David Lucas shares a word this membership Sunday, titled ‘A Spiritual House’. Reading from 1 Peter 2:1-10.
God reiterates through Peter writing for the people to be Holy.
We remember the 10 commandments, a lot of them being big things, murder, adultery etc.
Here in this text, we see God challenge people in the things not as noticeable to the world, but yet are important to us to be watchful of creeping into our lives (v1).
When we think of infants, they need milk to be nourishing to them. We have the same with God’s word, that we in turn quench our spiritual thirst and feed off that nourishing. (v2).
When God mentions about growing up, it’s not to say the people were immature, but it is a lifelong process.
We need to find time in our day to be nourished by his word. Do we know how good the Lord is? (v3)
Living stones are not alive, just rocks. Ephesians chapter 2 says we are spiritually dead, but he has come to give us life. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. We as living stones have life. (v4)
We are mentioned to be a holy priesthood, why? Because Jesus is the great high priest. (v5)
What spiritual sacrifice can we offer?
Isaiah wrote a prophesy previously about Jesus being the cornerstone. (v6)
“therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.‘”
Isaiah 28:16 ESV
Also mentioned in Psalms 118
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord ‘s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Psalms 118:22-23 ESV
The idea being that we are be built up by God. He is the one that puts us together. The sign language for church is the look of two rocks coming on top of each other. He builds his church and it’s people. (v7)
The builder is the one who puts it together, Jesus is our builder. Let us not stumble because we do not obey his word. (v8)
He has called us his own, he has crowned us as a royal priesthood, a holy nation and people for him. He treasures us, for he has called us out of darkness into his light. (v9)
We are reminded that we were not always his people, but now we are, because we have received his mercy. (v10).
He wants to use us for his glory. Let us long and fix our eyes on him.
We pray that as he spoke through the letter to the church, the message continues that he has called us Holy and we would know and live in that. We won’t be distracted by our sin, but we can come again to Him who is the cornerstone. That others may live and see Jesus within us.
“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:18-22 ESV