TEACHING PLAN APRIL 15, 2018
GOD SAYS YOU ARE A FOREIGNER! 1 PETER 2 APRIL 15, 2018 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying 1 Peter 2:1-25. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for church leadership, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS TAKEAWAY: We do not belong in this world, but we must learn to live alongside the people of this world. WHY IT S IMPORTANT: As a follower of Jesus Christ, we must not forget that we are on earth but for a short time. While we are here we have a different leader, a different law, a different language and a different life from those in this world. GOSPEL CONNECTION: We live in a world ruled by the Spirit of God and our God, who is not of this world, will reign through our lives! 2 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 Is there a particular sports team you love or cause you feel particularly passionate about? If so, what is it? 2 If you were to never say anything about what you cared about, what are some ways people might know what you cared about? Alternate introduction Ask members of the group to share their experiences related to traveling in other countries. What obstacles and challenges did they face? How did they overcome them? In short, what was it like being a foreigner? 3 Along that same line of thought, what are some things that let people know that we are Christians? If you are big fan of a particular sports team, it becomes obvious to people who interact with you regularly. You wear their gear, maybe post about them on social media, make time to watch the games, and so on. You could never say a word about it and people would know. You live like you are a fan of that team. While not a perfect analogy, Christians live noticeably differently. We are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Pet. 1:15). Holiness is a quality that is only produced in the lives of people who are known by God. When God knows you, you live a life of holiness. It does not matter whether the culture is leaving you behind (as it seems to be doing in modern day America) or you are facing persecution from oppressors (as was the case in Peter s day). Christians live differently despite the circumstances. We are foreigners. 3 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read 1 Peter 2:1-3. 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. Which attribute (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander) is the hardest for you to get rid of? Why? Things like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander hinder our desire for Christ. By getting rid of them, Christians can yearn for spiritual growth in the same way babies yearn for milk. Peter knew this from experience. He understood the ups and downs of the Christian life. He had numerous moments that revealed his need for spiritual maturity even with Jesus present with him. Peter also knew that the Lord is good and wants believers to connect with Him. What does it mean to desire the pure spiritual milk? Why do negative habits like Peter described decrease as we grow in our desire for spiritual milk? How does spiritual milk contribute toward holiness in our lives? Pure spiritual milk is God s collected teachings in Scripture. Peter intended for believers to long 4 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
for spiritual nourishment from God s Word. Paul expressed a similar sentiment when he reminded Timothy that all Scripture is inspired by God and able to make believers complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Careful study of Scripture is absolutely essential to the spiritual growth of the Christian. Like a newborn baby who doesn t get milk, Christians who neglect God s Word suffer spiritual malnourishment. > Have a volunteer read 1 Peter 2:4-10. 4 As you come to him, the living Stone rejected by men 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 capstone, 8 and, A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message which is also what they were destined for. 5 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, 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. In 1 Peter 2:1-3, Peter urged Christians to play an active part in their spiritual growth. Then in verses 4-8, Peter turned his attention from teaching about a Christian s spiritual growth to a Christian s identity in Christ. What does Peter remind us about Jesus identity by calling Him the living Stone in verse 4? Why is it significant that Jesus is the living Stone? In verse 5, the stones fit together to form the spiritual house. What does it mean to you to be a part of this spiritual house? For what purpose is God building up believers into a spiritual house (v. 5)? What are the sacrifices of believers? Why are they acceptable to God? Jesus is called the living Stone because of His resurrection. Peter drew this theme from Psalm 118:22, where the stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. Each person accepts or rejects this living Stone. This rejection refers to the people of the first century who ultimately crucified Christ and to anyone since that time who has not embraced Him as personal Savior. Jesus is the chosen One, and we are chosen because we are in Him. Our entire identity is wrapped up in our coming to Him. Because of our relation to the resurrected and living Lord, we, too, can be called living stones. 6 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
What was the role of a priest for Israel? In what way do believers fulfill that role for one another? For what purpose has God made us a people for His own possession (v. 9)? We ve talked about how being a temporary resident changes our outlook. How does being God s possession change our lifestyle? Peter described believers as priests who offer spiritual sacrifices. As Israel was God s chosen people, believers are a chosen race. We are also a royal priesthood, belonging both to the family of the King and to the priestly family. We are a holy nation, a people for His possession, as Israel had been. Our purpose as the people of God and as priests is to proclaim the praises of God. Here we learn the nature of the spiritual sacrifices of this new priesthood praising God. Hebrews 13:15 refers to a sacrifice of praise. Romans 12:1 speaks of the spiritual worship of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Such a sacrifice of praise is merited by the nature of what God has done for us in Christ. He has called us out of the darkness of our world into His marvelous light in Christ. > Have a volunteer read 1 Peter 2:11-17. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which 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. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by 7 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
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 men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. What reasons does this text give for obeying and respecting authority? Refer to Romans 13:3-5 for additional reasons. How might a faithful track record of submitting to authority silence the ignorance of foolish people? Look at verse 17. How does Peter command believers to respond to authorities? How does he command believers to respond to God? What is the difference? Peter challenged his readers to submit to and honor the governing authorities in their lives, but also made clear that the Christian s relationship to God must be different than his relationship to the state we are to honor the emperor, but we are to fear God (v. 17). The original recipients of 1 Peter and Romans faced severe persecution and enjoyed much less personal freedom than we do today, and yet they were commanded to submit to the very governing authorities that turned a blind eye to their persecution. Thus, before we determine to disobey the governing authorities in our lives, we must make sure that obeying this governing authority would require disobeying God. Secondly, we should be certain that our primary motives are to glorify God and seek the welfare of others. Protecting our personal freedoms and desires are not biblical reasons to defy the government. Finally, we must Romans 13:3-5 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ro 13:3 5). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 8 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
remember Paul s command in Romans 12:18, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. > Have a volunteer read 1 Peter 2:18-25. 18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 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 tree, 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. The slavery Peter referred to was not racially driven. People were sold into slavery for economic reasons rather than for issues of race. Often times a man was a slave because he incurred a large amount of debt and could not pay it off. Others were, however, born as slaves. In the first century, some masters treated their slaves with respect, while others ruthlessly mistreated their slaves. In either event, it s important to note that slavery in the first century was not just. Who does Peter challenge slaves to submit to in verse 18? Does this surprise you? Why or why not? 9 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
Why does it bring favor when we suffer unjustly? How might suffering provide us opportunities for spiritual growth (see 1 Pet. 1:6-9)? The word unjust is actually better translated evil or crooked. The idea behind Peter s command to slaves in 2:18 is that slaves live lives marked by obedience to their masters whether their masters are fair or not. Peter did not give this charge because he was unsympathetic to the plight of slaves or because he thought slavery as an institution was just. Peter gave this charge because more than anything else he was concerned with helping Christians, slave or free, live faithfully for Christ. Peter sought to help all people, in all circumstances, embrace their role as advocates for Christ s kingdom. In other words, a slave suffering under an unjust master had a unique opportunity to proclaim Christ by persevering in doing good in the face of injustice. What unique opportunities to live for God s glory and advance Christ s kingdom might unjust suffering provide us? 1 Peter 1:6-9 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (1 Pe 1:6 9). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. We face unfair circumstances all the time. It would be easy to just look at Peter s teaching on slavery here and think it doesn t apply to us because we are not slaves. But this text does apply to us, because we are called to proclaim the gospel in everything we do. Unfair circumstances provide a prime opportunity to share the gospel a message that addresses the really big problems of life such as sin and separation from God for eternity. The gospel is a message about true freedom freedom from the wrath of God, freedom to delight in Jesus! 10 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 What unlikely places have you found yourself in lately? Have you ever been tempted to compromise the holiness God calls you to because of these unlikely places? What do we do to remain firm? 2 As the world continues to press in to us, how do we ensure that our group remains a place of calm built up by living stones? 3 The clear calling of Peter in this text is to live lives of holiness. How is holiness in the place God has called us to live, work, and play a powerful witness to the work He is doing our lives? P R A Y Praise God for calling you to a life of holiness. Confess what a privilege it is to live with a God who loves you and calls you to Himself. Pray for the courage and clarity to live for God in the most unlikely of places. 11 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information: > Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week: How has the reminder that this world is not your ultimate home shaped your perspective and interactions this week? What specific opportunities do you have to honor those who may be acting unjustly towards you? How will you rely on Christ to do this? > A note of encouragement, following up on any specific prayer requests mentioned during your group gathering. > The challenge to memorize 1 Peter 2:11-12. > The text for next week s study, so group members can read it in anticipation of next weekend: Luke 24:44-53. 12 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 1 PETER 2:1-25 2:1. Rid carries the idea of taking off a suit of clothes. Previously, as pagans, these Christians had clothed themselves with all manner of wickedness deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. They were to remove and throw away such clothing. These words concern believers relationships with one another and with the world. Believers are not to deceive others. Deceit includes all hypocrisy pretending something other than the truth. Neither are believers to envy others. Envy reveals a failure to rejoice in God s gifts to us and to live in gratitude for His generosity. Slander means speaking against others in rumors, false accusations, gossip, or harsh criticism. All such speech violates the command to love that Peter had mentioned a few sentences earlier (1 Pet. 1:22). 2:2. The apostle resumed his earlier analogy of the new birth (1 Pet. 1:23) and compared the readers to newborn infants. This does not necessarily imply they were recent converts or spiritually immature. Peter s emphasis here was on the natural craving of an infant for its mother s milk, not on the readers spiritual condition. Desire means to crave. They were to desire God s milk with the kind of craving an infant has for its mother s milk. Peter called this milk unadulterated, meaning pure ; it is devoid of impurities or anything to dilute it. Furthermore, it is spiritual, as opposed to the physical milk a baby seeks. Obviously Bible study is one source of this milk. The apostle then spelled out the reason for drinking deeply of this milk: that you may grow by it in your salvation. The new birth is only the beginning of our salvation. We must not stop there, as if receiving salvation is all there is. We must continue to grow in that salvation; and we mature only by drinking of the unadulterated spiritual milk that alone produces spiritual growth and maturity. 13 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 2:3. Peter then arrived at the point that enables us to understand the nature of this spiritual milk. In saying they had tasted that the Lord is good, Peter implied these Asian Christians should continue to drink what they already tasted. In other words, the spiritual milk they needed centered in Christ Himself. The apostle likely took this idea from Psalm 34:8, which refers to tasting the Lord to see that He, the God of Israel, is good. In applying this verse to our Lord, Peter implied Jesus Deity in the strongest way possible. To grow in your Christian life, you absolutely must remain in constant, daily fellowship with Jesus Christ. Daily immersion of yourself in God s Word is a valuable discipline in drawing you close to your Savior. Periods of deep, concentrated prayer unite your heart with the living Lord. Periods of meditation on God s Word or listening to what your Lord has to say molds you in His image. 2:4. Many years earlier, Jesus had given Simon the nickname Rock (petros in Greek, from which the name Peter comes). Here the apostle nicknamed Rock described Jesus as a living stone. (See Psalm 118:22, which refers to the cornerstone that the builders rejected, and also see Peter s use of this psalm in v. 7.) The world at large had rejected Jesus, but God had chosen Him and declared Him valuable. Jesus is the chosen One, and we are chosen because we are in Him. Our entire identity is wrapped up in Him. 2:5. Because of our relation to the resurrected and living Lord, we too can be called living stones (but not in the same sense as Jesus). Just as stones were used to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, so we are being built into a spiritual house, a temple, to God. God now dwells in His people, not in a building (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19). Then Peter changed to another word picture and described believers as priests who offer spiritual sacrifices. Under the old covenant the priests of 14 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 Israel sacrificed bulls and goats in the temple. As Christians, we are priests of the new covenant who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. These sacrifices are truly acceptable to God, because they are offered through Jesus Christ. Peter specified the nature of these spiritual gifts in verse 9. 2:6. Peter then cited a series of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures on which he based his comments. It stands in Scripture is a solemn formula for citing quotations from Scripture as the Word of God. Peter first quoted Isaiah 28:16 as it appears in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Septuagint was the Bible of many in the early church, particularly those who spoke or read Greek. Isaiah had condemned Israel for rejecting the Lord s message and for relying on pagan nations for their support. Through Isaiah, God told Israel He was laying the true foundation stone on which His people were to be built. A cornerstone was the great stone lying at the corner of a building uniting one wall to another. This foundational cornerstone supports everything else and ties it all together. The cornerstone God was laying in Zion was either God Himself or the Messiah. Thus whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame. Those trusting in Jesus never have to worry about whether He will disappoint them. God made that clear to Isaiah, to Israel, and to us. 2:7. Peter pointed out a great difference between those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and those who do not. God gives honor to those who believe. The unbelieving, on the other hand, will be disconcerted to discover that the stone they rejected... has become the cornerstone. Here Peter quoted Psalm 118:22. This verse could describe an event in the construction of the temple or perhaps it was a proverbial saying from that period. Cornerstone here may mean either a foundational cornerstone as in Isaiah 28:16 or the topmost capstone. Though rejected by the leaders of Israel and Rome, Jesus 15 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 was the most important stone of the true temple, the people of God. 2:8. Peter next quoted Isaiah 8:14. In this verse, Isaiah said God should be a rock of sanctuary to His people. Instead, they failed to obey God, and they stumbled over Him as they would a huge rock placed in their paths. In a similar manner, Jesus the Messiah is a sanctuary to believers, but the One over whom unbelievers stumble. The statement they were destined for this expresses God s sovereignty, but it does not mean unbelievers have no responsibility for disobeying the message. They reject Jesus as Savior and suffer the consequences. 2:9. Peter then identified implications of the new identity that Christians have and are to understand. As Israel was God s chosen people, believers are a chosen race. We are also a royal priesthood, belonging both to the family of the King and to the priestly family. We are a holy nation, a people for His possession, as Israel had been. Our purpose as the people of God and as priests is to proclaim the praises of God. Here we learn the nature of the spiritual sacrifices of this new priesthood praising God. Hebrews 13:15 refers to a sacrifice of praise. Romans 12:1 speaks of the spiritual worship of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Although Peter did not name the sacrifice of our bodies here, the entire passage implies it. Such a sacrifice of praise is merited by the nature of what God has done for us in Christ. He has called us out of the darkness of our world into His marvelous light in Christ. 2:10. Peter than applied Hosea 2:23 to these largely Gentile congregations. Once they did not belong to God s people Israel, but then they became part of God s people, the church. Formerly they knew nothing of God s mercy to Israel, but then they received mercy through the Lord Jesus Christ. Many believers have a faulty sense of identity 16 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 as Christians. They may see themselves only as church members or as possessing a certainty of a home in heaven. Such believers can find their lives transformed by understanding they are part of something far greater than themselves. They belong to the new people of God. God now lives in them. They are priests serving before God, offering up the sacrifice of praise to Him amid a perverted and lost world. 2:11-12. Many false rumors circulated about Christians. They sometimes were accused of weakening families. After all, family stresses did arise when one family member trusted Jesus as Savior and others did not. This stress was particularly acute when a wife trusted Christ and not her husband. Christians in some places were accused of cannibalism. Did they not meet weekly to eat the flesh of a man (misunderstanding of the Lord s Supper)? And others claimed Christians participated in immoral and even incestuous activities (misunderstanding of the love feast or fellowship meal that often accompanied the Lord s Supper). Peter reminded these believers they were called to live as those set apart to God s service. Their lives were to exhibit a total transformation from the pagan lifestyle they had known prior to meeting Jesus Christ. If they simply lived so as to reflect the holiness of their Savior and God, they would put all such slanders to rest. 2:13-14. The verb submit also can be translated be subject to or rank yourselves under, and normally includes the idea of obedience. Believers are commanded to submit to government at all levels. Christians are not permitted the freedom to choose the regulations or officials to which they will submit. Believers are to respect human authorities even if they don t agree with them. Of course, such submission does not include obeying commands that are sinful or contrary to Scripture. The 17 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa
COMMENTARY APRIL 15, 2018 king to whom Peter referred was most likely Nero (A.D. 54-68), the degenerate emperor who cruelly persecuted Christians. In stating that Christians should submit to the king, Peter was focusing on the authority of the office rather than on the character of the officeholder. 2:15-20. Peter first offers an evangelistic reason to respect authorities. Unbelievers are always watching believers to see whether their behaviors match what they profess. Thus, when Christians are caught doing good, the government may commend them. When Christians live as good citizens, their actions will counter false accusations made against them. Such behavior may result in unbelievers being more receptive to the gospel. But if Christians are mandated to submit to the governing authorities, in what sense have they been set free by the gospel? Peter says that Christian liberty is always a responsible freedom the freedom to choose what is right and good. Believers are to live as free persons, delivered from bondage to sin. Christian liberty is never to be used as a cover-up for evil. Therefore, there is a sense in which Christians are not free at all. They always live as servants of God. The word translated servants means bondslaves, those owned by a master. Here is one of the great paradoxes of Christianity: Only those who have become God s slaves enjoy true freedom. Christian liberty does not mean being free to do only what we want; it means being free to do what we ought to do. 2:21-25. Peter identifies with his suffering audience, reminding them they, like Jesus, have been called to suffer. Suffering because of one s faith is not a probable or possible: It is certain. Just as Christ s suffering led unbelievers to repentance and faith in Jesus, so may the suffering of Christians. Identifying with Jesus suffering gives purpose and solace to suffering Christians. 18 Finding Your Place Calvary Tuscaloosa