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THE VISION SPLENDID
Introductory notes on Peter’s letters
As we will discover Peter is writing to non-Jews scattered across the world to pastor, encourage and correct them in living a kingdom lifestyle. It appears they are under persecution and false teachers are impacting their faith. As well, some are questioning the second coming of Jesus.
He wants them to embrace an anchor for their new found way of life and we find it in 1 Peter 2:4-10. If they can grasp the sheer magnitude and majesty of the new, holy nation and how they will live as royal priests in what will be a kingdom lifestyle, they will survive, grow as a God’s special people, and change the world.
“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”” (1 Peter 2:4-10 - NLT)
However, there are difficult days ahead and he has to guide them through the human minefields of domestic and social relationships, as well as helping them to understand, from his Jewish background, how suffering and persecution can be approached through a positive attitude.
For Christians in the 21st century, there is solid and relevant advice and guidance that will be meaningful in our desire to to be authentic participants in the kingdom lifestyle. If we can yet again grasp something of the privilege and inspirational concept of Peter’s vision of the holy nation, and see ourselves as the chosen people ministering as royal priests, we will experience a renewal and a re-energisation of our lives.


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