1 Peter 2 - Grow Up!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 1 Peter 2

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Peter uses the metaphor of physical maturity to illustrate the lack of spiritual maturity in the believers scattered throughout Asia Minor. They have been called by God, so he urges them to hunger for spiritual milk so that they may grow up in their salvation. What does it mean to grow up in our salvation? 

Though we are saved by grace through faith, and our salvation is assured to us by Jesus' death on the cross, throughout scripture we are told to grow in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Similarly Paul tells us to "continue to work our our salvation". Philippians 2:12-13

Though we are saved once, we still need to grow up in our salvation. What does that mean? When we are saved, we are saved from sin, death, and, the power of the devil. But we often fall back into our former sinful habits and behaviors. To grow up into our salvation is to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ and learn to submit to his leadership in our lives. To grow in our salvation is move from spiritual immaturity to be able to know God's Word and apply it in our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The temple was built by stone. Jesus warned the disciples that the temple would be destroyed and not one stone would be left standing. But Jesus was the Living Stone. The church is the new temple of God. It is not build by literal stones, but is built upon Jesus, who is the cornerstone. In the same way the temple was built stone by stone, we are being built into the spiritual house of God. believer by believer 

Importantly Peter calls us a "holy priest", which has been called "the priesthood of all believers". A priest is a mediator between God and man. In the Old Testament, the priests were required to bring sacrifices as prescribed by the Jewish Law. Once a year at Passover the innocent lamb from the flock was sacrificed to make atonement for the Israelites' sin. 

Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins. He was the once and for all sacrifice. He was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. Though Jesus is the only mediator by which someone can come to the Father, the priesthood of all believers here on earth replaces the old priesthood. 

The priesthood of all believers was an important concept in the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century led by Martin Luther. Martin Luther used this passage as the basis for his refuting the need to go through a Catholic priest to enter God's presence, learn God's word, and be fed with the Holy Sacrament of Communion. 

This meant that every believer has equal access to the Father through Jesus. The corollary is that every believer has the responsibility to act as a priest to other believers, to minister to them, particularly through proclaiming Scripture to them. Luther maintained that there is no spiritual divide between priests and laity; there is simply “one estate” to which all baptized believers belong. Because justification by faith puts all baptized believers on equal footing, there are no tiers of spirituality or hierarchy in accessing God. Luther needed to retrieve the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers because, from the third century onwards, a gulf had opened between ordained and lay people, until it reached something of a chasm in the sixteenth century. - Luther's Works

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

The zealous Jews in Jesus' day did not want to submit to any authority but God. In Romans 13, Paul also calls the believers in Rome to submit to and pray for governing authorities. Importantly any ruler has received their authority from God and will be accountable for how they use it. The purpose of these authorities is to rule with the sword to punish evil doers and keep a civil society. 

For example, there are no governing authorities in Gaza, who are looking out for the Palestinians' best interest. The Hamas has taken over the ruling of Gaza without properly have been given the authority to do so. I.e. A free government with elections. Instead of being an agent of God for justice the Hamas are the ones who need to be punished for their barbaric treatment of both the Jews and their own people. 

As Christians we are called to obey and respect the governing authorities, just like any other authority figure in our lives. I.e. pastors, teachers, parents, police officers We submit to governing authorities out of submission to God. 

This is why we obey the government. Since governments have a rightful authority from God, we are bound to obey them – unless, of course, they order us to do something in contradiction to God’s law. Then, we are commanded to obey God before man (Acts 4:19).

God uses governing authorities as a check upon man’s sinful desires and tendencies. Governments are a useful tool in resisting the effects of man’s fallen nature. Based also on what Paul wrote in Romans 13, we can say that the greatest offense government can make is to fail to punish evildoers, or to reward evildoers through corruption.

Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.

Paul uses a similar logic that slaves should obey their masters. In some cases a slave had a master treated them well, and in other cases not so well. Peter calls them to obey their master in either case again as a sign of submission to God. And if we think this is unfair, Peter points to the example of Jesus. 

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Jesus, who did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, humbled himself and became a servant even to death on a cross. If anyone had a reason not to submit to an earthly ruler it was Jesus, but Jesus entrusted himself to God. By submitting to Roman and Jewish authorities it allowed Jesus to bear our sins on the cross. Jesus, who was completely innocent, died for us who were completely guilty. It is by his wounds that we have been delivered from the slavery of sin. 

Peter clearly meant the cross of Jesus when he mentioned the tree (literally wood). Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the wood – the wood of the cross. Peter stated it here both to constantly remind Christians of the great work of Jesus on the cross, and to show them that even as the suffering of Jesus accomplished much, so their own suffering can be used of God.

What authority do you need to willingly submit to out of submission to the Lord? Which authority is most difficult for you to submit to? How can knowing how Jesus' submitted to the authorities help you to do it?