1 Peter 2 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 1 Peter 2:1-3

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.

A. Find Out:

1. Of what 5 things are we to rid ourselves? v.1
2. What are we to be like? v.2a
3. What are we to do? v.2b
4. So what may happen? v.2c
5. What has already happened? v.3

B. Think:

1. What is the connection between his passage and the previous one?
2. How would you sum up the characteristics we are to avoid?
3. What is to be our outlook?

C. Comment:

       Where a passage starts with “therefore” it means “Because of what has gone before, this follows…”.  Because we have been born again, obey the truth, and love one another, there is therefore no room for these things that all indicate hostile relationships. Each one of the listed things only can occur where there is absence of truth, absence of love.

      But the Bible isn’t a book just filled with negatives like “you must not…”. It always comes up with a positive alternative. (The lesson for us in that is that we should never just be negative about people or ideas unless we can come up with equal positives about them as well!)

      Here Peter goes on positively: “crave pure spiritual milk”. Now this doesn’t mean doctrine as it is in Heb 5;12,13, but the context indicates, in contrast to the previous verse, that Peter means utter goodness and love.

      The more we take in (God’s) utter goodness and love AND express it through our lives, the more we will grow up and mature. Some people think that spiritual maturity is being able to quote Scripture, but the Bible itself indicates that it is all about character change, lifestyle being lived out, and the way we relate to and respond to other people.

      That is what Peter has been speaking about, living in truth and love, practically working it out in good relationships. An inability to have good relationships indicates a failure to mature in Christ.

D. Application:

1. We are called to live in truth and love. This is maturity.
2. Children of God yearn for goodness.

Passage: 1 Peter 2:4-10

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. 6 For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.’

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,’

8 and,

‘A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

A. Find Out:

1. How is Jesus described here? v.4
2. How are we and our activity described? v.5
3. How was Jesus described in Scripture? v.6
4. How is he considered by believers and non-believers? v.7,8
5. What 4 ways are we described and what is our purpose? v.9
6. How is our past and present described? v.10

B. Think:

1. How is Jesus’ role described in this passage?
2. How is that role a stumbling block to some?
3. How is our role described?

C. Comment:

       Peter goes to describe our encounters with the Lord but finds himself simply describing the Lord.   First, then, let’s simply consider Jesus’ role.

      He is described as a living capstone or cornerstone, laid in Zion (Jerusalem), who is chosen and precious. Now a cornerstone acts as the base line from which all other stones are built. A capstone holds the other stones of a building in place, being the top or final stone that locks all the other stones of an arch in place. The picture is of Jesus who is the base line for all Christianity, and all other Christians are to align themselves to him. He also holds us in place. For people who don’t believe in him, they just stumble over him, he is a problem to them.

      Next consider our role. We offer “spiritual sacrifices to God”, we are a priesthood, declaring God’s praise. That is every Christian, all called to bring signs of our love to God, offerings of prayer, praise and other people.

     We are also described as “holy” and “royal”, both describing our relationship with God, a people set apart to God and part of His royal family. We are what we are because of what He has done. He exercised His mercy and called us out of the darkness we were in, into His wonderful light.  It is all as a result of His wonderful work, that we can be this sort of people.

D. Application:

1. Jesus is our base line and holds us in place.
2. We now bring glory to God by our lives of praise and thanksgiving.

Passage: 1 Peter 2:9-12

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

A. Find Out:

1. Again, how are we described? v.9a,10a
2. What are we called to do? v.9b
3. How does Peter describe us? v.11a
4. What does he call us to do? v.11b
5. What are we to do and why? v.12

B. Think:

1. How should knowing who you are affect what you do?
2. Read Mt 5:16 How is that echoed in these verses?
3. What will enable us to live these sort of lives?

C. Comment:

       We need to see ourselves as the people of God, a people who have been called by God and who exist purely by His mercy. We need to see that we are related to God, that we are part of a royal family. When we see ourselves as this, we will realise that we are different, we are holy, we are strangers in an alien world. This in turn will help us to separate ourselves from ungodly and unrighteous attitudes and behaviour and turn to godly and righteous lives. When we see ourselves in this light we will find ourselves leading Christ-like lives and other people will be blessed by us and God will be glorified through us.

      This is Peter’s reasoning and it is the reasoning that comes out in the New Testament again and again:

• a) Know who you are so that
• b) as a result your lives will shine for Jesus.

      This is a very positive form of encouragement. It is not, “Now, now, God loves you. It will be all right in the end” but rather, “Know who you are and why you are and then BE that sort of person in reality and change the world by it!”.

      That isn’t just struggle to be that on your own. The reality is that God has made us what we are at new birth and that involved Him placing His Holy Spirit within us so that He is the power source within us that enables us to be, in reality, what He has declared us to be, and that to change the world!

D. Application: 

1. We are chosen, special, different, related to God, born of God.
2. With His power within we can live that out in reality.

Passage: 1 Peter 2:13-19

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, honour the emperor. 18 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. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.

A. Find Out:

1. What are we to do and why? v.13,14
2. How should we silence ignorant talk? v.15
3. How are we to live but what are we not to do? v.16
4. In what 3 ways are we to show respect? v.17
5. Who are slaves to submit to? v.18
6. Why? v.19 

B. Think:

1. What is the Christian’s attitude to be towards human authority?
2. How should a Christian respond to an employer?
3. What positive motivation is given in these verses?

C. Comment:

       First comes the BASIC instruction: submit to authority. That authority may be kings or governors or it may be slave owners (in Peter’s time) or employers (in our day).

      Second comes the way we are to do that, and there are two ways: first by doing good (obeying the civil law),v.15, and second by having respect (v.17,18) for those above you.

      How may we respect people who are perhaps corrupt? We are not to, but we are to respect their role or position, and that is quite different. Peter reminds us that the role of the civil authorities is to keep order in society, and we are to respect and obey that role.

      If we are an employee we are to recognise the power and position of that employer and respect the difference between employer and employee. One gives the instructions and the other takes them. The way they give them may not be good, but they still have the right to give them and we are to respect that.

     Third, observe the ENCOURAGEMENTS to do that:

•  First our good behaviour (v.15) should silence any foolish, ignorant criticism of the Christian faith.
•  Second we are to see ourselves as serving God (v.16) and therefore all we do we do as to Him.
•  Third if we cope well with unjust leaders (v.19) we will be commended (by God).

D. Application:

1. We are to submit to the leadership roles of society.
2. In so doing we are to be light in the world revealing Jesus.

Passage: 1 Peter 2:20-25

20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 ‘He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.’

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.’ 25 For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

A. Find Out:    

1. For what does Peter say you get no credit? v.20a
2. But what will we be commended for? v.20b
3. Why are we to go this way? v.21
4. How did Christ do this? v.22,23
5. What did he do and for what reason? v.24
6. What were we like and to whom have we returned? v.25

B. Think:

1. How are we to behave in unjust circumstances?
2. Why?
3. What was the full extent of this?

C. Comment:

      Peter has just been instructing his readers to submit to authority. When we look at such instructions we might be tempted to think, “Well that only means when the authority is in the right, but not when they are in the wrong”.  Peter’s answer to this is “Not so!”

      He has extended authority to include slave owners. Note the New Testament does not overthrow slavery but goes beyond that and says if you are a slave, be the best you can. There would come a time in history when God’s servants would work to overthrow slavery but God knew that the New Testament period wasn’t ready for that. Instead Peter teaches, “Be righteous whatever is done to you!”

      Look, says Peter, look at Jesus’ example when he went to the Cross. That was a totally unjust situation but Jesus remained sinless throughout it and did not retaliate when he was abused. How could he do that? He simply trusted his heavenly Father, that He would use the situation for good, even as they had planned it.

      Now this is some of the hardest teaching to follow in practise. Everything in us (the sinful nature) wants to rise up and retaliate in such circumstances, but Peter teaches, no trust God, just like Jesus did. This truly is something different from that found anywhere else in the world!

D. Application:  

1. When unjustly treated, don’t retaliate.
2. When so treated, turn to God for grace, trust Him.