ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Peter 2

1 Pet. 2:1–2 newborn infants. Peter is not saying that believers are immature in their faith. He means all Christians are to be like infants in their longing for pure spiritual milk, which likely refers to God’s Word (compare 1:23–25).

1 Pet. 2:3 Christians will continue to long for the Word if they have tasted that the Lord is good, which they did in conversion (compare Ps. 34:8). In writing this letter, Peter may well have thought about Psalm 34, which stresses how the Lord delivers the righteous in their sufferings (compare 1 Pet. 3:10–12 and Ps. 34:12–13).

1 Pet. 2:4 As you come to him indicates a daily personal relationship with Christ. living stone. Jesus is the foundation of God’s new temple. He is God’s elect (chosen) one. He is honored above all.

1 Pet. 2:5 Believers are living stones in God’s new temple (spiritual house). Since the pieces that make up the house are “living,” the house itself is growing: you yourselves . . . are being built up. The OT temple anticipated the new temple where God dwells (that is, in his people). But believers are not only God’s temple. They are also a holy priesthood, which offers spiritual sacrifices (compare Ex. 19:5–6; see also Rom. 12:1; Phil. 4:18; Heb. 13:15–16) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Pet. 2:6 Peter cites Isa. 28:16 (compare Rom. 9:33; 10:11) in support of the idea that Jesus is the cornerstone (see note on Eph. 2:20) of God’s temple. Those who trust in him will be saved on judgment day.

1 Pet. 2:7 Unbelievers will find this prophecy from Ps. 118:22 fulfilled. The stone the builders rejected is Jesus, the foundation of God’s temple, his new people.

1 Pet. 2:8 stumbling. Tripping over the truth of the gospel. Unbelievers fall because they do not walk with God. In doing so, unbelievers fulfill this prophecy from Isa. 8:14. There the stone God has established becomes the means of their falling. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. Some understand this to teach that God has not predestined who will disobey. He has only determined the result of disobedience (that is, that those who disobey will stumble). But Peter probably teaches that God directs all that will occur (see note on Eph. 1:11). In teaching this, Peter still does not deny human responsibility (they “stumble because they disobey”).

1 Pet. 2:9 a chosen race. God has elected (“chosen”) some to be his people. Therefore no one can boast about being included. Peter views the church as a new Israel. He cites what is said of Israel in Ex. 19:5–6 and applies it to the church.

1 Pet. 2:10 Peter echoes texts in Hosea that refer to Israel (Hos. 1:6; 9; 10; 2:23) and says they are fulfilled in the church.

1 Pet. 2:11–4:11 Living as Strangers to Bring Glory to God in a Hostile World. Believers should live as exiles in a world that rejects their message. They bear witness to the gospel when they live in a way that pleases God.

1 Pet. 2:11 Beloved signals a major new section in the letter (compare 4:12). Believers are sojourners and exiles (compare 1:1, 17). They await their end-time inheritance. wage war against your soul. Holding on to sinful desires brings spiritual harm.

1 Pet. 2:12 Peter refers to unbelievers as Gentiles. This reflects his understanding of believers as a new Israel (see note on 1:1). glorify God. See Matt. 5:16. On the day of visitation may refer to the believer’s initial conversion through the regenerating work (“visitation”) of the Holy Spirit. Or it may refer to how those who become believers will glorify God on judgment day.

1 Pet. 2:13–3:12 Peter exhorts Christians to goodness as citizens (2:13–17), slaves (2:18–25), wives (3:1–6), and husbands (3:7). The section is summed up in 3:8–12: those who imitate Christ and pursue goodness will receive an eternal reward.

1 Pet. 2:13–14 Be subject. Compare Rom. 13:1–7.

1 Pet. 2:15 The godly lives of believers will put to silence false charges raised against them.

1 Pet. 2:16 Compare Gal. 5:13–14.

1 Pet. 2:18 On slavery in the Greco-Roman world, see note on 1 Cor. 7:21. Servants (bondservants) often entered into service to pay off a debt. They were not owned forever without their consent. There were laws to protect bondservants. Still, masters were often unjust. Bondservants who served faithfully in these circumstances gave a witness of Christ’s suffering. This verse does not mean that servants were to endure anything the masters did to them.

1 Pet. 2:19–20 Gracious thing comes from the Greek word for “grace.” Here it seems to be synonymous with credit. Both words indicate that God will reward his people if they endure suffering righteously. Compare Luke 6:34–35. “Gracious thing” could also mean that patient endurance of suffering is evidence of God’s grace at work.

1 Pet. 2:22–23 This crucial verse emphasizes Christ’s sinlessness (committed no sin) and his substitutionary death for sinners (compare 3:18; see also Isa. 52:13–53:12). Jesus’ freedom from deceit alludes to Isa. 53:9.

1 Pet. 2:24 Tree was often used as a synonym for “cross” in first-century Judaism. This may have been due to Deut. 21:22–23 (see Gal. 3:13; also Acts 5:30; and see note on crucifixion at Matt. 27:35). The unique, substitutionary, sin-bearing death of Jesus is described here using allusions to Isa. 53:4, 5, 11. healed. The healing in the atonement refers to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ death should lead to a profound change in the lives of believers. They should break all ties with evil (die to sin) and devote themselves to living in a holy way (live to righteousness).