A People for God's Own Possession

Part five of an expositional series on 1 Peter. Click HERE to read the previous article in this series.

Up to this point in his epistle, Peter has alternated between exposition of God’s matchless grace in salvation and exhortation of believers to live in holiness, a pattern to which he generally keeps throughout the book. In verses 4-10 of chapter two, he mines the Old Testament to describe God’s plan for His people—the goal of His mercy in redemption. In the previous seven verses (covered in last month’s column), we saw Peter exhorting believers to “long for the pure milk of the Word” (2:2). In this section, he uses that same Word to make a powerful point about the person of Christ and the privileges of His children.

Verses 4 and 5 form the first sentence of this passage, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

“Coming to Him” follows the previous direction to long for the Word, but this is a participle, indicating an assumed ongoing action rather than commanding something. According to Wayne Grudem’s commentary on 1 Peter, the verb employed here (proserchomai) is often used in the Septuagint to mean “draw near” to God when He speaks or in worship (as in Ex. 16:9, Lev. 9:7-8, and elsewhere). In this context, Peter seems to be assuming the coming to Christ in worship and prayer as part of the way we are able to “grow in respect to salvation” (verse 2).

The rest of this sentence is filled with imagery from the Jewish temple and sacrificial system, reminding us that our coming to Christ is possible because He opened the way to God’s presence by His sacrifice. Each of the Synoptic Gospels records that the veil of the temple, which had symbolized the separation of God and man, was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died (Matt. 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45)—through Christ we can come to God.

Peter strikingly describes Jesus as a “living stone”, a metaphor that comes into focus over the course of this passage. Christ is the One who has been rejected by men but is precious in God’s sight. He continues, saying that believers are also “living stones,” identifying his readers with Christ. In the context of their present persecuted state, it would appear that he is reminding them that their Lord was rejected and persecuted by men just as they were, but that they, like Him, were precious to the Lord. God’s esteem and value for His people is key to understanding this whole section.

In verse 5, we see what God is doing with these “living stones”: building a “spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices.” Before Christ, God had dwelt among the people of Israel through the static, stone structure of the temple. Now, He lives with us in Christ Jesus His Son, and in us through the Holy Spirit—His temple is now the Body of Christ, who He has redeemed and brought together as the Church. This living temple is made of living stones, who are also its priests, standing before God in the power of Christ’s blood. No longer are we represented by other men; no longer is the blood of animals spilled at the altar to make atonement for sin.

As priests, we offer sacrifices, but what are these “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus” Peter speaks of? “Spiritual sacrifices” also show up in the works of Paul, who describes them as the gift of our bodies to the Lord’s service (Rom. 12:1) and as the financial gifts to the work of the kingdom. The author of Hebrews refers to them as the verbal praises we offer to God (13:15) and as the righteous lifestyle that flows from our faith (13:16). It is interesting to note that, while sacrifices are not now necessary for atonement, our spiritual sacrifices of love are both assumed and commanded as we live out our redemption.

Peter then shows the scriptural basis for his statement, quoting from Isaiah 28:16 in verse 6, “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed,” from Psalm 118:22 in verse 7, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,” and from Isaiah 8:14 in verse 8, “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” Jesus used the passage from Psalms in Matthew 22:42 to identify Himself as the prophesied cornerstone and to expose the wicked hearts of the scribes and Pharisees. Christ is also referred to as the cornerstone of this “spiritual house” of worship in Ephesians 2:20.

In between quotations, Peter elaborates on these verses. He tells his readers that they share Christ’s status as chosen and precious to God, but that those who disbelieve see Christ not as a cornerstone, but as something to be discarded. But Christ is not one who can be cast aside, and there are consequences for rejecting Him—He is the great stumbling block to the world’s wisdom (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23). Peter concludes in verse 8 that, “they stumble because they are disobedient to the Word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” This could mean that they are rebelling against God by rejecting Christ or possibly that they reject Christ because they have chosen to disobey God—in either case, they reap destruction. Before we get hung up on their “appointed doom,” we should bear that in mind. They are not rejecting Christ because God forced them to, but His holiness does force Him to devote them to punishment if they reject Him.

Back in Matthew 22:43-44, Jesus continues after quoting the Psalmist, saying, “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” In this audacious statement, He promises that the kingdom would be removed from Israel because they rejected Him as Messiah and that God would raise up a new people to produce (presumably spiritual) fruit. It seems clear that this is what Peter is talking about in verses 8-10. Those who have been “broken to pieces” on the stumbling block of Christ have forfeited their place in God’s kingdom, and it has been given to believers of all nations.

Peter’s climactic statement of this passage is a dramatic statement of the identity of the Church: “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; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” In this, he takes the most powerful distinctives of the people of Israel and applies them wholesale to believers of every nation.

Israel was chosen by God to proclaim His glory and usher in His plan for redemption; the Church is the product of His redemption and now lives to “proclaim the excellencies” of God. Israel had priests of the tribe of Levi, but they did not reign over the people; the Church is comprised of priests—each with access to God’s throne in Christ—who also will reign with Christ in His kingdom (cf. 2 Tim. 2:11-13). Israel was an ethnic nation set apart for God; the Church, comprised of every race, tribe, and tongue, is now set apart as “a people for God’s own possession.”

The marvelous deeds of God that we are to proclaim are summed up here—He has called us out of darkness into His light; He has redeemed us and brought us together as one people for His glory; He took us as “children of wrath” and gave us mercy. In short, we are to tell and retell the story of salvation, giving God the infinite glory He deserves for the gift of His Son. This is the fullness of why He has chosen us and built up the Church on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ—to make known His glory for eternity.

This articulation of God’s “master plan” for the Church, though encouraging to the utmost (particularly to those under persecution), is not simply intended as a pat on the back. In the bigger picture of Peter’s epistle, the greatness of our salvation is something that he retells to stir believers to the lives of holiness and dedication to which we are called. What physical Israel lived out in part, the Church can live out in full—they had the law written for them; we have the law written on our hearts by the Spirit (Jer. 31:31-34).

This then is the ultimate purpose of the Church—to be God’s own people, shouting His glory to a watching world. Because we are a people brought together by God, what makes us a nation is our allegiance to the King of Kings who is our Great High Priest. As such, the ranks of this “holy nation” can grow indefinitely as more and more people are drawn by God’s grace into saving faith. Proclaiming the excellencies of our redeemer expands His glory by bringing an ever-growing number of believers into His family to praise and exalt Him. What a plan! 

Justin Lonas is editor of Disciple Magazine.