Rock of Ages
1 Peter 2:4-10
Introduction – This section begins
with the participle “coming to Him…” and is connected to the previous
verses. We are to be those who not only
have come to Jesus, but are coming to Him, always renewing our covenant with
Him, always growing in the grace He bestows.
And how do we come to Him? “I
am the bread of life. He who comes to
Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John
6:35) We are also coming to Him ‘as
to a living stone’, our Rock of Ages.
A Stone With a Purpose – The prophets
and the apostles refer to Christ as this Stone, as does Jesus Himself (Matt
21:42).
Old Testament
Shadows (Is 28:16) – We learn from Jesus and the
writers of the New Testament how we are to understand the Old. The prophecies of deliverance for God’s
people as they were taken into exile are fulfilled in the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Accepted/Rejected
– Christ is the Rock of salvation to those who believe and He will not put any
who believe to shame (v6). But Christ
remains the Rock even to those who deny Him, even the chief cornerstone
(v7). This second quotation (from Psalm
118:22) is quoted by Peter as he addresses the family of the high priest (Acts
4:5-12). This verse was fulfilled in
the Resurrection - on “the day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:23-24)
“A Stone of
Stumbling…” (v8) – Peter’s comments on this verse from
Isaiah is the same as Paul’s comments in Romans 9. There are two clear reasons why they stumbled. Their rejection of Christ was by ‘their
disobedience’. They freely chose to
reject Him and they are fully responsible.
Their rejection of Christ was also what they were appointed to do. God is not surprised, mocked or thwarted in
any way, but rather remains completely sovereign over the affairs of men,
having predestined all things. How can
God do this? Your head can’t hold the
answer (Job 40-41, Rom 11:33-36, Deut 29:29).
A Spiritual House - There is a temple
made without human hands in which the Lord dwells. Jesus Christ did not come to change the blueprints of the Old
Testament temple. He came to fulfill
the plans of that temple.
Creation
(Job 38:4-7) – God refers to the Creation as the building of a house or temple.
Solomon
(1 Kings 8:27-30) – God commanded this temple to be built for Him, but Solomon
understands that this is only a shadow.
Jesus
(John 2:19) – Jesus is the temple. He
is where man and God dwell together.
Everything about the Old Testament temple was a foreshadowing of what
Christ would do and be (Heb 9:11-15).
The New
Jerusalem (Rev 21:9-10, 22-7) – We are the holy city, the
bride of the Lamb, and Christ dwells with us so there is no need for a temple.
“But you are…” (v9) – Peter is full
of Old Testament quotes and language as he describes for us how we are God’s
people (Ex 19:5-6). There is continuity
in the purposes, promises, and language of the Old and New.
Chosen –
We are not first choosers. We are first
chosen. God chose us to be His special
people and called us out of darkness.
It was His doing before time began (2 Tim 1:8-9). He chose Abraham. He chose Israel. And He chose
us – all by His grace and good pleasure.
Royal
Priesthood – The priesthood of all believers means there
is no ‘two-tier’ system in the church.
You don’t ‘really serve God’ by going into ‘full time Christian
ministry’. This means everyone has a
calling, a vocation, and in that vocation we are to ‘proclaim the praises of
Him’ as a priest, and exercise dominion as ‘royal’ princes of the king (Rev
5:10).
“Now the people of God…” (v10) – Peter
shows us that Hosea’s prophesy (Hos 1:9-10) refers to the adoption of the
Gentiles into the ‘people of God’. God
has rebuilt the tabernacle of David, and brought faithful Jews and Gentiles who
are called by His name into His house.
They are the house, and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Acts
15:16-18) – “Known to God from eternity are all His works”. Jesus is the Rock of Ages.
Called Out of
Darkness – Have you been living in darkness? Adulterers, murderers, liars, thieves,
drunkards? You qualify as those to be
called out.
Living Stones –
Having been brought to life, you are placed in Christ and in His temple. There you are to sing His praises and have
dominion through your life as His prince and priest. And you are ‘being built up’, so you must understand that
this is a process. And so you must
continue ‘coming to Him’, to His house, to His people, to His Word, and
to His Table.