LIVING STONES!
LIVING STONES!
Coming to Him!
“As you come to him” (pros hon proserchomenoi) probably reflects Psalm 34:5 (LXX 33:6, proselthate pros auton, “come to him”). Christians “come” to Christ in salvation, but their continual “coming” may also be included in the present tense.
The Living Stone!
Jesus Christ is identified as the “living Stone,” which refers to his stability as the risen Lord. God’s raising of Jesus from the dead shows Jesus’ value and God’s choice of him.
Rejected!
The “rejection” of Christ is, first, the valuation of Jesus by the nation (Matt 26:14–15; Acts 2:22–24; 3:13–15; 4:10–11) and, second, the current rejection of him by the disobedient in every land.
and, second, the current rejection of him by the disobedient in every land.
Living Stones . . . spiritual house
Jesus’ great prophecy to Peter (.)
Peter sees, in the coming of individuals to Jesus the Rock, the building of a new spiritual edifice. Solomon was amazed at the thought of God’s gracious condescension in dwelling among his people and in a house (temple) that Solomon built (1 Kings 8:27). Now the localized manifestation of God’s presence on earth is replaced by his indwelling of all believers (1 Cor 3:17, 6:19).
“Are being built” (oikodomeisthe) is best taken as an indicative (NIV) rather than an imperative: “Be yourselves built” (RSV). The verb is to be understood as customary or timeless. Thus the thought is that when anyone comes to Christ a new stone is added to the “spiritual” house. The use of the word “spiritual” does not mean that what Peter is speaking of is less “real” than a material house or material sacrifices. Rather, the material sacrifices and temples that were shadows of the reality to come are now superseded. The OT spoke of the offerings of prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance (Pss 50:14; 51:19; 107:22; 141:2) in addition to the material sacrifices and offerings. The NT speaks of the offering of “faith” (Philippians 2:17), gifts as “a fragrant offering” (Philippians 4:18), “your bodies as living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1), “a sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15), the conversion of the Gentiles as “an offering acceptable to God” (Rom 15:16), and Paul’s coming death as “a drink offering” (2 Tim 4:6; cf. Schelkle, pp. 58–59).
A Chosen Stone!
Next Peter cites Scripture to support his teaching. The quotation of Isaiah 28:16 refers to God’s foundation stone, carefully chosen and very costly, placed in position in Zion. The picture is from the building of a temple. At great cost and care the corner foundation stone was obtained, moved, and laid. Hillyer mentions one stone in a quarry that was sixty-nine feet by twelve feet by thirteen feet (“ ‘Rock-Stone’ Imagery,” p. 66, n.34).
Once this large foundation corner stone was in place, the rest of the building was determined. Isaiah uses this figure to encourage his people to build on the Lord himself, the one who is immovable and unchangeable, rather than on lies and falsehood. The applications of Peter’s use of the figure are self-evident. God has set Jesus forth in Jerusalem as the foundation of the new temple. Whoever builds on this foundation will be established and will never be ashamed (cf. 1 Cor 3:10; Eph 2:20).
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.” Here the Greek literally reads, “For you, therefore, who believe [is] the honor” (timē, cf. BAG, p. 825, 2b). The honor for Christians is linked to their union with Christ. Since Christ is honored by God, so will all who participate in Christ.
The second warning quotation is from Isaiah 8:14, where the disobedient are portrayed as stumbling over the stone. So Peter warns that those who refuse to believe in Jesus as Messiah stumble—“which is also what they were destined for.” What is “destined”? The unbelief of men or the stumbling that is the result of the unbelief? It is common to argue that only the result or stumbling was ordained (so Beare, p. 126; Bigg, p. 133). Peter probably means to say that the appointment of God embraces both the setting forth of Christ and his work and the rejection by men. Peter’s preaching in Acts 2:14–40 makes the same emphasis (cf. esp. v. 23). Scripture in other places teaches that human disobedience is within the plan of God (cf. Rom 11:8, 11, 30–32). Yet it must be recognized that though human disobedience is within God’s plan, it does not become less blameworthy (cf. Acts 2:23). It is important to recognize also that human disobedience is not necessarily final or irretrievable (cf. Hort, p. 123 Selwyn, p. 164–65). Paul says, “God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” (Rom 11:32).