“Therefore laying aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisy and envy and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby, if so it be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Come to Him as unto a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. Ye also as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is also contained in the Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded.’ Unto you therefore who believed, He is precious. But unto those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same has been made the cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ For being disobedient they stumbled at the Word, unto which also they were appointed.” 1 Peter 2:1-8 (21st Century KJV)
I want to work with the last sentence in this passage first. Then in following posts, we can look at the other elements. I first read this in the King James, and was seeing the fact that these folk who disobeyed were appointed to the Word. Then I read many other translations, and they all attributed it differently. I worked with the Greek and had the joy of being able to work with my Greek instructor with it. As far as either of us can see, these folk were appointed to the Word – not to the disobedience. This works with me theologically as well. It may be a matter of Greek texts, I have only a few at my disposal, but working with the goodness of the Lord and our placement in Him, it is the only translation that fits.
I believe all are appointed to the Word. All are loved and all are potentially included in Christ. However, there are many who do not choose to receive the appointment as born from above sons and daughters of God. He is so gracious in Christ, that He does not force anyone, either by birth or circumstances, to be disobedient to Him. All are free to obey.
So believing that, I see that all of us who have received Him are appointed to the Word. Therefore, in that appointment we will allow our lives to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through that precious Word into a living, breathing, dynamic person of Spirit.
So our challenge today is really simple. In this New Year, honor the King enough to treasure His Word – not just the Book, but the reality of Himself which comes out of the Book. Whether you read it in book form or electronic form, treasure Him through His word. We have a new beginning this month. I urge you to read the book through. Begin, like me, to allow the Word to determine your thinking and blessings upon blessings will be unleashed throughout your life.
Mannaword 