Living Stones/Holy Priests
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The Text
The Text
1 Peter 2:1-
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves 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. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 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.
The immediate context for this passage is quotation by Peter from concerning the nature of flesh, and nature of God.
24 For “all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off,
24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The Word of the Lord stands forever. Everything else fades.
When the elements of this world are separated, only the Word will remain. All reality will conform to the eternal.
With this in mind, we should be compelled to respond in a certain way.
Thus our text today starts with a therefore statement.
Because we know the Word of the Lord stands forever and everything not found in the Word is fading away like grass, therefore we engage in the sanctifying act of spiritual growth.
Putting away as in taking off clothing.
How do we purify ourselves? By drinking long and lovingly of the spiritual milk provided for us in abundance.
So Peter is saying, take off or empty yourselves of these impure things, and be filled with this pure thing.
I have a newborn currently. He has one job. Eat. His other activities are simply byproducts of his main purpose. Eating.
Westminster Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. True.
But the chief end of a baby is to drink milk and enjoy it forever.
In all seriousness though he is glorifying God when he drinks milk because he is doing what God made him to do.
Every second of his day revolves around his opportunities to fill his little stomach with rich, protein infused mother’s milk.
Do you know what happens when he doesn’t get milk?
Holler. Clamor. Scream.
And he is looking for the genuine article. I cannot provide any sort of substitute for what he desires.
Mother’s milk has every bit of nutrition needed to carry him through the day.
Peter knew what he was doing when he offered up this analogy for spiritual growth and sustenance.
So what is the spiritual milk?
Intro to acrostic poem 22 stanzas literary masterpiece
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
57 Yahweh is my portion; I intend to heed your words.
Throughout scripture we are given the picture of God’s word being a sustaining soul food.
God fed the Israelites with manna to fill their stomachs, but He was teaching them to depend on Him for all things.
Peter is quoting here in vs 3
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
8 Taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack for those who fear him. 10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh will not lack for any good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10
Have you tasted and seen whether the Lord is good?
Just like with manna, soul feeding is something that requires daily attention.
Oftentimes we fall into the trap of eating once a week.
Imagine the physical pain and ultimate malnutrition that would occur if you tried to eat a 14,000 calorie steak dinner every Sunday.
You tell yourself, “well it’s healthy to eat 2000 calories a day so I’ll just cram it in one sitting and call it good.
Not only would your body not be able to process the 14,000 calories, but you would be absolutely starving by the time Sunday rolled around again.
We do this spiritually.
And even more disturbing is the quality of the family meal that is served to many Christians. The shift from preaching the Gospel to whipping up spiritual experience in so many pulpits has resulted in men and women not even trying to survive on a steak dinner, they are trying to survive on pedialyte once a week.
Spiritually speaking, this is the family meal. We come together to sing, confess, commune, and submit our hearts and minds to the word of God.
A very necessary element of the Christian faith.
But God didn’t make us to eat once a week did he? Not physically or spiritually.
And Peter uses the analogy of infants and milk.
Do you know how many times a week my son eats? 42
What if you fed your soul with the word of God 42 times in one week?
It would be transformational. You would experience a spiritual growth spurt.
Living Stones
“Imagine only eating once a week on Sunday. But instead of a steak dinner you drink a pedialite and hope you live even 1 more day. “
Living Stones
In verse 4 we move on to this talk about living stones.
There is a tie in between verses 2 and 4 and 5.
“that by it you may grow up” and “as you come to Him.” “being built up”
Living Stones
Every aspect of being a living stone, is entirely dependent on, and for the glory of, the cornerstone.
Peter draws on old testament truths from Isaiah and Psalms to paint a picture of a cornerstone in Zion.
6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
1 Peter 2:6
Herein lies our responsibility as Christians. Most people in the secularized Western world would tell you that Jesus and His actions were confined to a remote part of Palestine 2000 years ago and have no bearing on the world we live in today.
The truth is that every man and woman MUST be confronted with the cornerstone.
3 Choices.
1. Shatter your leg bones in defiance to the truth because the cornerstone wasn’t where YOU wanted it to be.
2. Mock at the foolishness of a crucified God and a resurrected body and turn away.
3. Or build.
Build as high as you can fathom because the cornerstone is the perfect base.
7 Therefore the honor is for you who believe, but for those who refuse to believe, “The stone that the builders rejected, this one has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,” who stumble because they disobey the word to which also they were consigned.
1 Peter 2:
Jump to
22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1st cor 1:22
The first category is occupied by Jews, and people who have flirted with Christ but were not wedded to Him.
Jews smacked their shins against the cornerstone because He did not conform to the desires they had for the Messiah. And there are those among the Jewish faith who remain this way to this day.
Similarly, there is a category of Gentiles who also stumble and fall when they encounter the cornerstone. These are those who have come to God, and found that He does not fit in their box of what they want Him to be like, and so they say something to the tune of “The God I worship would never xyz...” And they turn away to worship the idol of self.
This group is polished atheism. Atheism is a theology. A belief that God does not exist is a belief about God.
The stars do not disappear when the blind look at the sky.
The 2 issues that typically are focused on by atheists and those who flirted with Christ, are...
Suffering
Hell
Next we have those who consider Christ crucified to be foolishness.
This is actually just another variation of a theological belief system.
If there’s a God, he wouldn’t do that.
This group is occupied by deists, polytheists, and atheists.
The deist says, god isn’t interested in the affairs of men.
The polytheist scoffs at the idea of an all powerful god who lays down his rights.
And the atheist hates the concept of a personal god who would condescend to us, because from the atheist perspective we do not need to be condescended to.
C.S. Lewis perfectly pinned the underlying issue with all of these people in his book “The Great Divorce. “
Those who have rejected Christ as cornerstone, will not enter heaven, because they do not want to be there. Heaven is about God, and since we were made FOR God we will love Him forever in Heaven.
Those who were made for God who do not love Him, will not enter His rest because it would not be rest for them.
Heaven is the antithesis of self, and Hell is the antithesis of God
Or we could say Heaven is the antithesis of self, and self is the thesis of Hell
We were not made for self, we were made for God.
So what does being made for God mean?
Peter tells us...
Holy Priests
Peter then tells us that those who are drinking spiritual milk, who are being built up as living stones, are also a holy priesthood.
What does that mean?!
It means we have a job!
5 you yourselves 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.
Sounds familiar.
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.
Romans 12:1
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Here in just a few short verses in 1st Peter we have a primer for Christian living.
Grow up spiritually through the consumption of spiritual food, AKA the Word.
Embrace your role as a priest in the spiritual household of God
Offer sacrifices of obedience out of love.
Proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Did you know you belong to a royal priesthood if you are found in Christ?
Prosperity Gospel vs. Posterity Gospel
Prosperity Gospel says we experience worldly blessing because Jesus died for us.
Posterity Gospel if you’ll allow me to label it that says that we experience celestial blessing as a direct result of our being found in Christ.
One Gospel is about us, which isn’t really a Gospel at all...
The other Gospel is about God.
But that is just the beginning of the good news
We serve at the pleasure of a Great High Priest
Hebrews Great High Priest
11 Therefore, let us make every effort to enter into that rest, in order that no one may fall in the same pattern of disobedience.
14 Therefore, because we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:
Hebrews 4:14
Oh what a great High Priest
Highlight the imperfection of the OT priests with the perfection of the Great High Priest.
We end our time with verse 10 which dovetails beautifully with the verse we just read from Hebrews.
10 who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, the ones who were not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy.
Jesus Christ IS the mercy of God
Jesus, My Great High Priest by Isaac Watts
1 Jesus, my great High Priest,
offered his blood and died;
my guilty conscience seeks
no sacrifice beside.
His pow'rful blood did once atone,
and now it pleads before the throne.
2 To this dear Surety's hand
will I commit my cause;
he answers and fulfills
his Father's broken laws.
Behold my soul at freedom set,
my Surety paid the dreadful debt.
3 My Advocate appears
for my defense on high;
the Father bows his ears
and lays his thunder by.
Not all that hell or sin can say
shall turn his heart, his love, away.
4 Should all the hosts of death
and pow'rs of hell unknown
put their most dreadful forms
of rage and mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays
his conqu'ring pow'r and guardian grace.