blemish or spot."  (This section is yet another strong case for the argument that Peter's intended readers were jews.)  In the sacrifice of Christ we are ransomed to a new inheritance.  There is a transference of ownership.  No longer are we bound to sin and Death (I speak of Death here as the Death of the soul in Hell forever, as we will all still succumb to the earthly grave, but it no longer has the power to hold us thereafter as it once did.)  Our inheritance now is life everlasting and the Holy Spirit, and hope and freedom from sin's death-grip on our lives.
      And so you see, from our forefathers we once stood to inherit Death, but now, from our Heavenly Father, we are set to inherit Life Eternal.  It is a story of adoption.  We have a new inheritance because we have a new Father.

*v17: It is worth noting that the phrase "the time of your exile" is understood to be used metaphorically as "your time of stay on earth," "your life," etc. and how it in many ways parallels a journey and is not intended as a direct reference to Jewish Diaspora.