WE look at only 12 verses because there is such a lot to learn from them, and such important spiritual instruction. Peter is describing the great privileges which the believer in Jesus possesses in Christ, and what this requires in our daily living.

VERSES 1-2.

These verses follow from what Peter is saying in the previous chapter. Again our living should reflect the wonderful new people we have become through Christ. Peter mentions five faults of human character which the Christian needs to expel from his or her life. Peter calls us to rid ourselves of, or get rid of, these faults, but how easily they creep back. The five faults all relate to our attitude to others, how we think of them, and how we treat them. They are faults which do so much harm to relationships, and corrode the inner being of all who let them flourish in their lives. They are not things which glorify Christ.

How do we get rid of these faults and diminish their activity in our lives. The answer is spiritual growth. The new spiritual nature must be nurtured and fed, so that it becomes strong, healthy and dominant in our lives. 'As new born babes' - this phrase speaks of the nature of Christian conversion. It is birth into a new life and realm. New life must be fed in order that it may grow. If we have this new life it will manifest itself by spiritual hunger, just like a new born baby desires food. The food we need is pure spiritual milk. From 1 Corinthians 3:2 we see that spiritual food is the teaching and receiving of the truth of God's revelation, which is synonymous with the Bible. We feed on the Word of God revealed there. The people who are best instructed and who receive the word by faith and live it, are those who grow spiritually and so can expel the faults of the flesh.

VERSES 4-8.

Peter then reverts back to the reason why our living needs to be different than others living in this world. We have come to 'the living stone', Christ himself, and so we have become living stones, built into him the cornerstone (v.6,7) of the spiritual building of God.

Christ is referred to as a stone in other parts of the Bible. For the Christian he is the foundation on which our lives are built, and so we will last for ever. We are being built into a spiritual house. This building into a spiritual house is that we may become a royal priesthood. We are priest to the king, so royal. Our purpose is offer spiritual sacrifices. These our sacrifices of praise and worship (Hebrews 13:15), and sacrifices of worthy and devoted service (Philippians 4:18). This priesthood of all believers is the only priesthood known in the New Testament, apart from the priesthood of Christ. Christ is the only priest who meditates between us and God (1 Timothy 2:5). Those who enter the ordained ministry of the church are not priests in this essential meaning of priesthood, but servants, ambassadors, ministers of Christ to the people. However we are all priests to offer sacrifices of praise, but not sacrifices to atone for sin.

Christ is the cornerstone of the Church. He is chosen and precious before the Father for this purpose. On him is the church built, and on no other. Those who are built on Christ can never be put to shame. So Jesus is a precious stone to us, but to others he is a stone on which they stumble, fall and are crushed. They stumble says Peter because they reject the message that Christ came to save sinners. Sinners are those who have already seen they are fallen, and so Christ raises them up. Those who in self righteousness feel they are standing find that Christ cause them to fall and be crushed.

VERSES 9-10.

Peter speaks of the nature of true Christianity. A Christian is a chosen person by God. All life and blessings are because of this election. We are chosen to be a royal priesthood to serve our king; and we are a holy nation belonging to our king. Our purpose is to glorify God and Christ - declare his praises. These praises are the tremendous work he has done for us. This is described as calling us out of the darkness of this world, the darkness of sin and Satan and death, and bringing us into the light of his heavenly realm and the light of his glorious presence. We are now the people of God, this is because we belong to God. We enjoy this privilege because we have obtained mercy. Our blessing of belonging to God is because we have received mercy from God through Christ. God visited the punishment of our sins on Christ, so that he may be merciful to us and not condemn us for our sins.

VERSES 11-12.

The fact we have been chosen, shown mercy, and brought into God's kingdom means that we are aliens and strangers in this world. We are citizens of heaven and not of this world. It is because of this fact that we must show in our living here on earth the holy life of the heavenly kingdom we belong to. This means we must have nothing to do the desires of the flesh, because these fight against our new character. Sin always disfigures our holy nature in Christ, and brings destruction to it.