“A Temple of God’s Presence”

Key Verses:  1 Peter 2:4-12 & 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NASB)

Peter teaches us from 1 Peter 2:4-12,

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Every believer in Christ is a living stone shaped to fit into God’s temple in a way that uniquely contributes to the spiritual vitality of others, the witness of the Church, and ultimately the glory of God.

God uses each of us uniquely to make the Temple of His Presence on the earth!

Peter, uses a term near and dear to his heart, when he calls us “living stones” for Peter himself was called “the rock” by Jesus Christ. Listen to Matthew 16:18, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build by My church.”

Upon the confession of the first followers, Jesus is building His Temple on earth—to be a Tabernacle of Praise unto God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

You and I are in the midst of the greatest and oldest construction project in all of human history. Christ is taking dead stones that are being quarried from the pit of sin, brought to life as “living stones,” and fitted into His glorious structure. 

“And [Christ] came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 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.”

To emphasize the deep importance of who you are as individual members of the Church, both Paul and Peter anchors this major New Testament teaching in the Old Testament—Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:13-15 & 28:16; Deuteronomy 7:6-9; and Exodus 19:5-6. In doing so, both Paul and Peter are saying that the Church is carrying on the work of the Chosen People of God and each stone (Jew or Gentile, old or new) is now a part of the divine building project with a new cornerstone—Jesus Christ, the new Moses who is the embodiment of Torah. 

Please understand that becoming a stone in a building of countless stones doesn’t detract from your significance. In fact, it enhances it! You are a key piece in the plan of God… without you, the building loses its structural integrity—the structure would be weaker without you! With Jesus as the Cornerstone, you are fitted exactly where you are supposed to be—you are the Temple of His Presence! 

To illustrate, there is a famous story from Sparta. A Spartan king boasted to a visiting monarch about the walls of Sparta. The visiting king looked around and he could see no walls. He said to the Spartan king, “Where are these walls about which you speak and boast so much?”  The Spartan king pointed at his bodyguard of magnificent Spartan troops. “These,” he said, “are the walls of Sparta, and every man of them is a brick.”[1]

You have been quarried, chosen, and shaped. You are being fitted together into the Temple of God’s Presence and only in this process of being built up together does each individual brick realize its function and reason for its existence.

Knowing our identity as the Temple of His Presence gives us the strength, courage, and purpose to stand out from the world and shine for God’s glory. As Peter says of us in verse 9: “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

This is our purpose as the new people, but verse 9 also clearly communicates 4 identities we have as the chosen people of God to give meaning to our purposes of being the Light of the world: We are the

(1) chosen race;

(2) royal priesthood;

(3) holy nation; and

(4) people for God’s own possession. 

Now, as living stones of the Temple of His Presence we know our identity in Christ and our larger purpose: “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

When Plato was told that a certain man had been making certain slanderous charges against him, his answer was, “I will live in such a way that no one will believe what he says.” That was Peter’s solution as well, and the Apostles exhorted the early church to make this primary defense against a corrupt & slanderous world.

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

A famous quote that I have used before and made popular by DC Talk, “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

You can listen to the message here. 

You can watch the message HERE.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] William Barclay Commentary, 230.