Session 4: I am a Priest
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Background
Background
The apostle Peter wrote 1 Peter to Christians in Asia Minor, likely between AD 60-61. Asia Minor is modern day Turkey. There was much suffering and persecution at the time, so Peter’s letter serves to remind them that they were a “royal priesthood” with the great privilege and responsibility of devoting their lives to God and declaring His greatness.
How often do you really consider how privileged you are that God revealed His Word to you?
How would you rate your call to the responsibility of devoting your life to Christ?
Look at
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.
Compare this to the following: ; ; ;
Compare this to the following:
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.
; ; ;
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
| this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
| What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
| as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
| For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Verse 5 says we are living stones building up a spritual house. Explain how relate to this
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
2:5 Believers function as building blocks in the spiritual house of God (the temple); they do this by virtue of their new life in Christ. The decision to believe in Jesus Christ admits an individual into a spiritual building program. When anyone comes to Christ, as the Living Stone, a new stone is added to God’s spiritual building—Christ’s church. As a spiritual building, the church is to be influenced or dominated by the Holy Spirit. Christians are a new temple of God under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever considered yourself a priest? What was a primary duty of the priests of Israel in the OT?
Have you ever considered yourself a priest? What was a primary duty of the priests of Israel in the OT?
Peter explains the transfer of priesthood language from Israel to the Church in a later verse (see v. 9 and note). Here Peter reminds his audience of the priesthood’s ultimate purpose: to offer God praise and thanksgiving.
Together we function as a holy priesthood. All believers are priests. Every Christian has immediate and direct access to God through Jesus Christ and serves God personally by bringing others to God.
God the Father places infinite value upon Christ. Precious (entimon) describes our costly redemption through Christ, mentioned in 1:19 (timio).
What about us today? What is our duty as priests? Look at and interpet its meaning for us
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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Together we function as a holy priesthood. All believers are priests. Every Christian has immediate and direct access to God through Jesus Christ and serves God personally by bringing others to God.
A priest offers spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. What are spiritual sacrifices? The Old Testament speaks of spiritual sacrifices of prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance. The New Testament goes even further by identifying spiritual sacrifices as (1) the offering of our bodies to God for his service; (2) the offerings of our financial gifts; and (3) practical, loving service to other people. Spiritual sacrifices in the New Testament involve our bodies, our money, and our time (). When you come to Christ as the Living Stone, you become a part of a building, the church. Your growth begins to speak for itself as you offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.
Those who recognize Jesus are united in a spiritual house becoming a holy priesthood (v. 5). Jesus said He would build (same verb as v. 5) His church (cf. the comments on ): not an earthly building, but the worldwide invisible body with Him as head (cf. ; ; ). Everyone in that body functions as a priest. Spiritual sacrifices are offered through Jesus Christ by this priesthood, which will be accepted. This was foreseen and ordained by God.
Someone read
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.
What is the importance of a cornerstone?
In ancient Israel, the stones in the Temple depend on the cornerstone for direction and support, just as we do today with Jesus.
The last sentence, “as they were destined to do”, what do you think of that? Do we have any say in whether or not we accept Christ or has God already chosen His people?
What is meant by God’s sovereign will? What about being the elect of God? Look at
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
What is meant by God’s sovereign will? What about being the elect of God? Look at
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
What Is Election?
What Is Election?
We may define election as follows: Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
Look at the following: ; ;
Several passages in the New Testament seem to affirm quite clearly that God ordained beforehand those who would be saved.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
For example, when Paul and Barnabas began to preach to the Gentiles in Antioch in Pisidia, Luke writes, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of God; and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” ().
One of the reasons Luke says, almost in passing, that many were “appointed to eternal life” is that he understood the truth Paul would later express in : God “chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.” Paul later adds that “we who were the first to hope in Christ” are to live for “the praise of his glory” ().
p 80 God saved us and called us to himself, not because of our goodness, but because of his own purpose and his unmerited grace in eternity past. Paul says that God is the one “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” ().
John’s vision in Revelation tells us that individual salvation—in this passage spoken of as those whose names are written in the book of life—was determined “from the foundation of the world” ().
What This Means
What This Means
It is important to note that these New Testament authors often present the doctrine of election as a comfort to all who believe in Jesus.
DISTANT PAST—>God foreknew His people to be conformed to the image of His Son ()
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
RECENT PAST—>Those who He foreknew He called to be justified ()
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
FUTURE—> Those whom He justified, He also glorified ()
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
For example, Paul says that God has acted and always will act for the good of those whom he called to himself: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” ().
God has already determined he will someday give perfect, glorified bodies to those who believe in Christ. From eternity to eternity God has acted and will act with the good of his people in mind. Election is thus a cause for comfort and for assurance that God will work for our good today.
So what should our response be? Look at and
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
Don’t you find it awesome to think that God has chosen you to reveal the Truth of His Son?
Singing praises to God for salvation does not leave any room for singing our own praises, because our salvation is not our own work but is a gift from God ().
p 81 A natural response to God’s work on our behalf is that we would live “to the praise of his glory” (). We can, as Paul did, give thanks to God for those he has chosen (), knowing that God is the one ultimately responsible for their salvation and all the good things that accompany it. In fact, Paul says we are obligated to give thanks to God for such a great salvation ().
Singing praises to God for salvation does not leave any room for singing our own praises, because our salvation is not our own work but is a gift from God ().
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Then Why Evangelize?
Then Why Evangelize?
Look at what Paul wrote in
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Paul knew that God has chosen some people to be saved, and he saw this as an encouragement—not discouragement—to preach the gospel, even if it meant enduring great suffering. Election was Paul’s guarantee that there would be some success for his evangelism, for he knew that some of the people he spoke to would be the elect and that they would believe the gospel and be saved. It is as if someone invited Paul to come fishing and said, “I guarantee that you will catch some fish—they are hungry and waiting.”
10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
What This Doesn’t Mean
What This Doesn’t Mean
Affirming the doctrine of election does not mean that our choices don’t matter and our actions don’t have any consequences. Nor does the doctrine of election require us to affirm an impersonal, inflexible universe that is controlled by an impersonal, inflexible force.
The New Testament presents the entire outworking of salvation as something brought about by a personal God deeply in love with personal creatures. “In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ” (). God’s act of election was permeated with personal love for those whom he chose (see also ; and ). p 82 Moreover, Scripture continually views us as personal creatures who make willing choices to accept or reject the gospel. For example, this is seen clearly in the invitation at the end of Revelation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (). This invitation and many others like it (for example, ) are addressed to genuine persons who are capable of hearing the invitation and responding to it by a decision of their wills. These real decisions have eternal consequences, as is shown in : “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
While a proper understanding of election does give real value to our decisions and choices, it does not mean that God’s decision was based upon our choices. When God chose individuals “before the foundation of the world” (), he did not do so because he foresaw their faith or some decision they would make. Paul affirms this in when he writes, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined.” When Paul speaks about God’s foreknowledge, he is thinking of God as knowing persons (“those whom”). God “foreknew” these individuals in the context of a saving relationship with them. This is different from speaking about foreknowledge of an individual’s actions or decisions such as a decision to believe.
In fact, Scripture never speaks of faith (present or future) as the reason God chose someone. In , Paul says, “In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.” If election were ultimately based on our decision, it would seem to diminish God’s love, cheapen his grace (for there would be some merit on our part), and diminish the glory that is due him for our salvation.
Are We Really Free?
We aren’t forced to make choices contrary to our own will. We ultimately do what we desire to do. Making choices is part of what it means to be a human being in God’s image, for we imitate God’s own activity of deciding to do things that are consistent with his character.
In fact, if God works through our choices and desires to bring about his plan, this preserves our ability to choose willingly while at the same time assuring that our choices will be in accord with what God decided and ordained would happen.
What About Those Not Elected?
What About Those Not Elected?
Furthermore, God also created us so that our choices would be real choices. However, our choices do not need to be absolutely free of any involvement by God in order to be real, voluntary, willing choices. To take another example, while we make the choice to breathe many times every day, God, as our Creator and Sustainer, is intricately involved with us in that decision, for God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (), and Christ continually “upholds the universe by the word of his power” ().
Look at , and
Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
This is the consistent pattern in Scripture: People who remain in unbelief do so because they are unwilling to come to God, and the blame for such unbelief always lies with the unbelievers themselves, never with God. Once again, we probably will not be able to fully understand in this age just how this can be so.
Is God Really Fair?
Is God Really Fair?
Look at
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
Final Thought: Quote from Jonathan Edwards, 18th Century theologian:
It is important to understand what “fair” really is with respect to salvation. Indeed, it would be perfectly fair for God not to save any human beings who sinned and rebelled against him, just as he did with the angels: “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” (). But if he does save any human beings, then this is a demonstration of grace, which goes far beyond the requirements of fairness and justice. If God saved only five people out of the whole human race, this would be mercy and grace. If he saved one hundred, this would be amazing mercy and grace. But in fact he has decided to save “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes p 85 and peoples and languages” (). This is mercy beyond our comprehension.
Paul raises this question on a deeper level in . After saying that God “has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills” (), Paul then writes, “You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’ ” (). In essence, Paul is giving voice to a very common question: If each person’s ultimate destiny is determined by God, then how can this be fair? Even when people make willing choices, determining whether they will be saved or not, if God is actually somehow behind those choices, then how can he be fair?
Here is what Paul says:
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ()
Paul is essentially saying that there is a point beyond which we cannot answer back to God or question his justice. God has done what he has done according to his sovereign will. He is the Creator; we are the creatures, and we ultimately have no basis from which to accuse him of unfairness or injustice. Our response to these words in Romans reveals a lot about our hearts and our willingness to submit to our sovereign Creator.
Does God Want Everyone to Be Saved?
If election is true, then does God still want everybody to be saved? Yes, according to some Scripture passages. In , Paul writes of our God and Savior “who desires all people to be saved and to come p 86 to the knowledge of the truth.” Peter says the same thing in when he writes that the Lord “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
While people will disagree on the interpretation of these verses, most will agree, on reflection, that there are some things that God desires more than others. Oftentimes, people who do not agree with the doctrine of election will say, based on these verses and others, that God desires to preserve man’s free will more than he desires to save every person. But people who support the doctrine of election will say that God desires to further his glory more than he desires to save every person and that passages like indicate that his glory is furthered by saving some people but not all. (Christians on both sides of the debate agree that not everybody will be saved.) How then can both sides say that God desires everyone to be saved, in accordance with verses like and ? These verses tell us what God commands people to do and what actions please him (namely, repenting and believing in Christ). In this sense he truly “desires” and “wishes” that every person be saved. This is what is sometimes called his “revealed” will, what he tells everybody on earth they should do. But such verses are not talking about God’s secret, hidden plans from all eternity to choose some people to be saved.
The fact that not everyone will be saved is one of the most difficult doctrines in Scripture to consider. The Bible indicates that even God has great sorrow when he thinks about those who will not be saved. “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (). When Jesus thought of the people who rejected him in Jerusalem, “he wept over it” (), and he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (). And the apostle Paul says, “I have great sorrow p 87 and unceasing anguish in my heart” () when he thinks about his Jewish brothers and sisters who have rejected Christ. The love that God gives us for our fellow human beings and the love he commands us to have for our neighbor cause us great sorrow when we realize that not everyone will be saved. And yet the punishment of sinners is a righteous outworking of God’s justice, and we should not think that it is wrong.
In addition, God gives all human beings innumerable blessings in this life that are not part of salvation. This doctrine is sometimes called “common grace” because it refers to a manifestation of God’s grace that is common to all people and is different from God’s saving grace.
Final Thought: Quote from Jonathan Edwards, 18th Century theologian:
When any of us sin, we deserve one thing: eternal separation from God. We deserve to be cut off from experiencing any good from God and to live forever in hell, receiving only his wrath eternally. As says, “The wages of sin is death.” But the punishment for sin is not immediately felt. Instead, all mankind—regardless of whether they will ultimately receive God’s grace or God’s judgment—will continue to receive many blessings while on earth.
Sometimes those blessings will be physical. Jesus says, in , that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The Creator of the universe sees to it that all people—those who believe in Jesus and those who have rejected his claims—receive from the abundance of his earth.
God’s grace is also seen in the intellectual realm. Although Satan is “a liar and the father of lies” and “there is no truth in him” (), even those who reject the claims of Jesus are not fully given over to falsehood and irrationality. Instead, many who clearly rejected God have made incredible discoveries and inventions. They did so not knowing that they were enlightened by Jesus, “the true light which enlightens everyone” (). When we benefit from these p 88 advancements, we are benefiting, ultimately, from God’s common grace.
This common grace is seen in many other areas of life: the moral realm (people are not as evil as they could be), the creative realm (we can both produce and appreciate many different kinds of good and beautiful things), the societal realm (many communities, institutions, and governments protect and provide for their members and constituents), and even the religious realm (Jesus tells his followers in to pray for their persecutors, showing that God answers many prayers that are prayed for the benefit of unbelievers).
Although common grace does not save people, God’s delaying his judgment allows many to come to salvation: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (). Such common grace already demonstrates a large measure of God’s goodness and mercy toward all mankind. His continual pouring out of blessings on all people will show him as just on the day of judgment when he finally punishes those who rejected him. Finally, as in all things, God’s bestowing common grace on all people demonstrates his glory through their imitation of his character in their many activities. Therefore, we can appreciate and enjoy the manifestation of God’s grace through all people, recognizing that ultimately God deserves the praise and glory for these blessings.
It’s All Grace
The doctrine of election demonstrates to us that God loved us, not for who we are or what we have done or will do, but simply because he decided to love us. Therefore, our appropriate response to God is to give him praise for all eternity. Our appropriate response to others is humility since individually we have no claim on any portion of God’s grace—it’s all a gift from him.
As it stands, the concept of God electing those who will be saved isn’t controversial. What is controversial is how and in what manner God chooses those who will be saved. Throughout church history, there have been two main views on the doctrine of election (or predestination). One view, which we will call the prescient or foreknowledge view, teaches that God, through His omniscience, knows those who will in the course of time choose of their own free will to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation. On the basis of this divine foreknowledge, God elects these individuals “before the foundation of the world” (). This view is held by the majority of American evangelicals.
The second main view is the Augustinian view, which essentially teaches that God not only divinely elects those who will have faith in Jesus Christ, but also divinely elects to grant to these individuals the faith to believe in Christ. In other words, God’s election unto salvation is not based on a foreknowledge of an individual’s faith, but is based on the free, sovereign grace of Almighty God. God elects people to salvation, and in time these people will come to faith in Christ because God has elected them.
The difference boils down to this: who has the ultimate choice in salvation—God or man? In the first view (the prescient view), man has control; his free will is sovereign and becomes the determining factor in God’s election. God can provide the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, but man must choose Christ for himself in order to make salvation real. Ultimately, this view diminishes the biblical understanding of God's sovereignty. This view puts the Creator's provision of salvation at the mercy of the creature; if God wants people in heaven, He has to hope that man will freely choose His way of salvation. In reality, the prescient view of election is no view of election at all, because God is not really choosing—He is only confirming. It is man who is the ultimate chooser.
In the Augustinian view, God has control; He is the one who, of His own sovereign will, freely chooses those whom He will save. He not only elects those whom He will save, but He actually accomplishes their salvation. Rather than simply make salvation possible, God chooses those whom He will save and then saves them. This view puts God in His proper place as Creator and Sovereign.
The Augustinian view is not without problems of its own. Critics have claimed that this view robs man of his free will. If God chooses those who will be saved, then what difference does it make for man to believe? Why preach the gospel? Furthermore, if God elects according to His sovereign will, then how can we be responsible for our actions? These are all good and fair questions that need to be answered. A good passage to answer these questions is , the most in-depth passage dealing with God’s sovereignty in election.
The context of the passage flows from , which ends with a great climax of praise: “For I am convinced that... [nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (). This leads Paul to consider how a Jew might respond to that statement. While Jesus came to the lost children of Israel and while the early church was largely Jewish in makeup, the gospel was spreading among the Gentiles much faster than among the Jews. In fact, most Jews saw the gospel as a stumbling block () and rejected Jesus. This would lead the average Jew to wonder if God’s plan of election has failed, since most Jews reject the message of the gospel.
“The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.”
Throughout , Paul systematically shows that God’s sovereign election has been in force from the very beginning. He begins with a crucial statement: “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (). This means that not all people of ethnic Israel (that is, those descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) belong to true Israel (the elect of God). Reviewing the history of Israel, Paul shows that God chose Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. Just in case anyone thinks that God was choosing these individuals based on the faith or good works they would do in the future, he adds, “Though they [Jacob and Esau] were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls” ().
At this point, one might be tempted to accuse God of acting unjustly. Paul anticipates this accusation in v. 14, stating plainly that God is not unjust in any way. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (). God is sovereign over His creation. He is free to choose those whom He will choose, and He is free to pass by those whom He will pass by. The creature has no right to accuse the Creator of being unjust. The very thought that the creature can stand in judgment of the Creator is absurd to Paul, and it should be so to every Christian, as well. The balance of substantiates this point.
As already mentioned, there are other passages that talk to a lesser extent on the topic of God’s elect ( and , to name a couple). The point is that God has ordained to redeem a remnant of humanity to salvation. These elect individuals were chosen before the creation of the world, and their salvation is complete in Christ. As Paul says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” ().
Peter is not saying that people are destined to disobey; rather, people are destined to stumble since the gospel message is hard to accept and live by, as it requires complete self-sacrifice. Those who believe the message, which at first seems offensive, regard the cornerstone to be a precious thing (see v. 7). Compare and note.
2:4–10 A Description of the People of God
Second, he described the church as a building or structure founded on Christ as the cornerstone (2:6–8). He quoted Old Testament passages from ; and to show that Christ was a foundation stone for believers and a rock which caused tripping for unbelievers.
Peter cites several passages using the stone metaphor (vv. 6–8; cf. ; , and ). Those believing in Jesus hold Him in highest honor (precious value). Those who refuse to believe find this stone to be an instrument of judgment. Since they did not believe, God ordained they would experience His appointed judgment (cf. where Jesus quoted this same psalm and applied it to the chief priests and Pharisees who were rejecting Him). See the comments on for the possibility that God predestines those who are condemned.
2:8 In stumbling, unbelievers fulfill the prophecy in , where the stone God has established becomes the means of their falling. Their stumbling, however, is their own fault, for they are tripped up because of their refusal to obey the “word” of the gospel. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. It is more likely that Peter teaches that God appoints all that will occur (cf. note on ). In teaching this, Peter does not deny human responsibility, for he emphasizes that people are guilty if they fail to believe (they “stumble because they disobey”).
In verse 2:8 Peter cites to offer an explanation for the world’s rejection of Christ. Compare this to
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.”
33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
This reveals that Peter’s point is not that some people are preordained to destruction, but that some will stumble over the “cornerstone,” Jesus. The cornerstone is set firmly in place, so for those who do not acknowledge it, it is a stumbling block and thus offensive—it is viewed as being in the way of their perceived path.
Peter is not saying that people are destined to disobey; rather, people are destined to stumble since the gospel message is hard to accept and live by, as it requires complete self-sacrifice. Those who believe the message, which at first seems offensive, regard the cornerstone to be a precious thing (see v. 7). Compare and note.
The lost shall lay all the blame of their ruin on their own sinful perversity, not on God’s decree; the saved shall ascribe all the merit of their salvation to God’s electing love and grace.
Let’s move on to
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. 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.
Compare this to and
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.”
and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”
Peter picks up what is said of Israel in and applies it to the church. The church is a royal priesthood and God’s holy nation. As God’s chosen ones, Christians are to proclaim the excellencies of the one who summoned them from darkness and ushered them into his marvelous light to portray believers as a select nation reflecting the glories of God (2:9–10). God had fashioned special recipients of His mercy from those who previously never belonged to anyone.
Third, he used the language of and to portray believers as a select nation reflecting the glories of God (2:9–10). God had fashioned special recipients of His mercy from those who previously never belonged to anyone.
Verse 9 speaks of “proclaiming the excellencies”. What is this a call to do?
Peter reminds his audience that their time living in exile serves as an opportunity to mediate God’s blessing to the foreigners around them.
In the ot, beginning with the exodus narrative, the people of Israel are often described as a nation chosen by God to serve as a priesthood (see ; ; ; ; ). This language is now applied to believers in Jesus since they are connected to the cornerstone, Christ, and belong to the chosen people of God (). As a royal priesthood, all believers are set apart as ministers of the new covenant to the world. Thus, Peter reminds his audience that their time living in exile serves as an opportunity to mediate God’s blessing to the foreigners around them (see 1:1 and note).
chosen—“elect” of God, even as Christ your Lord is.
generation—implying the unity of spiritual origin and kindred of believers as a class distinct from the world.
royal—kingly. Believers, like Christ, the antitypical Melchisedec, are at once kings and priests. Israel, in a spiritual sense, was designed to be the same among the nations of the earth. The full realization on earth of this, both to the literal and the spiritual Israel, is as yet future.
holy nation—antitypical to Israel.
peculiar people—literally, “a people for an acquisition,” that is, whom God chose to be peculiarly His: , “purchased,” literally, “acquired.” God’s “peculiar treasure” above others.
show forth—publish abroad. Not their own praises but His. They have no reason to magnify themselves above others for once they had been in the same darkness, and only through God’s grace had been brought to the light which they must henceforth show forth to others.
praises—Greek, “virtues,” “excellencies”: His glory, mercy (), goodness (Greek, ; , ; ). The same term is applied to believers, .
of him who hath called you—().
out of darkness—of heathen and even Jewish ignorance, sin, and misery, and so out of the dominion of the prince of darkness.
marvellous—Peter still has in mind .
light—It is called “His,” that is, God’s. Only the (spiritual) light is created by God, not darkness. In , it is physical darkness and evil, not moral, that God is said to create, the punishment of sin, not sin itself. Peter, with characteristic boldness, brands as darkness what all the world calls light; reason, without the Holy Spirit, in spite of its vaunted power, is spiritual darkness. “It cannot apprehend what faith is: there it is stark blind; it gropes as one that is without eyesight, stumbling from one thing to another, and knows not what it does” [Luther].
2:9–12. Unlike those who are rejected by God (see 2:8), Peter’s readers are a chosen race (v. 9), probably referring to Jewish believers; a royal priesthood, a function no longer related to one tribe. They are a holy nation, a set apart group, a people for God’s own possession. Many scholars claim that this verse indicates that the Church replaces Israel in God’s program, that the Church is the “New Israel,” and that ethnic Israel has significance in God’s plans only as it is incorporated into the Church that replaces Israel. But Peter is writing primarily to Jewish believers, and these terms are perfectly suitable for the present remnant of Israel, for Jewish believers during the current Church Age. This terminology pertains to redeemed ethnic Israel, not to Gentiles becoming part of Israel by virtue of being in the Church, and cannot be used to support replacement theology. Some things have value because of their owner. God’s purpose is for believers to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. God’s excellencies are His virtues, His eminent qualities, which are to be reflected through believers. They were alienated from God, but through mercy (cf. 1:3) they are members of His family (v. 10). As aliens and strangers, these Jewish believers who were dispersed should live to bring praise to God. This will occur as readers abstain (hold back) from fleshly lusts (v. 11), a term referring to desires from man’s corrupt nature, desires that fight against man’s soul. Positively, Peter urges these Jewish believers to keep their behavior excellent among the pagan Gentiles (v. 12). Excellent implies being “good” or “honest.” A good paraphrase would be “winsome.” Even a winsome believer might be slandered as an evildoer. But a final accounting is coming, a day of visitation, when evildoers will acknowledge the truthful character of believers they have maligned.
10. Adapted from , ; . Peter plainly confirms Paul, who quotes the passage as implying the call of the Gentiles to become spiritually that which Israel had been literally, “the people of God.” Primarily, the prophecy refers to literal Israel, hereafter to be fully that which in their best days they were only partially, God’s people.
not obtained mercy—literally, “who were men not compassionated.” Implying that it was God’s pure mercy, not their merits, which made the blessed change in their state; a thought which ought to kindle their lively gratitude, to be shown with their life, as well as their lips.
2:10 Peter alludes to texts in Hosea that refer to Israel (, , ; ) and sees them fulfilled in the church.
Go to
whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”
What are the passions of the flesh? Look at ;
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
Why should Christians abstain from such things?
Dearly beloved—He gains their attention to his exhortation by assuring them of his love.
strangers and pilgrims—(). Sojourners, literally, settlers having a house in a city without being citizens in respect to the rights of citizenship; a picture of the Christian’s position on earth; and pilgrims, staying for a time in a foreign land. Flacius thus analyzes the exhortation: (1) Purify your souls (a) as strangers on earth who must not allow yourselves to be kept back by earthly lusts, and (b) because these lusts war against the soul’s salvation. (2) Walk piously among unbelievers (a) so that they may cease to calumniate Christians, and (b) may themselves be converted to Christ.
fleshly lusts—enumerated in , &c. Not only the gross appetites which we have in common with the brutes, but all the thoughts of the unrenewed mind.
which—Greek, “the which,” that is, inasmuch as being such as “war.” &c. Not only do they impede, but they assail [Bengel].
the soul—that is, against the regenerated soul; such as were those now addressed. The regenerated soul is besieged by sinful lusts. Like Samson in the lap of Delilah, the believer, the moment that he gives way to fleshly lusts, has the locks of his strength shorn, and ceases to maintain that spiritual separation from the world and the flesh of which the Nazarite vow was the type.
2:11–4:11 Living as Aliens to Bring Glory to God in a Hostile World. Peter explains how believers should live as exiles amid a world that rejects their message. They bear witness to the gospel when they live in a way that pleases God.
2:11–12 The Christian Life as a Battle and a Witness. These verses introduce 2:11–4:11, emphasizing that those who have trusted in Christ bear witness to the gospel by their conduct.
2:11 Beloved signals a major new section in the letter (cf. 4:12). Believers are sojourners and exiles (cf. 1:1, 17), awaiting their end-time inheritance. The pleasures of the world are tempting and enticing nonetheless, hence there is a great struggle and warfare against such desires. Believers are to abstain from sinful passions, for they wage war against your soul: holding on to sinful desires brings spiritual harm.
2:12 Peter refers to unbelievers as Gentiles, which is in keeping with his understanding of believers being a new Israel (see note on 1:1). Believers are to live godly lives even though they will often be criticized by unbelievers. When believers do good deeds, some unbelievers will repent and believe and thus glorify God. Peter clearly alludes to here (“let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”). On the day of visitation may refer to the initial conversion of the believer through the regenerating work (“visitation”) of the Holy Spirit, or it may refer to the way in which those who become believers will glorify God on the last day, the day of judgment. To “glorify God” should probably be understood in the broad sense that the believer will glorify God in many ways—e.g., by believing (cf. ; , ), through the doing of “good deeds” (cf. ), and at the end of the age (cf. ; ).
2:11 Believers, as those who have received eternal life, temporarily live in this world until either their death or Jesus’ return. Thus, for a believer, life in this world is equivalent to how a foreigner or refugee feels.
This parallels how the Greek text of describes God’s Son taking on flesh (see note on ). Just as Jesus was not a permanent member of the world, neither are believers.
II. At Home, But Not in This World (2:11–3:12)
In the second section of his letter Peter tackles the question that arises at the end of the first. If Christians must reckon themselves to be gloriously different from what they appear to be, if they must look beyond their scatteredness and suffering and see themselves as God’s chosen people, then what should their attitude be toward their earthly circumstances? Peter’s readers must have been tempted to respond to persecution by adopting an antiworld attitude and withdrawing as much as possible into the comforting warmth of Christian fellowship.
But Peter will not let them do this, even though he has underlined so powerfully their new and hidden status as God’s people and the life and love that binds them. Withdrawal from the world is not an option for Christians. Rather, their difference must be expressed through the distinctiveness of their life within their earthly callings.
A. The Christian’s inner self (2:11–12). In verse 11 Peter reaffirms the general attitude toward the world which ran through the first section of his letter. His readers are “aliens and strangers” in it; their home and their roots are elsewhere. It is natural therefore that he should go on to urge them to abstain from sinful (lit. fleshly) desires. This world is not our true home, and the flesh seeks to stifle the life of the Spirit within us. Though we may be citizens of another world, we still have to “live … among the pagans,” and do so in a way which testifies clearly to the existence and power of that new world. This declaration depends not so much on word (Peter is remarkably silent about verbal witnessing), as on behavior. Non-Christians watch what we do. The word translated see means to watch over a period of time, implying prolonged observation. We must see to it that, even though we may be mocked (or apparently disregarded), the evidence of our lives will speak so loudly that, on the day of judgment, non-Christians will glorify God, because they will have to concede that the testimony was laid before them quite unambiguously, even if they failed to heed it. What we are on the inside (v. 11) will become obvious on the outside (v. 12).
Christ is the chief Corner-stone, that unites the whole number of believers into one everlasting temple, and bears the weight of the whole fabric. Elected, or chosen, for a foundation that is everlasting. Precious beyond compare, by all that can give worth. To be built on Christ means, to believe in him; but in this many deceive themselves, they consider not what it is, nor the necessity of it, to partake of the salvation he has wrought. Though the frame of the world were falling to pieces, that man who is built on this foundation may hear it without fear. He shall not be confounded. The believing soul makes haste to Christ, but it never finds cause to hasten from him. All true Christians are a chosen generation; they make one family, a people distinct from the world: of another spirit, principle, and practice; which they could never be, if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by his Spirit. Their first state is a state of gross darkness, but they are called out of darkness into a state of joy, pleasure, and prosperity; that they should show forth the praises of the Lord by their profession of his truth, and their good conduct. How vast their obligations to Him who has made them his people, and has shown mercy to them! To be without this mercy is a woful state, though a man have all worldly enjoyments. And there is nothing that so kindly works repentance, as right thoughts of the mercy and love of God. Let us not dare to abuse and affront the free grace of God, if we mean to be saved by it; but let all who would be found among those who obtain mercy, walk as his people.
Because these actions mount a full military campaign against our spiritual vitality and growth. Consistently satisfying our desires in a manner contrary to the Word of God or consistently giving in to sinful desires will ultimately tear down the believer. To entertain such desires may appear attractive and harmless, but they are enemies which inflict harm on the Christian’s soul, making us spiritually weak and ineffective.
Verses 11, 12
Even the best of men, the chosen generation, the people of God, need to be exhorted to keep from the worst sins. And fleshly lusts are most destructive to man’s soul. It is a sore judgment to be given up to them. There is a day of visitation coming, wherein God may call to repentance by his word and his grace; then many will glorify God, and the holy lives of his people will have promoted the happy change.
2:12 Peter encourages his readers to maintain good conduct so that they can positively testify to others—in this case, the Gentiles —of God’s grace.
12. conversation—“behavior”; “conduct.” There are two things in which “strangers and pilgrims” ought to bear themselves well: (1) the conversation or conduct, as subjects (), servants (), wives (), husbands (), all persons under all circumstances (); (2) confession of the faith (, ). Each of the two is derived from the will of God. Our conversation should correspond to our Saviour’s condition; this is in heaven, so ought that to be.
honest—honorable, becoming, proper (). Contrast “vain conversation,” . A good walk does not make us pious, but we must first be pious and believe before we attempt to lead a good course. [Luther].
whereas they speak against you—now (), that they may, nevertheless, at some time or other hereafter glorify God. The Greek may be rendered, “Wherein they speak against you … that (herein) they may, by your good works, which on a closer inspection they shall behold, glorify God.” The very works “which on more careful consideration, must move the heathen to praise God, are at first the object of hatred and raillery” [Steiger].
evildoers—Because as Christians they could not conform to heathenish customs, they were accused of disobedience to all legal authority; in order to rebut this charge, they are told to submit to every ordinance of man (not sinful in itself).
by—owing to.
they shall behold—Greek, “they shall be eye-witnesses of”; “shall behold on close inspection”; as opposed to their “ignorance” () of the true character of Christians and Christianity, by judging on mere hearsay. The same Greek verb occurs in a similar sense in . “Other men narrowly look at (so the Greek implies) the actions of the righteous” [Bengel]. Tertullian contrasts the early Christians and the heathen: these delighted in the bloody gladiatorial spectacles of the amphitheater, whereas a Christian was excommunicated if he went to it at all. No Christian was found in prison for crime, but only for the faith. The heathen excluded slaves from some of their religious services, whereas Christians had some of their presbyters of the class of slaves. Slavery silently and gradually disappeared by the power of the Christian law of love, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” When the pagans deserted their nearest relatives in a plague, Christians ministered to the sick and dying. When the Gentiles left their dead unburied after a battle and cast their wounded into the streets, the disciples hastened to relieve the suffering.
glorify—forming a high estimate of the God whom Christians worship, from the exemplary conduct of Christians themselves. We must do good, not with a view to our own glory, but to the glory of God.
the day of visitation—of God’s grace; when God shall visit them in mercy.
SUPPORTING IDEA: Becoming an advertisement for the excellent attributes of God includes not only a verbal testimony but also an active testimony of living day to day.
2:11–12. A sense of urgency marks this section. It is important that we take very seriously our identity in Christ and begin to demonstrate spiritual growth through our daily lives. Aliens and strangers in the world repeats the opening address of this letter (see 1:1). It reminds us that as temporary residents in this world we should show a certain detachment from the world. A believer should abstain from certain behaviors. The word suggests a holding back, a walking away from, or an avoidance of what are described as sinful desires, which war against your soul. “Sinful desires” is best understood as “strong desires motivated by selfishness.” Some desires are not wrong or sinful in themselves. These become wrong when the believer attempts to satisfy those desires in ways that are contrary to God’s Word. Other desires are wrong “out of the gate” and are to be avoided. (For a more detailed description of what these desires are, see and .)
Why should Christians abstain from such things? Because these actions mount a full military campaign against our spiritual vitality and growth. Consistently satisfying our desires in a manner contrary to the Word of God or consistently giving in to sinful desires will ultimately tear down the believer. To entertain such desires may appear attractive and harmless, but they are enemies which inflict harm on the Christian’s soul, making us spiritually weak and ineffective.
The opposite result is described in verse 12. This verse makes it apparent that the early church was under immense scrutiny and criticism. Rumors and false accusations abounded. Christians were accused of being disloyal to the state, or Caesar. They were accused of purposely hurting the business enterprises of the city and of being godless people because they did not own idols. Peter advised them not to try to defend themselves or to argue with words against their accusers. Instead, they should take a positive approach and demonstrate a different quality of life that non-believers will observe.
This verb refers to more than a casual observation of a person’s behavior. It means “to watch over a long period of time.” It suggests making mental notes and reviewing them. Our behavior over the long haul should be so positive that it will dismantle the negative accusations. That’s why Peter wrote, Live such good lives among the pagans (italics added). That kind of lifestyle testimony may be the argument that wins the critic to Christ: they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Some interpreters suggest that this day of visitation refers to the judgment of God as the second coming of Christ. In light of the context, this seems unlikely. Peter’s desire was for his readers to witness positively to nonbelievers through their lives, so it is more likely that the “day of visitation” refers to the time of their salvation, when God visits them with mercy and grace.
Reflection
Reflection
Peter made multiple allusions to OT Scripture. What meaning does that have for us today?