1 Peter 2:4-5 Living Stones

Introduction:

What great salvation has come to us who trust in Jesus, the Son of God. We can do nothing to earn that salvation. It makes absolutely no difference how “good” we are, no one is perfect, everyone sins, and therefore we all deserve eternal punishment. But God in His great mercy offers salvation from our sin and it’s punishment through the Blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 

But that is not the end, is it? No, that is just the beginning. Once we are saved we are then responsible to God for how we live. As we saw a few verses ago we need to live the remainder of this life in the fear of God. God loves us, and He loves us enough to make sure we don’t go on living the same sinful and destructive ways we did before we came to faith in Christ.

We are also supposed to love the brethren with a sacrificial kind of love like Christ has for His church. We are to put away the sinful habits and ways that cause us to hurt or neglect one another. We are to desire the Word of God like a baby desires milk. Today we will see some things about our position and function as part of His Church, the Body of Christ.

Living Stones

Please begin by reading 1 Peter 1:22 – 2:5.

The Living Stone: Having just told his readers, who were Christians, to put away all worldliness and to desire the Word of God, Peter now indicates that doing those things contributes “to our coming to Christ” who is The Living Stone (2:4). Again, The Spirit through Peter is talking to Christians here; we established that in 1:1-2 and throughout this letter. So as a believer in Christ putting away malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking, and desiring the Word of God so that you can mature in your faith are all part of the post-salvation process of “coming to Him” or “drawing near to Him.”

Let’s consider God telling His people to draw near in the Old Testament. Let’s begin with some context. God brings Israel out of Egypt under Moses. Israel enters into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai “I will be your God and you will be My people” (Exodus 24). Israel breaks that covenant by worshiping a golden calf that they made (Exodus 32). The covenant is renewed after they were disciplined (Exodus 34). They were then given instructions on how to approach their Holy and Almighty God who dwelt among them at the Tabernacle (Leviticus). They approached God through priests (Leviticus 8-10). The assembly (nation) lived all around the Tabernacle where God uniquely dwelt (Leviticus 9:5). Aaron, the High Priest, went to the alter (Leviticus 9:8). “Coming to or drawing near to” the Tabernacle in Leviticus 9:5 and 8 is the same Greek word translated as “coming to” Christ in 1 Peter 2:4; that is the Greek work in the Septuagint (LXX) which is the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament that Jesus often quoted. Israel in the Old Testament entered into the covenant at Mt Sinai, but that did not guarantee their “coming near” to Him. Christians in New Testament are saved by grace through faith in Christ, but that doesn’t guarantee “coming near;” it’s a huge step, the first and a vital step, but it’s just the beginning.

The Spirit refers to Jesus as The Living Stone. It is taken from Psalm 118:22-23, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” It is also from Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore, thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily.’” Jesus is the first stone laid in the Spiritual Temple that is the Church, the Body of Christ. The entire “building” is centered upon and built upon Him. He is the Living Cornerstone. Christ the Living Stone was examined and refused by men (1 Peter 2:4b). The word “rejected” here means “an examination and declaration of unworthiness.” Those who reject Christ consider Him unfit, unworthy of their trust. They are either indifferent or defiant; either way they reject Him. As a believer in Christ, you can expect to be rejected by those same people as well. The reality is that Christ was chosen by God and of immeasurable value (1 Peter 2:4c). This shows the vast chasm between God’s view of Christ and man’s. Man rejects Christ, but God honors and glorifies Christ. That God had “chosen” Christ is an interesting way of saying it since Jesus has always existed with the Father. This “chosen” is the same word used in 1 Peter 1:2 concerning our being chosen by God. It simply means that Jesus Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be the Saviour of the world. This is reflected in the high Christological passages of Colossians 1:19-23, Philippians 2:5-11, and Hebrews 1:1-4, 3:1-6. I encourage you to read those passages often.

Now let’s move onto the other living stones.

The Living Stones: The Spirit continues His statement in 1 Peter 2:5 to believers about “coming to Christ.” That like Christ, we too are living stones being built together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God thru Jesus. Look at the Temple imagery in this verse including stones, spiritual house, priesthood, and sacrifices. All who trust in Christ for salvation become part of that Temple, being built into a spiritual house and priesthood. God is building this spiritual Temple, starting with Christ and including all who believe. The Old Testament Tabernacle/Temple is where God dwelt among His people. The New Testament Temple is the Body of Christ made up of us and it is where God dwells among us. He is building a holy priesthood; we are all priests, we all have access and we all need to take those priestly responsibilities seriously.  We, the Temple of God, are His dwelling place and we have access to Him for the purpose of offering spiritual sacrifices.

“Coming to” or “drawing near to” Jesus Christ, the Living Stone continues beyond salvation. In Leviticus God told Israel how to draw near; through bringing sacrifices to the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The sacrifices we offer include our very lives (Romans 12:1-2), loving each other (Ephesians 5:2), ministering to each other (Philippians 2:17 and 4:18), and praising God with the fruit of our lips (Hebrews 13:15) for example.

Conclusion:

Ok, so put these verses together…

By coming to Christ, you are being built up as a spiritual Temple and a holy priesthood, for the purpose of offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God thru Jesus Christ. Coming near to Christ begins with putting off all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking (2:1), desiring the Word as a baby desires milk so that you can mature (2:2), and coming to Him so that we are built up together as the Temple, as priests, for the purpose of offering spiritual sacrifices thru Jesus Christ to God the Father. If you do not put off the old sins, if you do not feast on the Word of God, you will not mature or positively contribute to the church. I hear many preachers tell people, “you need to be in church anytime the doors are open, you need to get involved in the church, you need to give more money.” The real issue, however, the reason believers struggle is because they do not put off sin, do not desire the Word, and do not draw near to Christ to be His Temple and royal priesthood.

You know that you need Christ for the forgiveness of sin through His death for you, but do you know God’s will for your life right now? It is for you to draw ever nearer to Christ who is The Living Stone.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Mark