1 Peter 2:6 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Peter 2:6

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Peter puts the text for his reasoning at the end, rather than at the beginning. It’s a quotation from the prophet Isaiah 28:16. If you go through verse 6, you see that every single clause is represented in Peter's address, which immediately precedes it. He is going to speak about the church. He is going to say we are not just an add-on to the Old Testament era, as if it is all about the Jews, and, now that Christ is come, we are tacked onto it. It is more than that. This is at the very heart of Scripture: the prophecy not only about Christ but about the church, and he is going to show how all the wonderful terms that are used in the Old Testament about the Jews are now transferred to the church. Zion was the southernmost hilltop of Jerusalem; that is how it started out. On Zion was built a citadel or a Canaanite fortress, and it was taken by David, who stormed it. It became called the Hill of David, and so Jerusalem became the City of David. The term kept changing its meaning because when Solomon built the Temple, they looked at the Temple mount, which wasn’t Zion and they said, that is now Zion too; Zion was growing and growing. It became the Temple mount and then it became a term for all Jerusalem. Then it became a term for all of Israel, but then in the word of God it becomes the term for believers, the church of Jesus Christ and the heavenly city, where the people of God will dwell eternally – Zion. In this Zion there is a chief corner stone, laid by prophecy, that is Jesus Christ, elect and precious. It is God himself who is constructing this building. He is the architect and the builder and he knows exactly what he is in the process of constructing. His master plan goes into the greatest level of detail and he includes a chosen location for every stone. The first stone to be laid is the cornerstone and the whole building takes its shape from this stone. The cornerstone is placed at the extreme angle of the building and is the most important stone of all, which must be selected with special care. It is the stone with which all other stones will be aligned along two walls of the building. It needs to have straight sides and a precise right angle so as to clearly indicate the correct lines of the walls. God has chosen Jesus Christ to be the chief cornerstone of the church and his people are conscious of his position in the building. The word here is ‘precious’, but in Isaiah it isn’t ‘precious’; it’s the word ‘tried’. What's the connection between the two words? The idea is that this stone comes through the test. It is perfect and it endures, and so its qualities are indicated. Peter therefore moves the word into the area of honourable and precious, which is reasonable and logical. But it’s useful to know that the quotation originally was ‘tried’, and how closely that applies to Christ. Yes, he was tried: on Calvary's cross, and by all the humiliation beforehand, and the constant efforts at his assassination or arrest. Then it came to the moment where he allowed this to take place according to the plan of God. On Calvary's cross, God the Father put upon him all the punishment of all who would be saved through the history of the world, all who would be forgiven, and at the same time, the devil and his hosts attacked him ferociously. He came through; he arose and ascended into heaven, and eternally reigns, and through the Christian age he calls out his people, and works in their hearts by his Spirit.

Application

Because we are living stones, we are not simply laid passively in the building, but we deliberately look to Christ, glancing along at him to model ourselves on him. We often consider his place in the building and all that he did in his life to secure that place, for he has earned his position by his perfect obedience to the Father. We consider his strength to bear up the whole building for it is as if the whole building rests on him (elsewhere he is called the foundation of the entire church). We think of his perfect alignment with the plumb line of God’s righteous law; he alone has fulfilled the law and is therefore qualified to redeem God’s people. In a way that is not true of any building made with dead stones, each member of the church is directly in contact with him by his Spirit, and not separated from him by other believers who are closer to him than they are.

What is the building? It is the greatest building in the history of the world. It is the church of the living God. It has its people, its members, its converts out of every generation and every land under heaven. It is the greatest building. This corner stone – Christ and his suffering and death on Calvary – supports the most enduring building. Of course, it has endured across the centuries, the church of Christ to the present day but this is a building that lasts for all eternity. It is the most attacked building but it will withstand every attack. It is the most beautiful building. When we think of ourselves, we think, how can this be a beautiful building? Here am I with all my foolishness and all my sins, and yet looking around at so many Christians, we see what the Lord has done in their lives, what people have become, and how patient and how unselfish the Lord has made their characters. It is the most productive building, sending out the message of the gospel into all the world. It is the happiest building, because no matter what sorrows it goes through, his people know that they have been saved by Christ and have a foothold in heaven.

The translation ‘confounded’ is very good. You pray earnestly for something and you see a need. Will you be let down? Will you be put to shame? Will anybody be able to point the finger and say, ‘You trusted in that God of yours, and he’s let you down. It hasn't happened and it doesn't work out’? Never. You will never have any cause to be distressed, perplexed, confused, disappointed. Not in life, and certainly not in death, when the light of this world goes out, and you breathe your last. You will be ushered into the presence of God and of Christ. There will be such a time of acclamation and wonder and praise, that you will never be disappointed.

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1 Peter 2:6 Commentary and Bible Study