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1 Peter 2:1. So, having put aside all malice and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, 1 Peter 2:2. like newborn babies, love the pure milk of words, so that from it you may grow into salvation; 1 Peter 2:3. for you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:4. Approaching Him, a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious by God, 1 Peter 2:5. and you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:6. For the Scripture says: Behold, I lay in Zion a corner stone, chosen, precious; and he who believes in Him will not be put to shame. So, he says, “putting aside all malice and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander.” With these few words he embraces the multitude and variety of evil. For those who have been reborn to an incorruptible life must not fall into the snares of malice and prefer the non-existent to the real. For evil is not an essence, but lies in the error of a born essence. And there is a big difference between personal life and what only accompanies it. They, he says, must appear free from deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. For deceit and slander are far from the truth and the doctrine preached to you. Deceit seeks the destruction of those deceived by it, hypocrisy succeeds in its difference from reality, while the saving teaching that has been announced to you succeeds in the opposite. And what place do envy and slander have in you - in you, who, being bound by the indissoluble union of brotherly love, can not suffer harm from any of those who separate you? That envy and slander are the cause of quarrels and mutual hatred, does not anyone know this who does not know the sad story of Cain, who through envy broke the fraternal union, then fell into deceit, hypocrisy and murder (Gen. 4). And that an envious person is unclean from slander can be seen from the example of Joseph’s brothers, who slandered him a lot to their father (Gen. 37). Therefore, he says, having been cleansed from all these evils, come as newborn babies, “for of such,” said the Lord, “is the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). And, feeding on simple teaching, grow to “the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13); “For you have tasted,” that is, through exercise in the sacred commandments of the Gospel, you have tangibly learned how good this teaching is. And the feeling in the matter of knowledge is stronger than any word, just as what is experienced in practice is more pleasant than any word. So, having experienced the goodness of the Lord for yourself, show kindness and mercy to each other, and place yourself on the living cornerstone, rejected by men, but honored and chosen by God, and existing and predicted by the prophets. Make closer friends with each other through the unity of love, and join together in the fullness of the spiritual home, not caring in the least about the contempt of people, because they have rejected the cornerstone - Christ. Having reached unanimity among yourself, and having built yourself into a spiritual home, and having acquired the holy priesthood, offer spiritual sacrifices. And do not think that you can offer immaculate sacrifices to God if you do not maintain a bond of love among yourself. Lift up, it is said, “clean hands, without anger or doubt” (1 Tim. 2:8); How can someone who wants to unite with God through prayer achieve this when he alienates himself from his brother through anger and evil doubts? 1 Peter 2:7. Therefore He is a treasure to you who believe, but to you who do not believe the stone which the builders rejected, but which has become the head of the corner, is a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense, 1 Peter 2:8. over which they stumble, not obeying the word, To those who do not believe, God still says the following: I lay before you in Zion a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense. It is a stone of stumbling for unbelievers, who stumble by not obeying the word, which is what they are supposed to do. The full thought is this: behold, I lay in Zion the cornerstone, precious, chosen; and he who believes in Him will not be put to shame; for you who believe it is precious, but for those who do not believe it is a stone of stumbling. They stumble over the word of the Gospel, This does not mean that they are determined to do this by God. For from the One who “wants all people to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4), there can in no way be the cause of destruction. But just as they made themselves vessels of wrath, adding to this disobedience, the situation they prepared for themselves was left in that. For if man, as a rational being, was created free, and freedom cannot be forced, then it would be unfair to blame the One who gives man the honor that he has prepared for himself through his deeds. Christ is called the cornerstone because He unites both walls that make up the spiritual house, that is, pagans and Jews, with His embrace and binds them into one agreement, destroying the useless sacrifices of some, and changing the demonic superstition of others into piety. 1 Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, to proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:10. once not a people, but now the people of God; who were once not pardoned, but are now pardoned. Having disapproved of the bad behavior of unbelievers, saying that they themselves became guilty of their unbelief, the apostle now moves on to approving those who have done right and says: you who have done right are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. He seems to be saying this: those, by their cruelty and stubbornness, stumbled over the cornerstone, and did not enter the building with it; But through your obedience you have become part of the royal priesthood, as a chosen race, as a holy people. However, so as not to weaken them with unnecessary praise and so that they do not think that they became a holy nation by inheritance, that they were awarded such honor because they descend from Abraham and never stumbled, the apostle, in order to keep them from such thoughts, adds and says: do not think too much about the race; you were not chosen to the royal priesthood because of Abraham, for those who came from him had a priesthood separate from the kingdom; you are a holy people and a chosen race and were appointed to the royal priesthood not for the sake of Abraham, but for the sake of Christ, who is also called “a priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). And “I am a king who is meek, who is righteous, and who saves” (Zech. 9:9). So, from Him, who had both (both the priesthood and the kingdom), you, reborn through holy baptism, are rightly called both a chosen race and a royal priesthood. You have this by His grace, who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light; therefore, by the deeds of light, proclaim His perfections to other people. This, he says, you have because of His love for mankind. Therefore, it is fitting to apply to you what has been said: “once not a people, but now the people of God; once they had not received mercy, but now they have received mercy” (cf. Hos. 2:23). So that this speech does not seem heavy, he quotes reproachful words from the prophet Hosea. So, proclaim His perfections with your virtue. How can they proclaim them? The Lord himself teaches this when he says: “let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “People taken into inheritance” (είς περιποίησιν), that is, people taken into possession or inheritance. For God’s creation is everything, and God’s inheritance is only those who have been awarded this for their virtue. 1 Peter 2:11. Beloved! I ask you, as strangers and strangers, to abstain from carnal lusts that attack the soul, 1 Peter 2:12. and lead a virtuous life among the pagans, Teachers of faith have a custom of adding moral lessons to their dogmatic teaching. This is what the holy Apostle Peter does now. He calls them “beloved,” and not just amiable, because they are pleasant to him in every way; for those who are pleasant in only one respect are called amiable, and not beloved. He says that carnal lusts rebel against the soul, because, and in the words of the blessed Apostle Paul, “the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit” (Gal. 5:17), for the desires of the flesh revolve around sensual pleasures and through this darken the memory and enslave the soul. so that because they revile you as evildoers, when they see your good deeds, they may glorify God on the day of visitation. The apostle calls us the pagans who slander us, and the day of visitation is inheritance according to the laws of this world. For when they examine our life and find that their concept of us contradicts reality, then they themselves correct themselves in their shameful deeds and thus glorify God. 1 Peter 2:13. Therefore be submissive to every human authority, for the sake of the Lord: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 1 Peter 2:14. whether to rulers, as sent by him to punish criminals and to encourage those who do good - 1 Peter 2:15. for this is the will of God, that by doing good we should stop the ignorance of foolish people - He calls the rulers appointed kings, and even the kings themselves, human creation, since they are also elected or appointed by people, and scripture sometimes calls creation and institution, as, for example, in the following place: “in order to create one new man from two” (Eph. 2:15). So, he says, be submissive to the worldly rulers, but be submissive to the Lord, as the Lord commanded. What did the Lord command? “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's” (Matthew 22:21). Therefore, if they command anything contrary to the ordinance of God, they should not be obeyed. This is what Christ commanded; His disciple now commands the same. This is so that the pagans cannot say that Christianity brings about the overthrow of civil life, as if it is the cause of disorder and indignation. "For the Lord". This addition also applies to the faithful. Some of them could say: the apostle himself promises us the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Peter 1:4), and through this ascribes great dignity to us. Why does he humiliate us again, subordinating us to worldly bosses? So, if anyone says this, let him know, he says that this commandment is not from me, but from the Lord Himself. The Apostle Peter himself indicated to whom and what kind of leaders one should obey, namely those who pay tribute. He also adds a reason: firstly, this is the will of God; secondly, our obedience to our superiors proves our good behavior and, moreover, shames the infidels. For when they slander us as proud, but see that we are humble and, where appropriate, submissive, then through this they become more ashamed. 1 Peter 2:16. as free The connection of speech is like this. Be submissive, as free men, as servants of God. Honor not only your bosses, but everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. "Like free". John Chrysostom explains these words as follows: “So that they do not say: we have freed ourselves from the world, we have become citizens of heaven; Why are you again subordinating us to our superiors and ordering us to obey them? For this reason he says: submit as free people, that is, as believers in the One who freed you, and yet who commanded submission. For by this you will show that the freedom by which you refuse obedience is not used by you to cover up deliberate malice, that is, disobedience and disobedience.” One can say something about this expression (“as free”) in another sense. Free in the Lord is he who does not submit to anything immoral. Living hypocritically is characteristic not of a free person, but of one who is in slavery to passions, for example, devoted to man-pleasing or some other shameful passion. But God's servants must be distant and alien to passions. Therefore, now he commands to show obedience to the authorities good-naturedly and sincerely, without hostility towards them and not under duress, without harboring malice in the heart, without pretending to be sincere and simple, to show obedience not only outwardly, but with a heartfelt disposition. not as those who use freedom to cover up evil, This can be briefly expressed as follows: outwardly appearing simple and sincere, as if under the cover of freedom, but when tested they turn out to be terrible and completely different from what they are in appearance. 1 Peter 2:17. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:18. Servants, obey your masters with all fear, not only the good and gentle, but also the harsh. 1 Peter 2:19. For this pleases God if someone, thinking about God, endures sorrows, suffering unjustly. 1 Peter 2:20. For what is praise if you endure being beaten for your wrongdoings? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this pleases God. 1 Peter 2:21. For you have been called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that we would follow in His footsteps. 1 Peter 2:22. He committed no sin, and no flattery was in His mouth. Look how accurate it is. He says, give fear to God, and honor to the king. If we must have fear of God, who can destroy “both soul and body” (Matthew 10:28), then we should not obey kings when they order us to do something immoral. For the fear of God knows how to overcome respect for kings, and when they force him to do evil, he even deprives them of honor, in the words of the saint: “The wicked one is humiliated before him” (Ps. 14:4). The word "fear" is used in different meanings. Fear is, firstly, conscious fear; the apostle now calls it conscience; it is also called reverence. Fear is, secondly, fear filled with passion, experienced at the upcoming punishment; This fear is also noticeable in animals. Fear, thirdly, is the initial fear that occurs in those who approach the Lord as a result of the consciousness that for many of their misdeeds they are worthy of punishment; Prompted by such fear, the harlot mentioned in the Gospel came to the Lord (Luke 7). Fear is also called perfect fear, which is always inherent in all saints. For they are afraid that they may lack something that those imbued with perfect love should have. The apostle, who urges servants to obey their masters “with all fear,” does not eliminate the idea that servants should treat their masters “with fear” in all the mentioned meanings. For initial and complete fear, if they have it, disposes them to good behavior: the first prompts them to beware of wrongdoing, so as not to suffer anything unpleasant for them; another inspires them not to think of doing anything unpleasant to their masters. So, here the apostle speaks of fear out of conscience, that is, out of consciousness of duty. It is directed by dishonest masters on their servants even when they are not guilty of anything. Approving this fear, the apostle commands us to endure everything with patience. Since those who are afraid to suffer for sins that they have actually committed or have been saved from committing, if they suffer anything for them, reveal themselves to be prudent slaves and prone to correction. But incomparably higher is the wisdom of the one who, without recognizing anything bad in himself, endures everything with gratitude. This is a great feat, accomplished by a few and bringing down the special favor of God, since this person competes with the sufferings of Christ, since Christ did not suffer for His own sins, for He “committed no sin” (Isa. 53:9), but suffered for us and for our sins. “For the crimes of My people I suffered execution,” says the prophet (Is. 53:8). The apostle proposes this praiseworthy fear, but no less desires that the servants should be led by other fears. And this is clear from his words: “with all fear.” However, he placed fear for conscience above other fears, and expressed in the clearest way that only this fear is worthy of praise; since other fears have a reason for the anger of masters against servants, but this one does not have it. 1 Peter 2:23. Being slandered, He did not slander each other; while suffering, he did not threaten, but handed it over to the Righteous Judge. 1 Peter 2:24. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we, having been delivered from sins, would live for righteousness: Perhaps someone will say: “As the Apostle Peter says here that the Lord, when He was slandered, did not slander each other, and when He suffered, He did not threaten, when we see that He calls the Jews dogs, deaf, the Pharisees blind (Matthew 15:14), He says to Judas: “It would have been better for this man not to have been born” (Matthew 26:24), and at other times: “Sodom would be more pleasant.” rather than that city” (Matthew 10:15). We answer. The Apostle does not say that the Lord never reproached or threatened, but that when He was slandered, He did not slander each other, and when He suffered, He did not threaten. For if He sometimes reproached, it was not as revenge on those who slandered Him, but He reviled and reproached those who were stubborn in unbelief. Those who slandered Him said: “You have a demon” (John 7:20)? “He casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:24). And: “Behold, a man who loves to eat and drink wine” (Matthew 11:19), when He heard this, did He curse each other? Not at all. But to one he said: “If I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast them out?” (Matthew 12:27). Those who called Him loving to eat and drink wine, He likened to “children” playing in the marketplace and saying to their comrades: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We sang sad songs to you, and you did not weep” (Matthew 11:16–17). And when He hung on the cross and suffered, He not only did not threaten, but also prayed for the villains: “Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). He threatened Judas in order to distract him from betrayal. Likewise, he declared to those who would not accept His disciples that it would be worse for them than for the Sodomites, in order to incline the listeners, at least through fear, to hospitality and to what is saving for them. Therefore, the word of the Apostle Peter, who urges gentleness through the example of the Lord, is very true. “He handed over everything to the Just Judge” (1 Peter 2:23); that is, to God, who at the future judgment will reward everyone “according to their deeds,” without any “respect of persons,” according to real justice (1 Peter 1:17). By His stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:25. For you were like wandering sheep (having no shepherd), but have now returned to the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls. When, by order of Pilate, He was scourged, He also bore wounds from the blows on His body. You might be interested in: