I recently stopped by for a Bible study and was reminded of an old song played in my church when I was a kid. The song said that “we are living stones of the Temple of the Lord”. So I decided to look for the passage of this song. And the verse is in 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 5:
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the stone that gives us life
This passage teaches us important points about the new covenant church.
JESUS is the living stone that was rejected (1 Pet. 2:4). Other passages refer to Him as the cornerstone of God’s plan of redemption for mankind and as the cornerstone on which the church is built. Through his redemptive work Christ gives us life and makes us living stones. Based on Him, we together build a new house that is now spiritual.
While in the Old Testament the temple was physical located in a specific place where the presence of God was manifested, TODAY, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and gives us life, the Lord manifests himself through us. And the quickening action of the Holy Spirit in us produces fruits that express the character of Christ and manifest the nature of God, which is loving, kind, generous, merciful, and just.
Therefore, if the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us, he produces in us characteristics that please God.
We are also holy priesthood
The 1 Peter verse also says that we are holy priesthood who through Christ offer spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing to God.
In this new temple that we build spiritually, Jesus has eradicated the sacrifices of the Old Testament. We then proceeded to offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. We do not depend on a purification ritual like those described in the Old Testament because Christ’s sacrifice has definitively purified us. We can constantly offer sacrifices to God of gratitude, of praise, of generosity. We can remain in the presence of the Father offering everything that pleases Him.
What are the sacrifices that please God?
What are the sacrifices that please God?
The Word of God itself reveals to us what are the basic sacrifices of a Christian’s life. Notice what is written about this in the book of Hebrews:
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
This passage shows us that doing good and sharing what we have with people in need are sacrifices that please God. At the beginning of that same chapter of the book of Hebrews, the text gives several practical exhortations to the church. It talks about the practice of love and good. It talks about hospitality and remembering those who are suffering. And it instructs us not to even love money because God is our provider, who never abandons us.
When the church of Jesus puts all this into practice, being hospitable, generous and kind, it expresses the life of JESUS active in it.
The book of Hebrews also contains all these exhortations to encourage the connection and unity of the Church. Because we are called together to be living stones and not in isolation. As much as salvation is individual and each of us needs to have a personal experience with JESUS, there are specific purposes and blessings for us as God’s people. That’s why we need to walk in unity. And what can unite us, connect us as living stones for the construction of this new temple is love and generosity.
To conclude, I leave a reflection:
Have you been a living stone? Have you expressed the life of Jesus in you to those around you? Have you blessed your local church? Do you think you could do more to walk in unity with your community? Reflect on it. Ask the Holy Spirit for help to guide you and generate in you fruits that manifest the character of Christ.
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