BEMA Episode Link: 168: 1 Peter — Living Stones and a Spiritual House
Episode Length: 16:44
Published Date: Thu, 14 May 2020 01:00:00 -0700
Session 4
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the first of two letters penned by Peter, hearing the heart of a man who had went everywhere with Jesus—including betrayal and restoration.

Discussion Video for BEMA 168

Transcript for BEMA 168

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 168: 1 Peter — Living Stones and a Spiritual House

Title & Source Summary

Episode: BEMA 168: 1 Peter — Living Stones and a Spiritual House
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings
Topic: An exploration of 1 Peter, examining the letter written by the apostle Peter to believers scattered across the Roman Empire’s most challenging regions, focusing on the concept of living stones being built into a spiritual house and how to respond to persecution with hope and grace.

This episode introduces Peter’s first epistle as a letter written by the leader of the early apostolic movement to believers in remote and often persecuted regions like Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia. The discussion emphasizes Peter’s transformation from an impulsive disciple willing to fight with a sword to a mature leader advocating for peaceful resistance and hope in the face of suffering. The central metaphor of believers as “living stones” being built into a “spiritual house” (temple) provides the theological foundation for understanding community response to persecution.

Key Takeaways

  • Peter writes to believers in remote, often persecuted regions of the Roman Empire, particularly areas like Cappadocia where people fled to escape persecution
  • The letter addresses communities under early Roman persecution, likely during Nero’s reign, though not necessarily the most severe persecutions in Roman history
  • Peter presents believers as “living stones” being built by God into a “spiritual house” (temple), emphasizing community over individualism
  • The response to persecution should be characterized by hope, submission to authority, and persistent good works rather than fighting back
  • Peter’s own transformation from a sword-wielding defender to an advocate of grace demonstrates the possibility of change through resurrection hope
  • Contemporary American Christianity is not experiencing true persecution comparable to the early church’s suffering
  • The church’s role in a post-Christian world should mirror the early church’s missional approach through love, forgiveness, and compassion

Main Concepts & Theories

Peter’s Authority and Leadership Context

Peter writes as the leader of the early apostolic movement, part of the triumvirate with James and John:

  • James: Leader of the Jewish church in Jerusalem
  • John: Pastor to the churches in Asia
  • Peter: Head of the broader apostolic movement, particularly serving regions lacking established leadership

Peter likely focused his ministry on remote areas like Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia because these regions lacked strong apostolic leadership and were populated by Gentile converts without established synagogue communities.

Historical Context of Persecution

The letter addresses believers facing early Roman persecution, possibly under Nero:

  • Thousands fled to remote regions like Cappadocia and Galatia to escape cultural and physical persecution
  • Cappadocia specifically was known for its underground cities carved into tufa rock, providing refuge for the persecuted
  • Some believers chose to flee (following Jesus’s teaching: “When persecuted in one place, flee to another”)
  • Others chose to stay and often died for their faith
The Spiritual House Metaphor

Peter’s central theological concept presents believers as “living stones” in God’s construction project:

  • Individual Identity: Each believer is a “living stone,” chosen and quarried by God
  • Corporate Identity: Multiple stones (believers) are built into a single “spiritual house” (temple)
  • Temple Language: “Spiritual house” was Jewish terminology for the Temple, avoiding the direct use of the holy word “Temple”
  • Parallel to Paul: Similar to Paul’s teaching that “we” (plural) are “the temple” (singular) of the Holy Spirit
Peter’s Personal Transformation

The episode highlights Peter’s dramatic character development:

  • Early Peter: Impulsive, willing to fight with a sword, promised never to deny Jesus
  • Transformed Peter: Experienced betrayal, forgiveness, and restoration on the beach (John 21)
  • Mature Peter: Advocates for grace, peace, submission to authority, and persistent good works
  • Leadership Style: “Feeding Jesus’s sheep” in a way completely different from his original impulses
Response to Persecution and Opposition

Peter outlines a specific approach to handling persecution and hostility:

  • Don’t repay evil with evil or insult with insult
  • Repay evil with blessing because believers are called to inherit blessing
  • Keep tongues from evil and lips from deceitful speech
  • Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it
  • Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope you have, with gentleness and respect
  • Don’t be surprised at fiery ordeals as though something strange were happening

Examples & Applications

Response to Cultural Opposition

Peter’s teachings directly apply to navigating cultural opposition:

  • When insulted because of Christ’s name, believers should see it as blessing
  • Suffering for righteousness brings blessing, not cause for fear
  • The goal is maintaining clear conscience so that malicious speakers may be ashamed of their slander
  • Rejoicing in participation in Christ’s sufferings leads to being overjoyed when His glory is revealed
Community vs. Individual Identity

The “living stones” metaphor emphasizes:

  • Believers don’t function as isolated individuals but as interconnected components
  • The community together tells a story and shows the world what God is like
  • Perseverance and overcoming happen corporately, not individually
  • The hope is that through community response, the world might know God’s love and faithfulness more clearly
Contemporary Cultural Engagement

The episode applies these principles to modern contexts:

  • American Christianity is not experiencing true persecution despite cultural changes
  • The shift from Christian to post-Christian culture should not be mourned but engaged missionally
  • Fighting for political power or “Christian morality” through Supreme Court justices misses the point
  • The Kingdom of God operates differently than worldly power structures
  • The proper response involves persistent good works, forgiveness, love, and compassion at personal expense
Historical Perspective on Privilege

The hosts provide crucial perspective on contemporary vs. ancient contexts:

  • Early church existed on the “underbelly” of imperial power and popular opinion
  • Modern middle-class, particularly white male Christians, operate from positions of comfort and privilege
  • The changing cultural landscape means loss of assumed default worldview, not persecution
  • True persecution involves dying, hiding, fleeing, and living in constant physical danger

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

  1. Underground Church History: Study of the Cappadocian underground cities and their role in early Christian survival during persecution
  2. Neronian Persecution Analysis: Examination of the historical context of persecution under Nero and its relationship to other Roman persecutions
  3. Temple Theology in Peter: Investigation of Peter’s use of temple imagery and its relationship to Jewish understanding of sacred space
  4. Comparative Persecution Studies: Analysis of how different regions of the Roman Empire experienced varying levels of persecution
  5. Early Church Leadership Structure: Study of the division of ministry territories among the apostolic leaders
  6. Post-Christian Cultural Engagement: Exploration of appropriate Christian responses to cultural marginalization in democratic societies
  7. Peter’s Theological Development: Tracing Peter’s theological growth from the Gospels through his epistles

Comprehension Questions

  1. How does Peter’s geographical focus on remote regions like Cappadocia and Galatia reflect his understanding of apostolic ministry, and what does this suggest about the early church’s approach to unreached populations?

  2. What is the significance of Peter’s “living stones” and “spiritual house” metaphor for understanding both individual Christian identity and corporate church function, particularly in the context of persecution?

  3. How does Peter’s personal transformation from a sword-wielding defender to an advocate of peaceful resistance demonstrate the practical outworking of resurrection hope in Christian character development?

  4. In what ways does Peter’s teaching about responding to persecution with blessing, good works, and hope challenge contemporary Christian approaches to cultural opposition and political engagement?

  5. How should the historical context of genuine Roman persecution inform contemporary Christian responses to cultural marginalization, and what does this suggest about the difference between persecution and loss of cultural privilege?

Brief Personalized Summary

BEMA Episode 168 presents 1 Peter as a masterclass in responding to genuine persecution with hope, grace, and community solidarity rather than individual resistance or retaliation. Peter, writing as the seasoned leader of the apostolic movement to believers in some of the Roman Empire’s most challenging regions, offers a theological framework that transforms suffering from meaningless hardship into meaningful participation in God’s redemptive work.

The episode’s most powerful insight centers on Peter’s personal transformation and what it reveals about the possibility of change through resurrection hope. The same Peter who once drew his sword in Jesus’s defense now advocates for blessing enemies, submitting to unjust authorities, and persistent good works in the face of hostility. This transformation isn’t presented as weakness but as the mature expression of resurrection faith that understands how God’s kingdom operates differently than worldly power structures.

The “living stones” and “spiritual house” metaphor provides crucial perspective for contemporary application. Rather than viewing faith as an individual journey of personal rights and protections, Peter presents believers as interconnected components in God’s construction project. The community’s collective response to persecution becomes a testimony to God’s character, offering hope that the world might see God’s love and faithfulness more clearly through their witness.

Perhaps most challenging for contemporary readers is the episode’s clear distinction between genuine persecution and cultural marginalization. The hosts provide necessary corrective to American Christian persecution narratives by contrasting modern comfort with the reality of believers who actually died, fled, and hid in underground cities for their faith. This perspective reframes contemporary cultural challenges as opportunities for missional engagement rather than battles for political power, calling believers to embrace their changing role from cultural gatekeepers to grace-bearing witnesses in an increasingly post-Christian world.

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