#1 Things to pray for (1 Peter 2:4-10)

Read .

Peter’s just described the new birth and the moral transformation of character necessary to sustain the new life in Christ (read 1:18-2:3).

Peter then presents an image of a spiritual house, or temple, with Jesus Christ as the foundational cornerstone into which believers are being built.

In looking at v5, let’s ask, what’s happening to us and why?

(Answer) We are being built to be a holy priesthood. Why? To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now comes the main point. Christians who come in faith to Christ will be built into the walls of the building of which Christ is the foundation stone.

They form a spiritual house.

The “house” carries a couple of ideas for us to understand what we do and why we do it.

First, a house can be a building in which a family or household lives.

This picture is used elsewhere of the church (compare ), and it emphasizes

the corporate life of Christians under God as their Father,

with duties to Him and to one another.

Just like your home. Children perform duties unto their parents and to one another.

This thought may well be present here, but it is a background one.

(Also) Second, a house can be a temple.

The Jews’ temple was the “house of God” not in the sense that he lived there but that he was present there without confinement.

Because the temple was the place of God’s presence,

it was the appropriate place for Him to communicate with His people and to receive their gifts, sacrifices and prayers.

His presence made it holy—a place to be approached with awe and reverence by people

who were themselves holy and permitted to be present.

Only the priests were allowed into the central part of the temple in Jerusalem.

These truths are certainly the main ones in this passage.

Peter develops them to make the point that we are the spiritual house of God.

"you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” ()

Now Peter says that Christians are a holy priesthood.

They are not only the stones that compose the building but also the priests who serve in it.

So our attendance and service is highlighted.

Our task is to offer spiritual sacrifices.

A spiritual sacrifice isn’t only material but it’s an offering of our entire self.

Marshall, I. H. (1991). 1 Peter (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Marshall, I. H. (1991). 1 Peter (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Marshall, I. H. (1991). 1 Peter (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.” ()

It’s expressed in praise, thanksgiving and doing good.

15 "Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 "Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” ()

Like the material sacrifices in the Old Testament, a spiritual sacrifice must be an offering that God is willing to receive.

Not all sacrifices are acceptable to him, particularly those offered from wrong motives or not accompanied by the right attitudes toward God and other people.

6 "What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 7 "Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8 "Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” ()

Spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God are offered through Jesus Christ.

We fulfill this condition by saying this phrase at the end of our prayers, but the point naturally goes deeper.

All our approaches to God come through the mediator whom he has appointed, and they must be acceptable to him in the first place.

It is through our knowledge of Christ that we know the character of God and what will be pleasing to Him.

It goes without saying that these offerings are not for sin.

The sin offering has been made once and for all by Jesus, and there is a total absence in the New Testament of any language which suggests that Christians share in it.

But Christians often forget that sacrifices were prescribed in the Old Testament not only as means of atonement for sin but also as expressions of thanksgiving and communion with God.

The grain offering and the fellowship offering, which are described in , were not offered for sin like the burnt offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering.

There were appropriate differences in the ritual.

If this simple fact were remembered, a lot of confusion about the place of sacrifice in Christian spirituality would be avoided.

So here we have some lines of prayer beginning to open up to us.

As living stones we are a spiritual house.

We all love & serve under One Father and we also love & serve one another.

When we (as living stones) come together the holy presences of God is among us.

These thoughts serve to prepare our hearts to pray to God and also seek to edify the body of Christ when we pray.

We seek to offer up continual praise as the fruit of our lips and focusing in our our prayer time in giving thanks to God we’re also going to do good to one another in praying for one another because we are God’s holy priesthood. This is pleasing in the sight of God.

As we think about acting rightly, loving faithfulness, and walking humbly before God.

These biblical motivations further serve to prepare our hearts to pray.

Prayers of thanksgiving and communion with God are about to happen.

Help my church family to remember what we are!

9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 "Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” ()

A HOLY NATION.

“But you are a chosen race …a holy nation” (v9)

Thank God that He has chosen to show His wonderful grace to you and your church family.

Thank God that those who are in Christ are new creations — a whole new race [a new nation] (not made up of skin color or age or income) of people.

Pray that the members of our church would increasingly act like the holy people that God has declared us to be!

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

Thank God for the title that He has given to us, His chosen people: “priests”.

Like the OT priests, we’re to represent people before God and represent God before people.

Ask that our church would be faithful in praying for those inside and outside of our communities.

Pray that we would be faithful in speaking and applying God’s word into the lives of those around us (saved and lost).

GOD’S SPECIAL POSSESSION

Thank God that He has made our church His “a people for His possession”. (v9).

Thank Him that we can be assured of His love, whatever life may throw at us.

Pray that this would give our church a great sense of security and confidence...

Pray that we would not fear what others might think of us or do to us.

CALLED

Thank God that He has called each member of our church “out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (v9).

Take a few moments to thank God for the way in which He called some people that we specifically know.

Pray that our church would increasingly “proclaim the praises” (v9) of God by living distinctively and speaking the good news boldly.

RECIPIENTS OF MERCY

Thank God that though “Once…you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (v10).

Pray that our church would grow in our appreciation of the depth of God’s mercy — that this would crush any lingering feelings of self-righteousness.

Pray that we’d show mercy to each other, by not gossiping, and forgiving small things by allowing love to cove a multitude of sins.

Marshall, I. H. (1991). 1 Peter (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Marshall, I. H. (1991). 1 Peter (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.