One House : 1 PeterSample

Living Stones & Spiritual House (Part 2)

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.

1 Peter 2:4–8 ESV

Yesterday, we studied the temple imagery found in 1 Peter 2:4-8. Today, we'll be looking at the part we play in this new, spiritual temple.

Peter says that we, as individual Christians, are like living stones being built on top of one another, creating a spiritual house for God. Not only are we a part of the construction of the house, we also play a vital role in the worship of the house—we are a holy priesthood.

Peter is drawing a parallel between the Old and New Testament worship.

No longer is there an exclusive class of priests who offer up animal sacrifices; now all people who have believed in Christ have been made priests and offer spiritual sacrifices. What is a spiritual sacrifice? In short, anything we do in service to God. We offer our bodies to serve him (Romans 12:1), we give to equip his church, we show his love to our families. When we come to church on Sundays, we don't come waiting for God to give gifts to us; we come with a gift for him. We don't wait for a song we like or a message that moves us; we arrive with a sense of priestly duty, ready to give God what is rightfully his. We are priests in God's house, and that means we always bring a sacrifice.