Christians, Living Stones for a Spiritual Temple

Christians, Living Stones for a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:4-10)

In previous weeks, we have seen Christ figured as the Chief Cornerstone and the apostles as the foundation of the church. Now Peter turns his attention from Christ to the church, in 1 Peter 2:5, and continues the imagery of a building project, calling us living stones.

Notice that in verse five the apostle says that the church is being made into two things based on our association with Christ, the Living Stone: (1) a spiritual house (or, a temple for the Spirit to dwell) and (2) a holy priesthood. This is for the purpose of offering up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God. We are living stones, no doubt, because we have put our faith in the resurrected Christ. His resurrection life becomes ours (Schreiner). Like stones which are stacked together, we are being built together to form a spiritual house, a temple for God Himself to come in and dwell. The old temple pointed to the church, which is the new, spiritual temple. Not only are we the temple, but we are the priesthood. This is a major distinction of the Protestant Reformation—the priesthood of all believers. I am no closer to God than you are. He does not favor the prayers of a pastor more so than the prayers of those in the pews.

What does a priesthood do? They offer up sacrifices to God. My question is, what are spiritual sacrifices? First of all, even the Old Testament begins to tell us that God desires something beyond law-keeping and the temple cult. The Lord says through the prophet in Hosea 6:6, “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” And Micah 6:8 also affirms, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” God does not ultimately desire animal sacrifice, we know that Christ was the once-for-all sacrifice which brings to an end the Old Testament sacrificial system and Law, but God does still desire spiritual sacrifices. So, the New Testament commands us to sacrifice things such as:

          1. Bodies offered to God as living sacrifices (Rom. 12)  

          2. Money or material goods (Ph. 4, Heb. 13)

          3. Sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13)

          4. Sacrifices of doing good (Heb. 13:16)

These are the things acceptable to God. Now, does this fit with the context in 1 Peter 2? I think it does. Consider verse nine. We are all these things so that we “may proclaim the praises of Him.” I think this is our spiritual sacrifice. We are those devoted to the proclamation of the Gospel deeds of God. The sacrifice is giving of our resources to support that proclamation, giving of our time, enduring ridicule or persecution because of it, and much more. Of course, it is a small price to pay considering that Christ has gone before us, suffered, and died to absorb the sins of the world in Himself.

The Apostles, the Foundation of the Church

The Apostles, the Foundation of the Church

Ephesians 2:19-22 affirms, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

In the last edition of the Midweek eBulletin, we discussed the imagery of Christ as the Chief Cornerstone of this “spiritual temple” or “household of God.” Today we turn our attention to the foundation. The foundation in a building is set according to the cornerstone. It is measured, set against, and finds its course in relation to the cornerstone. Moreover, the entire structure must rest upon the foundation. In these ways, the foundation must be carefully laid, robust, and unrepeatable.

The New Testament affirms that the apostles are the foundation of the church (also see 1 Cor 3:10). The apostles are, specifically, those original men (minus Judas, plus Matthias, plus Paul) chosen and commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself to be His authoritative representatives. The preaching of the apostles hurled the Gospel into the world and established the church of the living God. The uniquely inspired writing of the apostles and their close associates has given us the scriptural doctrines which have instructed the church for centuries and will until Christ returns.

Thus, we must look to the apostles for all matters of faith and practice. We tap into their authoritative ministries by engaging the Holy Scriptures. However, many ministries today have attempted to shift congregations off of their original foundation (Christ and His apostles) and onto a new foundation. This does not work but only leads to disaster. If one shifts the congregation’s foundation, or builds a new one, then that crowd has become just that, a crowd, and not the people of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. There is only one, true foundation. So then, we must be a people of the Book. We must be a people standing to learn, believe, teach, and defend the Bible as the Word of God, delivered through His apostles, and serving as the unrepeatable foundation of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone

Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone
 

It is really something to watch true professional stone masons in action. These guys are very fast in their work. As they build a wall, or a stone facing on a building, they take a stone from the pile, look it over to see where it would fit in any of the open spaces, and stick it in place. They then move on to the next stone. Every so often they take their hammer and give a chip here or there to shape up the stone and make it fit in certain places, but rarely do they cast a stone aside. They are so efficient in their work; they can spot weakness in a stone with one glance. They know a defective stone almost instinctively.

In the first century, during Jesus’ time, stone was the primary building material. The cornerstone was the first stone to be laid in construction. It became the foundation upon/by which all the other stones were set. The cornerstone had to be the perfect stone and set perfectly because if it was off, even a little bit, the whole building was off. Once the cornerstone was set, they could then build out from that point. There have been many cornerstones found in archeological digs in the Middle East; one was measured at 69 feet by 12 feet by 13 feet. These stones were very important in ancient architecture.

The New Testament pictures a spiritual temple with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. The Bible also sees the apostles as the foundation upon which the church is built. Christians, too, participate in the spiritual temple and priesthood. We may look at these three parts individually over the next few weeks, but let's begin by considering Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone.

Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; and Ephesians 2:20 all pick up on Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 from the Old Testament and designate Jesus as the Precious Stone which the builders rejected and yet God has made the Chief Cornerstone. 1 Peter 2:4 also figures Jesus this way as the foundation for the church and the Gospel. The apostle says, by inspiration, that Christians come to the Lord as a Living Stone, rejected by people, but chosen by and precious to God the Father.

A stone which was tossed away because it was considered useless is later brought back as the most precious stone. In the same way, Jesus was rejected by the Jewish leaders (and the world, for that matter) and crucified in order to do away with Him. Yet, God the Father had chosen Him as the Chief Cornerstone, and, so, He was raised from the dead on the third day. Three things are said about Christ, our Living Stone: (1) He was/is rejected by men, however, (2) He is chosen by God, and (3) He is precious. The apostles use this figurative language to demonstrate the value of Christ as the crux of all that God is doing in the salvation of souls and the gathering of them into His Church. Christ is the end-all and be-all.