Click Here to Read 1 Peter 2:4-12

I love this picture of us, His living stones, being built up as a spiritual house.  The Passion Translation puts it this way, “Come and be his ‘living stones’ who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God.  For now you serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that he readily accepts through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5 TPT).  The temple built in the Old Testament was built with earthly stones by human hands.  The Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was placed and where the presence of God would dwell.  Only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies, and it was only on the Day of Atonement that they were allowed to go in for the purpose of atoning for the sins of Israel that year.  They came in with the blood of the animal sacrifice and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat and if the High Priest was not right with God and hadn’t atoned for his own sin he would die in there.  That is how holy the presence of God is.  When Moses would be in the presence of God whether up on the mountain or in the Tent of Meeting his face would shine so bright that he would have to put a veil over it when he came out to talk to the Israelites because it frightened them (see Exodus 34:34-35).

Now, we are “living stones” that are being assembled as a living temple for God’s presence.  Now we are each a temple that hosts His presence in us, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV).  Instead of an animal sacrifice, Jesus was the sacrifice.  And when Jesus went into the Holy of Holies in Heaven and sprinkled His blood on the Mercy Seat it atoned for the sins of the whole world past, present, and future.  “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12 NKJV).  Jesus put away sin by offering himself as a sacrifice, for those who accept His sacrifice there is no further sacrifice required for sin.  It is only by His blood that we are made worthy for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14 NKJV).

To me this picture of us as living stones being assembled together as His temple is very similar to the picture described in Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (NKJV).  God’s desire is to fill this earth with human temples that host His Spirit and His presence, that same presence that made Moses’ face illuminate, so that the entire earth would be filled with the knowledge of His glory.  “…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV).  Under the Old Covenant priests offered God physical sacrifices on behalf of the people.  And the priests were born into the Priesthood, they had to be born of a certain family line.  But the ultimate physical sacrifice has been made by Jesus, our High Priest.  Peter says that we all are now a community of priests who offer up to God spiritual sacrifices.  These would be sacrifices of praise and worship, prayer, tithes and offerings, good works of generosity and faith, etc. that we may “proclaim the praises of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV).

Peter also points out here that we are only visitors passing through this earth.  “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,” (1 Peter 2:11 NKJV).  Our spirit is now a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20), but our habits are still of this world.  He says that our fleshly lusts war against our soul.  This is another example of how our triune being functions.  Our spirit is a citizen of heaven, our flesh is still of this world.  Galatians says the flesh is at enmity with the Spirit and here Peter says it wars against our soul.  We must work to renew our mind to the things of the Spirit through revelation by the Word of God so that our soul and spirit are aligned.  This will bring our fleshly desires into alignment with what God desires for us so that we live honorable lives.  In other words, we have no value for the desires of this world anymore.  Everything we do now is with the mindset that we carry heaven within us, and our desire is to release heaven everywhere we go.  And because we now live in the provision that God supplies for us, we have no concern of physical needs.  We are now walking by faith in works that He has already prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) knowing that He will cover all of our needs as we go.  Our minds are constantly on Him, who He is, what He is saying, and where He is leading us.  Not the cares of this world.  Our commission is to bring heaven to earth.  Through His Word heaven is revealed to us, and through our faith and confession of His Word heaven is revealed in the earth and to those around us.

Let’s pray.

Father, we come to You as living stones, chosen by You and precious.  We offer our bodies as living sacrifices to You, we offer our praise, worship, and thanksgiving to you as spiritual sacrifices.  We thank you Jesus for being the ultimate sacrifice, for Your blood that was poured out to atone for our sin, for the eternal redemption that we have through Your blood.  We thank you Father that because of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus we are now worthy of being temples for Your Holy Spirit to dwell in.  We carry Your presence in us, and we always have access to You, to approach Your throne of grace.  We pray God that You would continue to reveal to us all that we have been given in Christ so that we may be effective witnesses and servants of You.  Help us to understand what we carry and how to release your presence and the things of heaven to this earth and those around us that you so desire to reach.  We are the salt of the earth; we are the light of the world.  May our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify You.  Amen.