You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.
I Peter 2:5
The Bible references those who belong to Jesus as living stones. As our very nature is spiritual, we become like a living stone in the spiritual house of God.
What is this spiritual house? As no ordinary physical temple, this “spiritual” house exists within the collective lives of God’s redeemed people. Ephesians 2:19 references the follower Christ in like manner:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household.
The redeemed people of God, and not organizations nor institutions, are referenced here as God’s household. Notice from this verse that you were once like a foreigner (a term that actually describes one who dwells near or just outside the house, but looking in from the outside). But God has moved you from one who was a stranger to one who is now “in.” What an amazing move! The term “household” reveals endearing value of being a part of God’s family.
Peter intensifies the significance of our belonging to this spiritual house and utilizes the metaphor of a stone issued to construct a building. From this architectural metaphor, the follower of Christ becomes a living stone (a place of vital significance) in the spiritual house of God. The metaphor of “living stone” transitions without any necessary segue to a typology of the old temple and sacrificial system. Here Peter signifies both belonging and usefulness (having a place and a ministry), for the metaphor is followed by a refence to each on in the spiritual house offering sacrifices as legitimate members of the priesthood. The people of faith comprise the spiritual house; and like the priesthood of the old sacrificial system, God’s people now make spiritual sacrifices through their relationship with Jesus Christ, and thus make the “spiritual house” a living reality in the world. Examples of such sacrifices Peter likely had in mind from this new order of priesthood would include that of our praise (Heb. 13:15, “let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise), and that of our self-consecration (Romans 12:1, “present your bodies a living sacrifice). As a member of the spiritual house of God, we are a living part of the body of Christ, becoming a Holy Temple in the Lord – both as individuals (I Corinthians 3:16) and as a significant part of the whole spiritual family of God.
Your place in the church is vital to the overall purpose of God’s people: ministering in the name of Jesus Christ. The goal of your faith is that you are ministering for Him, serving Him and drawing attention to Him. In the Old Testament, the Lord promised to dwell in the midst of His people in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). In the era of the new covenant, that temple becomes referenced as something that God Himself created: the new people of God brought to life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Conclusively then, through faith in Jesus, each follower of Christ becomes a member of the priesthood of believers and offers spiritual sacrifices. This demonstrates the living church of our Lord. A. W. Tozer observed, “One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always.”
You, as one whose faith is in Christ, supernaturally exists as a living stone in the spiritual house of God. And, Peter indicates that there is no greater honor. For as the corner stone, Christ Jesus holds the household of God together, gives it life, and serves as the only true foundation (verse 6-7). And He becomes a stone over which people stumble (verse 8) if they reject Him or ignore Him as the foundation of the people of God. But, for those who believe, we rest on Him as the corner stone. And, we as the living stones are in place to point attention to His majesty, strength, and eternal purpose.
What an amazing reality that we have a significant place in the spiritual unseen household of God. Today, rejoice that you are a living stone built on the Corner Stone, Jesus Christ.
Blessings.
