6 For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,"
8 and,
"A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dig Deeper
Symbolic associations are quite common in all cultures. Every culture has certain symbols which would be quite recognizable to anyone in that culture but rather foreign and difficult to discern for those outside of that culture. For instance, if an American were to look at a political cartoon of an elephant and a donkey trampling on an eagle who was holding a scroll that was partially open, reading "We the people," they would almost assuredly understand the point, while it might be a more difficult association for someone from South Africa, China, or Brazil.
In Exodus 28:15- 21, Moses is given instructions on the breastpiece of the priestly garment: "Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions. . . mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes." It is common in the Bible to find the light of the presence of God with precious stones (Ezek. 1:16, 26; 10:1; Rev. 4:3, 6; 21:18-26). Thus, in the Jewish mind there was a common association between the presence of God, light, the priesthood, and stones.
One thing that the precious stones in the breastpiece of the Levitical priests robe symbolized was the ability to reflect the light of the divine presence of God, known in the Old Testament as the Shekinah glory. It was the Shekinah glory that inhabited the Holy of Holies in the Temple. When Peter begins to talk, then, as he does in this passage, of precious stones and the priesthood, it is likely that he was thinking of and intending to convey the concept of the light of the divine presence of God in the Temple. What Peter does that was so shocking, though, was not in the association between the priesthood, precious stones, and the presence of God but in the fact that he was clearly redefining the Temple of God. No longer was it a building built by human hands, but a living Temple made up of living stones.
Peter continues to draw a distinction between the Temple, the previous house of God and the new house of God. The Jews had a house of God with a priesthood, and physical sacrifices. Peter's point is that the church is now the spiritual house of God built with living stones. Rather than a priesthood of Levites, the church is comprised of a royal priesthood of all believers who offer up spiritual sacrifices of praise (Heb. 13:15); prayer (Rev. 5-8); our own lives (Rom. 12:1; Phil 2:17), benevolence (Rom. 15:27; Heb. 13:16), and giving (2 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 4:18).
In verses 6-8, Peter strings together a slew of quotations from Isaiah 28:16 (v. 6), Psalm 118:22 (v. 7), and Isaiah 8:14 (v. 8). The context of Isaiah 28 (which is part of a section that continues through Is. 37) has to do with the people of God not trusting in God's promises, so His justice will sweep them away as part of His work. Peter's point then, is that the cornerstone, which is the stone that determines the design for the building and holds it together, is none other than Christ. Just as the leaders of Israel of Isaiah's time had rejected God's stone laid in Zion, so have the people of Peter's time rejected God's saving offer of Christ.
Verse 7 literally reads "to you believers is the honor," rather than "to you who believe, this stone is precious." Peter's point is to balance the destruction and dishonor of those who reject the cornerstone with the honor due those who believe in Him. Translators, evidently, are hesitant to indicate that Peter is bestowing honor to believers but that is precisely his point. Because the people of God have been bought with the blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:19), what is true of the King is true of His people. Christians share in the family inheritance of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:4) as a result of entering the family of God through the life of Jesus Christ.
The phrase at the end of verse 8, they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for, is prone to misunderstanding. Peter's point is not that people who reject Christ were made for that very purpose and have no choice in the matter. Peter's point is that people stumble to destruction because they have rejected the cornerstone. Consistently rejecting Christ and in so doing, refusing to obey God, leads one to share in the fate of all who reject Christ. John brings this point out clearly in John 3:16-18: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John's point (and Peter's here) is that all men have sinned, doing their own will and rejecting God, and stand condemned because of that. John says that men are in danger of eternal separation from God not because they reject Christ but because they have sinned. Christ is the door to salvation not the cause of condemnation. Thus, those that reject the cornerstone stand condemned already and are resigned to their destiny and fate as people who have sinned against a holy God. The only thing that could save people from what they are currently destined for is the very salvation that they reject when they reject Christ.
But that is not so for those in Christ. They are the new people of God, a point Peter makes abundantly clear as he uses four different monikers for the people of God that used to apply to Israel (Ex. 19:6; Isa. 43:20-21). It should be noted, however, that Peter is not referring to individual Christians, but is saying that the corporate people of God are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, and the people of God. Peter not only describes the identity of the Church in terms of the historic people of God, he also describes the purpose of church. It is simply to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Peter doesn't mean that the Church should go around shouting sermons wherever they go, rather he is referring to the entire nature and existence of the people of God. The church announces the kingdom of God and the reconciliation between humans and the creator that is available to all people in the life of Christ. The Church is to demonstrate for the world what it looks like to live in the wonderful light and received the mercy of God. Peter again alludes to the light, the Shekinah glory, that reflected off of the stones on the breast plate of the high priests of the Old Covenant. That is now the job and purpose of the Church.
Devotional Thought
Do you go to church each week with the mindset of declaring the praises of God rather than just receiving things? Even more importantly does every area of your life declare praises of God and announce that the Kingdom of God has come to men?
No comments:
Post a Comment