1 Peter 2:1-10

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.  As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

It is important for us to know who we are in light of who Christ is.  We cannot accurately know our position without knowing Christ.  Peter presents Christ as three different types of stone in this passage and describes who we should be because of who He is.  Because of who He is we can be transformed in every aspect of our lives.    

PRIESTHOOD TO THE LIVING STONE: Jesus is the Living Stone and those who are saved through faith in Him become living stones in a temple of worship to Him.  We are His representatives on earth and a priesthood of believers that have been saved through Him.  God’s eternal Word teaches us that we must lay aside malice: overt acts of sin, deceit: more subtle dishonesty, hypocrisy: inconsistence between beliefs and actions, envy: desire for that which belongs to others, and slander: speaking evil about others.  These things have no place in the house of God we are building.  The Word of God is His instrument in instructing us about and liberating us from sin.  That is what happens in the lives of those who are truly saved.  Our new birth in Christ results in a huger for the Word of God, a hatred of sin, and a love for the Lord.  As we partake of His glorious salvation in our lives, His goodness is far greater than any of the passing pleasures of sin.  Scripture reveals Jesus, He saves us eternally, and this is our most precious treasure.  As we look to Him for salvation instead of our own dead works, our offering of praise and sacrifices through sufferings become honoring and glorifying to Him.   

BELIEVERS IN THE CORNERSTONE: Peter quotes the Old Testament from Isaiah 28 that prophesies about the coming of Messiah who is the Cornerstone on which the church is built.  He was rejected by men and crucified in our place so we might be saved through faith in Him.  Jesus is the Rock on whom our faith rests and our lives are built.  All men must make a choice to either believe on Him and become part of His mission on earth to bring glory to the Father or reject Him and continue to life for self.  Peter now quotes Psalm 118 to demonstrate this dual response to Christ: salvation through faith or condemnation through rejection of Christ. We will either build our lives upon Christ or stumble over Him in our futile efforts to save ourselves.

PROCLAIMERS OF THE STUMBLING STONE: Peter identifies those who have come to faith in Christ as being a chosen race: God’s chosen ones, a royal priesthood: God’s representatives, a holy nation: God’s country, a people for his own possession: God’s people.  We become all of those things through faith in Christ and our God given task is to proclaim Him to the lost and dying world around us that is still denying and rejecting Him.  Those who continue to live in the pursuit of their own pleasure and sin must be called out of the darkness to live in the light of His Word just as we once were.  He was the stumbling block for all of us at one time, but by His grace He has become our cornerstone, living stone, and we too are living stones resting on Him for a life filled with the glory and grace of His Word.  His identity and mercy have been extended to us.  Our response is to proclaim Him through our lives and words so that others might join us having experienced the same grace that we have experienced.

APPLICATION: Detest our sin and desire the Word of God as we build our lives on the foundation of Jesus. Believe on Christ as the only hope we have of being rescued from sin and becoming His representatives on earth.  Proclaim Christ to those around us who still desperately need the mercy and grace we have found in Him.