Sovereign Grace Blog

Come To Jesus (The Word)...Daily: A Meditation On 1 Peter 2:4-5

                                                          1 Peter 2:4-5

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

A clear reading of this text confronts us with the question, “How well are you doing in getting away with the Lord over the Bible? Not just because you are supposed to, but in order to be filled with His Spirit and strengthened for each day’s work?”

If in our musing over this question we realize that we don’t have enough time in the day to fit “prayerfully reading the Word,” then we are being ripped-off and are under a demonic deception. We cannot afford to not put Christ first before changing diapers, going to work, homeschooling, studying and all the other important tasks of our daily lives.

The main goal of verses 4-5 is that we “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This refers to everything we do with our bodies according to Romans 12:1. It means praise and adoration with our lips (Hebrews 13:15); it means doing good to others (Hebrews 13:16). It incorporates all of life. What we do with our bodies is essential, but the “motivation” behind these is just as essential. What I mean is: the people in this text who can offer spiritual sacrifices are priests. Only people who are a part of the holy priesthood can offer acceptable sacrifices. This does not refer to some elite clergy. In this passage, it refers to individuals (living stones) who are being built into a corporate dwelling of God in the Spirit (spiritual house/temple).

Peter is saying to every one of us believers, “God is up to something. He has this one big ultimate goal for your life, for the life of the church. That goal is ‘to be built into a spiritual temple where God’s presence dwells, to be priests, so that we can offer spiritual sacrifices of praise and obedience that will be acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’”

Let’s not fail to ask the crucial questions: “How does this happen?” “What’s the key to this process being worked out in our lives? The answer is in verse 4: “Coming to Jesus.” “As you come (approach) to him…you yourselves…are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, in order to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The “coming” is the “way” we are being built. This coming is not “conversion.” Conversion is assumed at this point in the letter (1:3), and the action of “coming” or “approaching Jesus” is a present tense participial which means “on-going, continuous action.”

The key to understanding the “coming” of verse 4 is verse 3. Verse 4 says, “As you come to him.” To whom? The answer is “the him” of verse 3…whose kindness you have tasted.

The flow goes like this: “Because you have tasted (experienced personally) the goodness of the Lord through the spiritual milk of the Word, therefore (v.4), keep on coming to Christ.” His point is clear. Our coming to Christ on a daily basis is what we do when we long for his Word the way a baby craves mommy’s milk at 3 a.m., and, in our longing for it, we come and feed ourselves with God’s Word in order to experience fellowship with the Lord through the scripture.

I leave you where I started: “How well are you doing in getting away with the Lord over the Bible in order to be filled with His Spirit and strengthened for each days work, so that, in all that you do that day, you may be a priest offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ?”

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