Human beings love using metaphors, comparisons between two things that are unlike to bring out some special way in which they are alike. In I Peter 2:4-12, the author piled on a series of metaphors and quotations from the Old Testament to explain, first, who Christ is and, second, who Christians are. The first metaphor he used was that Christ is a living stone, the cornerstone in fact. Christians in turn are built upon him as living stones and are also a chosen race, a holy and royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, and God’s people. All of these privileges are the result of God’s mercy not of Christian’s merit.
As the second Adam and the faithful Israel, Jesus resisted temptation and so can help us when we are tempted.
If we invest in making disciples, our lives become bound up with theirs to die and live together.
From Ephesians 6:1-3, Proverbs 1:1-9, and Genesis 2:24, we put together an overall structure for parenting: the first stage of teaching first-time obedience, the...