Covenant Presbyterian Church

4    To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and  precious,  
5    Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6    Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.  
7    Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8    And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.  
9    But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
10    Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Few things encourage holiness and enflame love for our Lord more than a clear sense of the wondrous benefits and privileges he has obtained for us. When temptations overwhelm us, the world opposes, and various hardships for the sake of the gospel seem a heavy burden, let us stir up our  straggling faith by prayerful, wholehearted meditation upon the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). Admittedly, our troubles and trials tend to diminish the significance of these riches, make them seem far away and irrelevant. This is the reason Peter now sets them forth with such beauty and glory that we are left with a certain feeling of awe when we read them. Are we living stones, God’s own temple, holy, royal priests, a holy nation, God’s peculiar, beloved people? Yes, our Savior has purchased these privileges for us by his precious blood, secured them by his meditation and intercession for us at God’s right hand, and showers them upon us through the liberality of his grace and the indwelling presence of his Spirit. Peter is not worried that he will elevate us too highly; he knows that in setting forth our privileges as Christians, he is magnifying beyond all human imagination the glory, power, and sufficiency of our Savior, thus leading us to honor him more devotedly, even to cling to him – not only out of a sense of duty and need but also in wonder and gratitude. And do they not also greatly comfort us in our tribulations, especially to hear that we are God’s own people and dwelling place, the recipients of his constant attention and mercy? These are the “invisible things” upon which we must fix our hope if we are to endure (2 Cor. 4:18), for they encourage our faith, deepen our love for him who so loves us, and intensify our sense of privilege and duty. Is not a recovery of the glory and privilege of being Christians exactly the remedy for depressed spirits, for tongues that do not speak his word gladly (Ps. 119:172), for the church’s crazed search for meaning in the world and relevance to the world? Nothing is better suited to encourage faith in an unbelieving age, indeed, to excite men about the Christian faith, drawing them to inquire after the glorious gospel, than believers who are held tightly in the adoring, amazed grip of the vast, divine privileges that our Lord Jesus Christ purchased for us by his death on the cross.

These wondrous privileges are part of the grace we have tasted in our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3). John wrote that “of his fullness we have all received, grace unto grace” (John 1:16), and here we see sparks of our Savior’s fullness set forth with sufficient splendor to hold us in unquenchable awe and to fire our hearts to serve him. We are God’s holy temple, his dwelling place. The church is not what she seems to be in the eyes of men: divided, weak, irrelevant. She is the Bride of Jesus Christ, the dwelling place of God, built upon the precious cornerstone, Jesus Christ. And as for Christians themselves – and how pathetic we often are exactly because we do not live in constant communion with the living Rock and avail ourselves of his grace and promises – we are a holy priesthood, servants of God’s holy temple, with our lives, prayers, and service being used to build God’s spiritual house until it fills the whole world with the knowledge of his glory. Then, all that Israel was promised yet far beyond anything possible in that age of types and shadows, the church is now: God’s holy nation and peculiar people. It is not enough, then, for us to hear the word “taste” and move on to the next thing. No, Peter would have us linger, tasting again and again the abundant privileges and benefits we possess in Jesus Christ. And our sense of awe and wonder will only be deepened, as Peter will bring forward at the end of this section, if we remember what we were before: not God’s people, cut off from mercy, chained in impenetrable darkness. Then, his gospel came to us, changing us from dead to living stones, a temple of demons to the spiritual house of God, darkness to light. One of the reasons the glory of the gospel and its privileges is lost upon us today, wholly impotent to stem the tide of lawlessness, ignorance, and secularism that are engulfing the West, is that we think that being a Christian simply makes “good people better.” This is Pelagianism; it is Americanism; it is not the gospel. So majestic is God’s power and glorious his love that he completely and progressively transforms us, so that we who were not fit to speak his name and deserved nothing but his wrath are exalted, even now, to the heavenly places, to reign with Jesus Christ by faith, as his kings and queens, as his living, holy temple (Eph. 2:5-6).

Coming to Jesus Christ, the Living Stone (vv. 4-5)

A true and saving taste of our Savior’s grace always leads us to come to him continually. This is emphasized by the present participle. It is not enough for us to come once or twice, but we must always be drawing from him, as from a bottomless, shoreless ocean of love, grace, and power. We shall be cold toward him, perhaps knowing much about him but not enjoying him at all, until we forsake our pride and the world and run to him as our only life and salvation. Only by seeking him day by day will we find the wisdom, strength, and peace we so greatly need. Thus, our Lord said: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). “Believing” and “coming” are inseparable, of course, but the former is a firm, confident trust while the latter is the active exercise of saving faith by which we continue to seek from him the abundant blessings he purchased for us by his blood. Indeed, if we have truly believed, we shall continue coming, for we shall be drawn by the chords of the living Spirit whom he has given us, as well as by our delight in him who so loves us. And this coming is not a fleeting thought or two but the movement of our whole heart toward him. How can we not continue coming to him, for he is our life? We are bound to him by eternal ties of covenant love, the blood of his sacrifice, and the indwelling presence of his Spirit. The Christian life is nothing but a continual coming to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of sinners. And all the privileges that follow, though they belong to us by right of purchased inheritance, are practically and progressively enjoyed only as we draw near to him in prayer as the anchor of our soul within the veil, “watching with him” (Matt. 26:40), and looking for all we need in him. Then, his word must dwell richly in us (Col. 3:16), for he is not a force or feeling, but the living, speaking, eternal Word, our only wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30). These are the primary ways we walk with him and abide in him, though to these must be added, especially in our day of ecclesiastical chaos, the communion of the saints in worship, fellowship, love, and service, for his fullness of grace is not given to one member of his body only, but each contributes to and shares in that fullness as we form together God’s house, his holy temple.

For this reason Peter adds “as unto a living stone.” Jesus Christ is the sole foundation upon which we may have and enjoy life. While this is true respecting every aspect of human existence and activity – from creation to redemption, historiography to science, law to the arts – the reference here is very specific. If we are to be God’s living temple, his dwelling place of glory, grace, and fellowship, we must come to the living stone, Jesus Christ, who is its living foundation. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 3:11). It is only in connection with him that we have any life. He is life in place of our death, having life eternally of himself, saving efficacy as our Mediator through the will of the Father, and sustaining fullness of life through his indwelling Spirit. Over against our changeableness, fickleness, and utter weakness, so much so that we crack before every temptation, he is a tried and tested stone. He is the “stone cut without hands,” the chosen rock of our salvation, the destroyer of sin and Satan, the immovable rock that being struck for us by the sword of divine justice, poured forth streams of righteousness (Isa. 28:16; 42;1; Dan. 2:34). He is precious beyond the most exalted heights of human language and feeling, not only in that he is the eternal Son of the living God but also in that he voluntarily took upon himself the entire responsibility for our salvation, came down from heaven and revealed the Father to us, and gave his precious blood to atone for our sins. There is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12). Upon him we must build. He is the life of our soul, the source of all holiness and peace, the fountain of all wisdom and strength, the unparalleled exemplar of love, humiliation, and suffering. We must continue coming to him. Every blessing and privilege we possess as redeemed men and women – and outside of redemption, there is nothing but blindness, curse, degradation, and death – flows from Christ our Rock.

Now, the world despises Jesus Christ exactly because his life exposes its death, his wisdom its foolishness, his strength its utter impotence. Since the greater part of the world, at least in our day, repudiates the Jesus of Scripture – though it may well embrace the Jesus of liberalism, love, religious pluralism, and spiritual giddiness – we, too, may be tempted to despise him. The world’s versions of “Jesus,” and some versions even in the church, are much easier to swallow than the true revelation of the Son of God revealed only in Scripture, for they leave our pride, cherished sins, worldliness, and personal autonomy unchallenged. Thus, the less the world esteems Jesus Christ as the sole Rock of our salvation, the living stone in whom alone is any life for sinners, the more we must adore and come to him, holding him precious in our thoughts, words, and actions. His freshness and power, his zeal to guide, help, and encourage us, are not in the least diminished by the world’s disapproval and discomfort. He has the “dew of his youth” (Ps. 110:3), all his living immediacy and glorified presence through the Spirit, his willingness to come to our aid, and all his sympathy, power, and tenderness to bolster our often weak and depressed spirits. But we must continue coming to him. Nothing must intrude: not busy lives, the plethora of worldly distractions masquerading as really important things, our sense of self-sufficiency, our fears, worries, and troubles. Yes, in coming to him, we must deny ourselves and carry his cross as our only boast. Yes, coming to him is a declaration of war against the world system of pride and rebellion, sometimes lonely, always personally challenging. But each day, throughout the day, at the close of the day, privately, in our homes, and especially in the fellowship of his body, we must come to him. His scarred brow, hands, and side, his ever-distilling blood that cleanses our defilement, his glorious, sustaining promises, and the rich privileges he has purchased for us – all encourage, indeed, impel us to come to him. We have no other life, strength, forgiveness, and wisdom. Christ Jesus is all in all; our faith is built upon him. It is through him we believe; what we believe finds its center and power in him; he is the author and finisher of our faith; he is the sun of our system, the polestar in whose light we journey, the sum and substance of true and undefiled religion (1 Cor. 3:21; 8:6; Rom. 10:4; Heb. 12:2; Mal. 4:2; 2 Pet. 1:19). Everything we lack – and we lack everything – is to be found only in communion with him. Come to him, believer; continue coming to him; let no other trust, no delusion, no false hopes intrude upon or interrupt your communion with the living, tried, precious stone, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is your only precious thing, your only sufficiency, your only enduring support, your only light in the darkness, your only wisdom unto godliness, your only life.

And what abundant life we have in him! Thus coming to him, joined to him in a bond of life and salvation, we become and are living stones in God’s spiritual house (v. 5). This is the goal of our calling, of the new birth, that God might dwell in us (Lev. 26:12; Ezek. 11:20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18). The temple in the Old Testament was a type of the greater temple that God has now built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Individually, we are God’s temple, his dwelling place (1 Cor. 3:16), but Peter has his eye on the collective, the whole house and building. This is not a temple of brick and mortar but of fleshy, teachable hearts, righteous hearts, grateful worshippers, and sanctified lives. God made us to have fellowship with him: to walk with him, know him in truth, be supported by his power, ravished with his love, awed by his majesty, and dedicated to his glory. Sin made us completely unable to fulfill the purpose of our creation. It made us ugly temples of devils, filthy garbage dumps of sin, separated and alienated from the living God, who is our life. His grace and power demolish the crumbling ruins of our rebellion and set up in their place a new house, a fit dwelling place for his majesty. This “Spirit-house,” as Peter calls it, is nothing other than the church of Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 10:21; 1 Pet. 4:17), the heavenly Jerusalem come down from heaven through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And in this house, we are “living stones.” Indwelled by the living stone, Jesus Christ, we have his life, his righteousness, and his Spirit. It is only in connection with him – a saving, life-giving, and effectual union and communion with him – that we are such stones. Thus, if the church in any age seems weak and ready to fall, if she has no life unto sound doctrine, godliness, and fulfillment of her calling to be the light of the world, it is because she, individually and collectively, is not living in communion with Jesus Christ, her only Head and Life. Then, also, the church’s recovery of glory, power, and relevance, is not to be found along any other path than of wholehearted, humbled, repentant return to walking with Jesus Christ – in all his fullness, according to his word, in fervent prayer, seeking restoration through his Spirit. If we would have a spiritual pulse, be part of God’s glorious house, in which alone his saving, cheering, and guiding presence is found, we must continue coming to Jesus Christ – against all the opposition of the world, our own flesh, and the deceits of Satan.

And why – what is our motivation to undertake such a quest, especially since by common consensus the church is largely outdated, dead, irrelevant – other than when she tries to be as much like the world as possible and imbibe its spirit, methods, and message? To be God’s house is to have God himself – to enjoy his presence, be guided by his hand, strengthened by his might, and indwelled by the life-giving Spirit of Jesus Christ. Would we thus enjoy fellowship with the living God, have him take us to be his own, be our glory, reward, and protection? Then we must be walking as living stones through coming to Jesus Christ. And then, in this house, his living, breathing church, he has made us a “holy priesthood.” Unlike and far superior to the Old Testament temple, in which only the family of Levi was privileged to serve in God’s temple, now in Jesus Christ all true believers serve this house; each one of us is set apart, consecrated to the building of this house. This we do through the exercise of the wondrous gifts our enthroned Savior lavishes upon us (Eph. 4:6-8), fulfilling our individual callings and collective responsibilities to uphold and encourage one another, and each one hearing our Lord preach and teach us through the human preachers that declare his holy word. Our lives – O, how much more fulfilling, inspiring, purposeful they would be if this were our common vision – having been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and sealed by his Spirit, are henceforth dedicated to this one purpose: to serve and build the church of Jesus Christ until all the nations flow into it. Is this not what is meant by pursuing our callings “as unto the Lord,” as well as loving our wives, obeying our husbands, and respecting our parents? Whatever we do should have “holiness to the Lord” written on it, for the house and church of God is not located at a physical address but is found wherever believing, coming to Christ believers are living, praying, and serving “as unto the Lord.”

As holy priests, we have the privilege of “offering up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” These sacrifices, first, consist of giving ourselves to God, body and soul (Rom. 12:1). We are not our own but have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). Having been crucified with Christ and raised with him by the power of God, it is no longer we who live; old things have passed away (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:17). We are to glorify God in our body, and in our spirit, in whatever we eat or drink, or whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31). There is no area of life, legitimate calling or relationship that should not be wholly dedicated to God’s service. Instead of asking: “Is this something that pleases me, or that I want to do,” conscious that we are living stones and holy priests, we must ask, “Does this please the Lord, and, if so, how may I do it as unto him?” Then, as our Savior’s priestly work involves fervent, watchful prayer, so we must recognize the privilege of prayer: that our Savior has called us to “watch with me” (Matt. 26:40). Prayer is not a spiritual exercise, a way to get the things we want, or venting to God. Prayer is seeking in faith from our God those things that he has promised to us in his word. It is the condition and the glory of our sonship. Our Father has ordained that prayer be one of the chief means by which his kingdom is built (Matt. 6:6-9), fellowship with our Savior enjoyed (Eph. 1:19-23), and his enemies destroyed and his house built (Rev. 8:4-5). Even more, in prayer we join with our Savior, watching with him, fighting Satan with him, and casting all our cares upon the same God and Father whom he sought with tears in the days of his flesh (Heb. 5:7). It is impossible to emphasize sufficiently our need to engage in believing, constant prayer. It is the life of the soul, the clearest expression of the condition of our heart before the Lord, and a chief weapon of our warfare. It is a privilege beyond words: that our Father hears us, delights in our cries, opens his throne room to us, and gives us his Spirit to intercede for us. Believing, biblical prayer is a chief proof that God is building his house in our midst.

But neither our life nor our prayers are acceptable to God unless we are reconciled to him through Jesus Christ. In ourselves, there is nothing but darkness and filth. The only way we shall ever devote ourselves to God’s service and to prayer is if we are persuaded that he views us with a kindly tenderness, and this confidence is ours only through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, as with each of these privileges, we are led right back to the fountain, the living stone, the Son of God. Yes, our lives count for God’s eternal kingdom; our labors are not in vain. Our prayers are the means through which Satan’s dark kingdom topples and Christ’s church is built. These are high and holy privileges. They should constantly inspire us in our conflict with the world: to act like men, be sober and vigilant, joyful and purposeful. They should also lead us back to Jesus Christ, the lover of our soul, for it is only through his precious blood and obedience that we have been raised from death to life, from the dunghill to Mount Zion, there to enjoy his fellowship and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to his service.