1 Peter 2:4-6 - Living Stones of God's Temple.
1 Peter 2:4-6 (NLT) You are coming to
Christ, who is the living cornerstone of Gods
temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen
by God for great honor. And you are living
stones that God is building into his spiritual
temple. Whats more, you are his holy priests.
Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer
spiritual sacrifices that please God. 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.
INTRODUCTION
The Jewish temple was built of hewn stones
quarried out of the mountains; and every stone was
fitted for its place in the temple, hewed,
polished, and tested before it was brought to
Jerusalem. And when all were brought to the ground, the
building went together without the sound of ax or
hammer. This building represents God's spiritual
temple, which is composed of material gathered out
of every nation, and tongue, and people, of all
grades, high and low, rich and poor, learned and
unlearned. These are not dead substances to be fitted
by hammer and chisel. They are living stones,
quarried out from the world by the truth; and the
great Master Builder, the Lord of the temple, is
now hewing and polishing them, and fitting them
for their respective places in the spiritual
temple. When completed, this temple will be perfect
in all its parts, the admiration of angels and
of men; for its Builder and Maker is God.
9T180
COMMENTARY PEARL
Foundation Of Faith
What's your favorite toy of all time?
According to a global survey, LEGO building bricks top
the list. LEGOs placed first for boys and were
in the top three for girls, easily making them
the overall winner. After being founded as a
wooden toy manufacturer in 1932, LEGO began making
its current design of plastic bricks in 1958.
More than 400 billion LEGOs have been created
since that time. Nineteen billion are molded each
year, which means 36,000 blocks are produced every
minute. In September 2012 a group in the Czech
Republic celebrated LEGO's eightieth anniversary by
building the world's tallest LEGO tower. The
tradition of creating massive LEGO structures began
with a fifty-foot tower built in London in 1988.
Since then the record has been broken by teams in
Canada, Austria, Germany, Brazil, France, the United
States, Japan, Denmark, and South Korea - to name
just a few. From September 5 to 9, volunteers in
Prague constructed a tower that measured nearly 107
feet tall! In all, about 500,000 LEGOs were used
in the massive structure.
How was the tallest LEGO tower built?
Brick by brick. The same thing is true about your
life with Christ. When you accept Jesus as your
Savior, it's like laying the cornerstone of your
faith. The Bible calls Jesus the cornerstone and
says anyone who trusts in the cornerstone will
never be put to shame (1 Peter 2:6).
The most important stone in any building
is the cornerstone. It's the first stone that's
put down and is perfectly level and square.
Every stone in the building must line up with the
cornerstone. As you put together what you believe, make
sure every "stone" lines up with the cornerstone
of Christ. Test every idea you hear against
Jesus' standards. Look to him as you decide what's
right and wrong. Learn to follow his commands.
Seek his will in every decision you make.
When the people around you know you're a
Christian, they'll watch you to see what it means to
follow Jesus. Build a towering life that honors
God. Stand tall for Jesus. By starting your life
on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, you
won't crack and crumble under the pressures of the
world. [Case For Christ For Kids by Les Strobel re
vs. 6]
COMMENTARY
Living Stones
I have a friend who lost his job, a
fortune, his wife, and his home. But he tenaciously
held to his faith in Christ - the only thing he
had left. Like Job in the Old Testament, he
would not abandon God, no matter what happened.
And yet like Job, he couldn't help but wonder
why.
One day he stopped to watch some men
doing stonework on a huge church. One of them was
chiseling a triangular piece of stone.
"What are you going to do with that?"
asked my friend.
The workman said, "See that little
opening away up there near the spire? Well, I'm
shaping this down here so it will fit in up there."
Tears filled my friend's eyes as he
walked away, for it seemed that God had spoken
through the workman to explain the ordeal through
which he was passing. "I'm shaping you down here
so you'll fit in up there." [Hope for Each Day
by Billy Graham]
Divine Stonework
There wasn't a man in Maryland who could
build a stone wall like my father. Daddy was able
to combine his building skills with his
artistic talent to design walls that resembled
something out of a Robert Frost poem. His walls were
weathered sentries, balanced and sturdy. When my
father would build a wall, he wouldn't rush. He
would unload a big pile of boulders then sort
through them, putting aside the ones for the wall.
Daddy would pick up a rock, brush off the dirt,
turn it over in his hands, and line it up, this
way and that, placing it just right in the wall.
Then Daddy would cement it in with the trowel.
Picture the saints who, through the ages,
saw persecution and pestilence, holocaust and
heartache - they realized they were living stones
being troweled into the kingdom building. They
understood that suffering was, at times, sickening, but
life was worth living if it meant more time
granted for the world to hear the good news.
Like these saints, we experience the
biting reality of suffering; but we also remember
the enormously high price Jesus placed on a soul
- suffering is bad, but a soul lost is worse
(Matthew 16:26). We realize God is permitting
something he hates (pain and persecution) so that
something he prizes (more souls salvaged) could be
achieved.
I am happy, dear Lord, to be a living
stone that you have troweled into your kingdom
building. I pray that many more living stones will be
added today to your wall of salvation." [Joni
Eareckson Tada Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional re vss. 4-6]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Gods people failed often to rebuild
Gods temple after the captivity and since today
we are his temple how are we succeeding in
allowing him to rebuild his temple, your body, mind
and personality, that sin has defaced and
marred. [source unknown]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
1 Peter 2:4-6 - Every Christian is a
Minister.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210630-0918.html
1 Peter 2:4-6 - Living Temple and Spiritual
Sacrifices.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210320-1024.html
Ephesians 2:20-22 (NLT) Together, we are his
house, built on the foundation of the apostles and
the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ
Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together
in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22
Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of
this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Parable of the Sower - Open Heart Surgery by
Ralph Ringer: https://vimeo.com/666314378
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
