1 Peter 2:4–5 (ESV) … “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 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.”
We are coming to Christ, the living Stone. Christ is the living, resurrected, and life-giving God. Each person accepts or rejects this “living Stone.” Rejection means “to examine and reject because of lack of value.” This rejection refers to the people of the first century who ultimately crucified Christ and to anyone since that time who has not embraced him as personal Savior.
God the Father places infinite value upon Christ. Precious (entimon) describes our costly redemption through Christ, mentioned in 1:19 (timio).
The decision to believe in Jesus Christ admits an individual into a spiritual building program. When anyone comes to Christ, as the Living Stone, a new stone is added to God’s spiritual building—Christ’s church. As a spiritual building, the church is to be influenced or dominated by the Holy Spirit. Christians are a new temple of God under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. Together we function as a holy priesthood. All believers are priests. Every Christian has immediate and direct access to God through Jesus Christ and serves God personally by bringing others to God.
A priest offers spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. What are spiritual sacrifices? The Old Testament speaks of spiritual sacrifices of prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance. The New Testament goes even further by identifying spiritual sacrifices as (1) the offering of our bodies to God for his service; (2) the offerings of our financial gifts; and (3) practical, loving service to other people. Spiritual sacrifices in the New Testament involve our bodies, our money, and our time (Rom. 12:1–2). When you come to Christ as the Living Stone, you become a part of a building, the church. Your growth begins to speak for itself as you offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.[1]
[1] Walls, D., & Anders, M. (1999). I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude (Vol. 11, pp. 29–30). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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