A Holy Family

1 Peter 2:9-12

Most likely written sometime in the mid 60s A.D. The readers of Peters letter were confused and discouraged. They were being persecuted for their faith, they were being subjected to gnosticism, Judaizers and various other false Gospels all being spoken in the name of Jesus. Peter exhorts them to stand strong in the face of this onslaught. He repeatedly reminds them of Jesus example, the riches of their inheritence through him and the hope of his returning again to usher in the Kingdom. Known as the “apostle of hope” his message is to trust in the Lord Jesus, to live obediently no matter what your circumstances and keep your eyes fixed on the ultimate promise of deliverance.Suffering should be expected, but it is temporary and yields great results for those who remain steadfast. In the passages just prior to where we start today we Peter addressing the metaphor of the living stone. In the passages Peter seeks to make clear that when Jesus uttered those words in Matthew 16:18 He was not addressing Peter as the sole rock upon which he would build the church. Many make this mistake when considering this passage. Rome has built an entire false system upon this mistake of context.

In verse 13 0f Matthew 16 Jesus begins by asking all of his disciples,”who do you think i am?” And they began to answer him saying,”Some say you are John the Baptist,others say Elijah,or Jeremiah or other prophets.

But Jesus had to ask the question again,”Who do YOU say i am?

And Peter who we know was not one to be shy said ,”You are the Christ,the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him and said “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my Father who is in Heaven. This is where we see the context

Jesus continued,”And i tell you are Peter and on this rock i will build my church.”

According to the MacArthur commentary, you have to look at the original language in order to dissect Jesus statement The word Peter in Greek is Petros. Petros means a small stone. Jesus used a play om the word Petra which means foundation boulder. Since it is made clear in the NT that Christ is both the foundation and the head of the Church,it is a mistake to think that he is giving either of those roles to Peter here. There is a sense in which the apostles played a role in the foundation of the church,but the role of primacy is reserved for only Jesus himself. Now back in Peters letter to the body he explains this in that Christ is the cornerstone, the apostles are the foundation, and each of us as believers are small stone upon whom the Jesus’ church is continually being built. And in verse 6 Peter explains that Christ is the precious cornerstone and that he who believes in him will not be put to shame. and he also warns that to those who don’t believe that Jesus is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And all who do not believe will stumble. And they stumble because of disobedience.

Again Peter is telling those to whom this letter was written that we are all as Christians small stones in the church that he is building one stone at a time.

1.v.9 a.We are a chosen family.

Peter is affirming Pauls writing in Ephesians 1:4-5 on the doctrine of predestination. We were chosen by God before the foundation of the world and predestined for adoption into the family of God the Father. We are all therefore brothers and sisters in the family of God who together make up the body of the church. When you are adopted into a family you then become heirs. and we are heirs of the Kingdom.Romans 8:16-17 states plainly that we are Children of God when we are chosen and if children we are also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.and that if we indeed suffer with him we will also be glorified with him. think of your own mortal family here.How we love each other, bear each others burdens, suffer together and rejoice together. Our family here is an earthly manifestation of the way it works in Gods family. If we are living according to the word.

B.)A royal priesthood.

What is the function or duty of a priest? A priest is a minister. one who has been given authority to teach the sacred information and perform the sacred duties and bring the faith to others

Priests in any religious system usually serve as a representative between the people and the higher power.Priests are intermediaries between people and God. They teach proper reverence gratitude,praise, sacrificial giving , worship and a way of life that defines the faith.

Christianity differs from all other religious system in many ways ,including the priesthood. the 2 most important ways being: 1 that in many religions believers have no direct interaction or influence with their God. Therefore as in Roman Catholocism Priests are the only way to reach God. That was why they were so adamant that the scriptures only be read by Priests. But we know that God wanted us all have direct access to him through our risen high priest Jesus. Christ and that he is the only way to God the Father. As a result, we may pray directly to God the Father for all our needs and wants.

This passage in 2 Peter and John in Revelation 1:6 teaches that we are actually a Kingdom of Priests. And what are our main duties as priests of the living God? I’ll get to all that in a minute but first, it is the duties that Jesus commissioned the Apostles and through them all of us with and that is telling all who can hear about the good news of the Gospel and the redemptive power of the sufficient Grace of of God to transform us into children of the most hight God.

c A holy nation and a people for Gods own possession. Here Peter is referencing the Old Testament scripures. In Exodus 19:5–6 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Here God was speaking to the chosen people of Israel but under the new covenant these words apply to all of whom he has chosen, and that no longer applies to just Jews but to all people as Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:12-13.circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

We are a people of Gods owns possession. Which means we are his children. We have been adopted into his royal family. The original greek and aramaic refers to us as slaves of Gods. That particular word has been sanitized in recent years because of the sinful prominence of chattel slavery which is particularly heinous is looked at as it should be with derision. but the truth of the matter is we are all slaves to something. Mainly one of two things. You either serve God as his slave or your a slave to Satan and your sin. That great 20th century poet, Bob Dylan said it well in a song written in !979 when he wrote “ It might be Jesus It might be the Devil but your gonna have to serve somebody.

As children of God, adopted into his family we are now subject to all the privileges and inheritances that children receive. What a wonderful thought. That all we have to do is repent and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the savior of the world, the 2nd person of the holy trinity, the only son of God who was sent by the father to take on human flesh, to live a perfect sinless life, to be rejected by the world who loves their sin, to be humiliated, scourged and to ultimately die being hung on a cross, as an atonement for the sins of his people who were chosen before the world began by God the father, that he would decend into hell, rise from the grave on the third day and after 40 days of visiting and ministering to various thousands of people to then ascend back into heaven where he sits on his throne, all power being given to him and to be our advocate to the father. And no works by us have to be done, all we have to is trust, believe and live a life of obedience that springs from that trust and belief and we WILL inherit his Kingdom as brothers and sisters along side our brother and Lord Jesus the King of King.

But even in that short time after the ministry and death of the savior had been subjected to all manner of false teaching and error. and Peter is reminding the people that we as folLowers of Christ have been called out of the darkness into the marvelous light that is Christ Jesus. Ya know one motto of the 16 th century reformation was Ex Tenebras Lux. Which mean “out of the darkness, light. When the light of the gospel Shone, the world was changed The darkness fled before the light. Today there is a saying quite similar in pejorative we use when someone is converted that simply goes”they saw the light” And Only God can do that can show someone that light.

Verse 10 Peter reminds the people of the grace and mercy that had been made available now to the gentiles.RC Sproul in his commentary on this epistle says That Peter must surely have been thinking of the prophet Hosea at the time he was writing this who was called by God to marry a woman of harlotry. The children she bore were given names significant of Gods judgement on his people. Hosea 1:3–9 “So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.””

Sproul continues, Every Jew knew that story. so when Peter told them you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation , his own special people, they would have understood that they, a people who were once Lo-Ammi, not a people, had become a people of God.Those who were Lo- Ruhame ,who had not obtained mercy, have now obtained mercy.

This is what God has done for us. He called us out of the darkness to be His people, and the vessels of his mercy. What a glorious destiny believers have in store.

v 11-12

the first time we see the term sojourners used to describe Gods people is in Leviticus 25:23 Moses tells the Hebrews“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.”

Peter is reminding us that we are yet strangers to this world. Exiles who while we must live in this world are not of this world. To abstains from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. This is one of the biggest battles we face as believers. I submit to you that these passions are at the the very top of the list of sins that Satan tempts us with. Because they seem as though they are only harming us and we are more willing to make excuses for things which we perceive to affect only us. Yet there is not one single sin that occurs in a vacuum. Because any sin that is committed is comitted first agaisnt the holy and righteous God. and that fact should cause us to tremble just at the thought of it.

In Chapter 3 of this epistle Peter tells us

1 Peter 3:16 “having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

So that when the unbelieving world seeks to slander us ,then people can see the lie that is being put forth about us.

Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”

We need to remember who we once were and who we are now. We should always be repenting; turning away from sin yet not forgetting those sins that we will likely still war with in this life. But keep in mind dear Christians the promise of hope, the promise of eternal life free of strife, bitterness, and sorrow. Remembering who we are and who we once and how far the holy spirit has brought us since we were saved from the wrath of God will help us to stay on the Path to holiness.