1 Peter 2:4-10, Christian Identity and Purpose

Introduction

Good morning, beloved! It is so good to be back with you this morning and to have the joy and privilege of opening God’s Word together. We are continuing our verse by verse study through 1 Peter. This is our custom most Sunday’s. We don’t gather to hear Jarred or Tyler’s ideas. We need God’s Word. That’s what we do week in and week out. So we’re picking up where we left off last week. We’re looking at 1 Peter 2:4-10. So, if you have not yet done so, please open your Bibles there to 1 Peter 2:4.

This is a wonderful letter written by the apostle Peter under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to Christians living in what is now modern day Turkey. It was intended to encourage them and spur them on with hope in Christ as they lived in a culture that was hostile toward them as followers of the LORD Jesus Christ. Thus, it should offer the same comforts, encouragement, and instruction to us as the people of God today. The encouragement and exhortation we will consider this morning is to remember our identity and purpose as Christians.

READ 1 PETER 2:4-10

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

PRAY

Do you know who you are? When someone is getting to know you and asks you to share a little about yourself, what would you say? How do you identify yourself? What are the things most central to who you are that come to mind in answer to that question. This is a question of identity that all people, to varying degrees, answer in some way. Some will identify themselves according to their family, or their heritage. This is how it seems it was for much of human history until the last one or two centuries.

We still see this in some ways as people identify with where they are from. Most of you are “Minnesotans.” Many of you might throw in your Norwegian heritage and you display it in your love for things like lefse or even, for some of you, lutefisk. Others will throw in an identity with their job––school teacher; physician; farmer; etc. Some will include hobbies or things they like to do––outdoorsman; homesteading; sports enthusiast; fan of “you name the team.”

There are certainly more examples that can be given. What I want you to notice though is the tight connection between our identity and what we do. In speaking of what we do, I think often for many people this is tied to our purpose in life. In other words, what gets you out of bed in the morning. What makes you tick. What makes you do the things that you do––the reasons you do those things and the way you do those things. Simply put, much of what we do is rooted in and flows out of who we are.

You might remember a couple of weeks ago that we considered how Peter, like other Biblical authors, will often work between what are known as indicatives (stated realities; facts) and imperatives (commands). Peter began the letter with sustained indicative declarations reminding these Christians about the reality of their identity as the people of God. Then, the last two weeks we saw some imperatives, or commands, that were given in regard to how we ought to respond and live in obedience in light of these firmly stated realities.

Now, Peter once again circles back to more indicative statements to remind us of who we are in Christ as the people of God before returning to more imperative exhortations for how we are to live in light of who we are, or rather whose we are. He reminds us, in other words, Who we belong to. As one writer put it, “For Peter, identity begins with such questions as: “Who is my God? Whom do I trust? What is my community?” The question “Whose am I?” has more weight than “Who am I?”

Beloved, we need to remember our identity centers on a Person––the LORD Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian you must see your most foundational reality and identity as rooted and grounded in Christ. Knowing and remembering that shapes the way we live and conduct ourselves in this life.

MAIN POINT––Remember who you are in Christ and live as the people of God for the glory of God.

Remember Who You Are in Christ

Tyler’s sermon last week was so good and so helpful. If you weren’t here or haven’t listened to it yet I encourage you to do so. I want to make a connection for you here with what we saw last week in verse 3. There Peter spoke of tasting “that the LORD is good.” Then, look with me again beginning in verse 4. There he says, “As you come to him…” Who is the “him” Peter is referring to?

Looking back at verse 3 it is the LORD. But then, notice what Peter does from there. Moving forward, he also identifies “him”, that is “the LORD” as “a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” Who is the “him” we are to come to, beloved? Jesus! Peter clearly identifies Jesus as the LORD in verse 3. Significant for our purposes this morning, Jesus is the Living Stone that was rejected by men but in the sight of God is chosen and precious. And that has implications for those who come to Him as well.

Living Stones and the Living Stone

Beloved, who we are is derived from and rooted in Christ, the Living Stone. Everything about us as Christians is centered on the LORD Jesus Christ. Without Him, we have nothing and are nothing. He is the head. He is the source. He is the One in Whom we find our purpose in all of life. This was true of you the moment you came to Him in repentance and faith. You were made alive in Him. You were united to Him by faith. Now and forever you abide in Him.

Notice that this is in the present. The text says, “as you come to him.” Not “as you came to him.” There is certainly a first time that you came to him. The moment of your conversion when you came to Jesus in repentance and faith. But, Peter is writing to those who have already come to him, having already obeyed the gospel.

So, just as in the verses we looked at last week, where he tells us to long for pure spiritual milk––the Word of Christ––like newborn infants and we are to do so continually that we may grow up into salvation. So too here Peter is referring to a regular and unceasing commitment to come to Jesus that is lifelong, unshakeable, and unwavering.

Now, as becomes clear later in the passage, not everyone is connected to Jesus, the Living Stone. Sadly, many have rejected Him and will continue to reject Him. If you are here with us this morning and have not come to the LORD Jesus Christ, do not harden your heart. Hear this call to come to Him. Come to Jesus and find rest for your weary soul. He is the only One who can truly satisfy the longings of your heart. He is the One in Whom we are to find all of our joy, delight, and satisfaction for all eternity. More so than any earthly joy or success.

For those of us who have come to Him, there is an incredible reality that we derive from the Living Stone, Jesus, because of our faith-union with Him. Do you see that in verse 5? Jesus is the Living Stone in verse 4. Peter says, “As you come to him,” that is Jesus, the Living Stone, verse 5––“you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” Jesus is the Living Stone and we who are united to Him by faith are now, by God’s grace, living stones. The significance of this reality becomes all the more clear with what Peter says next.

He says, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” What becomes clear through the rest of the text is that this is temple language. Peter is speaking of the Church––the New Covenant people of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit and united to Christ by faith––as the temple of God. This is the same idea that Paul communicated in Ephesians 2:19-22:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The temple, preceded by the tabernacle during the wilderness wanderings following the Exodus, was God’s dwelling place among His people. It is where His presence was most clearly demonstrated and experienced among His people.

But now, Peter says, “you yourselves,” Christians, “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We’ll dig into those purpose statements in a few moments. Right now I want us to continue to keep our focus on who we are in Christ. What Peter says next solidifies all the more this temple language and our privileged status as believers united to Christ by faith.

Peter grounds his argument here in passages from the Old Testament. In verse 6, 7, and 8 he quotes from several Old Testament passages that these Christians would have known well. In verse 6 he references Isaiah 28:16. He says, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Then, at the beginning of verse 7 he makes a point of application from this reality.

You who are like living stones that are being built up and are united by faith to the Living Stone––the chosen and precious Cornerstone–– “So the honor is for you who believe.” What the world may try to shame you over, Peter says it is your honor. The world may look at you as foolish and worthless. They will reject you just like they did the Cornerstone Himself. Don’t be surprised by that, beloved. Nevertheless, in the sight of God, like Christ, you are precious.

Contrast that with those who do not believe who rejected the Cornerstone. In verse 7 and 8 Peter references Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14 respectively to highlight the fate of those who reject Christ, the Cornerstone. To those who reject Christ He is a stumbling stone and rock of offense. They trip over Him rather than come to Him. And Peter concludes, “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

God’s Treasured People

Not only are we living stones being built up as a spiritual house. We are also God’s treasured people. Look with me at verses 9 and 10. By way of contrast again with those who reject and stumble over Christ, we are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” Peter is once again picking up Old Testament language here. He takes the words of Exodus 19:5-6, once spoken to and about the nation of Israel, but now applies it to the Church.

Then in verse 10 he says, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Again, Peter uses well known Old Testament language, this coming from Hosea 2:23, and applies it to the Church––the New Covenant community composed of people from every nation. Notice how we received this identity as God’s Treasured People. God gave us this identity.

Once again, our identity is derived from God himself, the Author of Life and ultimate source of who we are as His treasured people. He chose us that we might be a royal priesthood and holy nation and his own treasured possession. He made us His people. He showed us mercy. In all of this we must recognize that we exist by Him and for Him. That’s what becomes most clear as we move on to consider the purpose of our identity.

Living For God

What is the purpose of all this? Why did God make us living stones? Why did God show us mercy and make us His treasured people? I love how Alistair Begg summed this up with two succinct points––to work and to witness.

To Work

Look back again at verse 5 with me. There we get our first purpose as those whose identity is rooted and grounded in Christ, the Living Stone––the Cornerstone. Peter tells us that God is doing this incredible building project, building His church, comprised of living stones. Why? We are “being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

We were saved, beloved, that we would offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We were saved to work––to bear fruit in sacrificial living for God. What does that mean? What does it mean to be a holy priesthood? What does it mean to offer spiritual sacrifices? What are those?

Under the Old Covenant only a select group served as priests––the tribe of Levi. They were designated by God as the priesthood who served and worked in the tabernacle and temple on behalf of the nation of Israel. They were the ministers of the Old Covenant who made sacrifices and offerings to God for the people. But now, under the New Covenant enacted by the final sacrifice––the atoning blood of the LORD Jesus Christ––all who are united to Him by faith are numbered among this holy priesthood.

All of us, together, offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus. Which is to say, we offer ourselves, not bulls or goats, in worship to God. We are to live a Godward life in all that we say, think, and do. Our praise, our devotion, our work, everything is done in consecration to God and for God. All of life for God. You were made for Him and you were saved for Him. And He is worthy of your unfailing devotion to living for Him. This is not theoretical, beloved. It is oh so very practical day in and day out.

We offer spiritual sacrifices in all that we do in our life and ministry together. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1, “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.” In other words, all that you do day to day is to be done for the glory and pleasure of God. Whether we eat or drink, in all that you do, do it for the glory of God.

The way that you teach your students, serve your clients, and care for your patients. The way that you parent your children. The way that you farm your land. They way you steward your finances. The way that you do your homework. The way that you cultivate your garden. The way you rest and enjoy the beautiful creation God made. The way you nourish yourself with food and drink. All of this is to be an act of worship in consecration to the LORD. It is to be done in such a way that displays the worth and value of the Creator who bought you with His shed blood.

Then there is of course the sacrifice of our thanks and praise to God. 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.” Is that what we’re known for in the use of our words? Praising and thanking God? This ought not be limited to our corporate worship gatherings on Sundays. His praises should be on our lips continually. Are you known by those around you where God has planted you as one who continually gives praise to God?

The Bible also speaks of our acts of love for one another as spiritual sacrifices. Just one example, this is how Paul viewed the Philippians gifts of support in Philippians 4:18––“a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” Our love for one another is far less about making ourselves look and feel good and much more about offering spiritual sacrifices in worship to God.

Beloved, as the people of God we are to know more than anyone else that this life is not about us. We do not exist for ourselves. We exist for Him and to make much of Him in all that we do. The Christian life is one of dying to self and living for God and His glory. He must increase and we must decrease. We live our lives poured out for him. Our lives are His to use for His glory in whatever way He so chooses. A blank check for the King of kings. We are a people who say to God regarding all that we have and all that we are, “Whatever the cost, it is Yours, LORD.”

To Witness

Lastly, we are God’s treasured people for another purpose––to witness. Look there in verse 9 again. We are God’s treasured people for what purpose? Peter says, “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” As God’s treasured people, we are to bear witness in word and deed about the greatness of our God. The unbelievers around you should hear your words and see your lives and know more about the God to whom we belong.

We are, as Jesus put it, to let our light shine before men so that they might see our good works and give glory to God in heaven. We are to worship Him with all our lives. We are to explicitly tell others about Him and what He is doing in the world for the sake of His own glory. We are to call them to turn from their sin and put all their hope and trust in Jesus. All of this so that more people would too offer Him their worship.

I was struck many years ago by something John Piper once said––“Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” In other words, the point he was making from that statement is this. The church is to be devoted to missions. We have been given the great commission––make disciples of all nations. But missions isn’t the end in and of itself. Missions is leading to an end time goal for all eternity. The worship of God in the glad submission of His people to Him and His rule for His glory.

Missions exist so that the worship of God will extend over all the earth among all people. Our role as God’s treasured people is to work toward that great end as we proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into light. That more and more people would join in proclaiming those same excellencies into eternity. That what John portrays for us in Revelation 7 of the “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation” gathered around the throne would come to pass as a reality one day.

Conclusion

This is the purpose and trajectory of human history. God has saved us all to the praise of His own glory. He is assembling this spiritual house with living stones united to the Living Stone. He has made us His treasure people. All for His glory. That we would treasure and delight in Him for all eternity. I wonder, how are we doing at that? Are we together moving toward that incredible end and purpose? Do people look at your life and our life and ministry together as a church family and long to join in praise to God?

Do they see the choices we make each day––how we use our time and resources––and see lives lived in devotion and worship to God? Or do they see more of themselves in us living our best lives now? Do they see our love for one another, refusing to gossip or slander each other? Or do they see a reflection of the same tribalism and infighting that is happening all over the world sowing division? Do they hear us praising God for who He is and what He’s done for us in Christ? Or do they see and hear a people just as self-absorbed as they are?

Beloved, my hope is that we will increasingly live up to this high calling in Christ as the people of God. Remember who you are in Christ and live as the people of God for the glory of God.