Know Who You Are!

We live in a world that has no problem living in opposition to a Holy God…many live in arrogance seeking to think they are their own gods and will stop at nothing to destroy the very faith we hold so dear.

This is not a new problem...

Voltaire,(1694-1778), was a French agnostic, who stood in bold opposition to Christianity… and God had a unique way of dealing with him...

One day Voltaire said to a friend, “It took twelve ignorant fishermen to establish Christianity; I will show the world how one Frenchman can destroy it.”

Setting to his task, he openly ridiculed Sir Isaac Newton. One day Newton made a prophecy based on Dan. 12:4 and Nahum 2:4 when he said, “Man will some day be able to travel at the tremendous speed of 40 miles an hour.”

Voltaire replied with, “See what a fool Christianity makes of an otherwise brilliant man, such as Sir Isaac Newton! Doesn’t he know that if a man traveled 40 miles an hour, he would suffocate and his heart would stop?”

Twenty-five years after Voltaire died, his home was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society and became a Bible storage building, and his printing press was used to print an entire edition of the Bible.

How ironic! The man who wanted to wipe out every trace of Christianity was foiled and indirectly became an unwilling participant in the distribution of the Word of God.

The very arrogance on display by Voltaire was put in place by the God of heaven. The very thing he sought to destroy brought him destruction instead.

Many today suffer from that same arrogance in their futile attempts to destroy that which God has ordained. They refuse to acknowledge their own accountability to God and live in a way that openly defies Him.

Not only do they reject God’s plan of salvation, they also reject those who belong to Him and often pursue avenues to ridicule and persecute them in multiple ways.

It would be easy for believers living in this present culture to cower in fear and refuse to be identified with Christ…to avoid any form of ridicule and rejection by men, believers often hide their identity and remain silent hoping no one will notice.

Sadly, some believers have compromised their faith to pursue a stronger identity with the world than a separated identity for Christ!

With those thoughts in mind, let’s look to God’s Word in 1 Peter 2:4-12...

Remember Peter’s purpose in writing this letter: 1 Peter 5:12 “Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

This is a “how to manual”… He identifies how God has been gracious to us and then exhorts us how to stand firm in that grace, while living in a hostile world!

Our time is much like that of that of 1 Peter…and he is going to exhort them regarding their identity!

Main Point: Stand Firm in Grace, Not Ashamed of Your Identity.

We need to have an accurate understanding of our identity and purpose if we are going to stand firm in a hostile world. We will never act the way we are supposed to act until we allow the truth of who we are to change us!

What do we need to know about our identity that provides us with the strength to stand in grace without fear or shame?

Let’s examine 3 truths regarding our identity...

Your Identity Finds Its Foundation In Your Relationship to Christ (4)

“coming to Him”

“coming” = present participle = indicating this is a personal, habitual approach…it is an intimate association of communion and fellowship between us and our Lord.

It is a privilege we enjoy to come to him whenever we want, where ever we are…we can worship God anywhere!

Under the OT economy, you would have to enter the temple and then you could only go so far…unless you were the high priest, you could not enter the place where God dwelt.

He gives our identity its life.

Jesus is the “Living stone”

Jesus is the living, resurrected, and life giving God…we are alive spiritually because of our connection to the living stone

He makes our identity valuable!

Peter sets up a contrast here…Peter is providing an interpretation of Psalm 118:22 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”

Jesus uses this same text in reference to himself in Matthew 21:33-46.

He says this living stone has been rejected by men, but chosen by God and is precious to Him.

Rejected = perfect tense…past action that has ongoing affects…it carries the idea of being tested and found lacking, unworthy, useless

In stark contrast to the rejection by men is the fact that with God, Jesus is chosen and precious

Chosen = same word as elect in 1:1

Precious = held in honor, highly esteemed, valuable, precious.

This is an allusion to Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

The meaning of all this is that Jesus is the only foundation…regardless of how religious you think yourself to be, God chose Jesus as the foundation to His new temple…he is precious..

“you also, as living stones”

This is an important connection...Peter draws the comparison between Christ as the living stone and believers as living stones....

We are living stones because of our faith in the resurrected Christ…Jesus’ resurrection life becomes our life, even while we live in a hostile world.

Being living stones means we are building blocks of God’s house.

What this would mean for Peter’s readers is that regardless of where they lived, their faith in Christ connected them to the presence of God.

Believers take heart in knowing that your identification with Jesus means the world will reject you. But that same identification with Jesus means your status with God will always be you are chosen and precious and nothing will ever change that!

That is an identity worth being excited about!

Our identity is “in Christ”…no other foundation...

A second truth we need to know about your identity is that...

Your Identity Finds Its Form is Being Built Up (5b-8).

We are under constant construction as a spiritual house!

“are being built up” is the main verb of the text...it is in the present tense suggesting an ongoing process...It is also important to note that this verb is passive meaning we are not building ourselves up…it is God who builds us up as we continually fellowship with Christ.

So when we put this together with verse 4, we can best understand it in this way…Once we come to Christ by faith, we receive new life and it is through our continual coming to Him for sustenance we find He builds us up.

What is meant by a “spiritual house?”

it is not a literal, physical building...It is one that exists in the spiritual realm...It is a house built for spiritual habitation…a place where God dwells…the 1st century believer would understand that as the Temple.

“spiritual” does not mean the immaterial part of man…it refers to that which is influenced or dominated by the Holy Spirit.

Believers are indwelt by and under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Peter sees the whole Christian community as this house....Paul would agree with him…Ephesians 2:21-22 “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

Please note the word house is singular…God is not building multiple spiritual houses, he is building one spiritual house…what that means is that every genuine believer, regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic background, etc. is a building block in that house! YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST.

Believers can stand in unity in their identity!

So a question we have to answer here this morning on a personal level is ,

Since we are identified as “living stones” are we going to be pliable enough for God to mold us into the shape we need to be so that we better fit into that spiritual building?

We need to remember that in the 1st century there was no mass production of cinder blocks that were all the same shape and size. The builders had to take the stones and by using a hammer and chisel, they would shape the stones to fit. So it is with God building his spiritual house...

God digs us out of the quarry of sin and by His grace, He hammers away at us, He chisels off the pieces of our life that do not reflect His Son, and then through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He cements us into His house.

God is building us up as a spiritual house for a purpose.

God is in the process of building us up so that we can better function as a holy priesthood…(Peter mentions this again in verse 9)

In the OT economy, the priest was the “middle man”… God chose the tribe of Levi to be those who represented Him to the people and who brought the people to God…they would make sacrifices daily to assure the sins of the people were covered before a holy God…they would speak to the people on God’s behalf...

Peter is saying that all of that now rests upon the shoulders of all God’s people...Every believer is a priest…but the focus here is on the community of believers is a kingdom of priests…the entire Christian community is to represent God to the world while offering spiritual sacrifices of worship, praise and petition to Him (remember the historical context of believers being scattered)

That means every believer has direct and immediate access to God through Christ and we all serve God directly and personally to bring others to him.

Being a holy priesthood means we are separated for that purpose…we are set apart from sin and set apart to God.

The reason God makes a priesthood is to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

Spiritual sacrifices are those offered by virtue of the work of the Holy Spirit…that which is done under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

These are not physical sacrifices as required in the OT because Jesus is the one sacrifice that all the other sacrifices pointed to…we no longer have to make animal sacrifices…so what are spiritual sacrifices?

Our bodies — Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Praise of our lips — Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

Good works done for others — Hebrews 13:16 “And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Money/material things shared for the work of the ministry — Philippians 4 18 “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”

People we win to Christ — Romans 15:16 “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

All that is done in the power of the Spirit for the glory of God — 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

What all this means is that as “living stones” we are at the center of what God wants to do in this world!

Regardless of what is happening in our country and across the world’s stage right now, nations and governments are not at the center of God’s plan. God’s plan is to continue to build us up…to continue to use the church, the believer, to usher in His kingdom.

God’s plan for the world does not involve the futile efforts of man to build a kingdom where He is not sovereign...Do not fear what you see happening…don’t let the futile efforts of man entrap you into thinking there is no hope.

God’s plan for the world involves His people living out their faith in a hostile world while He is in the process of building them into a spiritual house for His purposes and who reflect His holiness.

In summary:

Our identity is constantly being shaped by God as we continue on our journey with Christ. We are to be actively engaged in regular fellowship with Him and his people because we need to be growing in our responsibility to be a kingdom of priests who please Him.

I cannot stress enough the importance of continual faithfulness to God and being here with his people.

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers (75: Church Attendance)

In October of 1988, the world watched as three gray whales, who were trapped under the ice off Point Barrow, Alaska, floated battered and bloody, gasping for breath at a hole in the ice. Their only hope: somehow to be transported five miles past the ice pack to open sea.

Rescuers began cutting a string of breathing holes about twenty yards apart in the six-inch-thick ice. For eight days they coaxed the whales from one hole to the next, mile after mile. Along the way, one of the trio vanished and was presumed dead. But finally, with the help of Russian icebreakers, the whales swam to freedom.

In the same way, every time we gather for worship and instruction in the Word we are seizing the opportunity to find that string of breathing holes the Lord provides his people. We get battered and bruised in a world frozen over with greed, selfishness, and hatred, we rise for air in church, a place to breathe again, to be loved and encouraged, until that day when the Lord forever shatters the ice cap.

That’s the beauty of being part of this work God is doing to build us up!

You are either identified with Christ or your not!

In verses 6-8, Peter reinforces the truth he just mentioned with several OT quotations.

v. 6 — He says “this is contained in Scripture” indicating that what the OT says was conclusive evidence…able to be trusted completely.

He quotes from Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

God prophetically promises he will reject the rebellious leaders in Jerusalem and establish a sure foundation…God is promising he would begin a new work that would replace the Jerusalem temple.

Paul would also use this passage in the same way in Romans 9:33 and Romans 10:11 to refer to Christ.

“will not be disappointed” — Peter writes this in a very specific way indicating that those who trust in Christ will be never ever experience ultimate disappointment or embarrassment

v. 7 — Those who believe in Christ share the chosen and precious status of the cornerstone and will also share in His honor!

In spite of the suffering you experience now, you are still precious and chosen by God and destined for a place of honor.

Again Peter references Psalm 118:22 .

This psalm describes the return of the king to the temple to give thanks over his enemies. The stone rejected in the historical context was the Davidic king and the foreign nations were the builders who rejected the rule of the anointed king of Israel.

The enemies of Israel assured their own destruction by rejection of Israel’s king because God would carry out his plan in the world through Israel.

Both Jesus and Peter apply this text to the builders who reject are Israel’s leaders and not foreigners…they believed they were God’s building…but in the rejection of Jesus as the cornerstone they have behaved like the pagan nations of David’s day and have assured their own judgment.

v. 8 — continues the thought of verse 7

Peter now uses Isaiah 8:14 ““Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Jesus is either your sanctuary or your stone of stumbling!

It is important to note that both verbs are present tense participles meaning on going action…those who persist in believing…those who persist in disbelieving...

You are either in Christ or your not! He is either your cornerstone or your stumbling block…there is no other way to God but through Jesus Christ alone!

Pastor Matthew mentioned when we began 1 Peter that there are tensions in the Bible that our finite minds just cannot resolve…the end of verse 8 is one of those tensions…so I am not going to spend time trying to resolve that tension…however, let me say this…I believe both to be true and I trust God has it all figured out.

Know this: the Scripture teaches that God is sovereign in his choice of people and that people are accountable for their choice!

Biblical writers never exempted human beings from their responsibility, even though they believed God was sovereign.

“they were appointed” — in light of all the Bible teaches regarding God’s sovereignty and man’s moral freedom, the best we can understand what Peter says here...

God is NOT the cause of their unbelief, but rather unbelief is a personal decision to disobey God’s command to believe and thus violates His word. Therefore, those who reject God’s Word are appointed for stumbling and falling.

The PENALTY for their disobedience has been appointed…separation from Him. GOSPEL!!!!

If you are identified with Christ, then there is an expectation of how you ought to live!

Our final truth regarding our identity is...

Your Identity Finds Its Focus in Living with Purpose (9-12).

Peter ties the identity of the New Testament believer to the Old Testament heritage of God’s people…find these in Exodus 19:6…meaning what God designated for Israel, has now been given to the church…the church does not replace Israel…however, the church is God’s chosen means of reaching the world today!

Chosen people — emphasizes God’s loving initiative in bringing people to himself

Royal priesthood — we are priests who serve a godly king in his kingdom

Holy nation — we are a corporate body set apart for his use

People for God’s possession — emphasizes God’s ownership

God calls us all to be living advertisements of His excellent character.

God called us out of darkness into the light and gave us our identity so that we would proclaim His excellent character...

Proclaim — means to advertise, to report...We all need to hear true reporting!

God calls us out of darkness not just to show his mercy on us, but also so we would be a walking billboard for Him!

v. 10 — Recalling Hosea 2:23; Peter illustrates our calling out of darkness…Hosea refers to a time when God’s people (Israel) were disowned by God because of their continual idolatry and rebellion…and yet God was still going to be merciful and call them His people.

In doing so, Peter calls special attention to the fact that the Christian community is made up of those who once were “not a people” and not “objects of mercy”...Gentiles were never called God’s people in the OT…that was reserved only for Israel…but now both believing Jews and believing Gentiles can lay claim to being God’s people.

With a great identity comes an even greater responsibility!...

God calls us to make a difference in world.

Don’t be so attached to this world that you begin to look like you belong to it— you are a foreigner and exile.

The world rejects our beliefs and values so don’t compromise your testimony with a longing for what this world can offer you.

Don’t become a casualty of war by doing what everyone else is doing — abstain from sinful desires.

Abstain = “hold oneself constantly back from” ...We are to resist the pull of those fleshly desires knowing that we are in a spiritual battle…a key strategy for Satan and his forces is to destroy your testimony before the world by attacking you at your weakest point!

Live so others will see the difference God makes in your life — keep your behavior excellent.

Even if they slander you for doing wrong, the testimony of your good works will cause them to glorify God!

Some people are not going to like you…some may hate you…others will see your life and rejoice!

Jesus gives us this same admonition in Matt 5:16 ““Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Day of visitation = refers to when the grace of God visits the heart of the unbeliever they will respond with saving faith and glorify God because they remember the testimony of believers they observed.

You don’t always know who is watching…but know they are watching!

The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Five: Somebody’s Watching You! (1 Peter 2:11–25))

In the summer of 1805, a number of Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York to hear a presentation of the Christian message by a Mr. Cram from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, a response was given by Red Jacket, one of the leading chiefs. Among other things, the chief said:“Brother, you say that there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agree, as you can all read the Book?“Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what you have said.”

Life Step — Don’t Be Afraid to Claim Your New Identity!

God has called you out of darkness and attached you to the chief cornerstone for the purpose of representing Him to the world…Don’t be afraid to proclaim you belong to him...don’t be afraid of what you see happening in our world, this is not our home…Don’t be afraid to live out your faith in a hostile world.

Choose to live in such a way that your life reflects the excellent character of God so that others are not surprised to know to whom you belong!

The Foundation of our Identity is Christ.

The Form of our Identity is a Kingdom of Priests

The Focus of our Identity is Proclamation of God’s Goodness

Let’s ask for God’s help to live unashamedly in that identity!