Got Milk?
Got Milk?
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
~ 1 Peter 2:1-3
Let’s Start Talking 1. Are there some areas of life where you tend to get carried away (seem to lose control)? It could be sports, reading, arguing about politics, etc. What is it (or what are they) for you?
2. From what you have observed in life, how would most people react to the idea of a person being holy? How would they view such a claim? Background for 1 Peter
Peter addresses this letter to exiles. Another way of saying this is that they were resident aliens. They lived in a country that was not their own - their citizenship was found in another location. Like the exiles of Judah who were taken to Babylon and would later be under Persian domination, God had a plan to bless them and given them a future. Like Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther and other previous exiles, Peter’s readers were to be a source of blessing for those who surround them.
These early believers were to live as holy people in a society aligned in opposition to God. Like the children of Israel, they were to be holy, a reflection of God, in a hostile setting. Peter often reminded them of Christ’s suffering and how their suffering allowed them to more fully identify with him.
1. 1 Peter 1:13 a. “Therefore” – what truths did Peter share with them before moving into this section?
4. 1 Peter 2:1-3 a. Of what were Peter’s readers told to rid themselves? Look at the list and discuss how each would relate to the call to holiness and to love one another deeply?
b. Peter began by instructing his readers were told to do three things:
b. Why describe God’s word as pure milk? How would this relate to 1 Peter 2:1? What is the significance of putting this in the context of the desires of a baby?
(1) Have minds that are alert (“gird your loins”). What’s that mean?
(2) To be fully sober. What’s that mean?
c. What did Peter say had taken place in their lives? What does it mean to speak of the early readers needing to grow up in your salvation?
(3) To set you hope on the grace… What’s that mean? 2. 1 Peter 1:14-16 a. How were their lives to have changed?
Life Application 1. What do you find most challenging about the call to be holy? What can you do to more fully embrace this call in your life? 2. Where do you find it most difficult to be alert? Fully sober?
b. What is meant by Peter’s instruction to be holy in all you do?
c. Explore the context of the text quoted in 1 Peter 1:16. 3. 1 Peter 1:17-25 a. From what had they been redeemed?
3. When you consider your past life and think of where you are in your spiritual journey, where do you find you are continuing to struggle with the desires you had when you lived in ignorance? 4. How would you describe your desire for God’s word? How can you maintain or improve your relationships to the word so you can grow in your salvation?
b. Peter mentions gold twice in chapter 1 (vv 7 & 18). Why use gold as a contrast between what is perishable and what is imperishable?
c. When did Peter write Christ, the lamb without blemish or defect, was chosen? What does this reveal about salvation?
d. How had they been purified? As a result of this purification, what were they to do?
e. What did Peter write was enduring (not perishable)? What was their relationship to that which endured?
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
~ 1 Peter 2:1-3
Let’s Start Talking 1. Are there some areas of life where you tend to get carried away (seem to lose control)? It could be sports, reading, arguing about politics, etc. What is it (or what are they) for you?
2. From what you have observed in life, how would most people react to the idea of a person being holy? How would they view such a claim? Background for 1 Peter
Peter addresses this letter to exiles. Another way of saying this is that they were resident aliens. They lived in a country that was not their own - their citizenship was found in another location. Like the exiles of Judah who were taken to Babylon and would later be under Persian domination, God had a plan to bless them and given them a future. Like Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther and other previous exiles, Peter’s readers were to be a source of blessing for those who surround them.
These early believers were to live as holy people in a society aligned in opposition to God. Like the children of Israel, they were to be holy, a reflection of God, in a hostile setting. Peter often reminded them of Christ’s suffering and how their suffering allowed them to more fully identify with him.
1. 1 Peter 1:13 a. “Therefore” – what truths did Peter share with them before moving into this section?
4. 1 Peter 2:1-3 a. Of what were Peter’s readers told to rid themselves? Look at the list and discuss how each would relate to the call to holiness and to love one another deeply?
b. Peter began by instructing his readers were told to do three things:
b. Why describe God’s word as pure milk? How would this relate to 1 Peter 2:1? What is the significance of putting this in the context of the desires of a baby?
(1) Have minds that are alert (“gird your loins”). What’s that mean?
(2) To be fully sober. What’s that mean?
c. What did Peter say had taken place in their lives? What does it mean to speak of the early readers needing to grow up in your salvation?
(3) To set you hope on the grace… What’s that mean? 2. 1 Peter 1:14-16 a. How were their lives to have changed?
Life Application 1. What do you find most challenging about the call to be holy? What can you do to more fully embrace this call in your life? 2. Where do you find it most difficult to be alert? Fully sober?
b. What is meant by Peter’s instruction to be holy in all you do?
c. Explore the context of the text quoted in 1 Peter 1:16. 3. 1 Peter 1:17-25 a. From what had they been redeemed?
3. When you consider your past life and think of where you are in your spiritual journey, where do you find you are continuing to struggle with the desires you had when you lived in ignorance? 4. How would you describe your desire for God’s word? How can you maintain or improve your relationships to the word so you can grow in your salvation?
b. Peter mentions gold twice in chapter 1 (vv 7 & 18). Why use gold as a contrast between what is perishable and what is imperishable?
c. When did Peter write Christ, the lamb without blemish or defect, was chosen? What does this reveal about salvation?
d. How had they been purified? As a result of this purification, what were they to do?
e. What did Peter write was enduring (not perishable)? What was their relationship to that which endured?
