Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Peter 2:4-10

It takes a keen eye and informed perspective to appreciate and identify the true value of precious gems like diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds!

Perhaps you know about the Hope Diamond?

It’s the most valuable jewel in the world, valued at $200-250 million.

It was supposedly stolen from an idol temple in India, and it was owned and worn by Louis the XIV, Mary Antoinette of France, and King George IV of England.

After this, it disappeared for a while, then reappeared years later and was sold to dealers in London, then NYC, then to a wealthy heiress in Washington, D.C. named Mrs.

Evalyn McLean.

Today, it sits in a bomb-proof case at the Smithsonian.

The only other artistic piece to receive more visitors per year is the Mona Lisa.

Could you tell the difference between the Hope Diamond and a fake one?

In fact, how do you know that the diamond you’re wearing (if you have on) is real?

Have you ever bought a diamond?

Imagine paying thousands or millions of dollars for a fake one, one designed and manufactured to look like a diamond but it’s not.

Interestingly enough, the sales of fake diamonds are booming, generating $32 billion in sales per year, but why?

Here are seven reasons why people knowingly buy fake diamonds:

So that the bride-to-be can choose the ring she prefers after the proposal

To help the groom-to-be keep the proposal a surprise

To avoid wasting money if she says ‘no’

To have an alternative, lookalike ring for travel and work

To prevent strangers from flirting

To accent specific outfits

To save money

I’ve taken time to consider the value of precious jewels today because that’s what Peter is speaking about in the next section of his letter.

In 1 Pet 2:4-10, Peter compares the value and worth of Christ to a precious jewel, and he does the same for us as well.

In God’s sight, anyone who has placed his or her faith in Christ as God and Savior is far more valuable than the Hope Diamond.

We must treasure Christ as God the Father does.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.”

(1 Pet 2:4)

Peter has just encouraged believers to “desire the pure milk of the Word as newborn babies” so strongly and intently desire their mother’s milk.

Now he tells us that when we seek the pure milk of the Word we are not engaging in a purely intellectual exercise or ritualistic spiritual discipline.

We are “coming to him” – meaning we are approaching Christ in a real personal and relational way.

To desire God’s Word is to desire Christ himself.

After making this clear, Peter introduces a second analogy to help us grasp the degree to which we should seek Christ through the Word.

He has already described the strength of the desire we should have for the Word, but now he describes the degree of value we should place on the Word.

We should value Christ (as explained in the Word) as we would value an extremely valuable gemstone, like the Hope Diamond or the Crown Jewels.

By the unusual term “living stone,” Peter likely seems to bringing several things to mind.

In addition to the imagery of a beautiful, valuable gemstone – like a diamond or ruby, he also reminds us that this is a “living” stone, which is the opposite of the dead lifeless stones of pagan idols.

And we know, of course, that Christ is more than a living stone, he is a resurrected stone.

Though he died for our sins, he rose again.

He is alive!

As remarkable of a “stone” as Jesus Christ is, not everyone sees him or values him the same way – as he deserves to be valued.

Stunningly, he was “rejected indeed by men.”

Three months ago, a 1952 baseball card of Mickey Mantle, the infamous Yankees slugger, sold for a whopping $12,600,000.

Oddly enough, my father remembers buying Mickey Mantle baseball cards for the chewing gum that came in the packs, then taping the baseball cards to the spokes of his bike wheels to make a “zooming” sound.

Talk about valuing the wrong thing!

This is what happened to Christ.

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11)

When he came into the world, he lived, served, taught, suffered, and died.

Through all that, he was never valued for who he truly was – the Son of God.

He was severely undervalued, so much that they charged him as a criminal and crucified him on a cross.

Yet, God knew his true value and worth.

At his baptism, God the Father spoke audibly to the crowd which had gathered there at the Jordan River:

“He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

(Mark 1:11)

Peter further tells us that to God the Father, Christ was “chosen” and “precious.”

This means that he was personally selected by the Father, similar to how a man personally selects an engagement ring for his fiancé – with deliberate love, thought, and care.

He is also “precious,” meaning “highly valued, honored, and respected.”

God the Father chose Christ and cherishes Christ.

If God the Father chose and cherishes Christ, we should do the same!

Now – would you like to hear something somewhat shocking?

God chose and cherishes those who follow Christ, as well.

“You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

(1 Pet 2:5)

Here Peter uses the same language as he used for the way God values Christ.

He tells us that are also “living stones” and that we also (“you also”) are “chosen by God and precious.”

Can you believe that?

Have you fully comprehended just greatly God values you?

For all of your failures, faults, and sins, God treasures you greatly as he treasures Christ.

He has chosen you as a husband chooses the diamond for his fiancé’s engagement ring, and he has valued you highly as a priceless, precious jewel.

As God the Father gathers people as gemstones for his own enjoyment, what is he doing with them?

Does he stash them away in a vault, bury them in a treasure chest, or set them into a crown or necklace of some sort?

He is doing none of these things.

As Peter describes, he is building a spiritual house with them – with those who follow his Son.

We are “being built up as a spiritual house,” Peter says.

This means that God is putting us to meaningful use, not stashing us away to gather dust.

It also means that he is displaying us publicly for all to see and that we are a place where he desires to be, to dwell, to live.

Imagine a palace much brighter and grander than the annual ice palace in Detroit Lakes, a palace constructed entirely not of ice but of priceless gems hand-selected and appraised by God himself.

This IS THE CHURCH.

We are also “being built up…a holy priesthood.”

A priest is someone who serves as a “bridge” between God and people, helping other people come into a new and closer relationship with God.

In our case, we are being chosen as partners with Christ who bring people into a new and closer relationship with God through Christ by living out the life of Christ to them and then explaining the message of Christ to them.

How do we do this (Walls and Anders)?

The Old Testament speaks of spiritual sacrifices of prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance.

The New Testament goes even further by identifying spiritual sacrifices as (1) the offering of our bodies to God for his service; (2) the offerings of our financial gifts; and (3) practical, loving service to other people.

Spiritual sacrifices in the New Testament involve our bodies, our money, and our time (Rom 12:1-2).

As Peter describes our special, shared role together as the church, he makes sure we realize that all of this is only possible for and through Jesus Christ alone.

We are chosen because of Christ, not because of our own merit.

We are highly valued because of our close association with Christ, not because of our own innate value.

And we are able to bring others to God through the message, power, and compassion of Christ.

Yes, we are saved through Christ alone, but we also serve God and others through Christ alone.

All of this had been prophesies centuries before.

As Peter continues to write, he does something which he’s done a lot of already in the first chapter – he refers to things which were written in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Christ had come into the world as our Savior.

By doing this, Peter demonstrates that though the rejection of Christ (and the resulting rejection and hardship of his followers) make is seem as though God’s plan was poorly engineered, it was not God who had been mistaken.

First, he quotes from Isaiah 28:16:

“Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’”

By quoting this prophecy, Peter encourages all followers of Christ that God had indeed chosen Christ to be our God, our Savior, and our King and that if we would believe on him, we would not be embarrassed, humiliated, and made to look foolish in the end – as though we had thrown away our live savings for a fake diamond we thought was genuine.

You may be made to feel foolish at times, but rest assured, you are not.

Then, Peter quotes from Psalm 118:22:

“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone”

Peter directs this statement to anyone who refuses to believe on Christ as God and Savior.