A Stoned Church - 1 Peter 2:4-8
Pastor Dennis Bone
10/2/11
A STONED CHURCH 10-2-11
You may remember the raspy lyrics of the 60’s song by Bob Dylan saying, “Everybody must get stoned.” This was prior to Dylan’s Christian enlightenment period of the late 70’s, thus I’m fairly certain that he didn’t think that it had anything to do with our passage for this morning from I Peter chapter 2, yet one could say, as we consider our text for this morning that Peter agrees with this sentiment. Everyone must get stoned, not in terms of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but in terms of being fully under the influence of Jesus Christ. A stoned church is one full of people who have been stoned by the Living Stone Jesus Christ.
Turn with me to I Peter chapter 2 – this morning we will be looking at verses 4 – 8:
As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. 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. But to those who don’t 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.
Peter is using a building metaphor to illustrate for us the nature of the church; and who we are as the people of God. The divine architect is God the Father who promises and prophecies that He will lay a stone in Zion; this stone will be His Son Jesus Christ – the Living Stone – who connects people to God through the message of the gospel. God is building a people who will never be put to shame because of their faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians we are a part of these people; we are a part of this church that has been being built for over 2,000 years throughout every nation, tribe, tongue, and race, because of the Great Commission. So the message of the Great Commission is that everyone must get stoned – spiritually stoned and connected to God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to Peter: “Upon this rock – that is upon Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God – I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Peter now, some 25+ years later is reminding the church of this truth; and telling us all what it means to be a part of Christ’s church. We sing the great hymn: “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is His new creation by water and the word. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride and with His blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”
The first key truth that our passage speaks about is the cornerstone of God’s church. Peter quotes three verses from the Old Testament which uses this same metaphor of the “stone” to powerfully express and prove that Jesus is the one who has become the chief cornerstone of the new house of God. He is the “Living Stone” – referring to Jesus’ resurrection – which we now have come to by faith. Peter’s point is that God has now begun a new building project, with a whole new foundation. The Old Testament imagery of the temple, priesthood and sacrifices is now applied to the Christian church, no longer in terms of a physical sanctuary or religious offices or the killing of animals, but now in terms of a spiritual relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the final temple, the final priest and the final sacrifice; and He has now applied these truths to His church – His new covenant people – in a way that shows His fulfillment of the old covenant.
Peter begins in verse 4 by pointing out that Jesus is chosen by God and is precious to Him. God established the fact that Jesus would be the Messiah; He made that choice, not the church, because His Son is precious to Him. “Precious” means to be of high value or to be highly esteemed. We talk about “precious jewels” and “precious memories” because of their value to us. This truth about Jesus is confirmed in the first part of verse 6 as Peter quotes Psalm 118:22: “See I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone.” The context of Psalm 118 describes the triumph of a king, who although rejected by the people is vindicated by God. Jesus is the Messianic King who was chosen before the foundation of the world in order to redeem His people by His own precious blood. He is victorious by virtue of His resurrection, thus He is the Living Stone, who all men and women must come to in order to be saved.
He is now precious to us by faith. Verse 7: “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.” As Christians we have come to believe and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and King. He has become precious to us.
We highly esteem and honor Him as God’s precious Son and the precious cornerstone of the church. In Acts 4 we hear Peter proclaim this same truth to the Sanhedrin when he declares: “Jesus, the one whom you crucified, God raised from the dead. He 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.” Jesus is precious to God because He is One who has redeemed sinners; and Jesus is precious to us because we are the sinners whom Jesus has redeemed. Peter’s point in Acts 4 and in I Peter 2, is that Jesus is the only one who can save us, thus He is the only one whom men and women can turn to.
But Jesus is also the one who is rejected by those who disobey His Word. In contrast to being chosen by God, Jesus is rejected by men – verse 4 – and then we read at the end of verse 7: “He is the stone that the builders rejected;” and then in verse 8: “They stumble because they disobey the message.” Jesus is of no value to people who reject the message of the gospel. Peter quotes from Isaiah 8, where Isaiah speaks of people whose disobedience leads to unbelief. They are unable and unwilling to believe God’s message; and Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 21 when He too applies the words of Psalm 118 to Himself. He says, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it’s marvelous in His sight.’”
This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible because of its significance when it comes to God’s plan of salvation. What happened to Jesus is marvelous in God’s sight because it accomplished our redemption, thus it should be marvelous and wonderful in our sight. This Living Stone will impact everyone in one way or another. You will either stumble over Him in disobedience, and reject His message; and as a result He will roll over you and crush you; or you will trust in Him and believe His message; and as a result He will incorporate you into His new temple as living stones. This then is the second main point of the passage: the character of God’s people. Verse 5 explains the spiritual character of those who have come to Jesus Christ by faith. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
In contrast to the dead stones of the physical temple, the church is made up of alive people – “living stones” – whom the Living Stone Jesus Christ has made spiritually alive, through the living and active Word of God.
As Christians we are growing up in our salvation by “being built into God’s spiritual house.” The picture is not one of a physical building, but a spiritual one. God has replaced the old covenant with a new one; and the living stones are people from every nation who are coming to Christ, and are being made spiritually alive through the power of the gospel. We are first being built as God’s new temple. Paul elaborates on this imagery in Ephesians 2 when he says:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together, and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
Paul points out that the Gentiles are no longer outsiders, but that Jews and Gentiles alike – all Christians – are equal members of God’s family; and together are rising as His spiritual and holy temple. The character of God’s people is united around spiritual truths and spiritual activities, not physical temples or physical birth. As Christians we are all His holy priesthood – the priesthood is no longer one specific class or group of people who have direct access to God and represented other people – rather now, through Christ we all have access to God, indicating that we all have the responsibility to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. This is God’s primary purpose for us as priests in His new temple.
Peter is going to tell us more specifically how we actually do this as the chapter and the epistle progress. His main point in this passage though is that these spiritual qualities point us to the type of character we are to have as individual Christians who make up the church of Jesus Christ. When was the last time you told someone that you were part of a holy priesthood? It’s not a club, it’s a lifestyle. The people around us might not understand the terminology, and if they aren’t Christians they certainly won’t, but what people should see is the Jesus Christ is the focal point of our lives and of our church. They should see this by our actions – the action of offering spiritual sacrifices to God – again spiritual terminology that some might not fully understand, but most everyone understands the sacrifice of service; and the willingness to give of yourself to others even as Jesus gave of Himself to you. This is Paul’s point in Romans 12 when He says that we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.
This is the process of growing up in our salvation, which we looked at last week in verses 1 – 3, and this growth comes from seeking and applying the Word of God in our lives. It’s the Word of God that teaches us how to live as holy priests and how to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of this salvation, and Jesus Christ is the one who builds our character as His people. But the final point I want to touch on from this passage is the contrast of God’s message. This imagery of this passage clearly contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant, but in addition to this Peter contrasts the difference between faith and unbelief.
This same contrast is evident today. You either believe and trust the message of Christ or you stumble over Christ in unbelief. The choice results in something marvelous or in something terrible. Peter sets forth this contrast in verse 7 and 8. For those who believe, Jesus is precious and seen as the capstone, yet for those who reject Jesus He is a stumbling stone and of no value. What is most significant is that Peter shows us this contrast and this choice in light of God’s Word – the Old Testament Scripture – and in view of God’s choice. “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” God honors His Son by giving Him the preeminent position in His household, or in His new temple. The builders rejected the architect’s plan. Who is man to argue with the divine plan and message of God?
In Colossians 1 Paul says that Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and that He was raised from the dead so that in everything Christ might have supremacy or preeminence. The message of Christ’s gospel calls people to align themselves with the Living Stone by faith, so that you will become living stones in His house, which is the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on Him.” This is Peter’s point at the end verse 8: Disobedience to the message of Christ confirms the judgment of unbelievers. He says, “They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.” All mankind is destined for God’s wrath and judgment; and by rejecting and disobeying the gospel they confirm their destiny.
The person who fails to believe in Christ will die in disobedience. This is why the message of the gospel is so important – not just for us who believe, but for those who still have the opportunity to hear the gospel and obey the message; and to trust in Jesus by faith.
Peter quotes the Word of God from Isaiah in verse 6: “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.” This is still true today. As Christians we are not ashamed of the gospel, thus God is not ashamed of us. We are not ashamed of the gospel because it’s the power of God unto salvation. God is still adding stones to His new temple; Christ is still building His church today; and He is doing it through the power of the gospel and the message of His church.
A stoned church is one full of people who have come to the Living Stone; who have tasted that the Lord is good; and have experienced the love and mercy of Christ in their lives, and as such want to share this wonderful grace with others as God’s new priesthood. We believe that everyone must be stoned by the grace and mercy of the gospel, so that they too will be filled with the knowledge of salvation and come to the Living Stone Jesus Christ.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
10/2/11
A STONED CHURCH 10-2-11
You may remember the raspy lyrics of the 60’s song by Bob Dylan saying, “Everybody must get stoned.” This was prior to Dylan’s Christian enlightenment period of the late 70’s, thus I’m fairly certain that he didn’t think that it had anything to do with our passage for this morning from I Peter chapter 2, yet one could say, as we consider our text for this morning that Peter agrees with this sentiment. Everyone must get stoned, not in terms of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but in terms of being fully under the influence of Jesus Christ. A stoned church is one full of people who have been stoned by the Living Stone Jesus Christ.
Turn with me to I Peter chapter 2 – this morning we will be looking at verses 4 – 8:
As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. 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. But to those who don’t 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.
Peter is using a building metaphor to illustrate for us the nature of the church; and who we are as the people of God. The divine architect is God the Father who promises and prophecies that He will lay a stone in Zion; this stone will be His Son Jesus Christ – the Living Stone – who connects people to God through the message of the gospel. God is building a people who will never be put to shame because of their faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians we are a part of these people; we are a part of this church that has been being built for over 2,000 years throughout every nation, tribe, tongue, and race, because of the Great Commission. So the message of the Great Commission is that everyone must get stoned – spiritually stoned and connected to God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to Peter: “Upon this rock – that is upon Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God – I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Peter now, some 25+ years later is reminding the church of this truth; and telling us all what it means to be a part of Christ’s church. We sing the great hymn: “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is His new creation by water and the word. From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride and with His blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”
The first key truth that our passage speaks about is the cornerstone of God’s church. Peter quotes three verses from the Old Testament which uses this same metaphor of the “stone” to powerfully express and prove that Jesus is the one who has become the chief cornerstone of the new house of God. He is the “Living Stone” – referring to Jesus’ resurrection – which we now have come to by faith. Peter’s point is that God has now begun a new building project, with a whole new foundation. The Old Testament imagery of the temple, priesthood and sacrifices is now applied to the Christian church, no longer in terms of a physical sanctuary or religious offices or the killing of animals, but now in terms of a spiritual relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the final temple, the final priest and the final sacrifice; and He has now applied these truths to His church – His new covenant people – in a way that shows His fulfillment of the old covenant.
Peter begins in verse 4 by pointing out that Jesus is chosen by God and is precious to Him. God established the fact that Jesus would be the Messiah; He made that choice, not the church, because His Son is precious to Him. “Precious” means to be of high value or to be highly esteemed. We talk about “precious jewels” and “precious memories” because of their value to us. This truth about Jesus is confirmed in the first part of verse 6 as Peter quotes Psalm 118:22: “See I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone.” The context of Psalm 118 describes the triumph of a king, who although rejected by the people is vindicated by God. Jesus is the Messianic King who was chosen before the foundation of the world in order to redeem His people by His own precious blood. He is victorious by virtue of His resurrection, thus He is the Living Stone, who all men and women must come to in order to be saved.
He is now precious to us by faith. Verse 7: “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.” As Christians we have come to believe and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and King. He has become precious to us.
We highly esteem and honor Him as God’s precious Son and the precious cornerstone of the church. In Acts 4 we hear Peter proclaim this same truth to the Sanhedrin when he declares: “Jesus, the one whom you crucified, God raised from the dead. He 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.” Jesus is precious to God because He is One who has redeemed sinners; and Jesus is precious to us because we are the sinners whom Jesus has redeemed. Peter’s point in Acts 4 and in I Peter 2, is that Jesus is the only one who can save us, thus He is the only one whom men and women can turn to.
But Jesus is also the one who is rejected by those who disobey His Word. In contrast to being chosen by God, Jesus is rejected by men – verse 4 – and then we read at the end of verse 7: “He is the stone that the builders rejected;” and then in verse 8: “They stumble because they disobey the message.” Jesus is of no value to people who reject the message of the gospel. Peter quotes from Isaiah 8, where Isaiah speaks of people whose disobedience leads to unbelief. They are unable and unwilling to believe God’s message; and Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 21 when He too applies the words of Psalm 118 to Himself. He says, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it’s marvelous in His sight.’”
This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible because of its significance when it comes to God’s plan of salvation. What happened to Jesus is marvelous in God’s sight because it accomplished our redemption, thus it should be marvelous and wonderful in our sight. This Living Stone will impact everyone in one way or another. You will either stumble over Him in disobedience, and reject His message; and as a result He will roll over you and crush you; or you will trust in Him and believe His message; and as a result He will incorporate you into His new temple as living stones. This then is the second main point of the passage: the character of God’s people. Verse 5 explains the spiritual character of those who have come to Jesus Christ by faith. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
In contrast to the dead stones of the physical temple, the church is made up of alive people – “living stones” – whom the Living Stone Jesus Christ has made spiritually alive, through the living and active Word of God.
As Christians we are growing up in our salvation by “being built into God’s spiritual house.” The picture is not one of a physical building, but a spiritual one. God has replaced the old covenant with a new one; and the living stones are people from every nation who are coming to Christ, and are being made spiritually alive through the power of the gospel. We are first being built as God’s new temple. Paul elaborates on this imagery in Ephesians 2 when he says:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together, and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
Paul points out that the Gentiles are no longer outsiders, but that Jews and Gentiles alike – all Christians – are equal members of God’s family; and together are rising as His spiritual and holy temple. The character of God’s people is united around spiritual truths and spiritual activities, not physical temples or physical birth. As Christians we are all His holy priesthood – the priesthood is no longer one specific class or group of people who have direct access to God and represented other people – rather now, through Christ we all have access to God, indicating that we all have the responsibility to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. This is God’s primary purpose for us as priests in His new temple.
Peter is going to tell us more specifically how we actually do this as the chapter and the epistle progress. His main point in this passage though is that these spiritual qualities point us to the type of character we are to have as individual Christians who make up the church of Jesus Christ. When was the last time you told someone that you were part of a holy priesthood? It’s not a club, it’s a lifestyle. The people around us might not understand the terminology, and if they aren’t Christians they certainly won’t, but what people should see is the Jesus Christ is the focal point of our lives and of our church. They should see this by our actions – the action of offering spiritual sacrifices to God – again spiritual terminology that some might not fully understand, but most everyone understands the sacrifice of service; and the willingness to give of yourself to others even as Jesus gave of Himself to you. This is Paul’s point in Romans 12 when He says that we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.
This is the process of growing up in our salvation, which we looked at last week in verses 1 – 3, and this growth comes from seeking and applying the Word of God in our lives. It’s the Word of God that teaches us how to live as holy priests and how to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of this salvation, and Jesus Christ is the one who builds our character as His people. But the final point I want to touch on from this passage is the contrast of God’s message. This imagery of this passage clearly contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant, but in addition to this Peter contrasts the difference between faith and unbelief.
This same contrast is evident today. You either believe and trust the message of Christ or you stumble over Christ in unbelief. The choice results in something marvelous or in something terrible. Peter sets forth this contrast in verse 7 and 8. For those who believe, Jesus is precious and seen as the capstone, yet for those who reject Jesus He is a stumbling stone and of no value. What is most significant is that Peter shows us this contrast and this choice in light of God’s Word – the Old Testament Scripture – and in view of God’s choice. “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” God honors His Son by giving Him the preeminent position in His household, or in His new temple. The builders rejected the architect’s plan. Who is man to argue with the divine plan and message of God?
In Colossians 1 Paul says that Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and that He was raised from the dead so that in everything Christ might have supremacy or preeminence. The message of Christ’s gospel calls people to align themselves with the Living Stone by faith, so that you will become living stones in His house, which is the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on Him.” This is Peter’s point at the end verse 8: Disobedience to the message of Christ confirms the judgment of unbelievers. He says, “They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.” All mankind is destined for God’s wrath and judgment; and by rejecting and disobeying the gospel they confirm their destiny.
The person who fails to believe in Christ will die in disobedience. This is why the message of the gospel is so important – not just for us who believe, but for those who still have the opportunity to hear the gospel and obey the message; and to trust in Jesus by faith.
Peter quotes the Word of God from Isaiah in verse 6: “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.” This is still true today. As Christians we are not ashamed of the gospel, thus God is not ashamed of us. We are not ashamed of the gospel because it’s the power of God unto salvation. God is still adding stones to His new temple; Christ is still building His church today; and He is doing it through the power of the gospel and the message of His church.
A stoned church is one full of people who have come to the Living Stone; who have tasted that the Lord is good; and have experienced the love and mercy of Christ in their lives, and as such want to share this wonderful grace with others as God’s new priesthood. We believe that everyone must be stoned by the grace and mercy of the gospel, so that they too will be filled with the knowledge of salvation and come to the Living Stone Jesus Christ.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
