Living A Life Of Privilege
Text: 1 Peter 2:4-12
Introduction
1. Illustration: Can you fathom this? The God of the universe, who holds all things together by the word of His power, who fills all things and is bigger than the universe; bigger than time, literally lives in you. Calls you His dwelling place. What a magnificent creation you are! What high and wonderful privilege we have been given, to house the Holy Spirit of God!(Clark E. Tanner, The Dwelling of God).
2. One of the great deficiencies of the church today, or any age, is that we do not understand how privileged we are to belong to Christ.
a. We focus on what we don't have rather than on what we do.
b. We focus on how much money we don't have.
c. We focus on the cars we don't have.
d. We focus on the things we don't have.
e. But we are a privileged people!
3. In today's text we are going to focus on three privileges we have as Christians...
a. Privilege of Coming
b. Privilege of Honor
c. Privilege of Treasure
4. Let's stand together as we read 1 Peter 2:4-12
Proposition: We are privileged to be God's a part of God's family.
Transition: First is the...
I. Privilege of Coming (4-5).
A. Coming To Christ
1. One of the great differences between the New and Old Testaments is the concept of approachability.
a. In the OT God was selective as to who could approach Him.
b. In the NT we see that everyone who gives their life to Jesus has access to God at anytime because of the blood of Jesus.
1. Peter begins this section by using a new metaphor. He says, "You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor."
a. Peter employed Old Testament imagery to describe believers’ relationship with God.
b. Believers can constantly come to (or approach) Christ.
c. The words “come to” do not refer to initial salvation, but to constantly drawing near and coming into Christ’s presence.
d. In the Old Testament, only the priests had that privilege; under the new covenant, all believers can enter into God’s presence at any time, with any need.
e. Christians are a special class of people who enjoy unique and eternal spiritual favors—granted by God—because of their position in Christ.
f. Many believers view the Christian life more from the standpoint of spiritual duty rather than spiritual privilege.
g. They tend to be preoccupied with the temporal pressures of what they view as obligations and do not cherish the lasting privileges God has given them to enjoy.
h. They often think of those as blessings reserved for heaven, to be appreciated only in the presence of God and Christ in that place of perfect joy, peace, harmony, unity, rest, knowledge, and wisdom.
i. Since there will be no sickness, pain, or death, heaven appears to be the realm where everything is privilege and nothing is duty.
j. However, the privileges of heaven will not exclude duty but will combine perfectly with it in an eternity of worshiping, honoring, serving, and exalting the Lord.
k. So spiritual duty and spiritual privilege are not mutually exclusive for believers, either in this life or in the life to come.
l. In this passage, the apostle emphasizes the richness of the privileges believers already have in Christ.
m. Peter continues to show us how privilged we are by talking about us as God's spiritual temple. He begins in v. 4 talking about Jesus as the living cornerstone.
n. What Peter says here of Jesus Christ is fundamental to his understanding not only of Jesus himself, but also of the Christian life.
o. Jesus was rejected by human beings but chosen by God, just as his readers were being rejected by humans (McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary – 1 Peter, 106).
p. How can a stone be living? It cannot.
q. This is simply a picture of how God looks at Christ and His followers: they are like a building that is being built by God Himself.
r. The foundation of God's building is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Then in v. 5 Peter says, "And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God."
a. Stone (lithos) sometimes refers to a carved precious stone, but usually it means “building stone.”
b. The Old Testament designates God as the only rock, the foundation and strength of His people.
c. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the rock and the stone on which the church rests.
d. Here Peter's image is of a stone that was perfectly designed, shaped, and hewn out to become the cornerstone of the church, not merely a stone but a living stone.
e. That living stone is Christ because He lives forever, having risen from the dead.
f. Not only is He alive, but He also gives life to all who trust in Him.
g. Peter carried the imagery further, describing believers also as living stones because they are made alive by Christ, the living cornerstone.
h. If these “stones” are “living,” then what activities should they be doing? First of all, they should welcome being built into God’s spiritual temple.
i. Because God is spirit, he lives in a spiritual house among his people, no longer in any particular physical building.
j. Believers not only are the stones that make up God’s spiritual house, but they also serve there as holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices.
k. This is a twofold metaphor. We are both the temple and the priests who serve in it. Just as priests served in the temple, so believers are to be priests.
l. Peter used words from Exodus 19:6, where God promised Israel that they would be “a kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation” if they remained obedient to God.
m. God’s people, all who believe in Jesus Christ, have become this holy priesthood.
n. The Old Testament priests entered God’s presence at specific times and only after carefully following ritual cleansing instructions; God’s people can enter God’s presence at any time, for they have been cleansed by the Holy Spirit (Barton 1109).
B. Access To God
1. Illustration: The house that Tina and I own is in a gated community called Candlewood Lake. In order to have access to Candlewood you either have to get someone to let you in, or you have to a have a remote control clicker that opens the gate for you.
2. The Holy Spirit is our remote control clicker into God's presence, and it is Jesus who gives us the clicker!
a. Hebrews 10:19-20 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
b. Through the blood of Jesus we have access to God at anytime and for any reason.
c. There are no more restrictions.
d. There are no more time limits.
e. There are no more intermediaries.
f. We can boldly go into God's presence.
g. We are a privileged people!
Transition: Secondly, we have the...
II. Privilege of Honor (6-8).
A. Will Never Be Disgraced
1. Peter continues the metaphor of the Cornerstone.
2. He says, "As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
a. To support his words in 2:4-5, Peter quoted from the Scriptures, citing several Old Testament passages.
b. First, in Isaiah 28:16, God promised to establish a cornerstone, the first stone laid in a building, making the foundation stable and the walls plumb and square.
c. That this stone would be laid in Jerusalem meant not only that Christ had lived in and around Jerusalem, but also that this new building (the Christian church and the new covenant) with Christ as the cornerstone would actually replace the old building (the Jerusalem Temple and the old covenant).
d. This cornerstone is a person, and anyone who believes in him will never be disgraced.
e. Christians will sometimes face disappointment in this life, but their trust in God is never misplaced. God will not let them down.
f. These words greatly comforted believers facing persecution. As a building rests on its cornerstone, so believers rest on Christ.
g. We can safely put our confidence in Christ because he will certainly give to us the eternal life he promises (Barton, 1109).
3. Peter now contrasts believers with non-believers. He says, "Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
a. You who trust him addressed the Christians to whom Peter wrote as well as Christians today.
b. The Greek word translated "honor" means “unequaled in value,” “costly,” or “irreplaceable.” Christ is irreplaceable because He is the cornerstone, the most important stone in any building.
c. Not only is Christ precious to the Father (2:4), he is also precious to those who follow him.
d. While believers receive preciousness and honor from God, unbelievers face a different result.
e. They do not regard the Stone as precious and chosen; instead, they reject him.
f. However, they were mistaken to reject him because God took the rejected stone and made it the cornerstone of the church (Barton, 1109).
4. Peter continues his contrast between believers and unbelievers by again quoting Isaiah, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them."
a. Peter further explained that not only were the builders who rejected the stone humiliated that it later became the cornerstone, they also had stumbled and fallen over this stone.
b. The word “stumbled” can mean tripping and falling, or it can mean taking offense at or rejecting something or someone.
c. Peter explained that they stumble because they do not listen to God’s word or obey it—this disobedience refers not to slipups by one who tries to obey; rather it means outright rejection of the Word and the Messiah that the Word promised, and a rebellious stance toward God.
d. Some stumble over Christ because they reject him or refuse to believe that he is who he claims to be.
e. They have stumbled over the one person who could save them, and they have fallen into God’s hands for judgment (Barton , 1110).
B. Benefits of Obedience
1. Illustration: Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked a young accountant who was fresh out of school, "What starting salary were you thinking about?" The Accountant said, "In the neighborhood of 100,000 a year, depending on the benefits package." The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5 weeks vacation, full medical and dental, Company Retirement Fund to 50% of salary, Executive Share Option Scheme, Profit Related Pay and a company car leased every 2 years - say, a 5 series BMW?" The Accountant sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?" The interviewer replied, "Yes, but you started it."
2. Obedience to God brings honor to us.
a. James 4:10 (NLT)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
b. When we honor God by obeying his word he honors us.
c. He will pour out his blessings upon us.
d. He will supply all our needs.
e. He will fill us with so much we will not be able to contain it.
f. He gives us the privilege of honor even though we don't deserve it.
g. We are a privileged people!
Transition: He also gives us the...
III. Privilege Of Treasure (9-12).
A. God's Very Own Possession
1. Once again Peter contrasts believers with unbelievers, but in the opposite way.
2. He focus now shifts to believers when he says, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."
a. Believers are a chosen people, a distinct group from the rest of the world, unified by the Holy Spirit.
b. The word "chosen," means to "pick or gather" from among a larger group of people. In other words God handpicked us.
c. Just as the nation of Israel had been God’s chosen people, Christians have become God’s people, not by physical birth into a certain race but by spiritual rebirth into God’s family through Jesus Christ.
d. Believers are also a Royal Priesthood.
e. Two primary elements constitute the image of the royal priesthood.
f. First, the priests serve the King by having access to His holy presence, into which they come offering spiritual sacrifices to Him (see the previous chapter of this volume), and second, the priests rule with the King in His kingdom.
g. God sets apart believers primarily to have a relationship with Him, and service to Him flows out of that relationship.
h. Various Scripture references indicate that at the new birth believers are set apart to God from the condemnation of sin and the world (MacArthur, 125).
i. “Holy nation” refers to Christians as a people who are distinct from all the others because of their devotion to God.
j. Then Peter talks about us as God's very own possession.
k. The word that is used here is taken from the Hebrew word Seggulah.
l. Seggulah was a king's most prized treasure. It was valuable enough, and yet small enough, that if his kingdom was over run he could pick it up and run with it.
m. It was the one thing that no one could take from him. His most prized possession.
n. That's what we are to God!
3. Peter continues to show how priviliged we are when he said, “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
a. As unbelievers, the Gentiles knew no compassion from Christ—they once were not a people.
b. But now they had become the people of God, because they had received His mercy.
c. Mercy is synonymous with compassion and essentially involves God's sympathy with sinners' misery and His withholding from them the just punishment for their sins (MacArthur, 132).
d. Just as Israel had been, at one time, rejected by God without any hope of forgiveness for their sins, so Christians had been, at one time, rejected by God without any hope of mercy.
e. But believers are now the people of God because they have been chosen by him (2:9) and have received his mercy (Barton , 1110).
4. However, with privilege comes responsibility. Peter tells us to "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."
a. Believers are called to honor God by living honorably and morally upright in and in spite of an unholy world so that unbelieving neighbors will glorify God.
b. Peter’s advice sounds like Jesus’ advice recorded in Matthew 5:16.
c. Matthew 5:16 (NLT)
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
d. If believers’ actions are honorable, even hostile people might end up praising God.
e. Peter’s readers were scattered among unbelieving Gentiles who were inclined to believe and spread vicious lies about Christians, accusing them of wrongdoing, blaming them without cause.
f. Attractive, gracious, and upright behavior on the part of Christians could show these rumors to be false and could even win some of the unsaved critics to the Lord’s side (Barton , 1111).
B. Seggulah People
1. Illustration: A number of years ago, there was a geologist by the name of Dr. Williamson who was doing some work in the country of Tanzania. One day, he found himself driving in a deserted area, slipping and sliding along a rain-soaked road. Suddenly his four-wheel drive vehicle sank up to its axles in the mud and got stuck. Pulling out his shovel, Dr. Wlliamson began the unpleasant task of digging out of a mud hole. He had been at it for a while when his shovel uncovered something strange. It was a pink-like stone of some sort. Being a geologist and naturally curious about rock formations, he picked it up and wiped away the mud. The more mud he removed, the more excited he became, and could hardly believe what he saw. When the stone was finally clean, Dr. Williamson was beside himself with joy. He had discovered a diamond. Now, any diamond at all would be a surprise in that situation. But Dr. Williamson found what became known as the famous pink diamond of Tanzania. That stone today sits in the royal scepter of Great Britain, and Dr. Williamson is famous around the world for his find -- as accidental as it may have been.
2. We are God's most prized possession!
a. Exodus 19:5 (NLT)
Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.
b. God has no use for silver or gold.
c. God doesn't need mansions or villas.
d. God doesn't treasure the temporary things of this world.
e. God treasures his people.
f. We are the people of God.
g. We are the family of God
h. We are God's special treasure.
i. We are a privileged people!
Conclusion
1. One of the great deficiencies of the church today, or any age, is that we do not understand how privileged we are to belong to Christ.
2. Our text today examined just a few of these privileges...
a. Privilege of Coming
b. Privilege of Honor
c. Privilege of Treasure
3. Do you realize how privileged you are in Christ?
