Our Purpose as the People of God
Notes
Transcript
We spoke last week about the Living Stone and believers as living stones in God’s House that are being built up into a church for the glory of God.
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
We mentioned last week that the word stone here is not just a rock, but rather a cut, fitted stone - cleaned and shaped ready to be used in building.
In the same fashion, God Almighty picked us up when we were sinners, lifted us up out of the miry clay, the mud of our sinfulness. He then cleaned us up, and during our life He is fashioning us, cutting and shaping us - so that when He fits us together with others in this glorious church He is making - then God can be glorified through our changed
lives and our collective effort as believers.
And recall also that it is God who is doing the work - we need to participate in the process - but He as the Master Architect and stone mason - sanctifies our lives.
In fact, as an aside, there is a very interesting idea about Christ as a stone mason, The man Joseph, an earthly man who served as the father to the virgin born, divine son of God Jesus Christ, is described in the gospels as a carpenter. The word simply means a craftsman who forms furniture and buildings. It is possible that Joseph worked with wood, but since wood is fairly scarce in the Middle East, it is also possible that he was a construction worker - one who fashioned buildings out of stone. Therefore it is quite possible that Jesus Christ as a boy and young man worked in his earthly father’s trade as a stone mason. Now, it is simply a theory, but it is very intersting to think about Jesus Christ as a stone mason forming and shaping us as believers - living stones - for His ultimate glory.
Now, in addition to the metaphor of the living stones that are made like The Living Stone Jesus Christ, Peter used a couple other word pictures - again drawing upon the Old Testament within this passage. We spoke briefly about them last week - in particular thinking of how God chose us as His people. Tonight, let us look at a couple other phrases that Peter uses to illustrate how God is working within the church.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Chosen Generation
Chosen Generation
The beast of the field shall honour me, The dragons and the owls: Because I give waters in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert, To give drink to my people, my chosen.
Royal Priesthood
Royal Priesthood
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
See also
But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: Men shall call you the Ministers of our God: Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
John also applies this concept to the church in Revelation
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Peter was not thinking mainly of each individual functioning as a priest before God.223 The focus here is on the church corporately as God’s set-apart priesthood in which the emphasis is likely on believers functioning as priests.224 Western believers tend to individualize the notion of priesthood rather than seeing the community emphasis.
The New American Commentary: 1, 2 Peter, Jude (3) The Living Stone and Living Stones (2:4–10)
Best seems to strike the right balance here: “Christians exercise priestly functions but always as members of a group who all exercise the same function.”
Holy Nation
Holy Nation
Again Peter is drawing from Exodus 19.6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
The idea is taht God has set us aside as a people who will not only be apart from sin, but will shine to reflect the holiness of God Himself.
Peculiar People
Peculiar People
It is most likely drawn from Is 43.20
The beast of the field shall honour me, The dragons and the owls: Because I give waters in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert, To give drink to my people, my chosen.
But tonight I want us to look at verse 21 which gives the reasoning behind God’s choice:
This people have I formed for myself; They shall shew forth my praise.
We spoke about this last week as well and the phrase here signifies a precious treasure, such as a gemstone might be.
Purpose
Purpose
The purpose of the people of God is now explained. God has chosen them to be his people, established them as a royal priesthood, appointed them as a holy nation to be his special possession, so that they would declare his praises.
Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, vol. 37, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 115.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Worship
Worship
or if you want praise
We as believers are to bring glory to God and His wonderful attributes.
Here is one of the advantages that we have in studying the Bible and in particular, the Old Testament.
Within the Old Testament God reveals His attributes and character through both His actions and His specific names.
King James Version Chapter 16
And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. 7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
For instance, in Genesis, Hagar is mistreated by her mistress and flees with her child to the wilderness. There God reassures her and tells her to return to Abraham and Sarah - and gives a promise that He, the Almighty God, will watch over her son and make of him a great nation.
In leaving, Hagar calls God
El Roi, The God Who Sees Me
Now, if we just look at the name there, we might think about God seeing our actions and being a judge.
However, this story is not about God as a judge, but rather a God who sees the downcast - those who are not great in the world’s eyes and may even have been mistreated.
Yet, God sees them and cares about them.
That is an example of how we as believers can worship the God who has saved us and as we learn more about Him, we can praise Him ever greater.
But not only the idea of worship and praising God, but as the believers have been moved from darkness to light, now they can share that wonderful, good news, the gospel with others.
Witness
Witness
or if you want proclamation or sharing
This is the church that God has redeemed - He has paid the penalty for their sin and has brought them from darkness into the light.
Peter gives this description of their conversion and employs the language of Genesis 1, where God utters the word and light becomes a reality (Gen 1:3–5), pushing back the darkness. Paul used the same picture of conversion in 2 Cor 4:6, where God shines in the heart of his people to give them knowledge of his glory through Jesus Christ. Conversion is often depicted in the New Testament as a transfer from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor 4:6; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:4, 5, 8).2
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
What better way to praise that saving God than by telling others the good news?
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: