MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD 1 PETER _HELEN POCOCK_ CHAPTER 2 V1 Therefore stop all evil behaviour. Do not cheat people. Do not pretend to be better than you are. Do not be jealous. Stop saying bad things about other people. V2 When babies are young, they need milk. It makes them grow strong. In the... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse continues from chapter 1:22. A person who loves other people will want to help them and say good things about them. The words that people use show what their spirit is like. Jesus said this in Matthew 12:33-37. All the behaviour in this verse is evil. ‘Stop’ means remove it from your life... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter now describes the word of God as ‘pure *spiritual milk’. *Spiritual means linked to a person’s spirit and not to his or her physical body. A Christian should want God’s word as much as a baby wants milk. Milk makes a baby grow big and strong. A Christian should be eager to read and listen to G... [ Continue Reading ]
‘You come’ means to come and *worship Jesus (Hebrews 4:10). Peter called Jesus ‘the Stone that is living’. Christians do not *worship someone who is dead. Most people did not believe or trust Jesus, but God chose Jesus. The word ‘precious’ means that God gave Jesus great honour. In verses 6-8 there... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter refers back to the *Old Testament. King Solomon built a temple in the city of Jerusalem about 950 years before the birth of Jesus (BC) (1 Kings 6-8). The temple was a special building where the *Jews went to *praise God. But an army from the country of Babylon destroyed the temple in 587 BC (2... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter now says that Christians are like ‘stones that are living’. Jesus makes people alive in their spirit. God lives in Christians. He does not live in a physical building (1 Corinthians 6:19). When the builders made the temple, they built the walls with stones. God now builds a *spiritual house. H... [ Continue Reading ]
These three verses are *Old Testament *prophecies about Jesus. A *prophecy is a message from God. Sometimes it describes what is going to happen. These verses *prophesied that God would send Jesus. But the *Jews would refuse to accept him. This happened. They did not accept Jesus as the Christ (*Mes... [ Continue Reading ]
In the *Old Testament, God chose the *Jews to be his special people. In Exodus 19:5-6, God says that all the *Jews who obeyed his laws would be his ‘royal priests’. And they would form a ‘holy nation’. Most of them did not obey God. Now God has chosen everyone who trusts Jesus to form that special n... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter compares what people were like before and after they accepted Jesus. The words of this verse come from Hosea 2:23 (Paul gives a fuller explanation in Romans 9:22-26). The *prophet Hosea had two children. God called Hosea’s daughter ‘Lo-Ruhamah’, which means ‘no *mercy’. God called Hosea’s son... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter calls his readers ‘dear Christian friends’. He wants them to know that he loves them deeply. He reminds them again that their real home is not in this world (1 Peter 1:1). ‘I urge you’ is a very strong phrase. Peter wants them to stop doing the evil things that they used to do (1 Peter 1:14).... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians should live good lives wherever they go. ‘See your good behaviour’ describes how people watch Christians. People think about how Christians behave. They do this for a long time, perhaps for many months or years. Sometimes people may wrongly accuse Christians of doing bad things. Or they m... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 13:1-2 says that all authority comes from God. So, if Christians do not obey their leaders, they are not obeying God. When Peter and Paul were writing their letters, there was a bad emperor (ruler). His name was Nero. He ruled over many countries. He was an evil and severe man. Later he kille... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus has set Christians free from the power of *sin. But this does not mean that that they can now do anything they like. They must obey God and do what is right. But it does mean that *sin is no longer their boss. *Sin can still tempt them to do what is wrong. But they can refuse to *sin and choos... [ Continue Reading ]
When God created the world, he made people to be like him (Genesis 1:26). In John 3:16 Jesus says that God loves everyone in the world. This is why Christians must respect all people. The emperor Nero wanted all people to *worship him. Many people were afraid of him. Peter told his readers to respec... [ Continue Reading ]
When someone behaves badly to another person, it is natural to be bad in return. Christians have to be different, even if it is hard. In Matthew 5:44-47 Jesus tells those who follow him to love their enemies. Christians trust God because they know that he will judge all people in a fair way (chapter... [ Continue Reading ]
A servant is someone who works for someone else. This other person pays the servants for their work. These verses are for all people who work for an employer. Christians should behave better than other people, because they belong to Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
God does not make people suffer. It is wrong to punish someone who does what is right. Sometimes it is unfair when Christians suffer. Yet, God wants them to trust him. God blesses those who obey him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus did nothing wrong, yet he suffered. ‘A model for you to copy’ describes the way that a person learned to write. He copied the teacher’s writing. Christians learn how to behave when they copy what Jesus did.... [ Continue Reading ]
This is another *Old Testament *prophecy about Jesus... [ Continue Reading ]
This is how Jesus behaved (Matthew 27:13-14). Christians must follow his example.... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses use words from Isaiah 53:5-6, where they are a *prophecy about Jesus Christ. Verse 24 is a simple way to explain *salvation. *Sin is everything that people have done wrong against God or other people. Romans 6:23 says that the punishment for *sin is death. People deserve to die, because... [ Continue Reading ]