1 Peter 2:4 - Meaning and Application

The apostle begins by describing Jesus Christ as a living stone. To a careless thinker or an unbeliever, that may sound rough or strange. But to the Jews, who valued their great temple and knew the prophets called the Messiah a stone (Isaiah 8:14; Isaiah 28:16), it would have sounded fitting and rich with meaning.

Christ is called a stone to show his strong, unshakable power and his lasting nature. He is the protection and security of his people, the foundation they are built on, and a rock that trips up his enemies. He is also a living stone, because he has life in himself forever and gives life to all his people. People and God judge him very differently. Men reject him, especially his own people, the Jews, and most of the world. But God has chosen him, set him apart, and appointed him beforehand to be the church’s foundation (1 Peter 1:20). He is precious, honorable, and excellent in himself, in God’s sight, and in the judgment of all who believe in him.

Because of who he is, we must come to him. That does not mean a physical move, since Christ has been exalted to heaven. It means coming by faith, which joins us to him at first and keeps bringing us near to him afterward. From this we learn that Jesus Christ is the true foundation of all our hope and happiness. He makes God known to us (Matthew 11:27), gives us access to the Father (John 14:6), and brings us every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

We also learn that people in general reject Christ. They ignore him, dislike him, oppose him, and refuse him, just as Scripture says and life proves (Isaiah 53:3). Yet though the world rejects him, God has chosen him and counts him precious. He is chosen to be Lord of all, head of the church, Savior of his people, and Judge of the world. He is precious because of the beauty of his nature, the greatness of his office, and the glory of his work.

Those who hope for mercy from this gracious Redeemer must come to him. That is our act, though it is made possible by God’s grace. It is an act of the soul, not just the body. It is a real seeking, not a empty wish.

After describing Christ as the foundation, the apostle turns to the building set on him. He says, “You also, as living stones, are built up” (1 Peter 2:6). He is encouraging these scattered Jews about the Christian church. They might object that the church had no grand temple or large priesthood, and that its worship seemed plain beside the splendor of the Jewish system. His answer is that the Christian church is a far nobler structure than the Jewish temple. It is a living temple, made not of dead stones, but of living ones.

Christ, the foundation, is a living stone. Christians are living stones too. Together they make a spiritual house, and they form a holy priesthood. They do not bring animal sacrifices, but they bring better and more pleasing ones. They also have an altar, because they offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. From this we learn that all true Christians have spiritual life in them, given by Christ their head. So, as he is called a living stone, they are called living stones too. They are no longer dead in sin, but alive to God through new birth and the work of the Holy Spirit.

We also learn that the church of God is a spiritual house. Christ Jesus is its foundation (Ephesians 2:22). It is a house because of its strength, beauty, many parts, and usefulness. It is spiritual in its foundation, which is Christ, in its materials, which are spiritual people, in its furnishings, which are the graces of the Spirit, in its union, which comes from the Spirit of God and one common faith, and in its work, which is spiritual service and spiritual sacrifice. This house is built up day by day. Each part grows, and new believers are added in every age.

All good Christians are also a holy priesthood. Peter speaks of the whole body of believers here. They are holy, chosen for God, useful to others, equipped with heavenly gifts and graces, and busy in service. This holy priesthood must and will offer spiritual sacrifices to God. These include their bodies, souls, affections, prayers, praises, alms, and other duties. Even the best and most spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God only through Jesus Christ. He alone is the great high priest through whom we and our service are accepted. So bring all your offerings to him, and through him present them to God.

The apostle then supports this teaching from Isaiah 28:16. Notice how he quotes Scripture. He does not give book, chapter, and verse, because those divisions did not yet exist. He usually refers to Moses, David, or the prophets, and here he gives the sense rather than the exact words. The true meaning of Scripture can be rightly stated in other words. The quotation is, “Behold, I lay in Zion.” The verb form is active, though translators render it as passive to avoid a grammatical difficulty.

From this we learn several things. In matters of religion, we must depend fully on Scripture proof. Christ and his apostles appealed to Moses, David, and the prophets. God’s word is the only rule he has given us, and it is complete and enough. We also learn that the things God has told us about his Son deserve our closest attention: “Behold, I lay,” and so on. John also calls for this kind of attention to Christ (John 1:29). Such calls show the greatness of the matter, its importance, and our own dullness.

The setting up of Jesus Christ as head of the church is a great work of God: “I lay in Zion.” The pope’s claim to be head of the church is only human invention and bold presumption. Christ alone is the foundation and head of God’s church. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone that God has laid in his spiritual building. The cornerstone stays joined to the building, holds it together, and makes it beautiful.

So Christ is the support of his holy church, his spiritual house. He is the cornerstone for the safety and salvation of no one except his true people, those of Zion, not of Babylon, not of his enemies. True faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to keep a person from total ruin. Three things bring great confusion to people, and faith provides a remedy for all three: disappointment, sin, and judgment.

The apostle then draws an important conclusion in (1 Peter 2:7). Since Jesus Christ is called the chief cornerstone, he says that to those who believe, Christ is precious, or honored. Christ is the crown and glory of a Christian. Believers will never be ashamed of him, but will boast in him and rejoice in him forever. But wicked people continue to reject Jesus Christ. Yet God has decided that Christ will remain the head of the corner, no matter who opposes him.

From this we learn, first, that anything clearly and necessarily drawn from Scripture can be trusted as fully as if it were written in direct words. The apostle takes a conclusion from the prophet’s testimony. The prophet did not state it in that exact way, but he said enough to make the conclusion unavoidable. Jesus also told people to search the Scriptures because they spoke about him, even though no single passage he named said in plain words that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. Still, those Scriptures do teach that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, come before the scepter left Judah, appear during the second temple, and come after Daniel’s seventy weeks. Jesus Christ fulfilled all of this, and the conclusion is certain, even though it depends on careful reasoning, history, sight, and experience.

Second, the work of a faithful minister is to apply general truth to the specific condition of the hearers. The apostle quotes a verse from the prophet and applies it differently to the good and the bad. This takes wisdom, courage, and faithfulness, but it is very helpful to the hearers. Third, Jesus Christ is deeply precious to all true believers. The greatness and dignity of his person, the honor of his office, his close relation to them, his mighty works, and his great love all lead believers to hold him in the highest esteem.

Fourth, disobedient people do not have true faith. By disobedient people we mean those who cannot be persuaded, do not believe, and will not repent. They may have some correct ideas, but they do not have real faith. Fifth, those who should be builders of Christ’s church are often his worst enemies in the world. In the Old Testament, the false prophets caused the most harm. In the New Testament, the scribes, Pharisees, chief priests, and others who claimed to care for the church opposed Christ with the greatest cruelty. The Roman hierarchy is still, in the source’s view, the worst enemy in the world to Jesus Christ and his cause.

Sixth, God will continue his own work and uphold the cause of Jesus Christ in the world, despite false friends and the opposition of his worst enemies. The apostle then gives another description, still using the picture of a stone (1 Peter 2:8). The words come from Isaiah 8:13-14: “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and he will be for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” This shows that Jesus Christ is the Lord of hosts, and therefore the most high God.

The builders, that is, the chief priests, refused him, and the people followed their leaders. So Christ became to them a stone they stumbled over and a rock that offended them. They hurt themselves on him, and in return he fell on them like a great stone and destroyed them. As Jesus said, “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whom it falls, it will crush him” (Matthew 12:44). All who are disobedient take offense at the word of God. They stumble at the word because they will not obey it. They are offended by Christ himself, by his teaching, and by the purity of his commands. The Jewish teachers especially stumbled over his humble appearance and over the claim that they must trust him alone for their right standing before God. They would not seek justification, meaning being made right with God, by faith, but tried to go by the works of the law instead. So they stumbled over that stumbling stone (Romans 9:32).

The same blessed Jesus who brings salvation to some becomes, for others, the cause of their sin and destruction. He is set for the rising and falling of many in Israel. He is not the cause of their sin, but their own disobedience makes them stumble over him and reject him, and he then judges them with destruction. Those who reject him as Savior will split upon him as a rock. God himself has appointed everlasting destruction for all who stumble at the word because they are disobedient. Everyone who keeps on in unbelief and contempt for the gospel is appointed to eternal destruction, and God has known them from eternity. When we see the Jews generally rejecting Christ, and many people in every age despising him, we should not be discouraged in our love and duty to him. This was foretold long ago by the prophets, and it strengthens our faith in both the Scriptures and the Messiah.

Those who received Christ were greatly honored (1 Peter 2:9). The Jews were very protective of their old privileges, especially their claim to be God’s only people, taken into a special covenant with him and separated from the rest of the world. They said that if they accepted the gospel order, they would lose all this and be placed on the same level as the Gentiles. The apostle answers that if they refused, they would be ruined (1 Peter 2:7-8). But if they accepted Christ, they would lose no true benefit. They would remain what they hoped to be, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and so on.

All true Christians are a chosen generation. They make up one family, a people set apart from the common world, different in spirit, principles, and practice. They could never be such unless they were chosen in Christ to be so and made holy by his Spirit. All true servants of Christ are a royal priesthood. They are royal because of their relation to God and Christ, because of their power with God, and because of their rule over themselves and their spiritual enemies. They are princely in the growth and excellence of their own spirits and in their hopes and expectations. They are also a priesthood, set apart from sin and sinners, dedicated to God, and offering spiritual worship and gifts that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. All Christians, wherever they live, make up one holy nation.

They are one nation, gathered under one head, united in the same ways and customs, and ruled by the same laws. They are a holy nation because they have been set apart for God, renewed, and made holy by his Holy Spirit.

It is the honor of Christ’s servants that they are God’s own special people. They are his people by his choice, his care, his possession, and his delight. These four honors do not belong to them by nature. Their first condition was one of terrible darkness, but God has effectively called them out of darkness into marvelous light, joy, pleasure, and blessing. He did this so they would show, in both words and actions, the goodness and praise of the one who called them.

To make his people content and thankful for the great mercy and honor the gospel has brought them, the apostle tells them to compare what they were before with what they are now. There was a time when they were not a people and had not received mercy. They had been openly rejected and cast off (Jeremiah 3:8; Hosea 1:6, Hosea 1:9). But now they have been taken back as God’s people and have received mercy.

We learn from this that the best people should often look back on what they once were. We also learn that God’s people are the most valuable people in the world. All others, by comparison, are nothing, or nearly nothing. And to be brought into the number of God’s people is a great mercy, and one that can be received.

He then warns them to guard against fleshly lusts, in 1 Peter 2:11. Even the best people, the chosen generation and God’s people, need to be urged to stay away from the worst sins. The apostle speaks earnestly and with affection because he knows this duty is hard, but important. “Dearly loved, I beg you,” is his way of pressing the matter.

Their duty is to avoid and resist the first stirrings of fleshly lusts. Many of these come from human corruption, and they depend on the body for their expression, feeding sinful bodily desires and uncontrolled cravings of the flesh. These Christians should avoid such sins for three reasons. First, because of their standing with God and good people, they are dearly loved. Second, because of their place in the world, they are strangers and pilgrims, and they should not slow their journey by taking part in the wickedness and lusts of the land they pass through. Third, because of the harm and danger these sins bring, they fight against the soul. The soul, then, should fight against them.

The great harm sin does to a person is this: it wages war against the soul. It destroys the soul’s moral freedom. It weakens and wears down the soul by damaging its powers. It steals the soul’s peace and comfort. It lowers and ruins the soul’s worth, hinders its present well-being, and leads it into endless misery. Of all sins, fleshly lusts are among the most damaging to the soul. Sinful desires, sexual immorality, and sensual living are especially hateful to God and ruinous to the human soul. It is a heavy judgment to be handed over to them.

He also urges them to make their faith attractive by living honestly. Their conduct, in every part of life, every action, and every choice, should be honorable. It should be good, lovely, proper, pleasing, and free from blame. This matters because they lived among the Gentiles, people of another religion, who were bitter enemies of them and already slandered them as wrongdoers.

A clean, just, and good life may not only silence such accusations, but may also lead some to glorify God and turn to the believers when they see them excel in good works. People now call you wrongdoers, but answer them with good works. That is how you show the truth. There is also a day of visitation coming, when God may call them through his word and grace to repent. Then they will glorify God and praise you for your good conduct (Luke 1:68). When the gospel reaches them and takes root, a good life will help their conversion, but a bad life will hinder it.

So we learn that a Christian profession should always be joined to an honest life (Philippians 4:8). We also learn that it is the common lot of the best Christians to be spoken against by wicked people. And when God graciously visits people, they quickly change their view of good people. They then glorify God and praise those whom they once attacked as wrongdoers.