Group #1 and Group #2...1 Peter 2:1-8


A beautiful Friday created the opportunity to take another beautiful hike up the Colorado River Trail to the Ditch Road that runs along the Grand Ditch.  You are walking among the mountains at 10,300 ft and there was a beautiful cool fall breeze.  You come around one of the curves and Mount Richthofen comes into view.  To the left of Richthofen is Tepee Mountain.  The 12 to 14 mile fall hike gave me another opportunity to experience the overwhelming ability of our sovereign God and what He has put mankind in charge of.

We see 2 mountain peaks in this picture.  They are very different.  Peter gives us 2 groups to look at in this passage.  He actually finally introduces group #2.  He has been speaking exclusively to group #1 up to this point.  Group #1 are the Christians who are being heavily persecuted and dispersed.  They are the elect exiles of chapter 1, verse 1.  They are the ones who Peter has expressed to the greatness of the God provided and given salvation to them.  They are the ones who Peter has given 4 commands to following in the midst of this persecution.  They are also the ones that Peter gets pretty practical with in this passage.

Group #1 was to put off some things and to long for something else.  The putting off is actually stripping them off and the longing for is a strong desire for.  Both actions are in the extreme mode.  The putting off is of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander.  The longing for is the pure spiritual milk of the Word.  Using the words of God, Group #1 is to replace malice with love; deceit with truth; hypocrisy with humility; envy with contentment; and slander with encouragement.

Peter now needs to introduce group #2.  The main difference between group #1 and group #2 is group #1 are those who believe and group #2 are those who do not believe.  What do group #1 believe?  They believe that Jesus is the living stone, the precious and chosen cornerstone placed by God for our salvation.  The members of group #2 do not believe this.  They are either apathetic toward Jesus as just another spiritual guru or they are antagonistic toward Jesus as one to be offended by.  One subgroup is tripping over Jesus and the other is striking at Jesus.  I connected this week with the words of Jesus describing hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  The weeping ones might be the apathetic ones and the gnashing ones (showing your teeth) might be the antagonistic ones.  Both are in the same place.  Peter mentions this also with the word "they" afterwards therefore lumping these 2 subgroups of group #2 together.

As we go further into this first letter of Peter to group #1, we will see why he has introduced group #2.  It will be more than just a warning.  He has a heart for group #2 and wants group #1 to have that same heart.  The fourth therefore or command of the previous passage was to love one another earnestly from a pure heart.  This will include group #2 that is persecuting group #1.  This will take putting off the ways of the world and replacing them the ways of God found and implemented only through the longing for what He has said.  

2 peaks, 2 groups and Paul uses this terminology in Romans 10:9-13, vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy.  It is interesting to me that group #2, those who do not believe, have subgroups, apathy and antagonistic while group #1, those who believe, have no subgroups.  They are united.  That makes me think of Ephesians 4:4-6 (LSB) which reads,

There is one body and one Spirit,

just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all

who is over all and through all and in all.

Group #1 is are those who believe and are one in who they believe in.

Adam



A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 40th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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