Spiritual Nourishment

1 Peter 2

​"Just as a baby has an appetite for the mother’s milk, so the child of God has an appetite for the Father’s Word." Warren Wiersbe

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV)

Dr. Tony Evans writes, “You don’t have to command babies to eat; they know when they’re hungry. Christians must be reminded that they are spiritually hungry and must be fed. You also won’t find infants consuming big meals on Sunday in order to last them the whole week. Babies eat regularly for day-to-day nourishment; Christians need the same. Some believers are consuming spiritual junk food that can’t nourish and won’t produce growth. They need a steady diet and application of God’s Word instead of man’s opinion.”

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV)

God is building a temple out of living stones, and we are privileged to be part of it. We are built on Jesus Christ, so there is no way the temple can be destroyed.

Peter is not just talking about each individual’s coming to Jesus but corporately coming to him. God is taking living stones—that have life because of the living stone—and building a spiritual house. Dr. Evans says, “He’s not building houses but a house. He wants all of us stones to fit snugly into that building. We were dug out of the quarry of sin to be cemented together by the grace of God.”

“For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” 1 Peter 2:6–8 ESV)

You have only two choices with Jesus: accept him or reject him. Those who accept him know he is the Lord’s honored cornerstone—the stone on which God’s household aligns. We are to live our lives with reference to him, and we will never be put to shame. But for those who reject him, He is a stone to stumble over; thus, they will trip over him right into judgment.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9–10 (ESV)

Each believer or follower of Jesus is a priest before God and can bring sacrifices to the Lord through Jesus Christ. As we worship the Lord, we proclaim His virtues to a lost and dying world. That is what God called Israel to do in Exodus 19, but they failed. Are we also failing?

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:11–12 (ESV)

As strangers whose citizenship is in heaven, we are carefully watched by the world; and we must live to glorify God. It may be difficult today, but it will be worth it when Jesus returns.

Dr. Tony Evans says, “Christ’s followers are strangers and exiles. This fallen world, then, is not your home. It’s roughly a seventy- or eighty-year pit stop on the way to your eternal destination. The Christian’s job in this interim period is to make a difference for God in the world. You are to abstain from sinful desires—that is, don’t do what everyone else is doing. You are to conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, those who don’t know God. Jesus told his disciples to let their light shine before unbelievers so that they would see their good works and glorify God. So go public with your faith, and influence neighbors and communities for God.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

In the final passages of 1 Peter 2, we are called to submit to authority. Peter’s counsel is that we who love and follow Jesus be good, model citizens and employees so that God will be glorified. The example for us to follow is Jesus Christ who submitted even to death.

Are you growing in your spiritual life? If not, what is hindering you? What would it take for you to begin moving to more solid food and develop in your spiritual disciplines and growth this week? Are you living the words you testify? Is it honoring and pleasing to Jesus, the One who saved you?
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Know today that along with your new identity in Christ, God’s people are to live a new lifestyle—in purity, in joy, and in hope. You are to proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

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