THE TEMPLE OF LIVING STONES

I PETER 2:4

A. "UNTO WHOM COMING, A LIVING STONE, REJECTED INDEED OF MEN, BUT WITH GOD ELECT PRECIOUS YE ALSO AS LIVING STONES ARE BUILT UP A SPIRITUAL HOUSE, TO BE A HOLY PRIESTHOOD TO OFFER UP SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST"
  1. The temple at Jerusalem:
    1. Had become the center of attraction and the symbol of the hope of Israel as a nation
    2. To swear by the temple was the highest oath they could think of
    3. To say anything derogatory about the temple was a misdemeanor, a crime against the nation
  2. The temple, however, about which Peter writes:
    1. Is a vastly different building made not of hands, but by the operation of the Holy Spirit
    2. It is a spiritual house, the house made up of Christian believers - living stones
B. THE TEMPLE OF LIVING STONES
  1. The temple has a foundation:
    1. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone - compare If Peter 2:3-8 with Psalms 118:22; Matt. 21:42
    2. The term "stone" speaks to us of all that is solid, massive, steadfast, strong
    3. It suggests at once ideas of immovable principle and ever-persisting purpose and capacity at once to resist and to sustain - Matt. 16:8; I Cor. 8:10-11
  2. Jesus Christ, our Lord, is repeatedly spoken of in the Bible:
    1. "The rock" - I Cor. 10:4; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 42:9
    2. "Precious stone" - Is. 28:16
    3. "A tried stone" - Is. 28:16
  3. He is called a living stone:
    1. Because He imparts life
    2. Believers become living stones through the life Christ imparts to them - John 10:10; 1:4; 6:48-57
    3. Of course, Peter spoke of our spiritual relationship and our spiritual nature which comes through Jesus Christ our Lord
  4. The materials of the temple are, as we have noted before, living stones:
    1. Where are the stones found? - They are all cut out of the quarry of nature; stone by stone is brought out of that deep cavern, placed upon the living stone and each united to the other
    2. There must be no deformity in the stones
    3. The building of the spiritual temple is ever going on
C. IMPORTANT TO US ARE THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE SACRIFICE
  1. Peter speaks of a spiritual priesthood:
    1. This priesthood differs from the Levitical priesthood, in that it is not confined to a tribe or selected group of individuals - no -
    2. All believers in Jesus Christ are a part of the priesthood
    3. This is a remarkable change, in that every believer contributes to the building of the house of the Lord - Eph. 4:11-18; I Pet. 2:9-11
    4. The members of the church constitute "the holy priesthood" because they have been separated from all uncleanness, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ; they wear the robe of Christ's righteousness - compare Is. 1:16-19 with Zech. 13:1; Rev. 1:5; 7:14; 22:14; 19:7-8
  2. The sacrifices:
    1. "I beseech you by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" - Rom. 12:1
    2. "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" - Rom. 6:13
    3. "The sacrifices of the believers reveal themselves in three specific lines:
    4. in worship - worship the Lord in songs and spiritual music - Col 3:16-17 ii. in meditation Ps. 49:3; I Tim. 4:15
    5. Also, when our lives are placed upon the altar of Christian service - Matt. 25:31-42; Acts 1:7-8. It is unthinkable to be connected with the spiritual temple and not be active in Christian witnessing


Design © John Bryant 2011