Growing to Be God’s People

Spiritual Growth

When Pablo Casals reached 95, a reporter asked him a question: “Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” And Casals answered, “Because I think I'm making progress.”

Our spiritual growth is a lifelong process. We never reach the point where we can say we don’t have more to learn, but we do reach the point where, as Casals, we can say, “I think I’m making progress.” In these verses Peter gives us instruction as to what we should be doing to grow to become God’s people.

Verse 1

So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander.

Peter is writing this letter to believers. He tells them they must first of all put away some things which will hinder their spiritual walk. As Verschoyle points out, “If a child has swallowed poison I could not expect that wholesome food would confer any benefit upon him -- the poison must be first removed....” There are five things that Peter mentions.

Malice -- We need to put off feelings of ill will toward others. If malice is in our heart, it will be difficult for us to love people to Christ, and it will affect our whole attitude.

Guile -- We need to put off deceitfulness. This means not only should we stop lying and deceiving others, but also that we should stop pretending to be something we are not.

Insincerity -- The Greek word used here indicates hypocrisy or acting like a stage player. If we try to hide our faults and weaknesses, we will never be delivered from them.

Envy -- Whenever we are envious of others, we are showing how we disapprove of God’s blessings on our life. We reveal that we are really just children acting like spoiled brats.

Slander -- Nothing is more harmful to the body of Christ than Christians gossiping about others. We are to be lifting each other up, not tearing each other down.

All five of these areas involve our heart. If we want to grow spiritually, we must remove these destructive emotions from our heart. We must allow God to replace them with love and compassion and honesty.

Verse 2

Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation.

The phrase “pure spiritual milk” in the Greek employs the word logikon which usually refers to speech or words but may sometimes be used for things of the soul thus the translation here of “spiritual.” The King James Version translated this “milk of the word,” but some modern translations such as the New International Version have adopted the non-committal “spiritual milk.” The New American Standard Bible renders this “milk of the word” and the New Century Version translates it “teaching.” Certainly there is more to our spiritual growth than the words of the Bible, but they supply the framework for our spiritual growth -- because of God’s word we can learn spiritual truths and the Holy Spirit can help us grow.

One of the reasons my wife breast-fed both my sons when they were infants is that we understood that breast-feeding would help babies to be stronger and fight off infection better. In a recent scientific study, they discovered that breast-feeding also helps the development of infants’ brains. Babies long for that pure milk. And so we as spiritual newborns should long for the pure spiritual milk of God’s word, of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and of the presence of God in our lives.

When we desire spiritual things, we will grow up spiritually. The disciplines of daily Bible reading, prayer, and communion with God are essential to the nurture and growth of our soul. We need to long for these things if we want to grow to become God’s people. If they are not that important to us, it is because we are stunted in our Christian growth. We have been eating junk food too long and need to return to a healthy diet of spiritual nutrition.

Verse 3

For you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Peter gives us the reason why we should practice these spiritual disciplines -- we have tasted the kindness of the Lord. When parents sacrifice to present their children with an exceptional gift, the children respond in one of two ways -- either their heart is filled with gratitude and they love their parents that much more, or their heart is filled with selfishness and they expect to be indulged all their lives. The first response is one of maturity; the second response is one of a spoiled child. What kind of a child of God are you? Do you really appreciate the kindness of the Lord? Do you appreciate the sacrifice of Christ to purchase your salvation? Or are you like a spoiled child who expects God to meet all your wants and desires, and when he doesn’t, you throw a temper tantrum?

Because of God’s mercy and forgiveness toward us, we should long for the spiritual milk. We should long for God’s presence and teaching in our life. This may require us to discipline ourselves and make time for spiritual matters, but we are happy to do that because we have tasted the kindness of God in our lives.

Verse 4

Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious.

This verse tells us about that living stone that was rejected by men. Jesus came to be the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus came so that we might build our spiritual walk on a solid foundation.

We must come to that living stone, Jesus Christ. There is no other way. When my son took the Amtrak to Los Angeles, we were surprised to discover that the Amtrak did not go directly to Los Angeles. My son had to board a special Amtrak bus at Bakersfield and take the bus the rest of the way. We may have to make switches like that in our secular walk, but in our Christian walk once we get on board with Christ, there is no switching along the way. He will see us all the way to the end of our journey.

Verse 5

And like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus changed Peter’s name to mean “rock.” It is no wonder that Peter understood how living stones would build the spiritual house since he was certainly one of the early “rocks” of the church. We are all rocks in this sense. We gather our strength together and build up the body of Christ under the direction of Jesus, the cornerstone.

Gray comments, “The Lord Jesus Christ referred to in verse 3, is ‘a Living Stone,’ Whose life has been communicated to believers, making them ‘living stones (v. 5). They thus form a spiritual temple, and, abruptly changing the figure, they are the ‘priesthood’ in the temple. As such they have spiritual sacrifices to offer (v. 5), the chief of which is to ‘show forth the praises of Him Who’ redeemed them (vv. 9-10).”

What kind of a living stone are you? Do you help to build up the church? Are you willing to spend time ministering and encouraging others? Peter says we are a holy priesthood. Priests ministered to the people. To whom are you ministering? Peter says we are to offer spiritual sacrifices. What sacrifices are you making for God’s kingdom?

Verse 6

For it stands in scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

God has chosen Jesus to be the cornerstone of our faith. When we believe in Jesus, we will not be put to shame. God will be with us and will help us in our spiritual growth. But our foundation must be on Christ, not on the shifting sands of this world -- not on money or possessions or situational morality. Our faith is not built on a Christian philosophy or on good deeds nor on a compassionate heart. Our faith is built on Christ. With Christ we will gain a Christian philosophy and we will perform good deeds and we will have a compassionate heart. But without Christ these things are empty and meaningless. It is only through Christ that we can truly begin to help others. When we do it in our strength as an obligation of duty, we will utterly fail. But when God fills our heart with his love, his Spirit goes before us and uses our efforts to bring glory to his kingdom. Our faith must be built on the precious cornerstone -- Jesus!

Verses 7-8

To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,” and “A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall”; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

For those who do not make Christ their cornerstone, he becomes a stumbling block. There are those who claim to be Christians who deny the power of Christ. There are those who claim to be Christians who ignore the words of Christ that make them uncomfortable, who try to explain away the miracles of Christ and who deny the resurrection of Christ. Jesus has become a stumbling block to them. They would rather talk about health instead of salvation. They prefer speaking about God instead of Jesus. They would rather speak of man’s goodness instead of God’s mercy. They prefer to speak of God as loving and compassionate and ignore that he also demands holiness and will judge the world.

Peter goes so far as to say “they stumble because they disobey the word.” Who is he talking about? The answer is in verse 7 -- the builders who rejected Christ. The men who rejected Christ thought they were very religious. They knew the Hebrew scriptures in great depth. They read about God daily. They professed to have God’s interests as their own. And yet Peter says they “do not believe.” Are you a Christian in name only? Or have you made Jesus the cornerstone of your faith!

Verse 9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Peter tells us what happens when we become a Christian. We join the chosen race. We become a royal priesthood. We are part of the holy nation. We are called God’s own people. Do you feel unimportant and insignificant? If so, you don’t appreciate what God has done for you. He has elevated you into his chosen group of believers. You have become part of God’s family. Though others reject God and mock him, you are part of a royal priesthood. The priests ministered to the people. If we would only realize how much of a blessing we have received from God, we would, as Peter tells us, “declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We were chosen, not to think highly of ourselves, nor to be filled with feelings of self-importance. We were selected to reach others with the good news of Christ. We were chosen to declare the salvation message to others. We were selected to call others out of the same darkness we experienced. Part of spiritual growth is a desire to declare God’s goodness to others.

Verse 10

Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

We are now God’s people and we have received God’s mercy. But we should never forget that once we were no people and once we were in sin. It is only because of God’s goodness and forgiveness that we are now part of his family. Let us never forget the mercy of God that has lifted us up and called us into our spiritual journey.

Brooks comments, “O Christians, remember this at the very beginning of our Christian life! Christianity and Christian experience is not the repenting of sin; it is not the doing of new duty. But it is the bringing of our life into conformity with the life in which God is manifest to us -- the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. I climb a hill upon its darkened side. There is no sun that lights me, but I know upon the other side there is light; and as I go I stumble over ugly roots that trip me up. The dark shades are around me, and I go stumbling on. That is not the real purpose of my climbing the mountain. The obstacles are the incidents. But now I am up to the top! There billows the sun before me, and I am illumined by his glory.”

Verse 11

Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul.

We started off this study by putting off certain things that would hinder our Christian walk. Then we were instructed in how to learn to walk in the spirit and grow in our faith. Now in verse 11 we are reminded that even as we grow to be God’s people, we will still have to battle passions of the flesh that will from time to time wage war against our soul. As long as we are on this earth, we will face trials and temptations.

Someone once said, “Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.” As you grow in faith, you will find that God will ask you to peel off a new layer. This may be a time of turmoil and weeping. But we can only grow strong in our faith as we allow God to remove those sins that so easily beset us.

Verse 12

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Finally, Peter points out that we should always be aware that we live among the Gentiles. We need to treat others fairly and honestly. Peter even says, “they may see your good deeds.” We should not only show compassion and mercy toward other Christians, but we need to show our love toward all people. What happens when we are kind to others and show Christ’s love? Peter tells us that people will see our good deeds, turn to Christ because of our testimony, and be able to glorify God when Christ returns for the believers.

We think of spiritual growth as being inward -- conquering bad habits, learning spiritual discipline, and allowing God to speak to our heart. But true spiritual growth includes reaching out to others. If we have experienced God’s mercy, we will want to share it with others. We will want them to experience God’s blessings in their lives. Part of growing in Christ is reaching out beyond ourselves. Let us be willing to share our faith so that others may experience the marvelous blessings that we have so graciously received.

Footnotes:

Verschoyle: The Biblical Illustrator, vol. 22, pg. 125, Baker Book House



	A Study of 1 Peter 2:1-12