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By: Rich Puckett

As with most of my studies, my comments are in red. The blue is from Matthew Henrys and Believers Study Bible commentary.

1 Peter 2: (v. 1-10) A temper suitable to the Christian character as born again, is recommended.

(v. 11,12) Holy conversation among the Gentiles directed.

(v. 13-17) Subjects exhorted to pay all proper obedience to their civil governors.

(v. 18-25) Also servants to their masters, and all to be patient, according to the example of the suffering Saviour.

A temper suitable to the Christian character as born again, is recommended

mal·ice (mls)
n.

1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
2. Law. The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.

Malice is a stronger word than malevolence, which may imply only a desire that evil may befall another, while malice desires, and perhaps intends, to bring it about. Malignity is intense and deepseated malice. It implies a natural delight in hating and wronging others. One who is malignant must be both malevolent and malicious; but a man may be malicious without being malignant.
malice n 1: feeling a need to see other suffer

guile (gl)
n.

1. Treacherous cunning; skillful deceit.
2. Obsolete. A trick or stratagem.

hy·poc·ri·sy (h-pkr-s)
n. pl. hy·poc·ri·sies

1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2. An act or instance of such falseness.

en·vy (nv)
n. pl. en·vies

1. A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
0. The object of such feeling: Their new pool made them the envy of their neighbors.
1. Obsolete. Malevolence.

tr.v. en·vied, en·vy·ing, en·vies

1. To feel envy toward.
2. To regard with envy.

Synonyms: envy, begrudge, covet
These verbs mean to feel resentful or painful desire for another's advantages or possessions. Envy, the most general, combines discontent, resentment, and desire: "When I peruse the conquered fame of heroes and the victories of mighty generals, I do not envy the generals" (Walt Whitman). Begrudge stresses ill will and reluctance to acknowledge another's right or claim: Why begrudge him his success? Covet stresses a secret or culpable longing for something to which one has no right: "We hate no people and covet no people's lands" (Wendell L. Willkie).

e·vil (vl)
adj. e·vil·er, e·vil·est

1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant.
2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.
3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.
4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.
5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.

n.

1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.
2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.
3. An evil force, power, or personification.
4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.

adv. Archaic

In an evil manner.

Pet 2:1: Verses 1-10. Evil-speaking is a sign of malice and guile in the heart; and hinders our profiting by the word of God. A new life needs suitable food. Infants desire milk, and make the best endeavours for it which they are able to do; such must be a Christian's desires after the word of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is very merciful to us miserable sinners; and he has a fulness of grace. But even the best of God's servants, in this life, have only a taste of the consolations of God. Christ is called a Stone, to teach his servants that he is their protection and security, the foundation on which they are built. He is precious in the excellence of his nature, the dignity of his office, and the glory of his services. All true believers are a holy priesthood; sacred to God, serviceable to others, endowed with heavenly gifts and graces. But the most spiritual sacrifices of the best in prayer and praise are not acceptable, except through Jesus Christ. Christ is the chief Corner-stone, that unites the whole number of believers into one everlasting temple, and bears the weight of the whole fabric. Elected, or chosen, for a foundation that is everlasting. Precious beyond compare, by all that can give worth. To be built on Christ means, to believe in him; but in this many deceive themselves, they consider not what it is, nor the necessity of it, to partake of the salvation he has wrought. Though the frame of the world were falling to pieces, that man who is built on this foundation may hear it without fear. He shall not be confounded. The believing soul makes haste to Christ, but it never finds cause to hasten from him. All true Christians are a chosen generation; they make one family, a people distinct from the world: of another spirit, principle, and practice; which they could never be, if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by his Spirit. Their first state is a state of gross darkness, but they are called out of darkness into a state of joy, pleasure, and prosperity; that they should show forth the praises of the Lord by their profession of his truth, and their good conduct. How vast their obligations to Him who has made them his people, and has shown mercy to them! To be without this mercy is a woful state, though a man have all worldly enjoyments. And there is nothing that so kindly works repentance, as right thoughts of the mercy and love of God. Let us not dare to abuse and affront the free grace of God, if we mean to be saved by it; but let all who would be found among those who obtain mercy, walk as his people.

Having been born again and made a new creature you start out as a baby. Babies have to eat, so they desire milk we should desire the word of God and his Spirit in us the same way. You won't be expected to have put all these things away from you the minute you give your heart to God, yet as you come to the knowledge of the things God expects of you, you are to accomplish them. You have to grow and grow until you reach adult hood. God will not accept a person that has been told by his spirit and his preachers that they need these things and for that person to sit and ignore them will not do at all.

Stones are interesting things they look as if they have little value at first glance. Yet each stone is different, if sharpened can be used as a ax head or arrowhead. Some stones once cleaned become gemstones used in rings and such like. Some stones are used to be the foundation of houses. Some stones when cleaned was called gold and silver and used to buy things. Some stones when put to gather have been used to construct houses, forts, walls, towers and fences and much more. A stone value is how much you let your imagination go, many small useless stone make up the gravel used on roads, or filters to clean the water we drink. We were all once just unpolished and unused stone of little value. Then God took us and began to polish us and clean us up and put us to use. Some of us he uses as leaders and are like fine gold some are silver and some are foundations, but all of us have value in his eyes and used each for a needed purpose. None of us is of more value then the other in his eyes. Can you think what it would be like to have a pocket full of gold but no street to walk on, no house to live in or no filtering of the water you drinks?

So then each of being used in our own ways are used to build a spiritual house, we are Gods building.

Now one of the things I find so often, is the church people not the world has problems with the teaching of Gods word. Who gets mad because someone preaches that you need a clean mouth or you have dirty temple? Not the sinner in the world they already know that about themselves, its those who want to play at serving God instead of doing it. Who is it that gets upset when you say that money is not important to building Gods kingdom but some preacher who spends more time preaching on tithing then he does on things of right and wrong. Who is it that get upset when you point out Gods people have to have a heart of love and forgiveness, the ones that want to be mad because of some wrong brother or sister so and so did. Are those groups of preachers pointing a finger at that other poor preacher who just does not meet the standard they think he should be meeting? Why, because the word gets to close to wrong in your life and instead of taking it to heart and repenting and getting right with God you would rather make excuses and point fingers of blame else where. I tell you as the word does if you, the church does not repent and soon it will be lost. Many of the lost in this world who have never known God has a better chance of heaven then the bench warmers in most churches. Far to many preachers or politicians and empty vessels to be of any good to God saving souls. In fact what is scary is many do not even no how to really pray, so how then can they really preach? So many love to talk about the gifts they have and how they can lay hands on and heal, trouble is most of them have not been the instrument to really heal anyone or do anything but blow wind. A thing really puzzles me. Here in the USA there have been so called great revivals such as in FL. Where thousands came to the Lord. Where are they? Why has there been no change in the community in which they live? When you have a real revival and people hearts change then you see the effects of that change in the area, in which they live, if you can not see any change then you have to wonder if anything happened. If a church does not change, grow, and be something more then it was before then all they had was a good time a revival.

As "living stones" (v. 5), believers are placed in a new and significant relationship to Jesus, the "chief cornerstone" (v. 6): (1) They are members of a "chosen generation," i.e., an elect race. (2) Furthermore, all believers are "priests," a word indicative of privilege in access to God but also of ministry to others in Christ's name. This priesthood is a royal priesthood as a result of the relationship of sonship which the believer possesses. (3) As a member of an elect race, the believer is also a part of a "holy nation." (4) The designation "special people" may be rendered more literally, "a people to be around," stressing that God's people are a possession of God Himself. (5) The function of this believing community is to "proclaim the praises" of God. The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is a significant N.T. revelation. The old dispensation featured a Levitical priesthood, offering sacrifices for the people, interceding with God in their behalf, and on the Day of Atonement entering before God with sacrificial blood for the people. The new dispensation makes each believer a royal priest. This means: (1) every believer has immediate access to God in Jesus Christ; (2) the approach to God has been made forever open by a perfect sacrifice in Jesus; (3) the saints of God have the privilege and responsibility of interceding for one another before God; and (4) each Christian has the responsibility of a meaningful priesthood, representing God to the people in witnessing and teaching.

The term laos (Gk.), translated "people," is always reserved in the N.T. for God's people. The term ethne (Gk.) is used for all other peoples. In Rom. 9:25, Paul, like Peter, also appeals to Hos. 1:9, 10; 2:23 to stress the universal motif of God's mercy. Peter, however, emphasizes the eschatological blessedness which his readers now enjoy as a result of believing in Jesus Christ.

Holy conversation among the Gentiles directed

(vv. 11,12) The people of God are in the world, but not of it. They are not to focus their goals and values on that which is transitory.

1 Pet 2:11: Verses 11-12. Even the best of men, the chosen generation, the people of God, need to be exhorted to keep from the worst sins. And fleshly lusts are most destructive to man's soul. It is a sore judgment to be given up to them. There is a day of visitation coming, wherein God may call to repentance by his word and his grace; then many will glorify God, and the holy lives of his people will have promoted the happy change.

Subjects exhorted to pay all proper obedience to their civil governors

This is a very hard thing for us to do today. We are to obey the laws of our land although we may not like them. Rather you believe in abortion or not, or believe in the death penalty or not, or in the drinking laws are not, is not the thing that matters. If you are to change the laws do it by doing it the right way, if Gods people would stand on his word and elect officials that too were of God instead of time after time putting those who have no integrity, men who talk about God but don't live his word then those laws would be changed. So long as you place leaders and judges who are not truly men of God, you will keep getting bad laws. There is no excuse for you to go in, riot, kill, and break the laws that have been passed. There is a time such say a person was drowning and the sign said no swimming and you jumped into save the life that this would be acceptable. But to picket and riot once you have been asked to leave or to bomb or shoot a person and do it in Gods name because you don't agree is wrong. You should not have those kind of evil things in your heart and the fact that you do make you no better then those you are trying to stop. Jesus did not go about killing those he did not agree with but instead taught and by changing the people hearts he knew in time, he would change the rules.

Submission is the key theme of this section (2:13-3:7). Submission involves not seeking one's own interests but rather assuming a voluntary commitment of service to others. Peter (1) focuses on their overall relationships as Christian citizens (2:13-17); (2) offers advice for how slaves were to relate to masters (2:18-25); and (3) gives guidelines for marriage (3:1-7), especially for how believing wives are to relate to unbelieving husbands. All of these exhortations are given within the cultural context of Peter's day and must be applied by contemporary readers to their own milieu. For example, the slave-to-master section can be contextualized to apply to employees and employers.

You want to strike back at someone that hurts you and those that live wrong, do right. When you do good and right it is you that wins they always lose.

Also servants to their masters, and all to be patient, according to the example of the suffering Saviour

So we have a boss at work that is not a good boss, maybe he is unfair and hateful in is actions, that is no excuse for you not to obey his instructions.

1 Pet 2:18: Verses 18-25. Servants in those days generally were slaves, and had heathen masters, who often used them cruelly; yet the apostle directs them to be subject to the masters placed over them by Providence, with a fear to dishonour or offend God. And not only to those pleased with reasonable service, but to the severe, and those angry without cause. The sinful misconduct of one relation, does not justify sinful behaviour in the other; the servant is bound to do his duty, though the master may be sinfully froward and perverse. But masters should be meek and gentle to their servants and inferiors. What glory or distinction could it be, for professed Christians to be patient when corrected for their faults? But if when they behaved well they were ill treated by proud and passionate heathen masters, yet bore it without peevish complaints, or purposes of revenge, and persevered in their duty, this would be acceptable to God as a distinguishing effect of his grace, and would be rewarded by him. Christ's death was designed not only for an example of patience under sufferings, but he bore our sins; he bore the punishment of them, and thereby satisfied Divine justice. Hereby he takes them away from us. The fruits of Christ's sufferings are the death of sin, and a new holy life of righteousness; for both which we have an example, and powerful motives, and ability to perform also, from the death and resurrection of Christ. And our justification; Christ was bruised and crucified as a sacrifice for our sins, and by his stripes the diseases of our souls are cured. Here is man's sin; he goes astray; it is his own act. His misery; he goes astray from the pasture, from the Shepherd, and from the flock, and so exposes himself to dangers without number. Here is the recovery by conversion; they are now returned as the effect of Divine grace. This return is, from all their errors and wanderings, to Christ. Sinners, before their conversion, are always going astray; their life is a continued error.

This is talking about a attitude thing in how we react to wrong done to us.

(vv. 21-25) Peter's exhortations regarding submission are given a Christological foundation. The sufferings of Christ provide spiritual healing by His accomplished substitutionary work on the cross. Also, the sufferings of Christ are exemplary. As Christ suffered at the hands of unjust people of His day for being faithful to the will of God, so believers may receive the same opportunity to follow in His steps.

This means we do not cuss out those that hurt us, we don't go around running them down to others, no bitterness in our mouth. This is not easy but as you grow in the Lord you must learn to do this in so doing you bring glory to God and his church.

reviled

adj : assailed with contemptuous language

An objective atonement is indicated in this affirmation. The truths of the gospel are that man is a sinner and that he must in some way meet the demands of God's righteous judgment against him. The answer to the dilemma is that Christ bore our sins in His own body on the cross. Through this suffering of humiliation and death, we are spiritually healed.