Discovering The Christ In Me

Introduction

Where We Have Been (Leading Up To This)

So far, we have seen that Peter is addressing a group of believers that are in the midst of heavy persecution. They have been forced from their homes, driven into a strange land, they have suffered loss, and they continue to be persecuted. Peter writes this letter unto them to offer a word of hope. Peter too has felt the sting of persecution, and knows exactly how tempting it is to deny Christ in order to avoid danger.

In his 1st Epistle, Peter addresses his audience from a very practical viewpoint. He knows that most of them are babes in Christ, which is to say that they have been recently converted to Christianity; he knows that they have suffered heavy persecution; He knows exactly how tempting the devil can be; and he knows exactly what it is like to be in their shoes. Peter writes this letter and addresses several key elements within:

Their Salvation

Peter reassures them that their newfound faith in Christ was not a mistake or a scandal. He reassures them that Christ is real, and the salvation that he offers is real as well.

The Scripture

Remember that in this time, the OT Word was the gospel. They governed their lives by the Word of God, so to step away from the law and put their faith in something else, it must come by way of the Word. Peter reassures them that God’s Word is true, Christ is the Messiah, salvation comes by the way of grace, and that God’s Word teaches all of this. God’s Word is sound.

Their Sanctification

To be sanctified, means to be set apart. To be sanctified for God, who is Holy, means to be set apart for the purpose of holiness. We refer to our journey of growth with Christ as the process of sanctification. As we continue through this journey, we SHOULD be continuously growing in Christ, or becoming like Christ. As we begin to trust more and more of ourselves to God, we let go of more sin and become more Holy. This is Peter’s next topic of discussion. Peter explains that through Jesus Christ, and the grace that He offers, Holiness is achievable. Be ye Holy, because I am Holy!!!

Where We Are (The Context of this Message)

In chapter 2, Peter now begins to teach on their Separation. He begins to tell them that they can longer go back to their old lives, because they are new creatures in Christ. Therefore, they must move forward. Peter begins to explain what this new life looks like, and the expectations of where God wants us to be. He uses illustrations that they can relate to, and calls them babes in Christ, as well as living stones.

Now that Peter has addressed the issues of salvation, scripture, and sanctification, Peter now begins to explain what this looks like for them in an applicable way.

Where We Are Going (The Lessons We Hope To Learn)

As Peter described to the early church what it looked like to be a new Christian, we too should learn this for ourselves. We too live in a time when it is not popular to be a Christian. We too live in a time to where Christ is viewed as unnecessary and grace is to good to be true. We too live in a time to where the masses think that the law is the way to go, that being a good person is all that really matters, and that truth is relative. The truths that Peter is about to lay out before us, may help us understand more about our faith than we are willing to admit. We may be separated by thousands of years, but certain things never change: God loves all men; Sin has separated us from that love; Satan does a very good job at justifying our sin and keeping us separated; Christ is the only way back.

Read 1 Peter 2:2-10

Our Discovery (Vs. 2-3)

The first thing Peter unravels for us is the discovery. The discovery of what? The discovery of Christ in us. Peter refers those who are new to the faith as babes in Christ. They are recently converted. They have started afresh with a new life, but are yet to understand the depths of what this means. They know they believe in God, but they are not even sure exactly who God is at this point. They have heard the Gospel preached, they have experienced His wonderful love, but they are still babes in the process of spiritual growth.

Little babies are unsure about almost everything in life. I remember when my oldest son realized he had hands. I remember when they realized they could walk. I remember when they started putting words together. I remember a lot of firsts for my kids, but i also remember that it took time for these things to happen. It took months, and even years, depending on what it was. Matter of fact, they are still learning more and more about themselves every single day. When someone comes to faith in Christ, they know so little about their salvation. Peter calls us to grow up into our salvation.

Babies do not fully understand what milk is, or even why they crave it. All they know is that there is a pain in their stomach, and the milk makes it go away. Therefore, they crave it. A new christian does not fully understand who God is, or even why they have a longing for Him, but they know that having Him in their lives makes the pain go away. There is so much that a young christian must figure out about themselves. They must discover that they have a mind that needs guarding, a heart that needs training, and a new spirit within them to help do both. They must discover that their hands and feet are tied to a purpose and calling of God upon their lives. They must discover that they have a rock to stand on, a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason to help when they are confused, and a voice of correction when they are wrong. They must discover that they are loved without condition, blessed beyond measure, and watched over every step of every day.

As babies learn and grow, we too must desire the sustenance that will help us to develop ourselves into something more. We must be developed into something that can be used by God to advance the Kingdom of God, and this comes by way of God’s Holy Word. It is God’s Word that feeds us and provides the growth necessary to be developed. It is God’s Word that gives us insight into who we are and who God is!!!

Our Development (Vs. 4-7a)

Peter continues through the process of sanctification by speaking on our development. Notice the first words of vs. 4: “As you come to Him”. Peter says that as you feast on the Word of God, you are being worked on. We started by seeing growth just in our personal lives. We get into the Word, until the Word gets into us, but as we do that, things happen. As become more like Christ, we begin to discover our purpose in Christ. God does not grow us into spiritual beings simply so we can be better people. He grows us spiritually by placing a calling upon our lives, filling our hearts with purpose, and then sending us out to those in whom we have been called to serve. Could you imagine if every member of the church were preachers. You would never get to go home. There would be preaching from sunup to sundown and it would never stop. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you can have to much preaching, but who would organize missions? Who would take care of the sound system? Who would drive the church bus? We all have a special calling upon our lives, and all of those callings are necessary for the church to prosper. Here in these next verses, we see growth within the community of believers.

As we grow, we should be growing together. We grow in communion with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not to say, that we quit working on our personal growth as well, but that as we grow in our personal relationship with God, we are to share that growth with others in a way that it uplifts and encourages.

The Bible lays our several different spiritual gifts that may come on any one person, and it makes it clear that not all people get the same gifts. We are called into the family with uniqueness in mind. With that being said, no matter what God has called you to do, you can go deeper in your understanding of it by studying the life of Christ. Christ was a teacher to all who would listen, a pastor to his disciples, an evangelist to all who would gather around, bold to the religious leaders and compassionate to the wayward. Jesus performed miracles, spoke prophecy, and even rose from the grave three days after death. Regardless what calling God has placed upon your life, Jesus can help us all. The entire Bible is there to help us all.

As we come to Christ, Christ places us into His spiritual house, the body of Christ, exactly where he needs us, and then equips us for that role. We are living stones, because we are being shaped to align with the cornerstone. Our shaping with continue until we are completely as He is in glory. Therefore, the shaping process is never complete in this life. We will continuously take on a new shape as we grow closer and closer to Christ.

As we grow closer to Christ, we are shaped into a people that can now offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Through Christ, we can please our heavenly Father. This is our ultimate goal. Christ is the cornerstone to which we are measured by, and as long as we stay true to that stone, we will fulfill our purpose in the house of God. We will never be shamed by being removed from the wall of the house and placed elsewhere because we did not fit. Honor will come to those who believe in the name of Jesus!!!

Our Destiny (Vs. 9-10)

We have been Chosen

We have been Adopted

We have been given Purpose

We have been allowed to partake in the character of God.

We have been claimed by our Heavenly Father.

All because we were called out of darkness and into the light.

Conclusion (Vs. 7b-8)

There are those who have simply rejected the goodness of God up to this point in their lives. I cannot help but to believe that there are so many people standing right outside of the gates of glory. They want to come in, but up to this point in their lives, they have been deceived into standing outside of the gate. Maybe they are waiting for the right time, the right circumstance, or maybe even the right person to come along, but let me tell you that you can stand within inches of the gate, but outside the gate is still outside of the gate. Those who stood outside of the ark drowned when the water came down. Those who were caught right outside of the cities of refuge were still murdered. Those standing right outside of God’s grace will still die in their sins. I want to offer the invitation to you today to come inside. There is room inside and there is a divine call upon you lives to come in. Step inside the gates of glory.

As we close out the message today, i simply want to remind you of what all Christ is offering to those who believe. He is offering milk to the hungry, purpose to the purposeless, family to the lonely, and eternal life to those who are dying.