The Early Church · c. AD 62–64
Chapter 36
Living Stones
Come to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For parents
This letter is written to believers who are suffering: it speaks of their trials and of insults for the name of Christ (1 Peter 1:6–7; 3:13–17; 4:12–19), and of Christ’s own suffering and death (2:21–24; 3:18). It tells servants to be subject to their masters, the wicked as well as the good and gentle, and speaks of enduring a beating (2:18–20); this is told plainly, without comment. One verse names drunken binges, wild parties and lust among the ways of the Gentiles (4:3), in soft wording.
The letter opens with the name of its writer and the people it was written to: “, an of Jesus , to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the in , , , , and . You are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and made holy by the Spirit, so that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. May you have and peace, more and more.”
“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Out of his great mercy he caused us to be born again to a living hope through the of Jesus Christ from the dead. We were born again to an inheritance that can’t decay or be stained, and that doesn’t fade away. It is kept in heaven for you. By the power of God you are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“You rejoice greatly in this, even though for a little while now, if it has to be, you have been made sad by trials of many kinds. They come so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, the proof of your faith may bring praise, glory, and honor. That proof is more precious than gold, which perishes even though it is tested by fire. You have not known him, yet you love him. You don’t see him now, but you believe in him, and you rejoice greatly with a joy too deep for words and full of glory. You are receiving what your faith leads to: the salvation of your souls.
“The searched and looked hard into this salvation. They prophesied about the grace that would come to you. The Spirit of Christ was in them, telling ahead of time about the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. They searched to find out who, or what kind of time, the Spirit was pointing to. It was made known to them that in these things they were serving not themselves, but you. Those who preached the Good News to you by the sent out from heaven have now told you these things. These are things that angels desire to look into.”
“So prepare your minds for action. Keep a clear head, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As children who obey, don’t go along with the desires you used to have, back when you didn’t know better. But just as the one who called you is holy, you too must be holy in every part of your life, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’
“He plays no favorites, but judges each person by what they have done. If you call on him as Father, spend your days as foreigners here in reverent fear. You know that you were bought back from the useless way of life handed down from your ancestors. It wasn’t with things that decay, like silver or gold, but with precious blood, like that of a lamb with no mark or spot: the blood of Christ. He was known beforehand, before the world was made, but he was revealed in this last age for your sake. Through him you are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
“You have made your souls pure by obeying the truth through the Spirit, so that you have a sincere love for your brothers and sisters. So love one another deeply, from the heart. You were born again, not from a seed that decays, but from one that can’t decay, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. ‘All flesh is like grass, and all human glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls, but the Lord’s word endures forever.’ This is the word of Good News that was preached to you.”
“So put away all wickedness and all deceit, all pretending, all envy, and all hurtful talk. Like newborn babies, long for pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it, if you really have tasted that the Lord is kind.
“Come to him, a living stone. People rejected him, but God chose him, and he is precious. You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices that God accepts through Jesus Christ.
“Scripture says, ‘Look, I am laying a chief in , chosen and precious. Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.’ So the honor belongs to you who believe. But for those who disobey, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,’ and it is ‘a stumbling stone, and a rock to fall over.’ They stumble at the word because they disobey, and they were also appointed to this.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who belong to God, so that you may tell of the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In the past you were not a people; now you are God’s people. You had not been shown mercy, but now you have been.”
“My dear friends, I beg you, as foreigners and pilgrims, stay away from the cravings of the flesh, which make war against the soul. Behave well among the nations. Then, though they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good works and give glory to God on the day he visits.
“For the Lord’s sake, submit to every human authority, whether the king, as the one above all, or governors, as those he sends to punish wrongdoers and to praise people who do well. This is what God wants: that you should do right, and so silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as free people, yet not using your freedom as a mask for wickedness, but as God’s servants. Honor all people. Love your brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the king.
“Servants, submit to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked. It is a good thing if someone endures pain, suffering unfairly, because of his conscience toward God. What glory is there if you sin and patiently take a beating for it? But if you do right and patiently endure suffering, that is a good thing in God’s sight.
“This is what you were called to, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, for you to follow in his steps. He didn’t sin, and ‘deceit was not found in his mouth.’ When he was cursed, he didn’t curse back. When he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but gave himself into the care of the one who judges rightly.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. He did it so that we would die to sins and live to do what is right. You were healed by his wounds. You were wandering away like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and of your souls.”
“In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word, seeing your pure behavior in fear. Let your beauty come not from the outward adorning of braiding your hair, and of wearing gold ornaments or of putting on fine clothing, but from the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. For this is how in the past the holy women who hoped in God also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands. So Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are if you do well and are not put in fear by any terror.
“You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman as to the weaker vessel, as also being joint heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
“Finally, all of you, think as one and feel for one another. Love like brothers and sisters, and be tenderhearted and courteous. Don’t repay evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, give a blessing in return. You know that you were called to this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
“‘Anyone who wants to love life and see good days should keep his tongue from evil and his lips from lies. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’
“Now who will harm you if you imitate what is good? But even if you suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Don’t fear what they fear, and don’t be troubled.’
“But in your hearts, set apart the Lord God as holy. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you why you have the hope that is in you. Do it with humility and fear, and keep a good conscience. Then, though you are spoken against as wrongdoers, those who curse your good way of life in Christ may be disappointed. It is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.”
“Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who before were disobedient when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
“So, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves too with the same way of thinking, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin. Do this so that you no longer live the rest of your time in the flesh for human desires, but for the will of God.
“We have spent enough of our past time doing what the desire, living in indecency, lust, drunken binges, wild parties, drinking bouts, and vile idol worship. They think it strange that you don’t run with them into the same wild excess, and they speak evil of you. They will have to answer to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
“For this purpose the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged as people in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
“But the end of all things is near. So keep a sound mind, control yourselves, and keep a clear head for prayer. Above all things, keep your love for one another strong, because love covers a multitude of sins. Welcome one another as guests without grumbling.
“Each of you has received a gift; put it to work serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its many forms. If anyone speaks, he should speak as if speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God supplies, so that in everything God may be given glory through Jesus Christ. The glory and the rule belong to him forever and ever. Amen.”
“My dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trial which has come upon you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. But since you share in Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice with joy beyond measure.
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. They speak evil of him, but you give him glory. But none of you should suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or someone who meddles in other people’s business. But if one of you suffers for being a , he should not be ashamed, but should give glory to God in this.
“The time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God? ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?’ So those who suffer according to the will of God should also trust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator, and do what is good.”
“So, to the among you: I am an elder too, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and I will also share in the glory that will be revealed. I urge you to shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Watch over it, not because you are forced to, but by your own choice; not for dishonest gain, but willingly; not acting like lords over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.
“When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
“In the same way, you younger ones, submit to the elder. Yes, all of you, clothe yourselves with humility, and submit to one another, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’
“Humble yourselves, then, under the mighty hand of God, so he may raise you high when the time is right. Cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you.”
“Keep a clear head and be self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the , walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Stand against him, steady in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters who are in the world are suffering the same things.
“But the God of all grace called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. After you have suffered a little while, may he make you complete, make you steady, strengthen you, and settle you firmly in place. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
“I have written to you briefly through , our faithful brother, as I consider him. In it I urge you on, and testify that this is the true grace of God, the grace in which you stand.
“She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you. So does , my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.”