The Practice
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We’re going to be covering five verses again, because all of these fit together so closely. This is a continuation and further development of some of the themes we saw last week.
ii. Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the spiritual house. (2:6–7a, Isaiah 28:16, Romans 8:32, Ephesians 2:20)
This verse starts with the word “wherefore.” That ties it back to the previous verse, where Peter states Christians are built up a spiritual house to offer sacrifices to God. “Wherefore” means “For this reason.” The fact that we are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, is built on the fact that Jesus is the chief corner stone. He’s saying, “The fact of your new status is why this Scripture is here.” Jesus being the corner stone is the corner stone of this spiritual temple all churches are built into.
He says it is contained in the Scripture, but where?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: He that believeth shall not make haste.
As we looked at last week, it is a recurring theme in Scripture that Jesus is a living stone.
The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (Chapter 2)
Christ crucified is the Rock: (1) Smitten that the Spirit of life may flow from Him to all who will drink. (2) To the church the foundation and chief corner Stone. (3) To the Jews at His first coming a “stumbling stone.” (4) To Israel at His second coming the “headstone of the corner.” (5) To the Gentile world-power the smiting “stone cut out without hands.” (6) In the divine purpose the Stone which, after the destruction of Gentile world-power, is to grow and fill the earth. (7) To unbelievers the crushing Stone of judgment.
We looked at “elect” last week also. It is another theme of Scripture that Jesus is the chosen of God.
This verse is the third time “precious” describes Jesus. As the chosen of God, and as God Himself, He is of infinite worth. This is shown by Paul in Romans:
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God gave the most precious thing He has—Jesus. His own Son. No other treasure in Heaven can compare to Him. And yet, God gave Him freely for us. We now can share in that precious treasure.
It says that everyone who believes on Jesus will not be confounded—that is, put to shame. As in, you will not be ashamed that you put faith in Christ because He will not disappoint. There are a lot of things in life that can disappoint you. Putting trust in men always disappoints, and we disappoint other people. Taking a risk that will bring you personal gain is no great act of virtue, and may well totally fail.
But taking a step of faith out of trust in God will not disappoint you. True faith that acts in accordance with God’s will will always be met and exceeded by God’s provision.
Because of this, as the next verse says, Jesus is precious to us. This is the fourth time Jesus has been called precious. And we should think of Him in that way. Those who believe on Jesus will never be ashamed of their belief—or at least, will never have a true reason to be ashamed, not a reason that comes from Jesus failing to uphold His side of the covenant. This makes Him very precious, because He is our one friend who will never disappoint, our one king who can never be corrupted, and our one priest who can never sin.
iii. Those who reject the cornerstone will be rejected by Him at the judgment. (2:7b–8, Isaiah 8:14–15, Matthew 21:42–44)
In stark contrast to the precious corner stone that Jesus is to His people, He is something entirely different to those who reject Him. This is set up when it say “but.” You know the following thing will be in contrast to what we just learned.
“Them which be disobedient” compared to “you which believe” is like the contrast between “children of disobedience” and “children of obedience” that we examined before. Those who reject God are like disobedient children, fighting against their Father’s standards, wanting to be free and break His bands asunder.
The comparison falls short in that the children of disobedience are not the children of God—they are the children of Satan. But still, they are characterized by disobedience.
“The stone which the builders disallowed” is obviously referring to Jesus, and repeating the phrasing of verse 4. These disobedient people rejected Christ at His coming and continue to reject Him every day, seeking to go their own way. They count Him as not real, both in that He is not the real Messiah and that He is not real at all.
They, as Romans 1 says, hold the truth in unrighteousness. That is, they hold it at arm’s length. They know God but glorify Him not as God and refuse to give thanks. Their imaginations become self-centered and meaningless, and their wisdom is turned to foolishness.
The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us.
What else happens when they disallow this stone? It says, “the same is made the head of the corner.” He still becomes the cornerstone even despite their rejection. They cannot stop Him. Though men counted Jesus as unworthy, God counted Him as precious and made Him the chief cornerstone of our faith.
He is also the “stone of stumbling.” Jesus causes people to stumble because He calls out their sin. They’re going along their merry sinful way, but when they encounter Jesus, He disrupts that lifestyle.
Without Jesus, the world goes on in sin and doesn’t even feel bad about it. They can do what they want and pretend God doesn’t exist. But when the truth of the Gospel is presented to them, it causes them to feel guilt and shame, therefore stumbling them on their path.
Similarly, it is a rock of offense. Having sin accused as sin is offensive to sinners.
Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary ii. To Bring Judgment to Some (2:7b–8)
The word translated “offence” is skandalon, which suggests a trap set to trip someone.
Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary ii. To Bring Judgment to Some (2:7b–8)
This same word skandalon gives us our English word scandal. Christ scandalized the Jews.
Jesus’ complete ignoring of many of the Jews’ traditions, combined with His explicit accusations of their sin, was a scandal for the religious leaders and motivated them to kill Jesus.
“Them which stumble at the word.”
Those who stumble at Jesus stumble at the word, which is also Jesus. Preaching the word will naturally offend and cause people to stumble if they are following sin.
This also notes how Jesus was/is not a stone of stumbling to everyone. He’s not just a jerk who makes everyone mad. He only offends those who are disobedient. It is not His temperament that offends, necessarily, but His word.
“Being disobedient” describes again the state of these people. They are the children of disobedience.
The next phrase at first causes a bit of an issue. These people are appointed to be disobedient? I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this verse before, but I had never thought anything of this last phrase until being forced to explain it. But understanding this phrase reveals an entirely new layer of meaning within the verse.
First of all, we can tell from the context of this passage and all of Scripture that some people were not appointed to be sinners. Even the Calvinist commentators say this is not about election. The “whereunto” refers to stumbling at the word. So then, are they appointed to be offended? It goes deeper than that. Let’s look at how the word “stumble” is used in parallel passages.
And he shall be for a sanctuary; But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, And be snared, and be taken.
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
I believe the stumbling involves being offended, but it also speaks of them falling over the corner stone and being broken. That is, they were not appointed to be disobedient, but to stumble if they were obedient. Just as anyone who commits a crime is appointed to punishment, those who disallow Jesus and are disobedient are appointed to stumble over Him into condemnation.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Chapter 2)
[It is] not that God ordains or appoints them to sin, but they are given up to “the fruit of their own ways” according to the eternal counsel of God. The moral ordering of the world is altogether of God. God appoints the ungodly to be given up unto sin, and a reprobate mind, and its necessary penalty.
It’s like we’ve studied in Proverbs. Those who live contrary to the moral ordering of the world established by God will receive judgment. It’s like if one team in a football game never followed the rules but always ran illegal plays. The ref isn’t going to just let them be. He’s going to actively work against them by giving penalties. The same is true in real life. God did not decide that these people will sin, but He does decide to punish those who do sin, eventually sending them to eternal damnation.
Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary ii. To Bring Judgment to Some (2:7b–8)
A person who will not heed the truth is bound to embrace a lie. Here is a person working out a problem in arithmetic, but he ignores the rules for fractions, for instance, or decimals or long division. He is “appointed” to get the answer wrong. There is nothing mystical or mysterious about that. It is the law of cause and effect.
iv. Those who believe on the cornerstone are made a new people. (2:7, 9a, 10, Genesis 1:27-28, Romans 5:6, Psalm 118:22–23, Hosea 1:9, 2:23)
This is such a huge contrast with what the disobedient will receive, and such an awesome passage of Scripture. Those who are disobedient will stumble at the word and be destroyed by it. But those who submit to the word have immense privileges.
Each one of these titles could be an entire message, as we just saw with the idea of being a peculiar people. We’re just going to look over the top of these all to get the basic idea.
The disobedient are appointed to wrath, but those who are righteous in Christ are chosen to receive blessing and glorification. “Generation” speaks more of a nation or category of people, not a specific age group of people. Israel has stumbled, and we are grafted into the olive tree, sharing in the chosen status of Israel.
We are also a royal priesthood. This is a variation on the holy priesthood we saw last week, and the fact that it involves kingship takes us back to Genesis.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Adam and Eve were rulers of the world in God’s stead. They were the king and queen of earth. They were also priests, because they represented God to creation. Once they sinned, that status of priesthood was broken down, and the creation that they were supposed to subdue began to rebel against them and make their job harder.
The whole Bible could really be framed as waiting for the perfect royal priest to come and restore the privileges of Eden.
[talk about the priests and stuff]
Next, we are an holy nation. Because we are a chosen generation and representatives of God, we must be a holy nation to represent God accurately.
We are a peculiar people in that we are God’s special possession, unique to Himself.
God called us out of the darkness. We were not making our own way out, proving our devotion to God when He called us. We were still in the darkness, still in sin, when Christ came.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Now we are free from that darkness and pulled into the light of His countenance.
The next verse is yet another OT quotation.
Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
And I will sow her unto me in the earth; And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; And I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; And they shall say, Thou art my God.
Some take the context of these original verses to say that Peter’s audience is made of Jews, and He is saying that, in salvation, they have come back to being the people of God. But the wording here seems to speak of a people who never were the people of God. In time past, they were not a people. They were no people. This does not describe God’s chosen people, but rather the Gentiles.
To be honest, I don’t entirely understand how the Gentiles are not a people. Gentiles had many people groups, from barbarian tribes to great world-spanning empires. In fact, the biggest political and cultural entity at that time was a Gentile power—the Roman Empire. The Romans were definitely a people, as were the various groups present in Asia Minor. So what does Peter mean?
My best guess is that he’s emphasizing the ultimate emptiness of any national identity apart from Christ. Even being born an Israelite was worthless if you did not turn your heart to God. Paul said in Romans that those who disobey the law of Moses are not true Jews.
Ultimately, the verse is clearly contrasting the new status of the Gentiles as the people of God to their old status as ethnic and cultural groups worshipping pagan deities. Again, we have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel’s blessing. We are a partaker of their promises and spiritual sons of Abraham. Therefore, in Christ, we are become the people of God.
“Had not obtained mercy”
Before Jesus, the Gentiles did not have the mercy of God directly in their lives. They were on the way to hell. There is, of course, God’s general mercy toward mankind that did influence their lives, but they had not received mercy in salvation.
With Jesus, even those outside of God’s people can become God’s people and gain His mercy in their lives.
v. This new people must proclaim the praises of their God. (2:9b, Isaiah 43:21, Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 1:3–12; Isaiah 9:2, Colossians 1:9–13)
proclaim throughout, declare
This is literally the whole reason we were saved. Yes, God loves us, leading Him to send Jesus for us. But He was under no obligation to do so. He didn’t send His Son to save the angels. Because of this great mercy toward us, it is our duty, obligation, and purpose for existence that we should proclaim the praises of God throughout the world.
This people have I formed for myself; They shall shew forth my praise.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
So we see from these verses two main things. First, those who reject and oppose God will stumble on the corner stone and be broken. But those who believe on Him find a precious cornerstone that they can build their lives upon, forming part of the spiritual house that all Christians are a part of.
Why are we made into this house? Just look back to last week’s verses. It is to offer spiritual sacrifices. This is repeated in verse 9. As this new royal priesthood, as a chosen generation, as the people of God, it is our duty to praise God and to offer up those other sacrifices we looked at last week. And not only it is our duty, it is our honor. Our privilege. We should be pleased with what God has given us, and God is pleased with what we give back to Him.
So let us be thankful for what we have. Let us be thankful we are part of God’s family. And let us live every day to the praise of His glory.
