1 Peter 2: Principles

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Biblical Principles for Application from 1 Peter 2

Tod Kennedy, March, 2000

I. Crave the Word of God, the food for spiritual growth. 1 Peter 2.1-3

1 Peter 2.1 Principle: Put aside these mental attitude sins and sins of the tongue; they especially hinder consistent spiritual growth and love for others.
1 Peter 2.2 Principle: Crave spiritual truth, the Word of God, which is your food for spiritual growth. Take advantage of Bible teaching--listen to it, think about it, use it.
1 Peter 2.3 Principle: You have already tasted or experienced that the Lord is gracious, kind, and helpful. You did this when you believed in Christ, when you understood your position in Christ and the blessings that go with that position, and when you experienced God's blessings upon you and through you to others.

II. Christ is the Living Stone, the object of our faith, 1 Peter 2.4-6

1 Peter 2.4 Principle: Practice occupation with Christ--loyal love, faith dependence, obedience to him. He is the Father's chosen and honored Son and your savior and spiritual hero.

1 Peter 2.5 Principle: You all are living stones making up the spiritual house, Christ's church. The church is a holy priesthood; now grow spiritually in the understanding and function of your priesthood so that you may fulfill your full-time priestly service of honorable production for God.

1 Peter 2.6 Principle: Jesus Christ is the foundation for Israel and for the Church. He is also the foundation for your life, your honored leader, your never failing savior, your high priest, your hero. Continue to believe him; you will never be disappointed by him and his plan for you.

1 Peter 2.7 Principle: Many people, Jews and Gentiles, reject Christ. This does not change the Father's plan for his Son. Christ is the cornerstone and foundation for both Israel and the Church.

1 Peter 2.8 Principle: Everyone who refuses to believe in the Father's Christ has chosen for himself spiritual failure and God's judgment.

III. We are a priesthood who proclaims God’s greatness and glorifies Him, 1 Peter 2.9-12

1 Peter 2.9 Principle: Church age believers are a chosen race, a select kind and class of people, a family of "in Christ" spiritual descendents, a faith people; we are a royal priesthood, an order of people with royal rank and in royal service; we are a holy nation, a set apart for God's service spiritual people; and we are a people for God’s own possession. We have become naturalized citizens of God's light or righteous kingdom and have had our citizenship in Satan's dark or sin kingdom revoked.

1 Peter 2.10 Principle: Gentiles had no unified identity. Only Israel had an identity. Since Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, session, and coming of the Holy Spirit every believer has an identity in Christ and with the family of God.

1 Peter 2.11 Principle: Every believer's home is heaven, not earth; we live here temporarily. A spiritual battle rages inside of every believer; the old sin nature battles against the soul. Reject the old sin nature's desires.

1 Peter 2.12 Principle: Live nobly; produce divine good; and when you face adversity or prosperity—the highs and lows of life, those who slander you will see your divine good production during those times and glorify God and influence others to glorify God.

IV. Authority orientation is God’s will and blesses mankind, 1 Peter 2.13-19

1 Peter 2.13-18 Principle: Authority is the right to rule and make decisions. God has instituted authority in order to 1) protect free will, 2) protect the human race from self destruction, 3) give order to life 4) maintain peace 5) allow the gospel and doctrine to spread and influence people ) to remove legitimate reason for criticism of believers by foolish people.

1 Peter 2.13-18 Principle: God's authority establishes freedom, freedom requires responsibility, responsibility protects freedom and restrains authority.

1 Peter 2.13 Principle: Submission is the placing of yourself under the authority of another. Submission results in obedience. Correct submission requires humility. Submission is authority orientation. Believers first submit to God, then to the proper authorities.

1 Peter 2.16 Principle: Every church age believer has freedom in Christ to live apart from the regulations of the Mosaic Law, the imposed religious rules of society, and the rules and taboos of other believers insofar as living this way does not violate church age Scripture.

1 Peter 2.16 Principle: A covering is something behind which a person hides and then an excuse or rational for living a certain way that is in fact wrong. When we use freedom or liberty in Christ or freedom from the ML or taboos as an excuse to be self centered, to think mental attitude sins, to refuse to help other believers we are using that freedom as a covering for evil.

1 Peter 2.16 Principle: A bond slave is a person under the absolute authority of another. The slave is under obligation to the master and is responsible to the master. The word "servant" is an incorrect translation. Each believer is God's slave. We are under his authority and his protection.

1 Peter 2.17 Principle: God wants believers to honor or respect all people because 1) each has been created in the image of God 2) He gave free will and self determination to each 3) to protect authority, freedom and responsibility 4) to guard order in life 5) it is the moral way to treat others 6) respect helps our witness.

1 Peter 2.17 Principle: God wants believers to love the brotherhood (the community of believers, the members of the faith) with divine love, a love produced by the Holy Spirit and instructed by Bible doctrine, regardless of the object’s merit or demerit. This is Christian camaraderie.

1 Peter 2.17 Principle: God wants us to fear Him, to think of Him with reverential respect, a sense of awe. The fear of the Lord or fear of God in believers is a learned volitional faith commitment to God.

1 Peter 2.17 Principle: God wants believers to honor the office of king, the constitution, or the highest authority in the land even if the person who is king at the time is dishonorable. This is the basis for authority, freedom, responsibility, and order.

1 Peter 2.18 Principle: God wants household servants—and all those under authority for that matter—to respect the authority of their masters, bosses, coaches, teachers, and supervisors, even if those with authority are crooked and unreasonable.

1 Peter 2.19 Principle: God favors believers who practice authority orientation, especially when the authority is unjust.

V. Suffering is common to life; Christ’s sacrifice for us because of sin was the ultimate suffering, 1 Peter 2.20-25

1 Peter 2.20 Principle: People ought to endure suffering when they bring it on themselves, but when they do not deserve the suffering and still endure that suffering with a good mental attitude, God blesses them. Believers who do this are living out their new creation nature by the Holy Spirit, by faith, and by occupation with the Lord (2.20).

1 Peter 2.21 Principle: Christ had to endure suffering and we will have to endure suffering. We ought to endure it with the same faith, doctrine, love, purpose, and divine power that Christ lived by.

1 Peter 2.22-23 Principle: Christ was sinless; he gave no reason for people to attack him yet they did. Under these circumstances he completely trusted the Father; he did not take revenge and he controlled his tongue. We ought to do the same.

1 Peter 2.24 Principle: Christ pressed on with the Father’s purpose for his incarnation: he was judged for our sins with the result that every believer may now live apart from sin’s control and instead live to pursue God’s righteousness.

1 Peter 2.25 Principle: God views the human race as straying sheep. Those who have believed in the son have returned to the heavenly shepherd—the Father. The heavenly shepherd protects, leads, feeds, and promotes growth.