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 God’s word. This will help them to become mature. Verse 3 comes from Psalms 34:8. ‘Tasted’ means discovered by experience. Christians realise how kind God is. This makes them hungry in their spirit and they want to know God more and more.

The Stone that is living


v4
You come to Jesus. He is the Stone that is living. The people of this world did not want Jesus, but God chose him as precious. v5 You Christians are like stones that are living. God is building you into a *spiritual house, a holy place. You will be holy priests there who offer *spiritual *sacrifices to God. God will accept these *sacrifices through Jesus Christ.

v6 The Bible says this about God’s Son Jesus:
‘Look, I am laying a stone in Zion.
I chose this precious *cornerstone.
He will not disappoint anyone who trusts in him’ (Isaiah 28:16).

v7 This stone (Jesus) is worth very much to you who believe in him. Some people do not believe in him. The Bible says about them:
‘The builders did not accept this stone. But it has become the *cornerstone’ (Psalms 118:22).

v8 In another place the Bible says about Jesus that he is
‘a stone that makes people trip,
a rock that makes people fall’ (Isaiah 8:14).
People trip and fall because they do not accept God’s message. God said that this would happen to them.

v9 You are the people whom God chose to be royal priests. You form a holy nation. You belong to God. God has called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. God wants you to tell everyone about the great things that he has done. v10 Once you were not people who belonged to God. Now you are his people. Once you did not know his *mercy, but now you do.

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