Word of Salvation – Vol. 13 No.30 – July 1967

 

Living Stones In God’s Temple

 

Sermon by Rev. R. O. Zorn on 1Peter 2:4-10

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 28:1-16

Psalter Hymnal: 95; 287; 390; 325; 452

 

Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ:

The Lord Jesus Himself gave Peter his name.  Peter means “rock”.  By birth Peter’s name was “Simon”.  But Jesus named him “rock”, and said that he would become a rock.

At first, Peter was anything but a rock.  He was by nature proud, impetuous at times weak.  How could he be called a rock anyway?

But the Lord never makes a mistake.  Peter, after Pentecost, became a rock, a living stone in the Church of Christ, which is the spiritual habitation of God.

Peter, the rock, had much to say about Christ, the Chief Corner-stone.  In our text, he speaks of Christ as the all-important Corner-stone in the spiritual temple of God, which is made up of believers whom he calls “living stones”.

This text is also full of rich metaphors – concepts which Peter uses to describe the realities of salvation which are the people of God’s to enjoy because of their relationship to God through faith in Christ.

The theme of our text is, “Living stones in God’s temple”.

Let us see how:
– first, God is the Builder;
– second, the materials of the temple; and
– third, the purpose of the temple.

I.  GOD IS THE BUILDER.

As Peter writes the words of our text to his readers to comfort them by reminding them of their position in Christ, his thoughts go back to the past, to the time of Solomon.  Solomon built the temple of the Lord.  It was a beautiful structure, for nothing is too good for the Lord.  As Solomon here made plain, the Lord deserves nothing but the best from His people.

The temple was made of stone, first quarried and shaped, and then brought to the temple site and silently fitted together.  Again, a beautiful illustration of how the Lord silently and effectively builds His Church, not out of cold, lifeless stones of marble, but out of believers who are living stones in a spiritual habitation of God.

The temple was the place of worship.  There, the people of God gathered before the presence of the Lord.  And there, the living relationship between the Lord and His people was nurtured and sustained by offerings, prayer, and the ministry of the Word.

Now, the Old Testament temple was not an end in itself, but belonged to a dispensation that was to be done away with at  the coming of Christ.  Animal sacrifices, an earthly priesthood, the curtain separating the people of God – all pointed to the redemption which Christ was to accomplish.   His blood shed on Calvary would atone for sin, the thing which separated man from God.  Moreover, His mediatorship would bring His people into full fellowship with God, thus doing away with an earthly priesthood and a dividing curtain.  So the temple belonged to a temporary order which was to pass away to be replaced by God’s people worshipping Him in spirit and in truth through Christ.

However, Peter remembers the sad things that took place when Christ in the fullness of time came.  Instead of recognizing Him for what He was, the Jewish leaders had their own ideas and plans.  They were like builders whose plan was to make a temple of God and a religion according to their own specifications.

They had no place for humility and a consciousness of need before God.  Remember Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18).

They saw no value in loving their neighbour as themselves.  Remember how Christ underscored this in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

They had no use for the grace of God as it was offered in Christ.  Their temple, like their religion, was a monument of their good works before God – and about as dead, too!

And so, Christ did not measure up to their carnal-minded specifications.  He was like a building stone that couldn’t be fitted into their plans.  So they rejected Him!  A sad story indeed,

But contrary to their notions and ideas, Christ turned out to be the Chief Corner-stone of a spiritual temple that God would build for His true people.  Already during His ministry, the Lord Jesus warned the Jewish leaders about this.  In Matt.21:42 we read of Jesus saying to them, “Did ye never read in the scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes’?” Jesus here quotes the Old Testament Scriptures which already made this clear.  For nothing lies outside the scope of God’s eternal decrees.  Christ’s coming, therefore, in spite of the hostile action of the Jewish leaders, meant the end of the old order and the establishment of the new.

Several truths suggest themselves to us at this point.  In the first place, it is obvious that God must build the temple if it is to be a spiritual habitation of God.  For He only can and must specify the way of approach unto Himself.

This could already be seen in the way that Solomon built the Old Testament temple.  That temple was built according to Divine specification, even down to the minutest details.  For the true worship of God can be by the means of His appointment alone.  If a man is to come to God, it must be on God’s terms, not man’s.  And, already in the Old Testament, the man who was accepted of God was accepted on the basis of his repentance, faith, and obedience (cf. Micah 6:8).  This, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day had completely forgotten.

In the second place, the question, “What think ye of Christ?” becomes inescapable.  For He, and He alone, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the only means of access unto the Father.  Therefore, as Peter says in Vs.7, to those who believe, He is precious.  He is like the hidden treasure in a field, or the pearl of great price for which a man will give all in exchange to possess.  For He is the Giver of eternal life.  To be away from Him is to remain a spiritual pauper, a captive of the devil, a slave of sin, and a victim of death.  Yes, what can anyone build for time and eternity without Christ as the corner-stone and foundation?

In the third place, to those who reject Him, Christ becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (Vs.8).  There He lies, so to speak, across the pathway of everyone who hears the Word.  Accept Him and He will be the refuge and shelter for your soul for all eternity.  Reject Him and you will stumble and fall unto eternal perdition.  As a hymn-writer has put it,
“What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Someday your soul will be asking,
‘What will He do with me?'”

II.  THE MATERIALS OF THE TEMPLE.

But it is now necessary for us to consider the materials of the temple as the spiritual habitation of God.  Christ of course is the Corner-stone.  A stone, as a piece of building material, plays an all-important part in the durability of the building.  If a foundation is not made up of stone, it is hardly a foundation at all.  Moreover, if a building is to endure the ravages of time, it too must be made out of stone.  For stone speaks of solidity, durability, and value.

But Peter not only refers to Christ as the Corner-stone (Vs.6) but also as a LIVING Stone (Vs.4).  Is this an odd figure?  Not really, for Peter wants us to understand that he’s not talking about material temples and the building-stuff of this world.  He’s talking of the spiritual habitation of God of which Christ is the living Corner-stone.  This habitation is not a structure of bricks and mortar.  It’s a spiritual habitation which breathes with the life of the Holy Spirit, for it is a habitation in which God Himself dwells.

Christ, as the living Corner-stone of this spiritual habitation, draws others to Himself like a magnet who, in being built upon Him, become a part of this spiritual structure.  And because He lives, they too live.  As a living Stone, He in turn makes them living stones also.

Ezekiel saw this truth under another figure.  He saw a valley of lifeless, dry bones.  But as he proclaimed the Word of God over this valley of dry bones, the Spirit of God quickened them and they became a great nation, the people of God.  So Christ builds His Church.  As the Word of God is proclaimed to those who are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, the Spirit gives life, engrafts them into Christ and they become a living part of the spiritual organism, Christ’s Church.

Yes, Christ’s people are living stones (Vs.5).  All of them.  Not just the clergy.  Not just an elite group of Christians.  For all are “a royal priesthood, to show forth the praises of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light” (Vs.9).

Do we see the comfort and challenge of this figure?  Being a living stone is so much better than an ordinary stone of a building would be.  An ordinary stone may fulfil a useful purpose as a part of a building, but it is completely “dead” to this fact.  But because Christ makes His people living stones, they are not only able to enjoy the blessings of life which He gives.  They are also able to serve God and their neighbour again on each new day in life that God gives them in grace, as they present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him (Rom.12:1).  Yes, there’s no comparison between a living stone now in God’s present spiritual habitation, and a dead stone in God’s former temple.

But there’s also a challenge in this figure.  Are we indeed living stones in God’s temple?  A living stone gets its life by being built upon Christ, the Chief Corner-stone.  Are you indeed united to Him by faith so as to be a part of God’s new temple?

A living stone in God’s new temple is also a part of a larger whole.  We see this here in worship as we confess our faith in a holy catholic Church, and as we actively practise the communion of the saints.  A living stone cannot remain such in isolation from the centre of life.  Take a hot coal from the fire and place it by itself and it will soon cease to glow with the life of the fire.  Can a Christian who separates himself from the communion of saints expect anything different?  With the Psalmist, a Christian who is truly a living stone will say, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  For abiding in Christ is actively exercised, first of all, in worship.

But a living stone is to reflect the new life in Christ in the everyday relationships of life also.  For the Lord makes His people living stones to live for Him at work, at home, in school in all of life’s activity.  And where the new life in Christ is reflected by living stones, there you will see the power of Christ’s magnetism, as the great living Stone, drawing others to Himself to make them living stones and a part of God’s temple, too.  How strong is the light and magnetism of Christ in us?  Are we really living stones?

III.  THE PURPOSE OF THE TEMPLE.

This naturally brings us to the third division of our message.  For the purpose of the temple, as God’s spiritual habitation, is to bring glory to God in “showing forth His praises”, as Peter puts it (Vs.9).  For what other purpose, ultimately, is a temple than to bring glory to God?  Or, to put it in New Testament language that applies to us, for what purpose does this church exist?  Is it to enrich some loan agency or bank with regular mortgage payments?  Or, is it to be a place where we and our children may enjoy a weekly after church get-together with our friends?  Does it exist to be a place where our spiritual needs are met?  And if this is not wholly to our satisfaction, then we have the right to complain loudly!

But none of these are basic reasons for this church’s existence, are they?  This church exists as a place where God is to be glorified by our worship, our offerings, our prayers, our praises.  And he who thinks that he can show forth God’s praises without the Church is like the person who thinks that he can have light without electricity or water without a source of supply.

For what purpose does the Lord make us His own than that we should glorify Him?  Notice the terms Peter uses here.  They are the terms that formerly applied to God’s Old Testament people.

He says, “Ye are a chosen generation” (Vs.9).  As God chose and saved Israel, so He has done the same for His Church.

Peter says, “Ye are a royal priesthood” (Vs.9).  The Old Testament people of God had kings to rule and priests to serve in God’s name.  But now the New Testament people of God are all kings and priests to claim all yet unsubdued territory in the name of Christ and to dedicate it all to Him who is their Redeemer.

Then Peter says, “Ye are an holy nation” (Vs.9).  Our holiness of course is from the Lord who saves us by His precious blood and sanctifies us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Holiness, therefore, also sets the people of God off from the world and apart unto the Lord.

Again, Peter says, “Ye are a peculiar people” (Vs.9).  By this Peter doesn’t mean that we are to be queer.  This is an old English translation that means that we are a people set apart, a people that have become the Lord’s own possession because of the purchase price He paid for us at Calvary.

With these terms now applied to the New Testament people of God, can anyone doubt the high calling of God which is ours in Christ Jesus?

Finally, those who make up the spiritual habitation of God are to be a monument of God’s saving mercy (Vs.10).  For he who has received God’s blessing is to be a blessing unto others.

That’s what a priest in the Old Testament economy did.  After he had taken the worshipping sinners’ petitions to the Lord in prayer, he returned from the presence of God with the Lord’s benediction for them.  For, since the priest had drawn water from the Fountain of Life, he could be a well of water for others, too.

And this is the picture that the New Testament gives of the child of God.  Having received the Lord’s peace, he becomes a peace- maker.  Having received the Lord’s mercy, he shows mercy unto others.  Having been translated from darkness to light, he becomes a light- bearer in this world to others about him who are yet in darkness.  We cannot repay the Lord for what He has done for us, for by nature we are nothing but bankrupt sinners.  And that’s why salvation is wholly a matter of God’s grace bestowed through faith in Christ.

But if we who once were darkness are now light in the Lord – if we who were once lost have now been found – if we who once needed the saving mercy of God have abundantly received it in Christ – then we can do something to show our gratitude to God for so-great salvation.

We may deem it, not just a duty, or a privilege, but a joy to show forth the praise of our Saviour God.  With our lips, yes.  But even more, with our whole lives in day by day service until He calls us to higher service above where, casting our crowns before Him, we shall be lost in wonder, love and praise!

Let us then show forth His praise.  Yes, let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!

Amen.