1 Peter 2:4-8: The Privileges of God’s People (Part One)

1 Peter 2:4-8: The Privileges of God’s People (Part One)

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Peter, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Peter 2:4-8. It says,

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 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. 6 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.” 7 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,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our paths. Shine your light brightly this morning. Help us to see everything we need to see about who you are, what you’ve done, what you promise, what you teach, and what you desire for our lives. Minister to us by your Holy Spirit, for it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

When most people think of the individuals in our society who enjoy high and privileged positions, they usually think of Hollywood celebrities, social media influencers, political leaders, media moguls, business tycoons, and maybe academic leaders. These are the commonly acknowledged elites of society—the movers and shakers, the ones who have their hands on the levers of cultural influence. 

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling through the news feed on my phone and saw an article published by a well-known media source about Taylor Swift commenting on a TikTok video. Like, that was the whole article. Taylor Swift apparently wrote some comment on a TikTok video that was so newsworthy that it deserved an entire article just about that comment. Now, I don’t know what the comment was since I didn’t click on the article, but one thing I’m pretty confident of is that no one has ever even thought about writing a news article about any of my social media comments—not that I’ve written that many. And I’m guessing no one’s ever written an article on any of your comments either. That’s because we’re not Taylor Swift. Nor are any of us in this room generally regarded as people of major consequence or influence in society. To be totally blunt, most people would say that, in comparison to these cultural elites, we’re basically nobodies. 

Not only that, I think it’s pretty clear that being a Christian in our present society certainly doesn’t do anything to help our social standing—and, in many circles, is actually a mark against us. There are many people who don’t think more of us for being Christians; they think less of us. Some of them even look upon us with disdain. In that regard, we’re not all that different from the original readers of 1 Peter, who were experiencing significant persecution for their faith. They were despised and widely considered to be among the lowest of the low. 

Yet, in our main passage, Peter writes something about his readers that’s quite remarkable by any estimation and perhaps even astonishing for some of them. And he actually writes not just one thing but numerous things starting in verse 4 and continuing through verse 10 describing the incomparable privileges that Christians enjoy in and through Jesus. These privileges are so rich and glorious that it’s going to take us two weeks to work through them all—and even that will involve moving through them rather quickly. We’ll look at verses 4-8 this week and then at verses 9-10 next week. The main idea of both of these passages is, as I stated, that Christians enjoy incomparable privileges in and through Jesus. These privileges are so magnificent that we could even say that the lowliest and most “ordinary” Christian possesses greater honor and status and prestige and privilege than anyone who’s not a Christian could ever dream of—even Taylor Swift, if she’s not a Christian. So, let’s travel through this passage together and see what these privileges entail. 

Peter first lays some groundwork in verse 4. He writes, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious”—and then goes on in the next verse to describe their spiritual privileges. Now, the “him” Peter’s talking about here when he says “as you come to him” is undoubtedly a reference to Jesus. So, the first thing Peter wants his readers to know is that they enjoy these stunning privileges as they draw closer to Jesus and grow in their relationship with him. 

And that’s really what Christianity is all about. Being a Christian isn’t primarily about being a moral person, engaging in a certain set of religious duties, or even practicing various spiritual disciplines. At its most foundational level, Christianity is about enjoying a relationship with Jesus—and growing in that relationship. You might even compare it—at least in some regards—to a marriage. Because there are various practical arrangements that are involved in a marriage. For example, a married couple has to make financial arrangements and determine how to manage their money together. They also have to make certain living arrangements and figure out who’s going to do what around the house. However, even though marriage involves these kinds of practical arrangements, you can’t reduce marriage to these things. Marriage is so much more than just these practical arrangements. It’s first and foremost a relationship. 

And in a similar manner, that’s what’s at the very core of Christianity as well. Being a Christian certainly involves observing certain principles of morality, being involved in a church, and engaging in various spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible and praying. However, make sure you’re not reducing Christianity to those things. Make sure your focus isn’t on any of these habits as ends in themselves but rather that you’re focused on knowing Jesus in a deeper and more intimate way. In the words of Peter here in verse 4, Christianity is about coming to him, drawing closer to him, growing in our relationship with him. Everything else is simply a means to that end. 

Peter then refers to Jesus as a “living stone.” As we’ll see in the subsequent verses, Jesus is the foundation stone—or, more specifically, the Cornerstone—in God’s new temple. We’ll talk more about that later. 

And Peter goes on to describe Jesus as “rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” Jesus was rejected primarily by the Jewish religious leaders of his day because he didn’t conform to their expectations and preconceived notions about what the Messiah would be like. They were looking for a Messiah who would lead their nation to overthrow the Roman Empire and into an unprecedented golden age of worldwide prominence. But Jesus came with much different intentions. And because of that, the Jewish religious leaders and most of the Jewish people rejected him. 

Yet Peter tells us that, even though Jesus was “rejected by men,” he was nevertheless “chosen and precious” in God’s sight. And at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters, right? Jesus was sent into this world by the God the Father for a particular purpose—to rescue us from our sins. And if being faithful to that purpose resulted in the majority of his own people rejecting him, then so be it—because God’s approval is way more important than people’s approval. And that’s a good principle for us to keep in mind for our own lives as well. Our focus should be not on pleasing people but on pleasing God. 

I’m reminded of what the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 1:10: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” That’s pretty direct, isn’t it? “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” It’s impossible to be a people-pleaser and a faithful Christian at the same time. The two are mutually exclusive. And you can rest assured that there will be times, as Christians, when our loyalties are put to the test. Maybe we find ourselves under pressure to do something dishonest at work in order to increase the company’s profits, or use someone’s preferred pronouns that don’t correspond to their God-given gender, or keep quiet about our Christian faith in the workplace, or participate in a sinful behavior such as gossip or excessive drinking in order to gain social acceptance. Whenever you find yourself in these or any similar situation, just remind yourself of Paul’s words, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” So, returning to our main passage, it’s okay if we’re “rejected by men”—because Jesus was “rejected by men” also. Yet, in God’s sight, he was “chosen and precious.”

Peter then goes on to say in verse 5 that “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.” And this is where we start getting into the incomparable privileges that are ours in and through Jesus. Peter employs three metaphors in this verse to describe these privileges—all of which are taken from the Old Testament. 

The first metaphor is the temple. Just like Jesus is the “living stone”—as we learned in verse 4—Christians also are “living stones.” We share in Christ’s life. Not only that, Peter says, we’re “being built up as a spiritual house.” This “spiritual house” is a reference to the temple. In the Old Testament, God gave his people specific instructions for constructing a temple. Then, after the temple was completed, he made that temple his dwelling place. Of course, it’s not that he wasn’t omnipresent any longer—he certainly was—but what we might call his “manifest presence” was in that temple. The temple was also the only place where God’s people were allowed to offer sacrifices. That made it the focal point of Israel’s religious observances. It was basically where all the action took place. 

Now, of course, when Jesus came, he made that temple obsolete. Yet, according to Peter, there’s now actually a new temple—one that’s even greater than the first. And that temple is us—those of us who are Christians. Just like God dwelled in the physical temple of the Old Testament, he likewise dwells in Christians today. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul writes, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” So, our body, Paul says, is a temple because the Holy Spirit resides within us. Yet, there’s also more to it than that. As we look at what Peter writes in verse 5 of our main passage, we see that it’s not just that each Christian individually is a temple but that all Christians, collectively, are a temple. Think about that. For those who are Christians, each one of us is a living stone, Peter says. And we’re in the process of being built up together as a new temple—with God himself dwelling in us and among us. 

By the way, this is great reminder for us that being a Christian isn’t about you having a relationship with Jesus all by yourself and being disconnected from other Christians. That’s never the way it was meant to be. Although our relationship with Jesus was meant to be personal, it was never meant to be private. And there are plenty of indications of that in the New Testament, but one of them is right here. According to Peter, it takes all of us together to be a temple. You are a living stone that’s designed to fit together with other living stones in order to form something glorious. 

In other words, God’s purpose and design for you as a Christian is to be a part of a local church—and not just to inconspicuously slip in and slip out on Sunday mornings but to actually be involved in that church in a meaningful way and a part of the relational fabric of that church. You know, maybe you’re here this morning and are confident you’re a Christian but are nevertheless feeling weary, defeated, discouraged, or simply unmotivated. Now, there are undoubtedly a lot of reasons a Christians might feel that way, but could one of those reasons be that you’re not connected enough with other Christians in the context of a healthy church? Could it be that you’ve effectively cut yourself off from the very thing that God’s designed to minister to you in the midst of your struggles? You know, it would be kind of like someone wondering why their phone isn’t working, but then, when you talk to them, you discover that they’re never plugging in their phone to charge it. Like, that’s what happens when you don’t plug in your phone—it doesn’t work very well. 

And again, I’m not just talking about a need for us to show up on Sunday mornings. I’m talking about a need to deliberately pursue meaningful relationships with other Christians through things like Community Groups and discipling relationships and other opportunities for involvement that we offer. Listen: God didn’t design you to live the Christian life alone or in isolation from other Christians. He designed you as a living stone to be connected with other living stones and, in that way, to be built together into a new spiritual temple. And this temple is, by its very nature, the dwelling place of God himself. 

In addition to that, a second metaphor Peter uses to describe the privileges Christians enjoy is the priesthood. In the middle of verse 5, he refers to Christians as “a holy priesthood.” During Old Testament times, the priests had several responsibilities including teaching the Law of Moses, maintaining the temple, and even presiding as judges over certain legal cases. However, their most important responsibility was offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. Priests were the only ones God permitted to offer sacrifices. So, if you were an “ordinary” Israelite and needed or simply wanted to offer a sacrifice, you’d have to bring it to a priest so that he could offer the sacrifice on your behalf. In addition, only the priests were allowed to go into the room called the Holy Place within the temple compound. So, the priests enjoyed rare privileges that the rest of the Israelites didn’t. 

In addition, only a select few were eligible to become priests. It’s not like today where, if you want to get a job in a certain field, you can just get the appropriate training or education and then go into that field. No, in order to be a priest during Old Testament times, you had to be, first of all, from the tribe of Levi. And even more specifically than that, you had to be a descendant of Aaron. And God was serious about that. For example, in Numbers 16, when a guy named Korah and his associates—who weren’t descendants of Aaron—rebelliously tried to become priests, God caused the ground they were standing on to literally split apart and swallow them up, and it says that they “went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.” So…yeah. God wasn’t kidding when he said that only certain people could be priests. The privilege of being a priest was reserved for a select few among God’s people. 

Yet, we learn here in verse 5 that the priestly privileges that were formerly reserved for a select few are now given to every Christian. And when you think about it, they’re now given in even greater measure—because, through Jesus, we now enjoy even greater closeness and proximity to God than any Old Testament priest ever enjoyed. For example, the Old Testament teaches that only one of the priests—the High Priest—could enter a room within the Holy Place called the “Most Holy Place” or sometimes the “Holy of Holies”—and that he could only do so once a year on the Day of Atonement in order to offer a specific sacrifice. So, only one priest could actually enter God’s presence, and he could only do so once a year. But, as we’ve already discussed, for those of us who are Christians, every single one of us enjoys even greater proximity to God than that continuously. We actually have God himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, dwelling within our hearts. What a thought! It doesn’t get much closer than that. 

Moreover, as we compare Old Testament priests to New Testament Christians, there are several notable parallels that are worth observing. First, God was incredibly gracious in his choice of those who would serve as priests. Priests, you’ll remember, were from the tribe of Levi, which was one of the least respected tribes of Israel. Levi was known for his fierce and excessive violence—which was so bad that his father actually pronounced a curse upon him and his descendants in Genesis 49:5-7. And yet, God graciously chose people from among the tribe of Levi to be the priests of Israel. Likewise, the Bible teaches that you and I were thoroughly sinful and deserving of nothing but God’s wrath. Yet, in his mercy, God rescued us from our sin and gave us the privilege of serving him as a part of this new priesthood. 

In addition, priests in the Old Testament had to be cleansed from their sin before they could assume their priestly duties. This cleansing ceremony was quite elaborate and is recorded in Leviticus 8. It involved ceremonial washings, a sin offering, a burnt offering, and few other sacrificial offerings as well. Likewise, in order to be included in this new priesthood today, we have to be cleansed of our sin through the perfect and ultimate sacrifice—the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. 

Furthermore, Old Testament priests also had to be clothed in the proper garments. God himself prescribed what these garments should look like and required that the priests wear them in order to distinguish the priests from everyone else. Likewise, 2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches that Christians are those who have been clothed, as it were, with the righteousness of Christ. 

And finally, Old Testament priests were anointed for service. This was done with oil and symbolized God’s empowerment. Similarly, Christians receive an anointing of sorts from the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:27 actually uses the word “anointing” to describe what we’ve received. 

So, just like Old Testament priests, Christians today have been graciously chosen by God, cleansed of our sins, clothed in priestly garments, and anointed for ministry. And of course, the great privilege of our priestly status is that we have direct access to God. We don’t have to go through an intermediary to get to God. We can pray to God directly and experience the closest communion with God directly and enjoy even closer contact with God than the High Priest did in the Holy of Holies. That’s what I’d call a privileged position. 

In addition, keep in mind that priests in the Old Testament functioned as intermediaries between God and the general Israelite population. As I mentioned, ordinary Israelites had to go through priests to offer sacrifices. Similarly, we as Christians function as intermediaries as well. God’s given us the high and holy calling of connecting other people—those who aren’t yet Christians—with him. There are countless individuals all around us whom God loves dearly and has graciously chosen to be among his people. And he’s given us the privilege of sharing the gospel with them and leading them toward him. That’s the way in which we function as God’s intermediaries. And that should be a part of our mindset. Us being Christians isn’t just about enjoying our immense privileges in the midst of some kind of insulated holy huddle that’s closed off to those outside the faith. Instead, it’s about deliberately going out of our way to reach out to others and show them the love of Jesus and share with them about the rescue Jesus offers. That’s a critical component of our priestly ministry. 

And like everything else in our priestly ministry, it’s an incredible privilege. Have you ever thought about that? Like, what a privilege it is for us to have this God-given ministry and calling of connecting people with him. And if we really have that mentality, it’s going to have a profound effect on the way we interact with people. It’ll affect the way we interact with neighbors on our street, the guests who join us here on Sunday mornings, and certainly our friends and family. 

Then, finally, a third metaphor Peter uses to describe the privileges Christians enjoy is sacrifices. Peter says that we’re being “built up…to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” So, just as Old Testament priests offered physical sacrifices, God gives us the privilege of offering spiritual sacrifices. One of these spiritual sacrifices is a sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” We also read about the financial resources we give being a sacrifice presented to God. In Philippians 4:18, Paul writes, “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” 

In addition, Paul also talks about his converts as a sacrifice that he offers to God. He writes in Romans 15:15-16, 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So, we’re called to offer to God the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of wealth, and the sacrifice of converts. And lastly, we’re called to offer to God the sacrifice even of our very selves. In Romans 12:1, Paul says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” All of who we are is to be dedicated to God as a “living sacrifice.”

So, those are the three privileges we have as Christians—being living stones that comprise a new temple, being members of a new priesthood, and being able to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. And again, the reason these are such lofty privileges is because they put us in such close proximity to God. We get to be in the very presence of the God of the universe and enjoy direct access to him. What greater privilege could there be? So, going back to what we were talking about earlier, we might never breathe the rarified air of the Oval Office or sit behind the chancellor’s desk at a prestigious university or have news articles written about the most mundane details of our lives. We might even be looked down upon by those who consider themselves to be above us. That’s okay—because we understand that, as Christians, we actually enjoy a position of far greater privilege than anyone else in the world. 

And the reason we enjoy this privileged position isn’t because of ourselves and our own merits or achievements but because of Jesus. He’s the reason we are what we are and enjoy what we enjoy. And we see that taught at the end of verse 5. Peters says that these privileges are ours “through Jesus Christ.”

This is then explained in the subsequent verses, starting with verse 6: “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.’” The word “for” at the beginning of the verse indicates the explanatory nature of what follows. And what follows is a quote from Isaiah 28:16, which speaks of a chosen and precious cornerstone that God lays in Zion. 

In ancient times, a cornerstone was by far the most important part of a building. It was a very large and carefully selected stone that the builders would lay down first as they were constructing the foundation. And they would always set and position the cornerstone very carefully because they would then use that stone as their guide for all of the other stones in the foundation and the rest of the building. All of the other stones used to construct the building would be positioned with reference to and in alignment with the cornerstone. 

And the clear implication of our passage here in 1 Peter is that Jesus is that cornerstone. He’s not only the most prominent stone of the building but is the stone upon which the structural soundness of the entire building depends. The church is built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a sinless life of perfect obedience to God’s law, died a sacrificial death in our place and to take the punishment for our sins, and was then raised on the third day as a demonstration of the fact that God the Father had accepted his sacrifice as payment for sin. And it’s only through Jesus and his life and death and resurrection that we’re able to enjoy the privileges we enjoy and ultimately have hope for eternity. 

And that leaves us with two options. We read about them in verses 6-8: 6 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.” 7 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,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 

So, the two options are believing and not believing. And the difference between these two paths couldn’t be more striking. On the one hand, verse 6 tells us that “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame,” and verse 7 refers to the “honor” that those who believe will one day enjoy.

Yet, on the other hand, the result of not believing is that the very stone God intended to be a cornerstone becomes instead “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” And this isn’t just any minor stumbling but a stumbling that has eternal implications. It’s a terrible fall that has eternal consequences—namely, suffering in hell for all eternity. 

So, the question is, which option will you choose? Will you “believe” in Jesus in the sense of putting your trust in him to rescue you from your sins, or will you reject him? There’s no other option—and no middle ground between those two options. At the end of the day, there are only two kinds of people in this world: those who are trusting in Jesus and destined for eternal life and those who are rejecting Jesus and headed for eternal judgment. Which category are you in? And if you think you are in that second category, let me invite you to put your trust in Jesus even this very day.