Christ, the Chosen Standard of God

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Happy Father’s Day!

Opening Prayer

1 Peter 2:1–10 ESV

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.

Introduction

The Christian life is living in the presence of God, reconciled and redeemed...

Interacting with God, as our Father...

And, at the same time, God has ordained that His Word reveals Himself to us...

When we come to His Word, longing to know Him and worship Him...

When we come asking for wisdom and strength...

When the HS attends the Word of God and brings us into the presence of Christ...

Showing us over and over that our faith in, and dependence upon Christ...

Is our primary need...

And, our only hope for that need to be met.

And, so the Christian life is a pattern of coming into the presence of Christ over and over...

To be nurtured, pruned, comforted, and molded.

Christ has purpose in His nurturing of us.

He is building us, His bride, into a spiritual house, building a priesthood of believers...

Who live obedient lives, which is spiritual worship.

Now, this morning, I want us to look at a phrase in verse 4 that we weren’t able to look at last week.

1 Peter 2:4 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

Chosen & Precious to God

This statement is so powerful.

God, who is the Creator of all, and, therefore the judge of all...

Has chosen Jesus and He is precious in His Father’s sight.

How is Jesus chosen by God? the word is elect

Because God (triune God: Father, Son & HS) has ordained (1 Peter 1:20) before the foundation of the world...

That the eternal Son of God would incarnate and assume the role of Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Titus 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

John 17:1–5 ESV

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Within the counsel of the Triune God, from eternity past, was a plan for salvation.

Within that plan was the eternal Son of God taking the role of Messiah by:

Incarnating

Representing His Bride in His accomplishments

Keeping perfectly the covenant between God and Man

Paying for the sins of His bride on the cross as an acceptable sacrifice of God

Acceptable because He was sinless and willing to do so

Conquering death & the grave for His people.

Ascending to heaven, and working on behalf of His bride until all things are renewed

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, incarnate, and the God-Man forevermore...

Fulfilled all that He promised His Father and the HS He would fulfill.

Why is Jesus precious to God?

Because He is His Son. His only Son.

Because He glorified His Father by fulfilling His mission of Messiah.

Because He was perfectly obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross.

Because He conquered Satan, sin, and the grave.

These are the reasons that God, certainly not an exhaustive list...

But, notable reasons that Jesus is precious to God, His Father.

In contrast, Peter says that mankind reject Christ...

Why Do People Reject Christ?

Romans 1:18–23 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

What is it about Christ that invokes rejection from mankind?

Righteousness. Righteousness brings awareness to our unrighteousness.

The Perfect Model of the Law. The Law Raises Awareness of our Sins.

Why do you think people are offended by the Ten Commandments?

They represent laws that people demand from others & our government.

No one wants their property stolen.

No one wants their spouse to cheat.

No one wants lies told about them.

Think about how great the world would be if everyone lived by the Ten Commandments.

The Perfect Model of Love. True biblical love flows within and overflows out.

Jesus not only embodied love for God, but love for others.

Humanity’s love is self-centered.

No matter what they say, it is always primarily interested in what they will personally gain from the specific expression of love.

In Contrast...

Unrighteousness. Our unrighteousness brings a heightened awareness of our guilt.

This is the primary role of our God-given conscience.

Guilt. The feeling of guilt brings an awareness of the need for punishment.

We are told in this passage that we know eternal punishment is just because of our sins against God.

It is inherent within us to want justice, especially when we are the ones who have been treated unjustly.

Punishment. The feeling of just punishment needed brings awareness of coming judgment and condemnation.

This is why we suppress the truth.

We want to to find a way to justify ourselves in our sin, guilt, and condemnation.

So, how does mankind’s treatment of God (Father, Son & HS) translate to our treatment of the messiah?

The same way mankind rejects/suppresses the truth of God in unrighteousness...

They reject the salvation that God offers in His Son, JC.

Hebrews 10:29 ESV

29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

If the Creator and Judge of all, God finds His Son, the Messiah precious...

The One who not only declares what is right, true and precious...

But, the only One who can rightly declare what is right, true and precious...

If He declares His Son precious...

And, someone rejects His Son, scoffs at His Son, dishonors His Son...

What do you think the Father will do to those who dishonor His Son?

We’ll talk more about that in a little bit.

But, first, what makes us differ from those who reject Christ?

1 Peter 2:6–7 ESV

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,”

What Makes Us Receive Honor?

Remember, how Peter earlier in Chapter 1 said that our faith is precious.

Our faith in Christ is what honors to us.

We will not be put to shame.

Our faith will not end with the world being able to say, “I told you so.”

Or for scoffers to stand over us triumphant.

We will be vindicated because Christ will be vindicated.

We are honored to have Christ as our Savior...

As our Groom.

And, God honors us because...

We find His Son precious, as well.

Oh, the preciousness of the Son to the redeemed.

He’s more precious than water.

He’s more precious than food.

He’s more precious than gold and jewels.

He’s more precious than the air that we breathe.

We find Him infinitely & eternally precious in our sight.

And, that pleases the Father.

The dividing line of mankind is your view of Christ?

Is He precious to you or not?

Is your faith that He is precious to God and to you?

Is your faith that He is your only hope, so precious?

What Does It Mean that Christ Is Now the Cornerstone?

After Jesus cleansed the Temple the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders were at an all time high...

And, they questioned His authority to do the things He was doing...

Like cleansing the Temple. Jesus responded with parables to prove the hypocrisy and the failures of Israel in obeying God...

Matthew 21:33–46 ESV

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

The cornerstone of something is the essential part of it on which its existence, success, or truth depends.

Everything about God is manifest in Christ.

Everything about creation is dependent upon Christ.

Everything about salvation exists in Christ.

In relation to architecture, a cornerstone is the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

If we lose sight of the preciousness of Christ, we will lose sight of the purpose of creation...

And, therefore the purpose and meaning of our life.

Peter in quoting these OT passages (Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16) is declaring that the Justice of God is fully embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.

Understand what this means, Jesus is the measure of justice for all of mankind and justice can only come through Him.

And, if someone seeks ultimate justice in anything or anyone other than Jesus...

The justice they will receive will crush them...

Because the weight of the righteous requirement of the Son of God is more than anyone can bear.

The only justice one will find, ultimately and eternally, is the justice that has been met by Jesus on the cross...

For those who believe upon Him and find Him precious.

What Should We Expect From the World?

If they persecute Jesus and we represent Him, rightly...

Should we expect any other treatment?

How Do We Respond to the World’s Treatment of Us?

We are not called to be loved, but to love.

Love who?

Even our enemies.

Is the goal of our evangelism to make friends?

Or is it to obey God and show people their only hope is JC?

If it is to make friends, to be liked then you will not evangelize...

Because you know, biblically, the offense that gospel has with the unbelieving world.

If it is to obey God and to lovingly show them their only hope is JC...

Then you will not care whether you make a friend or not...

You will be satisfied that you loved them biblically...

And, biblical love does what is needed…not always wanted.

There Will Be a Great Reckoning

Leave the reckoning to God.

Justice will be served perfectly.

God will be vindicated.

The Saints will be vindicated.

But, let us not be satisfied with bitterness that would cause us to find joy in this life at the cost of anyone’s eternal damnation.

God does not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked (passage)

Announcements

Offering basket is in the back. If you would like to participate you can drop it in the basket.

Closing Prayer