Remember: The original readers of 1 Peter were facing persecution.
The Big Idea: When life is difficult, THINK about the amazing blessings that are yours because of Christ and THANK Him.
1. There is nothing more important that our RESPONSE to Jesus.
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him” (v. 4).
The “living Stone” = JESUS CHRIST.
(Seven NT passages identify the stone as Jesus: Matthew 21:42-44; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17-18; Acts 4:11-12; Romans 9:32-33; Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10).
Peter quotes three Old Testament “stone” prophecies and applies them to Christ:
• “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed” (Isaiah 28:16; quoted in v. 6).
• “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone” (Psalm 118:22; quoted in v. 7).
• “And he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (Isaiah 8:14a; quoted in v. 8).
Jesus is described as the “cornerstone.” In ancient times, a cornerstone was the first stone set in the construction of a building. It was extremely important since all the other stones were set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire building. (Today, a cornerstone is a ceremonial stone set in a prominent location on the outside of a building, with an inscription indicating the construction date, etc.)
ILLUSTRATION: Before I became a pastor, I worked for a construction company that built houses. I did a lot of work on foundations. Once I asked my boss if I could be in charge of laying the foundation, but he wisely said no. Good foundations are essential.
The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ. Peter (then known as Simon) was once asked by Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). And Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter [rock], and on this rock [faith in Christ] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (vv. 17-18).
God wants us to make Jesus the foundation of our lives.
a. We can ACCEPT Christ and enjoy the blessings of God.
“For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious” (vv. 6-7a).
“Will never be put to shame” is a deliberate understatement. It could be expressed by “will find great glory.”
b. We can REJECT Christ and miss out on the blessings of God.
But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for” (vv. 7b-8).
To believers, Jesus is the cornerstone; but to the world, He is a stumbling stone.
What about the phrase “Which is also what they were destined for”?
• This text leaves open the possibility of repentance and saving faith in Christ for the unbelievers it talks about. The three key verbs are all in the present tense and may be rather literally rendered, “But for those who are presently not believing…who are presently stumbling because they are presently disobeying the word, unto which also they were destined.” This does not of course imply that they will come to saving faith, but it does stop short of saying that their eternal condemnation is already ordained. It rather affirms that their present rebellion and disobedience has been ordained by God, and does not indicate whether it will continue throughout life or not. Indeed it could not indicate this, for Peter explicitly affirms the hope that many of these same unbelievers will come to faith (2:12; 3:1, 15; 2 Peter 3:9).
• It does not seem possible to escape the conclusion that what the text does affirm (the “destining” of present disobedience of unbelievers) implies also that all disobedience which tragically does persist to the end of life (and thus into eternity) has been “destined” by God.
• We may object that this does not seem to us morally right for God, even though it seems to be the inescapable meaning of the text before us. To this objection the only answer that Scripture gives is not to answer all our questions regarding “how” or “why,” but only to indicate that ultimately even the condemnation of unbelievers will result in greater glory to God, in the praise of His justice, and power, and mercy to those to whom He shows mercy (Romans 9:14-25). Thus God can ordain something that is in itself displeasing to Him because He knows that finally it will accomplish a greater good (the death of Christ is the ultimate example of this). When we cannot fully understand how this can be, it is for us simply to be silent before our Creator and wait for fuller understanding in eternity (Romans 9:19-20; Job 38:1-42:6).
• We must note that while Scripture is willing to affirm God’s ultimate “destining” of wrongful actions, the blame for these actions is always given to the moral creatures (men and angels) who willingly choose to do wrong; the blame is never given to God (cf. Job 1:22). If we ask how God can “destine” that something happen through the willful choice of His creatures, yet Himself remain free from blame (and not be the “author” of sin in the sense of actually doing wrong Himself), then we approach Paul’s questions in Romans 9:19, “Why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” Yet here Scripture gives us no answer except to say, “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?” (Romans 9:20).
• Therefore, if our understanding of the text ever leads us to begin to blame God rather than ourselves for evil (something Scripture never does), then we may be sure that our understanding of the text is contrary to its original intent.
• Election of some to eternal life and the passing over of others is never viewed in the same way in Scripture. Election to salvation is viewed as a cause for rejoicing and praise to God, who is worthy of praise and receives all the credit for our salvation (note 1 Peter 1:1-3; Ephesians 1:3-6). God is viewed as actively choosing us for salvation, and doing so with delight. But the passing over of those who are not chosen, and justly leaving them in their rebellion) is viewed as something which brings God sorrow, not delight (note Ezekiel 33:11, and Paul’s sorrow in Romans 9:1-2), and in which the blame is always put on the men or angels who rebel, not on God (Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, pp. 108-110).
c. The blessings of God can be received ONLY through faith in Jesus.
“He [Jesus] is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).
2. Jesus was REJECTED by the world, but believers are ACCEPTED by God.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read the Scriptures: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit’” (Matthew 42-43; cf. Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17-18).
“What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the ‘stumbling stone.’ As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame’” (Romans 9:30-33).
God has bestowed on the church (both Jews and Gentiles) almost all of the blessings promised to Israel in the Old Testament:
(These privileges given to the church do not imply that the church is Israel or that it replaces Israel. Romans 11:13-16, 23-24 guards against such an idea. Romans 9-11 affirms God’s continuing concern for ethnic Israel and predicts for the Jewish people a great future time of blessing.)
a. GOD’S DWELLING PLACE is no longer the Jerusalem temple, but the church.
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (v. 5a).
The long history of God’s dwelling place among his people finds New Testament fulfillment in the people of God themselves. The glory of God, the visible evidence of His presence among His people, had led the Israelites out of Egypt as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). God’s glory had filled the tabernacle under Moses (Exodus 33:8-13; 40:34-38), and had later filled Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). But it had departed from the temple, in the time of Ezekiel, because of the sins of the people (Ezekiel 10:4, 18-19; 11:23). Of the temple built after the return from exile God promised that “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house” (Haggai 2:9), but His glory had never descended to fill it as it had filled the temple under Solomon. The faithful in Israel then waited over 400 years for the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1).
The fulfillment of this prophecy was witnessed by Simeon and Anna when Mary and Joseph brought to the Jerusalem temple the infant Jesus (Luke 2:22-38), the Savior who was “Messiah the Lord” (Luke 2:11). His presence was the greater glory of that temple (Luke 19:47-48), but He also brought its judgment and word of its destruction (John 2:13-17; Luke 21:5-6), for His own body was the greater and more perfect temple of God (John 2:19-21), the one in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:9 ESV). Thus, John could say of Jesus’ life, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us [literally, “tented” or “tabernacled”] among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father” (John 1:14). In the New Testament Jesus Himself is the new and better temple of God, the dwelling place of God among men.
However, after Pentecost, the dwelling place of God is not only Jesus Himself, but also His people. He promises to be “in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20 NKJV), to be with them always (Matthew 28:20), and says that He Himself, together with the Father and Holy Spirit, will dwell within His people (John 14:17, 23). So now in the church age the people of God are the true temple of God, the place where God dwells (Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, pp. 102-103).
b. The PRIESTHOOD no longer belongs to the descendents of Aaron, but the church.
“To be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (v. 5b).
(1) We have DIRECT ACCESS to God.
In Old Testament times, once a year one man (the high priest) would enter the “Holy of Holies” (the inner sanctuary of the temple). Today, every believer can enter the presence of God at any time.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
(2) We can offer ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICES to God.
We do not offer physical sacrifices of incense and animals as in the Old Testament, but spiritual sacrifices. (Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice ended the need for animal sacrifices.) What sacrifices are acceptable to God?
• Our Bodies
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).
• Our Witness
“To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:16).
• Our Good Works
“I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).
• Our Praise
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
• Our Prayers
“Another angel, who had a golden censor, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand” (Revelation 8:3-4).
Basically, anything we do in service to God is a sacrifice.
c. The CHOSEN PEOPLE are no longer the descendents of Abraham, but the church.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (vv. 9-10).
“Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). We are Abraham’s spiritual descendents who possess the same kind of faith he did.
“Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2).
Our purpose: Bring glory to God. Make known what God has done.
When life is difficult, think about the amazing blessings that are yours because of Christ and thank Him.
The blessing that is emphasized in 1 Peter 1 is hope. Do you have the blessing of hope in your life?
A LIFE OF BLESSING
Part 4 of LIFE.101
1 Peter 2:4-10
The Big Idea: When life is difficult, ______________ about the amazing blessings that are yours because of Christ and _______________ Him.
1. There is nothing more important that our _________________ to Jesus.
The “living Stone” (v. 4) = _____________________.
a. We can ______________ Christ and enjoy the blessings of God (vv.6-7a).
b. We can _______________ Christ and miss out on the blessings of God (vv. 7b-8).
c. The blessings of God can be received _______________ through faith in Jesus (Acts 4:11-12).
2. Jesus was ___________________ by the world, but believers are ___________________ by God.
God has bestowed on the church almost all of the blessings promised to Israel in the Old Testament:
a. _______________________________________ is no longer the Jerusalem temple, but the church (v. 5a).
b. The ____________________ is longer the descendents of Aaron, but the church (v. 5b).
(1) We have _________________________ to God.
(2) We can offer ______________________________ to God.
c. The ______________________________ are no longer the descendents of Abraham, but the church (vv. 9-10).
