AND
COMING TO (toward, facing)
HIM
AS TO A LIVING STONE: pros on proserchomenoi (PMPMPN) lithon zonta (PAPMSA): (Isa 55:3;
Jer 3:22;
Mt 11:28;
Jn 5:40;
6:37)
(John Macarthur on
1 Peter 2:4-5)
(John Piper on
1 Peter 2:4-8 Pt 1,
Part 2) (Living Stone -
Jn 5:26;
6:57;
11:25,26;
14:6,19;
Ro 5:10;
Col 3:4) (Isa 28:16;
Da 2:34,45;
Zech 3:9;
4:7)
Spurgeon comments that
Him...
That is, unto the Lord; and that
name Peter evidently gives to Jesus Christ, and therefore we worship
Him, and call Him, each one for himself or herself, even as Thomas
did, “My Lord and my God.
We should be always coming to
Christ; we have come to Him, and we-are coming to Him, and we will
keep on coming to Him
Sinking down, settling, resting on
that stone,-always pressing closely upon Christ: “To Whom coming, as
unto a living Stone"
Christ always was disallowed of
men, and He always will be, until the great consummation of all
things. Some disown Him in one way, some in another. Some boldly
blaspheme Him with something like honesty; others pretend to be His
ministers, yet all the while are undermining the Gospel which He lived
and died to preach. It matters little that Christ is “disallowed
indeed of men,” for He is “chosen of God, and precious.” (1
Peter 2 Commentary)
Coming
(4334)
(proserchomai from prós = facing + érchomai = come)
means literally to come facing toward and so to approach or come near. To
come to visit or associate with. It describes the approach to or entry into
a deity’s presence. Proserchomai conveys not just drawing close
to Christ for salvation, but drawing near to Christ in intimate, abiding,
personal fellowship. The idea in this context is movement of the entire
inner person of the believer into the experience of intimate and
ongoing communion with Jesus Christ.
In the
Septuagint (LXX)
proserchomai was the verb used to describe the approach of the
priests to Jehovah for worship and to perform of their priestly (Levitical)
functions. But under the
New covenant, all seven uses of proserchomai refer to believers
possessing the privilege of access to God the Father
through Christ the Great High Priest.
To (4314)
(pros) means facing or toward and with the verb in the
present tense
pictures a habitual or continual drawing near to Christ, and thus
describes an intimate association with Jesus the Living Stone.
If we are going to be a spiritual temple for God's presence, and if we
are going to be a holy priesthood and if we are going to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, then we must day by day, hour
by hour come to Christ. It is by coming to Christ that believers enter
the realm of spiritual privilege.
The Savior's
invitation has always been to come to Him...
Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you, and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND
REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." (Mt
11:28-30)
Christ Alone is
the the Stone in Whom all spiritual blessings abound as Paul
writes in a beatitude to God...
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (See note
Ephesians 1:3)
A living
stone - A stone that gives life (see note
Colossians 3:4)
and sustenance, Christ is the fulfillment of the rock smitten in the
wilderness which brought life-sustaining water to God's people
(Ex 17:6; Nu 20:8; 1Cor 10:4).
Wuest
notes that...
The article is not used with the
expression (living stone), showing that emphasis is placed upon
character or quality (the living quality and divine character of Jesus
Christ). He is in character a Living Stone.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
Living (2198)
(zao) is the verb describing natural physical life and thus
having and exhibiting life, the quality that distinguishes a vital and
functional being from one that is dead.
Present tense
means continuously
living - Christ lives forever as the Eternal God. And as the living
God, He is the Source of life to all who place their faith in His
perfect, once for all, substitutionary sacrifice...
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us
to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead (See note
1 Peter 1:3
- 1 Timothy 1:1
teaches that Christ is our Hope, our Living Hope.)
for you have been born again not of
seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the
living and abiding word of God. (See note
1 Peter 1:23
- John 1:1 teaches that Christ is the Living Word of God).
Jesus as
the Living One and the Source of life declared...
For just as the Father raises the
dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom
He wishes. (John 5:21)
"I am the living bread that came
down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live
forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the
world is My flesh."
The Jews therefore began to argue
with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"
Jesus therefore said to them,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats
My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up
on the last day. (John 6:51-54)
Paul
contrasting the first Adam by whom sin and death entered with the last
Adam, Christ, through Whom life is made available to all who would
come to Him...
So also it is written, "The first
MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a
life-giving spirit. (1Cor 15:45)
In Colossians
Paul declared
Christ...is our life (See
note
Colossians 3:4)
John
explained how believers can experience abundant life writing...
By this the love of God was
manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
world so that we might live through Him. (1John 4:9)
Stone (3037)
(lithos) literally refers to a concretion of earthy
or mineral matter and in Scripture sometimes refers to a carved
precious stone, but also means building stone, which is the
metaphorical meaning that best fits Peter's later description of
Christ as the Corner Stone.
In the Old
Testament Moses describes God (Christ, for He is Jehovah in the OT) as
the only rock
"For I proclaim the name of
Jehovah; Ascribe greatness to our God! "The Rock! His work is
perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without
injustice, Righteous and upright is He...Indeed their rock is not like
our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this. (Deut 32:3-4, 31)
Paul
explains who Israel in the OT was drinking from writing that...
all drank the same spiritual drink,
for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed
them; and the rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:4) (Comment:
This again substantiates that the Jehovah of the OT is Jesus of the
NT, the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen!)
Jehovah was
the foundation and the strength of His people Israel in the OT and of
believers in the NT. Do
you know Him as your Rock?
Rock of Ages,
cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure. (Play)
Peter is
picturing the believer's continual
drawing near to Christ as their Rock, the strong, living One, Who David's
learned through trials and afflictions was His eternal, steadfast
Rock, prompting this beautiful description in Psalm 18...
The LORD is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The LORD lives, and blessed be my
rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation, (Psalms 18:2,
31, 46)
Spurgeon's comments on the Rock
in Psalm 18...Dwelling among the crags and mountain fastnesses of
Judea David had escaped the malice of Saul, and here he compares his
God to such a place of concealment and security. Believers are often
hidden in their God from the strife of tongues and the fury of the
storm of trouble. The clefts of the Rock of Ages are safe abodes. [Note
v2]... Who is a rock
save our God? Where can lasting hopes be fixed? Where can the soul
find rest? Where is stability to be found? Where is strength to be
discovered? Surely in the Lord Jehovah alone can we find rest and
refuge. [Verse
31]... And
blessed be my rock. He is the ground of our hope, and let him be the
subject of our praise. Our hearts bless the Lord, with holy love
extolling him. Jehovah lives, my rock be blessed! Praised be the God
who gives me rest! [Verse
46] The LORD
lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my
salvation,)
REJECTED BY MEN BUT CHOICE AND PRECIOUS IN ("by the side of")
THE SIGHT OF GOD: hupo anthropon men apodedokimasmenon (RPPMSA) para
de theo eklekton entimon: (Ps 118:22,23;
Isa 8:14,15;
Mt 21:42;
Mk 12:10,11;
Lu 20:17,18;
Acts 4:11,12)
(Isa 42:1;
Mt 12:18,
7;
1:7,19;
2Pet 1:1,4)
Peter identifies
the Messiah, the Christ, as the Living Stone (see note
1 Peter 2:4),
the Corner Stone (see note
1 Peter 2:6),
the Rejected Stone (see note
1 Peter 2:7),
and the Stumbling Stone (see note
1 Peter 2:8).
Spurgeon comments that...
When men disallow Christ, it is a
matter of small account to us, as for what they have to say, it is
less than nothing and vanity. Like the wild bluster of the winds, let
it bluster until it has blown itself out. Christ is “disallowed indeed
of men, but chosen of God, and precious,”
1 Peter 2 Commentary)
Rejected by men - This refers first to
Messiah's rejection by the Jewish leaders and Jews who demanded
Christ’s crucifixion and then to all who have rejected Christ over all
the ages.
Rejected
(593) (apodokimazo from apo =
off, away from, pictures separation of one thing from another +
dokimazo = to
test, examine, scrutinize to see whether a thing is genuine or not)
means to reject or refuse to accept something or someone after
testing, scrutiny or examination.
The preposition
apo- speaks of separation and thus conveys the picture
of rejecting completely.
It means to
examine and deem as useless.
It means to
judge something or someone as not being fit, worthy or genuine and
thus something or someone to be rejected.
It means to
throw out as the result of a test, to put out of
office, to repudiate, to disapprove or to declare useless.
Eight of the
nine NT uses of apodokimazo refer to men's (primarily Israel and her
leaders who should have known better) rejection of the Messiah as
genuine, worthy, qualified!
The
perfect tense
speaks of the permanent nature of this rejection. Jesus was rejected
by men and their rejection remained in effect.
Moulton and
Milligan record this secular use of apodokimazo...
a girdle-dagger suitable for the
present purpose has not been found, and I have not thought it right to
buy one that might be rejected.
Richards
comments that
Apodokimazo indicates
putting something or someone to the test and rejecting that object or
person as unfit or not genuine. (Richards,
L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)
Wuest writes that apodokimazo...
refers to the act of putting someone or something to the test for the
purpose of putting one’s approval upon that person and thus receiving
him, this act of testing being carried to
the point where no
further testing is needed, with the result that one comes to the
settled conclusion that the one tested does not meet the requirements
of the test and is therefore disapproved, repudiated.
This Living
Stone in the Person of God the Son became incarnate, lived for
thirty-three years in the midst of Israel, offered Himself as its
Messiah, was examined by official Israel for the purpose of approving
Him as its Messiah, and then repudiated because He was not what
official Israel wanted in a Messiah. What a commentary on the totally
depraved condition of man’s heart.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
The paradoxical
picture is that the perfect
Lamb of God, the Creator of the Universe, was rejected by His
creation, men who had carefully evaluated the perfect God Man and
found Him not "passing their test"! What a striking contrast with
scene John witnessed in heaven...
And I looked, and I heard the voice
of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the
elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands
of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing."
(See notes on
Revelation 5:11,
5:12)! And all
God's people say "Amen!"
When the Jewish
leaders looked at the Stone (Christ) Who "invaded" their religious
world, He was not wanted, did not fit in with their theological plans
and was useless and unfit for what they were building.
Men by their
Adamic nature are rebels to the core and thus continue to reject Jesus
for much the same reason -- they want to build their own "castles" the
way they want (Pr 14:12, 16:25) doing what is right in their own eyes,
living unrestrained by His call to holiness and godliness made
available through His indwelling Spirit: (cp
Judges 21:25 note,
Pr 29:18).
John
MacArthur explains that...
Because the Jewish leaders were
looking for the Messiah, when Jesus claimed to be the Christ (Matt.
26:63–64; John 1:49–51; 4:25–26; cf. Matt. 16:13–20; Luke 4:14–21)
they examined His claim. Based on their blind hearts and false
standards (Matt. 12:2, 10, 38; 15:1–2; 16:1; Mark 12:13–34; John
8:12–27), they concluded that He did not measure up, so they
rejected Him (John 19:7, 12, 15; cf. 7:41–52; 12:37–38).
Contempt and hatred characterized
their rejection (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:20–25, 39–43; Mark 12:12; Luke
6:11; 13:14; John 8:59; 10:31, 39; cf. Luke 4:28–30); it was
unthinkable to them that Jesus could possibly be the cornerstone of
God’s kingdom (cf. Ps. 118:22).
They viewed Him as one who
foolishly denounced their religious system (cf. Matt. 23:1–36; Mark
8:13–21), was too weak and humble to overthrow the occupying Romans
and secure the Jews’ national freedom, and was willing to die
ignominiously on a cross (Matt. 17:22–23; 20:17–19; Mark 9:30–32; Luke
18:31–34). He simply did not measure up to any of the Jewish
establishment’s expectations.
(MacArthur, J. 1 Peter. Chicago:
Moody Press or
Logos)
Apodokimazo
is used 9 times in the NT...
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to
them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the
builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This
came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes '?
Mark 8:31 And He began to
teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and
be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 12:10 "Have you not
even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
Luke 9:22 saying, "The Son
of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders
and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the
third day."
Luke 17:25 "But first He
must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Luke 20:17 But He looked at
them and said, "What then is this that is written, 'The stone which
the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone'?
Hebrews 12:17 For you know
that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he
sought for it with tears.
1 Peter 2:4 And coming to
Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and
precious in the sight of God,
1 Peter 2:7 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,"
Apodokimazo
is found 6 times in the LXX (Ps 118:22; Jer 6:30; 7:29; 8:9;
14:19; 31:37) Here is a representative use in Jeremiah...
Jeremiah 6:30 They call them
rejected (Lxx = apodokimazo) silver, because the LORD has
rejected (Lxx = apodokimazo) them. (Comment: In this verse
God says Judah has been tested as one assays metals for impurities and
that their sin has prevented them from being pure silver. Thus they
have failed God's test are rejected as one would a precious metal that
failed the test of purity!
Here God is using a word picture describing the siege of Jerusalem.
When God turned on the furnace [the Babylonian siege], it would reveal
the people as rejected silver, nothing but dross to be thrown
away. He wasn’t purifying them. He was punishing them. They weren’t
being refined. They were being rejected. They were too cheap to
preserve!)
Choice (1588)
(eklektos from eklegomai = choose, select; pick out for
one's self ) means one chosen for one's self, one who is select,
excellent. This word indicates that God elected and ordained Christ.
Precious
(1784)
(entimos from en = in + time = honor, esteem, price) means honored,
estimable, dear, costly, spoken here of Christ as a rare, highly
prized stone.
The Psalmist
writing of the Messiah declares...
Thou art fairer (Hebrew = bright,
beautiful;
LXX
- kallos = beauty) than the
sons of men; Grace is poured upon Thy lips; Therefore God has blessed
Thee forever. (Psalm 45:2 -
Spurgeon's comment)
In the sight
of God - Sight is (3844)
para which means beside, near, nearby and expressing the idea
of immediate vicinity or proximity. This literally reads "but beside
or near God" which is a picture of the incomprehensible, intimate
fellowship in the Godhead.
Matthew
describes the Father's approval of His Son...
And after being baptized, Jesus
went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming
upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (take delight or pleasure in)."
(Matthew 3:16-17)
