Maturing in Christ

Acts 7:55–60 ESV

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

1 Peter 2:1–10 ESV

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. 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.” 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. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1. To mature in Christ, we must partake of spiritual food. (vs. 1-3)

We know that a mother’s milk is important for the development of babies. When I worked on a dairy farm years ago, a calf fed off the mother’s milk for the first 24 hours because that is when it would receive important antibodies to bulk up its immune system.

‌When we grow in Christ, we need to have the proper spiritual food to mature and develop the way we should. Denying ourselves this will leave us starving in our spirits. This is why Peter encourages his readers to continue feeding off the word. We are to put away those things that deceive us and can hurt the body of Christ. We must get off the junk food provided by the world. Instead, we are to be like newborns and feed off the spiritual milk that helps us grow into salvation. It reminds us that salvation is not a prayer; we are done. It is a life-long journey.

‌The primary source of our nourishment is God’s word. Christian growth involves getting rid of attitudes, ways of speaking, and behaviors that attack the mutual love that is central to the community of Christ. Just because we are baptized and brought into the faith doesn’t mean that suddenly, those things go away. In fact, many of us can struggle with some of these things all our lives. Malice, envy, and slander do not drop off like old clothes; these demons must be fought to the end. That is why it is so important to continue to be connected to Christ through the fellowship of believers and his word.

‌The problem with most churches is that they are filled with people. And people have a hard time giving up some of their old sins. That flesh wants to creep in when something doesn’t go exactly how we want it to. However, I dare say that even in an environment of mutual love, we can cause pain to one another by inattention, thoughtlessness, and ignorance. That is why there must be a continued climate of forgiveness in the fellowship. That is why the table is so important in the church’s life. We come to the table to be fed by Christ, but before we arrive, we must examine our hearts and make sure that we have not hurt another person willingly or unwillingly. We must make peace with one another before we partake of his body and blood.

‌Maturing in Christ requires us to feast on his word and upon his body and blood in fellowship. We are to do as the psalmist says in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Through the Lord Jesus, we can be in true fellowship with one another, and the body of Christ is built up toward the head so that we may be like him. Feasting on Christ and his word strengthens us and gives us the necessary spiritual food to grow more Christlike in our actions toward one another and the world.

2. Christ is our foundation. (vs. 4-8)

How do we build the kind of fellowship that is rooted in mutual love for one another? We have to build that foundation upon Christ so that we can be the living stone as Christ is. When we get to this section of 1 Peter, some can try to make the discussion about the individual. However, Peter is speaking about the corporate body being the temple. Hebrews 3:6 tells us, “but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” Paul gives a fuller expression of this in Ephesians 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Peter gives us several citations from the Old Testament and applies them to Christ and the community of faith. In verses 4-8, he focuses on the idea that Christ is the living stone and so are Christians gathered together. Let’s take a moment and break these down quickly.

The first is from Isaiah 28:16

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

This is a broad affirmation of God’s act of grace. God has provided Christ as a firm and certain foundation for faith. Those who trust in him will find that sufficient.

The second is from Psalm 118:22

Psalm 118:22 ESV

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

This is prophecy about Christ’s death and resurrection. They tossed him aside, but the stone they rejected is the keystone that completes the structure. Because he is the cornerstone, that is where we are to set our standard for life and obedience. It is upon him that we are built up.

The final citation is from Isaiah 8:14-15

Isaiah 8:14–15 ESV

14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

God places the stone in the path. Some stumble. Some step with the stone.

3. We are a kingdom of priests. (vs. 9-10)

Since the Reformation, the notion of the “priesthood of all believers” has been essential to our understanding of life together in the community of faith. Peter uses the language of Exodus 19:6 to capture this concept for the church. Just as Israel was a nation of priests, so the church is to be a kingdom of priests. This is shocking at first because the application of priesthood to Gentiles seemed almost sacrilegious to a Jew.

The priesthood of all believers is understood in two primary ways during the Reformation: the freedom of individuals to approach God without an intermediary other than Christ, and the obligation to pray for each other and serve one another’s needs. But here it is understood as the community not individuals. Peter says earlier in verse 5 that the community offers spiritual sacrifices to God. This is done through the context of worship. In Hebrews 13:15, it says, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Then he adds in verse 16, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

What happened in some traditions is that there was a move away from ritual and sacrament as a response to what was perceived as the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church. However, Peter is not being anti-ritual or anti-sacramental. On the contrary, he places the community as the center of worship and sacrament - through word and table and the waters of holy baptism. Peter presses the ritual to include relationships and right behavior toward one another. Paul tells us that the entirety of the Christian life is worship: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” In addition, he regarded ministry and missionary work as worship:

Romans 15:15–16 ESV

15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The work of sanctification gives us the confidence to proclaim the “excellencies” of him who brought us out of darkness and into his marvelous light. We are now God’s people through his mercy and grace.

The point that Peter is making is that it is only because of the work of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we have the opportunity to live as a people who are partakers of the goodness of God.