Pilgrim Living: “Jesus is the Cornerstone”
I Peter 2:4,5
Introduction: We tend to use certain terms to describe our church
building: “The Church,” or “The House of God,” or maybe for the main meeting
room, “The Sanctuary.” There is nothing particularly wrong with those
designations, except that they are not precisely biblical! In fact, there is almost nothing in the New
Testament to describe the building in which we worship. The “church” is
the assembly of believers, the people of God gathered for worship and mobilized
for ministry. All the attention is on God’s people as His “Temple” in this age.
God’s people are described using the imagery of God’s “temple” in this passage in I Peter. Paul said it as well twice to
the Corinthians, “Don’t you know that you are God’s Temple, and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Cor
3:16; cf. 6:19; Eph 2:21; etc.). That same imagery comes up in this context in
I Peter 2, but what does it mean? The theme of the “House of God” is an important
one in the Bible. God was present with humans in face-to-face fellowship in the
Garden, but sin brought separation between His Holiness and fallen
humanity. Jacob deceived Esau, and when
he was sent away by his father to get a wife he laid his head on a rock to rest
and had a dream. God promised His presence and reaffirmed the promise he had
made with Abraham and Isaac. We read in Gen
28:15-19,
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever
you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I
have done what I have promised you."
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the
LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." 17 And he was afraid and said,
"How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven." 18
So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and
set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that
place Bethel...
Beth-El, the house of God. The place where God revealed his presence. During the wilderness
wandering God instructed Moses to have a movable tent built, the
Tabernacle. It was to be the place where
God would reveal his presence in the midst of the camp, until finally, once in
the land, Solomon would build the Temple in Jerusalem. It served as the place where God’s presence
would be revealed to the people. Only the high priest could enter the holy of
holies, once a year, on the day of atonement. All of that changed when Jesus
came into the world. The Word was made flesh and “tabernacled” [dwelt] for a while among us...”
(John 1:14). He said in John 2, “Tear
down this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He is the
presence of God, Emmanuel, God with us. And we are His, and as we’ve
seen, we were ransomed at a great cost: His precious blood (I Pet 1:18-19). So,
because He loved us, we live in "Philadelphia," we choose to love one another. We “put off” the things
that would divide, we guard our tongue and we guard our hearts. We choose the
way of love. We are the body! For today…
The BIG*
Idea: Jesus is the precious
cornerstone of our faith and our greatest privilege is to know Him and to serve
Him.
We’ll look at that truth from the
perspective of three emphases in these verses:
1. Our Precious Cornerstone (4).
2. Our Privileged Position (5a).
3. Our Priestly Calling (5b).
I.
The Precious Cornerstone: JESUS (4). 1 Peter 2:4 says, “As
you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen
and precious...”
First of all, we “come to Him,” and to no other – He is
the way, the only way to the Father, there is salvation in no other. This idea
is something that we could easily pass over, but it is really foundational to
the whole passage. Notice also, “We come
to Him.” We have access; we are invited into the presence
of the One who is the Way. As the new
generation was preparing to enter the land, Moses recalled to them how their
Fathers, because they could not approach God, requested of Him that he “go near” to God on their behalf and to
hear His word,
“Go yourself and listen to what the LORD our God says. Then come and
tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey...” (Deut
5:27).
The writer to the Hebrews reflected on
the radical contrast between what was, under the Old Covenant, and what is, in
Christ... In Hebrews
12:20-24 he says,
20
For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast
touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."
21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,
"I tremble with fear." 22
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the
firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the
spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that
speaks a better word than the blood of Abel...
The transcendent, holy God of the Old Testament,
the awesome Creator who shook the Mountain with his presence when he revealed
himself there in cloud and fire, made a way for us to approach Him in Christ.
As Jesus was crucified the veil of the Temple was torn in two, from the top to
the bottom, humans once again were permitted into the Holy of Holies through Christ. Adam fled from God after the Fall. Because of
Jesus, the second Adam, we come to Him. We read at the end of the Book of Revelation:
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you
about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star." 17
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say,
"Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires
take the water of life without price...” (Rev 22:16,17).
And so, we come to Him, “a living
stone...” He was crucified, His blood was shed, but we serve a risen Savior! We want to take every opportunity to celebrate
that truth. He is a living stone. Christ
died for our sins, and he was buried.
Those are facts of history. And He rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures. Back in I Peter 1:3, Peter pointed to the importance of
the resurrection when he said, “...he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” We don’t go to
a cemetery outside Jerusalem to pay our respects at the grave of our beloved
leader. For decades the tomb of Lenin was a popular pilgrimage in the old Soviet
Union. He was enshrined in a glass coffin for all who would come to see. I am
not sure if that has changed in recent decades. But one thing hasn’t changed: he
is still dead! Jesus’ tomb is empty, He conquered death, He is a living SAVIOR,
the Living Cornerstone of our faith.
He is a living stone – The imagery of Jesus as a “Rock” is present in the Bible, it
seems often to be alluding to the Rock in the wilderness that Moses struck to
provide water for the people. That is a beautiful picture, but that is not what
is in view here. The allusion here is to a stone used in constructing a
building. In those days it was the
practice to carefully select and set the cornerstone of the building. It needed to be square and true and set
perfectly level, since the entire building would be oriented to it. If the
cornerstone was not true, the building would not be true. What kind of “building” is in view here? The
church as God’s Temple. As Paul said, “You are the Temple of God!”
First of all, this “Stone” was Rejected of men (Ps 118:25). There is a legend told in connection with the building of Solomon’s
temple that well illustrates this prophecy...
...The stones for the
temple were prepared in advance in a nearby quarry. As they were needed, they
were raised up to the building site. One day the workers in the quarry sent up
a stone of unique shape and proportions. The masons saw no place for it in the
building so they carelessly pushed it over the hill where, in time, it became
overgrown with moss and surrounded with weeds. As the temple neared completion,
the masons called for a stone of certain dimensions. The men in the quarry
replied, “We sent that stone up to you long ago.” After careful search, the discarded stone was found and was set in its
proper place in the temple. [Jesus was the Stone the builders
rejected…].
...The Lord Jesus presented Himself to the
nation of Israel at His First Advent. The people, and especially the rulers,
had no room for Him in their scheme of things. They rejected Him and delivered
Him to be crucified.
Because
Jesus Christ is the perfect, exact, precise One on whom God has built His
church, all the lines coming from Him in every direction complete the perfect
temple of God. No one is ever out of alignment. No one ever falls from the structure.
It all fits exactly and permanently together (cf. Eph. 2:20-23; 4:16).
That is the imagery that Peter alludes
to in this context. He was hated and rejected – in fulfillment of the
Scriptures, to accomplish our salvation, but He is the perfect, unshakable, Cornerstone.
And He is a Living Stone, He is alive!
Men certainly rejected the Stone, but He is “Chosen and precious in the sight of God...” The builders rejected the cornerstone. But
God is the Architect. So, before the foundation of the world the faultless
perfect Stone was chosen. He is precious in the sight of God. I’ve seen
a bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is more precious than life!” That should be our attitude! We often treasure
our things, sometimes we are even thankful for them. Do we treasure Jesus above
everything? Above all the gifts He
gives, do you treasure the Giver? He himself is the “pearl of great price”
that is more precious than anything else that has ever been or will ever be in
your life. If that attitude is really in our heart, people will see how
important He is to us. Jesus is the precious cornerstone of our faith and our
greatest privilege is to know Him and to serve Him.
II.
Our Privileged Position [in
His presence] (5a). “...you yourselves like living stones are being
built up as a spiritual house...”
We are described as “Living stones” in His Temple! It is one
thing to think about Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith, ok. That is
fine. But we, and that includes you and
me, are “living stones” in His temple. What? That’s what Paul meant when he
said to the Corinthians, “You are the
temple of God...” (I Cor 3:16, cf. 6:19). We have been chosen by the wise master-builder
and included in His design as he builds His church. One of the apartments we lived in during our
time in Brazil had a beautiful stone wall in the living room. It was made by an
expert stone mason. The stones were fit together so precisely, there were no
gaps, and no mortar that was visible. I wish I could have seen it being built,
each stone fit together, each one unique, each one filling a gap that it seemed
none other could precisely fill. That is
us. We are all living stones, created by God and chosen to fill a place as
Jesus builds His church. None of us is independent or complete by ourselves.
But together we fit together to make something beautiful.
“You are being built...” The “spiritual house” that God is building is
dynamic, it keeps on growing, and by grace we are a part of it. I was the
second child of my parents. When I was a baby, my dad bought a piece of
property, and had a fifty by twenty foot army barracks moved to the property
which he converted into a house for our family of four. As our family grew over the years, the house
kept growing! An addition on the back
gave 3 bedrooms. Then another addition on one side, then a 2nd story. Then a
pool house connected by a breeze way. By the time he was done a 1000 sq ft army
barracks was 5000 square foot monstrosity! My Dad had no plan, he figured is
out as he went. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was home. Jesus is building his
church. God’s plan is perfect and it is precious. And we are included,
living stones in the spiritual house of God!
That building is described by Peter as “a spiritual house.” What
makes it spiritual? The church is a “spiritual house” because it houses the
Spirit of God! The Holy Spirit is in
the believer individually, and in the church corporately. How should that impact
how we live? Does it affect our choices when we are tempted to sin? Does it
empower and encourage us when we have an opportunity to witness? What
difference does it make when we pray and when we worship? We come to Him, recognizing His presence, expressing
our faith in Him. It is our thank you to him. Jesus is the precious cornerstone
of our faith and our greatest privilege is to know Him and to serve Him.
III. Our priestly calling: To worship Him (5b). 1 Peter 2:5b, “...to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This goes beyond the
idea of presence and extends it to include our service. Priests
mediate, and we are stewards of God’s Message (the Gospel). Our ministry is offered
as an act of worship.
[For this reason, or to this end...]
“...to be a holy priesthood...”
I was not raised in the Baptist tradition, but in another tradition that had
“priests” who were thought to be the intercessors between humans and God. We
weren’t even encouraged to read the Bible, only the priests could interpret it
for us. The Bible teaches, and Baptists affirm, the priesthood of all believers.
We’ll talk about this more in a couple weeks when we get to vv. 9-10. Offering
worship in Spirit and in Truth is the goal in this context. But what can
we offer to God? A few things the Bible
points to specifically...
Our
praise and worship. Hebrews 13:15 says “Through him then let
us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of
lips that acknowledge his name.” God is worthy of our praise and somehow,
he “Inhabits the praise of His people.” We want to lift up His name at
every opportunity. We sing, first of all, to Him. We want to share our joy in
knowing Him. We want to spread His fame, here, and everywhere!
Our
material possessions - Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such
sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Our homes, all that we have He has given,
in love we surrender to Him! Is your
home available for meetings, for discipleship, for hospitality? Always be
sensitive to what He is asking us to do.
Our finances – Paul
said in Philippians 4:18, “I have
received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from
Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable
and pleasing to God.” He describes their gift as an “offering” and an
“acceptable sacrifice.” Not an atonement for sin, but an expression of
thankfulness. Some people may wonder why the “offering plate” doesn’t come around.
This church does something different in putting boxes in the rear. It is still
an opportunity for worship. You might think, “Well, I can’t give very much, my
little gift won’t make a difference.” Jesus saw a widow putting two small
copper coins into the offering, and he said it was more than the large gifts
that were given with poor motives. I read this week the story of the Philadelphia
pastor, from the late 19th century, Russell Conwell, who founded
Temple University. He liked to tell the story of a little girl named Hattie Mae
Wyatt, who came to their Sunday School. She came from a poor family, but she was
a faithful attender, until she took sick and died of diphtheria. She was so
thankful for Sunday School that she had saved up 57 cents to help the church build
an extension so that more kids could come to Sunday School. That story was
shared by the pastor, and eventually gifts came in over the next five years of
$250,000, a huge sum in post-Civil War America. Someone let them buy a piece of
property for 57 cents that was used for the new church. It all started with
the gift of a little girl. Little is
much when God is in it. God
loves a cheerful giver. Let’s
be generous with what God has given us.
We offer our service,
using the spiritual gifts he has given us. Several passages that
talk about the unity of the church also speak about the diversity of the gifts
God has given, teaching, mercy, giving… Read 1 Cor 12-14, Rom 12, and Eph 4 to
get started. Jesus, the rejected Stone, the Suffering Servant, has equipped and called us to serve. Those gifts
are for the good of the church and the glory of God.
Finally, we give our whole self – In Rom
12:1 Paul said, “I
appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship.” The language here is of a
gift being placed on an altar as an act of worship. The priests presented
offering on behalf of the people in times past. In this age, we are “a royal
priesthood.” And so, we come, and we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. It’s
been said “The problem with a living sacrifice is that they keep crawling off
the altar!” So, we keep on presenting
ourselves to him.
What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is the precious cornerstone of our faith and
our greatest privilege is to know Him and to serve Him.
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