An overview for Sunday school teacher and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson of I Peter 2:1-10, with the title of “Our Identity,” for Sunday March 16, 2025. A video version of this overview is available at:

INTRODUCTION:

??? What are some things today that people hold on to as their “identity”???

(To “prime the pump” you might hold up some pictures or show slides of several different groups of people and ask: “Where are these people finding their identity?” 

(LGBT protester in their sexuality, a sports fan in his team, Swiftie in Taylor Swift, a nerd in his intelligence, etc, some in their race, others in their accomplishments, and so on. There are many that you/your group can pinpoint.)

Then say, as Christians, we are to find our identity in Christ. Nothing else should claim our primary allegiance or define our identity, but Him. And say that in our passage in I Peter 2 today, we will see what the Bible teaches us about our identity in Christ. 

CONTEXT:

We’re in our third lesson in the Book of I Peter. We saw in Week 1, in the first part of I Peter 1, how when we are born again in Christ, we receive an imperishable inheritance in heaven that cannot be taken away from us. Then in the second half of Chapter 1 we saw how we should live as a result of that salvation and that inheritance: “therefore living.” We should live as people who realize we have been bought by the blood of Christ, and lives lives of love, based on the word of God. This brings us to today’s lesson, as we start I Peter Chapter 2.

OUTLINE:

I. The Christian’s Growth  (:1-3)

II. The Christian’s Foundation (:4-8)

III. The Christian’s Identity (:9-10)

TEXT:  I Peter 2:1-10

I. The Christian’s Growth (:1-3)

:1 Therefore, putting aside all [a]malice and all deceit and [b]hypocrisy and [c]envy and all [d]slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the [e]pure [f]milk of the word, so that by it you may grow [g]in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted [h]the kindness of the Lord.”

As we saw last week, the word “Therefore” here points back to what came before. We saw at the end of last week’s lesson that because we have been saved in Christ, and have an eternal inheritance, we are to live lives that are based on the word of God. “Therefore” — because of that — here is what the Bible now tells us how to live:

— A. continued repentance (:1)

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander …”.

As we’ve seen numerous times in our studies, repentance is absolutely vital in salvation. We must repent of our sins, and put our faith in Jesus as our Lord & Savior. (Acts 20:21). But repentance doesn’t stop when we get saved — it just begins a whole lifetime process. Christians are to be continual repenters. 

ILLUSTRATION: 

When I was on a mission trip to Romania, the pastors there made a distinction between someone there who was a “genuine Christian,” as opposed to a cultural Christian, or someone who belonged to a Christian political party) they would say “He is a repenter” — in other words, a genuine, (what we might call “born again”) Christian. I thought that was a very apt term. Genuine Christians have repented of sin. And of course, genuine Christians also continue to repent. In Romania, genuine Christians have the “identity” of being “repenters”!  And we should too!

Peter says here in :1 that this repentance takes the form of “putting aside” some things. “Putting aside” is the Greek “Apothesthai”, which means “stripping off” (like taking off soiled clothes). Significantly, “stripping off” is a participle, which indicates continuing action. Christians do not just repent one time, when we get saved. It is an ongoing process; we continue to repent all through our Christian life. 

+x John 11, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. It says He came forth alive, but :44 says he “came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” So Lazarus was alive, but his old graveclothes had to be taken off. This is a picture of what happens to us as Christians. When we are saved, Jesus has forgiven us and made us “alive,” but we are still bound with the “graveclothes” of our old sins, attitudes, habits, which still have to be stripped off. This is a lifelong process of repentance, which doesn’t end until we meet the Lord in glory. 

??? What specifically does Peter say in :1 that we need to repent of???

(He lists 5 things here: 

— “malice” (Greek “kakia,” literally “badness.” We should get “all badness” out of our life. Sometimes we get the idea that we should be “just a little bit bad.” No; God says “all badness” needs to go!

— “deceit”: (Greek “dolos” = “deceit, guile, treachery.” Literally “bait”! Don’t “bait, deceive” people. Again, sometimes we get the idea that “that’s just business” to do things like that. Not for God’s people!

— “hypocrisy” (“hupokrisis”, “stage playing”!) Don’t pretend to be something you aren’t. Be genuine. Don’t “play a part” when you’re at church, or with certain friends. Be the same person wherever you are.

— “envy” (“phthonos,” “envy or jealousy.”) Is there anyone in your life, that when they succeed, you get bitter/angry? If so, you need to repent of that. It’s a sin. We are to “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” as Romans 12:15 says. 

— “slander” (“katalalias” “kata” = “against”; “lalia” = “to speak.”)

So this just means “all speaking against.” Don’t talk about people; gossip/slander/tear down other people. 

Sadly, these 5 sins are not uncommon in Christians today. And sadly, many of God’s people don’t even think of them as “that bad of sins”! But God specifically puts His finger on them here, saying that if we have been genuinely saved, we need to repent of these things! We need to get them OUT of our lives. They are part of the “graveclothes of death;” they shouldn’t have a place in our lives as followers of Christ.

— B. feeding on the word (:2)

“like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”

What does this mean, “pure milk of the word” (or “pure spiritual milk” as some translations have it?)

First, the word translated “milk of the word” or “spiritual milk” is logikos — you may recognize the word “logos” in there — it is referring to the word of God. God’s word is our “milk,” 

The illustration here is just like a baby needs milk to grow, so we as believers need God’s word to grow. Do you want to grow as a Christian? Then “feed” on the “pure milk” of the word of God!

Now what does “pure milk” mean? Let me ask you this: if someone asks for “pure water,” what do they mean, water and what else? Nothing else, right? “pure water” means water and water only. “Pure milk” means milk only, with nothing added.

So in the same way, Peter is telling us here that the pure milk of the word of God is what we need to grow: what does it mean “pure milk” of the word? It means the word with nothing added to it — just God’s word itself.

And I say that because that is often just what we do NOT get:

— we get the word filtered through other people’s teaching

— we get the word in a little one-verse devotional that is mostly someone’s interpretation of that verse.

And other people’s teaching can be good; it is not to be entirely rejected. The scripture tells us that God has gifted teachers for the edification of the church. And surely we can profit from reading devotionals and other Christian books; they aren’t “evil.” 

But what this is telling us is that THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT NEED YOU HAVE AS A CHRISTIAN IN ORDER TO GROW, IS TIME IN THE WORD OF GOD, AND THE WORD OF GOD ONLY!

You need time when it is just you, and an open Bible, and God’s Holy Spirit teaching you. THAT is the “pure milk” of the word.

Ask yourself, and your group: ??? How much time are you getting in the “pure milk” of the word of God??? Not someone else’s sermon; not some other teacher’s teaching; not reading someone else’s devotional — just you and the “pure milk” of the word. God’s word is the “pure milk” which this verse says will help you grow in respect to salvation. 

— So make sure you spend time in the “pure milk” of God’s word every day yourself, 

— And also, point other people, new Christians especially, and those who want to grow spiritually, to the word of God. Too often we trust this or that class, or this or that program, to grow people. But Peter says: point them to the word! Encourage them to feed on the pure milk of the word. THAT is how he says we will grow in salvation!

Then in :3 he ends this sections saying you will do these things “IF you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”  “IF” here is a 1st-class condition in Greek, which carries the meaning of “since.” “SINCE” you have really tasted God’s goodness and you are really saved, then you should be growing through repenting of specific sins, and by spending time in God’s word. This should be part of your “identity” in Christ: like the Romanians, you will be identified as a “repenter;” and like a new born baby, you will be known by your hunger for the word. 

II. Our Foundation As Christians (:4-8)

4 “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is [i]choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, [j]are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be [m]disappointed.”

7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,” 

8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”

A. Jesus is our Foundation Stone

Verse 4 says we come to Jesus as to a “living stone,” “rejected by men, but … precious in the sight of God.”

Note the contradiction here: Jesus was rejected by men, but precious to God. AND note that Peter says in :6 that this incongruous rejection was foretold in scripture. So this didn’t catch God “off guard;” like “Oh wow, they rejected My Son!” No, He KNEW this would happen. This was actually part of the plan foretold in the prophets. And then he gives THREE different Old Testament scripture cross-references which talk about how He would be like a “stone,” one in :6, one in :7, and another in :8:

— :6 quotes Isaiah 28:16, “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

— :7 quotes Psalm 118:22 “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,”

— :8 quotes Isaiah 8:14, that He will be: “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;

So three times here it mentions that Jesus would be the “stone/cornerstone” — twice it mentions how He would rejected by men, but is precious to God. 

You might ask your class: ??? What is so important about a “cornerstone.” Why is that particular stone so vital???

(Of course the answer is that all the other stones that are laid, are laid down in accordance with that one. It determines the direction the entire building will go. 

And of course JESUS is that “cornerstone,” Peter says. 

Paul mentions how important that is, in I Corinthians 3:11+,

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the foundation of the church. The whole thing is built on HIM: His death, burial, and resurrection, IS the gospel, as I Corinthians 15:1-4 makes clear. It is all about Jesus. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is our Lord. Jesus determines the direction of our lives. It is all about Jesus.

ILLUSTRATION:

In Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson, he writes:

“In 1941 as in 1937, therefore, the Johnson campaign consisted of a single issue: “Roosevelt. Roosevelt. Roosevelt.” That issue was emphasized in the candidate’s speeches. What America needed, he said, was “Roosevelt and unity—unity under one management, and for a common purpose: saving America from the dangers ahead; united behind Roosevelt, we’ll save America from the threat of slavery by the Axis.” If he was elected, he said, he would be “100 percent for Roosevelt,” “an all-out Roosevelt Senator, just a private under my Commander-in-Chief.” The issue was symbolized by his campaign emblem: the picture of Roosevelt and Johnson shaking hands on the Galveston dock at their first meeting four years before.” (Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path To Power, pp. 677-678)

(I will post the picture on my blog that LBJ used to promote his “Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Roosevelt” theme if you want to use it.) 

But make the point: just like Lyndon Johnson staked his whole political career on his identity with Franklin Roosevelt, so we as Christian are to stake our whole lives and our eternal souls on our identity with Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the “cornerstone” of our faith. It is all built on Him, and it all flows from Him. There are things which we can sometimes “over-emphasize” in the church — but we can’t “overemphasize” Jesus! We rest upon Him as our Savior; we take our direction from Him as our Lord. Our ultimate goal is being like Him. Our ultimate hope is being with Him. He is our cornerstone! 

You should also make this point of application from this passage:

??? What implications are there for US, that TWO of these verses indicate that Jesus, our foundation stone, was rejected by men???
(That tells us that there is a strong likelihood that if we make Him the cornerstone of our life, then WE will be rejected too. We need to be ready for that.)

ILLUSTRATION:

Carolyn Weber wrote a memoir of her time studying in Oxford, and how she came to Christ, which reads like a novel— just a fantastic book. In it, she told of how she was talking with her friends about how she was wrestling with telling her fiancee that she was considering becoming a Christian:

“If you want to really tick people off, just bring up the word Jesus.” Rachel looked at each of us around the table, mischievously.  “No one gets their knickers in a knot about anyone except Jesus,” Mark said plainly. “If you were telling your fiancé you were considering Buddhism, or Islam, or Wicca, you wouldn’t be so clearly anxious. And he would likely have taken it all in stride, because you would be tolerated, even celebrated, for your open-mindedness, your multiculturalism, your hipness. But Jesus? Whoa. That’s a whole other gig.” (Carolyn Weber, Surprised By Oxford, pp. 87-91)

There’s a lot of truth in that, isn’t there? Jesus is controversial. And of course it’s because the devil opposes Him as the one true way. As Peter says here, we will encounter some opposition if we identify with Christ. (And he will come back to this theme of Christians and persecution later in the book, as we will see in the coming weeks.)

But we need to have that commitment to stand on Him as our foundation regardless. We should be ready to say with the great songs: “on Christ the Solid Rock I stand;” “In Christ alone my hope is found”. JESUS is our foundation!

B. We are now “Living Stones” (:5)

Jesus is our Cornerstone, and and now :5 says in Him WE become “living stones”:  “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 

With Jesus as our Cornerstone, now we become “living stones” as His followers. and as :5 says, our purpose is to offer sacrifices to God through Christ: that is, we are to worship! We exist to worship God, and to lead others to worship God. 

+x Hebrews 13:15, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Thanking God, praising God — these are the “sacrifices” God wants us to offer up to Him as Christians. We exist as His followers, to worship Him. 

The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written in the 1640s by the Puritans, and it is a famous Christian “catechism” (in which you memorize certain key questions and answers as a means of discipleship).  Question #1 of this classic catechism asks:  “What is the chief end of man?” “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”  That is a classic answer, and every Christian should know it, and live like it. 

The single most important thing we can do, any day, is to worship God. If you have gotten up in the morning and read a Psalm, and given God thanks, and sung a song to Him — if you have worshiped Him — then you have done the single most important thing you could have done that day. Conversely, if you make a big sale, or win a prestigious prize, but do not worship God, you have not done the single most important thing you had to do that day. We should find our single most important purpose and identity as worshipers of Jesus Christ! 

III. Our Identity As Christians (:9-10)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

??? What are some of the things God call His people here in this passage???

(Answers should include these 4:

— “a chosen race”

— “a royal priesthood”

— “a holy nation”

— “a people for God’s own possession”

You could also include:

— “out of darkness/into His marvelous light”

— “once not a people/now the people of God”

— “had not received mercy/now you have received mercy”

EXPLAIN each of these: (Again, virtually all of these are from scripture …)

— “A chosen race”: (Deut. 10:15, Isaiah 43:20)

Some people think that they are the “chosen race.” Hitler thought the Aryans were the “chosen race.” Some white supremacists today think they are the chosen race. Many think of the Jews as the “chosen race” — and to an extent they were — but the ultimate “chosen race” Peter tells us, is the people of God. 

— “a royal priesthood” 

Exodus 19:6 says, “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests.” Many people consider the status of the priest to be a great one, but God says in His Kingdom, ALL His people will be priests: they will be “a kingdom of priests”! This ties in with our Baptist distinctive, that we don’t NEED priests as the people of God in Christ, we ARE priests! Each of us can come to God through Christ (“our great High Priest”) for ourselves. 

— “a holy nation” 

In that same Exodus 19:6 verse God says His people will be “a holy nation.” Holy means “set apart;” it means “pure.” God’s people are not to be “common” and stained by the world. We are to be holy. Our holiness should be part of our identity — not in a “self-righteous” way like the Pharisees, but in genuine purity and separation from the corruptions of the world.

— “a people for God’s own possession”

This is from Exodus 19:5, where God tells Israel, “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples …”.

What a privilege: that we belong to God! Like the old hymn says: “Now I belong to Jesus; Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone — but for eternity”!

After you’ve highlighted the meaning of each of these briefly, then you could ask your group as you begin to wrap up this week’s lesson:

??? Which of the “identities” we’ve talked about today is the most appealing/comforting/challenging to you???

(I love the thoughts that we’re life-long “Repenters” like the Romanians — or “a kingdom of priests”! Of course everyone has their own answer; there’s no “right answer” here. And the truth is, ALL of these things are true for EVERY Christian! This just emphasizes our high calling as the people of God in Christ. 

But you might emphasize again before you close your lesson this week: these are ONLY true for us through Jesus Christ. Make sure that you have indeed “come to God through Him” as :5 says; that you have repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ. But if you have, then all of these things are true for you!  You have THE best identity: better than any racial identity, better than any political identity, better than any social or economic identity, better than any identity of worldly accomplishment — you have the identity of a child of God through faith in Christ — and there is no identity in this world greater than that!

__________________________________________________

— If you’ll type your email in the “follow blog via email” blank on my blog home page, WordPress will automatically send you next week’s video and you won’t have to search for it.

— And if you write something in the Comments below, I’ll be sure to pray for your and your group by name this week. 

Per my licensing agreement with Lifeway:

— These weekly lessons are based on content from Explore the Bible Adult Resources. The presentation is my own and has not been reviewed by Lifeway.

— Lifeway resources are available at: goExploretheBible.com  and: goexplorethebible.com/adults-training

— If you have questions about Explore the Bible resources you may send emails to explorethebible@lifeway.com