1 Peter 2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Peter 2

The general exhortation to holiness is continued, and enforced by several reasons taken from the foundation on which Christians are built, Jesus Christ, and from their spiritual blessings and privileges in him. The means of obtaining it, the word of God, is recommended, and all contrary qualities are condemned, 1 Pet. 2:1-12. Particular directions are given how subjects ought to obey the magistrates, and servants their masters, patiently suffering in well doing, in imitation of Christ, 1 Pet.... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Peter 2:1-3

The holy apostle has been recommending mutual charity, and setting forth the excellences of the word of God, calling it an incorruptible seed, and saying that it liveth and abideth for ever. He pursues his discourse, and very properly comes in with this necessary advice, Wherefore laying aside all malice, etc. These are such sins as both destroy charity and hinder the efficacy of the word, and consequently they prevent our regeneration. I. His advice is to lay aside or put off what is evil, as... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Peter 2:4-12

I. The apostle here gives us a description of Jesus Christ as a living stone; and though to a capricious wit, or an infidel, this description may seem rough and harsh, yet to the Jews, who placed much of their religion in their magnificent temple, and who understood the prophetical style, which calls the Messiah a stone (Isa. 8:14; 28:16), it would appear very elegant and proper. 1. In this metaphorical description of Jesus Christ, he is called a stone, to denote his invincible strength and... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Peter 2:13-25

The general rule of a Christian conversation is this, it must be honest, which it cannot be if there be not a conscientious discharge of all relative duties. The apostle here particularly treats of these distinctly. I. The case of subjects. Christians were not only reputed innovators in religion, but disturbers of the state; it was highly necessary, therefore, that the apostle should settle the rules and measures of obedience to the civil magistrate, which he does here, where, 1. The duty... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:1-3

2:1-3 Strip off, therefore, all the evil of the heathen world and all deceitfulness, acts of hypocrisy and feelings of envy, and all gossiping disparagements of other people, and, like newly-born babes, yearn for the unadulterated milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up until you reach salvation. You are bound to do this if you have tasted that the Lord is kind. No Christian can stay the way he is; and Peter urges his people to have done with evil things and to set their hearts on... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:1-3

But there is something on which the Christian must set his heart. He must yearn for the unadulterated milk of the word. This is a phrase about whose meaning there is some difficulty. The difficulty is with the word logikos ( Greek #3050 ) which with the King James Version we have translated of the word. The English Revised Version translates it spiritual, and in the margin gives the alternative translation reasonable. Moffatt has spiritual, as has the Revised Standard Version. Logikos ( ... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:4-10

2:4-10 Come to him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious with God, and be yourselves, like living stones, built into a spiritual house until you become a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices, which are well-pleasing to God through Jesus Christ; for there is a passage in Scripture which says, "Behold, I place in Zion a stone, chosen, a cornerstone, precious, and he who believes in him shall not be put to shame." So, then, there is preciousness in that stone to you... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:11-12

2:11-12 Beloved, I urge you, as strangers and sojourners, to abstain from the fleshly desires which carry on their campaign against the soul. Make your conduct amongst the Gentiles fine, so that in every matter in which they slander you as evil-doers, they may see from your fine deeds what you are really like and glorify God on the day when he will visit the earth. The basic commandment in this passage is that the Christian should abstain from fleshly desires. It is of the greatest... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:11-12

(ii) But there was for Peter another and even more practical reason why the Christian must abstain from fleshly desires. The early church was under fire. Slanderous charges were continually being made against the Christians; and the only effective way to refute them was to live lives so lovely that they would be seen to be obviously untrue. To modern ears the King James Version can be a little misleading. It speaks about "having your conversation honest among the Gentiles." That sounds to us... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Peter 2:13-15

2:13-15 Submit to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king, who has the first place, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of those whose deeds are evil and the praise of those whose deeds are good, for it is the will of God that by so doing you should muzzle the ignorance of foolish men. Peter looks at the duty of the Christian within the different spheres of his life; and he begins with his duty as a citizen of the country in which he happens to... read more

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