And coming to Him as to a living stone…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. (I Peter 2:4-5)
Peter’s first epistle was addressed to several Christian communities scattered throughout Asia Minor. From his description of their former lifestyle (1:14, 18; 4:3) it seems clear that these believers were predominantly Gentile in background. Peter, of course, was a Jew by birth and, prior to Christ, would have been raised to see the temple in Jerusalem as the center of worship of the Lord. Built of stone, the temple was meant to be the perpetual dwelling place of the glory of God. It is no accident that Peter speaks of Christ metaphorically as a “stone.” He is the real Temple, the fullest expression of God come to earth. Alive from eternity past and resurrected from the dead, Jesus Christ is a “living” stone, and as the foundation of the church he is strong, durable, and firm.
We, too, are living stones when our lives are built upon him. As his Holy Spirit dwells in each of us, he fits us together to form a magnificent “spiritual house.” The foundation is Christ (Eph. 2:22) and it is filled not with bloody sacrifices of animals but of “spiritual” sacrifices acceptable to God. Like priests, all those built on Christ must be consecrated to God and holy as he is holy. Our spiritual sacrifice is to offer up our own souls and bodies, with all our thoughts, words, and actions. Far greater than the temple of the Jews, the spiritual household of the church exists in order to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” in all the world.
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