I want to direct your attention
for our text tonight to words that we find in 1 Peter chapter
2. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verses 5
and 6. He also, as lively stones are
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also
it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded." The words of Peter, the Apostle,
but also, of course, the words of the Holy Ghost, Peter speaking
by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Doubtless at this time,
Peter is mindful of that event that we read of when the Lord
was at Caesarea Philippi, recorded there in Matthew 16. And Peter
made that great confession. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And then the words of the Lord
Jesus, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood, hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Thou shalt be called Peter, he
says, and upon this rock I shall build my church and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it. It is so obvious from what
Peter is saying here that that foundation upon which the Lord
Jesus Christ is building his church is not Peter himself,
which is what the Roman Church says, claiming that Peter was
the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope, though there be no
historical evidence to support such a claim. This is not Peter
who is the foundation, but Peter himself makes it so clear that
that foundation is the Lord himself. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect precious, and either believeth on him that
his beliefs in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not be confounded. Though we read not only of the
sure, the certain foundation, but we read also of that church
that is built upon the foundation, made up of lively stones or living
stones, built up a spiritual house. And it is that spiritual
house really that I want us to consider more particularly tonight. It's not only does Peter speak
of it, but we find Paul also making mention of it when he
writes to Timothy. There in 1 Timothy chapter 3,
verse 14, "...these things write unto thee,
hoping to come unto thee shortly, But if I tell ye long, that thou
mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house
of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth. quite clearly states thus Paul
that this house of God is the church, the church of the living
God, a house made up of living stones. And so it is clear that this
is part and parcel of the apostolic gospel, those things that were
made known to the ones that Christ had chosen as his apostles, that
house of God, the pillar, the ground of the truth, considering
then this spiritual house. Now, again, I remind you as I
did this morning what we were saying last week, we sought to
say something with regards to the nature of gospel churches
from what we have at the end of the New Testament there in
the book of the Revelation. And we took for our text last
Lord's Day morning those words in Revelation 1 verse 12 and
the beginning of verse 13. when John, hearing the voice,
turns and sees the seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst
of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man. And then at the end of that chapter
we're told quite explicitly that the seven candlesticks are the
seven churches. There is Christ in the midst.
And I don't want to go over what I've said last time and what
I remind you of somewhat this morning, we see there the doctrine
of the local church, independent churches, seven separate candlesticks
in contrast with that candelabra with the seven lights that was
part of the tabernacle furnishings. and all the symbolism that we
have in the tabernacle and the significance of that light. It
reminds us of Israel, that church, the church in the wilderness
as Stephen calls it in Acts 7, that people have been called
out of Egypt and God is bringing to himself as a congregation,
taking them into the promised land. Well, there we have a candelabra. It's one piece with seven lights
upon it. But when we come to the New Testament,
we see seven separate candlesticks. Each local church is an independent
church, and the glory of the church is that the Lord Jesus
Christ is there in the midst. But tonight, to think more especially
of the church as that that he's spoken of as a spiritual house. As we have it here in the text,
in verse 5, he also, as lively stones are built up, a spiritual
house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. First of all though, I want to
say something with regards to the foundation and the cornerstone
and then secondly to say something with regards to the superstructure
that is set and established upon that foundation and then to conclude
by some remarks in the way of application. First of all then
to consider more carefully the foundation, the cornerstone. And we have it here in verse
6, wherefore also it is contained in the scripture. The reference
you will see is to words that we find in Isaiah 28 16. It is contained in the scripture,
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious,
and either believers on him shall not be confounded. If you compare that verse that
I just referred to in Isaiah 28, you'll see there are certain
differences. Peter is not just literally quoting
from the Old Testament, he's writing under inspiration and
In a sense, he uses his own words. Maybe words that are explaining
what is contained there. But if we go back to Isaiah 28.16,
it says a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. And who is it? Who is it that
has laid this foundation? It is the Lord God Himself. And it is the work of the grace
of God. Look at what we have previously
here, verse 3. He says, If so be ye have tasted
that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. The Lord is gracious. It is a work of the grace of
God. The laying of this stone that has been rejected of men. The Lord Jesus comes unto his
own, his own receive him not. All the grace of God as we have
it here, grace is the foundation. And we see that quite clearly,
of course, in what Paul says when he writes in the opening
chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians. Remember how there
he speaks of that church made up of those who are all chosen
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be to you, he says. Christ
be to you and pleased from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him, before
the foundation of the world, that we should behold Him without
blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace,
wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Here is the beginning
of the epistle and Paul begins with that word of greeting, Grace
be to you. And then immediately he goes
on to speak about God hath blessed them with all spiritual blessings
according as he hath chosen them. This local church at Ephesus
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and all to the praise
of the glory of the grace of God. Or the very foundation of
the church then is laid in that grace of God. And we see it in
the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are the foundation can no man
lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the foundation. He is that
chief cornerstone. And so, as I said, when we come
to Matthew 16, we are to dismiss the utter nonsense that is put
out by the Romish Church in saying that 1 Peter and the whole succession
of Popes forms the foundation of the one true Church. That
is not the case. The foundation is what Peter
said. And what a confession, thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Two things we observe in
what Peter is saying in that great confession of his faith.
He is acknowledging the eternal Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, where is the foundation?
God has laid it in the person of His only begotten Son, that
Son who is ever in the bosom of the Father. But that Son of
God, as He is manifested in the fullness of the time, when He
comes as the Son of Man, when He appears as the promised Messiah,
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. the foundation
stone, the cornerstone. And then, what is it that is
constructed upon this precious foundation? Well, Peter says
he also, as lively stones or living stones, are built up a
spiritual house. He speaks of these stones as
lively and living. Not only in verse 5, but there
previously, verse 4, to whom coming as unto a living stone. Christ is a living stone, and
those who are built upon that foundation, they are lively stones. And Peter amongst others. The very name
Peter, of course, means a stone. He is one of those lively stones. No more, but no less than that. And the remarkable thing here
is we observe that there is a certain sameness with regards to the
material that is there in the foundation, but is also there
in the superstructure. And that sameness of the materials
reminds us of the nearness of the relationship between Christ
and his church. Robert Leighton remarks there
that there is a spiritual union. There's a spiritual union between
the foundation stone, the chief cornerstone, and what is being
erected upon it. And I want, as we think of the
superstructure, to observe something of these similarities. What do
we read of here then? We read of that that was disallowed. Disallowed indeed of men, it
says in verse 4. how true that is of the Lord
Jesus Christ as he comes into this world he is despised he
is rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he
is born amongst God's ancient covenant people we are told how
he came unto his own and his own received him not. In the main, of course, he was
rejected by the Jews. They cried out, being encouraged
by their so-called spiritual leaders, the scribes and the
Pharisees, crucify him! Crucify him! They said, his blood be upon
us and upon our children. Well, he came unto his own, and
his own received him not. But thinking not just of the
Jew, thinking of mankind in general, when we see him here upon the
earth, so he is ever, always, it seems, a stranger and a pilgrim. The foxes have holes, he says.
The birds of the air have nests. The son of man hath nowhere to
lay his head. Here he is the creator of all
things, the sustainer of all things and yet he lives here
as one who is dependent. He's dependent upon others, he's
dependent upon those women that are spoken of in Luke chapter
8, those blessed women, the followers of the Lord, how they see that
they sought to support him out of their own substance. or what a life he lives. Now,
what is true of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see is also true of
the people of God. When Peter addresses his epistle,
who does he address it to? The opening words. Peter, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers. Or was the Lord a
stranger here in the earth? So too are his disciples, Peter
and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. They are strangers and they must
be so because that was also true of the Lord Himself. And so what
does He say here at verse 11 in the second chapter, Dearly
Beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul, having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God
in the day of visitation. He's writing to believers in
general, and at this time there are Gentile Christians as well
as Jewish Christians. And how are these Gentile believers
being treated? Well, people are speaking evil
of them, just as they would the Jews be spoken of by their compatriots. as evildoers. It's the same with
Jew as with Gentile. This is a believer's lot here
in this world and it's not to be thought something strange
as he says in chapter 4 verse 12 Beloved think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some
strange thing happened unto you but rejoice in as much as ye
are partakers of Christ's offering Oh, this is a believer's lot.
It always was the case. It was the case in the Old Testament
when the Apostle speaks of the faithful in that 11th chapter
of the Hebrew Epistle. He reminds us there what was
true of all those, that great catalogue of the faithful. He
says, these all died in faith, not having received the promises.
but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and
embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
in the earth. Or there is such a sameness between
him who is the foundation stone, the Lord Jesus Christ, and those
who are the superstructure. Is he disallowed? Is he rejected?
Well, so too is the case also with those who are his true followers. But now there are these other
marks also, not only disallowed indeed of men, we read there
at the end of verse 4, but chosen of God and precious. They are
chosen of God. And who is the first chosen of
God? Why the Lord Jesus Christ himself? God says, Behold, my servant
whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. Or they're coming to one, you
see, who himself is the first and the primary chosen of God. And they are all chosen in him.
According to us, he has chosen us in him. before the foundation
of the world why did we not sing it just now in our in our opening
prize prize be my first elect he said then chose our souls
in christ ahead how are we to understand the great doctrine
of God's eternal election, we can only understand it in terms
of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what makes it
such a precious doctrine. All the elect are chosen in Christ. And what an emphasis there is
upon this truth. Peter says here at verse 9, But
ye are a chosen generation. Right at the beginning he reminds
him of that. He speaks of them as strangers,
scattered. But then verse 2 in chapter 1,
he says, He leapt according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father. Oh, God has such a knowledge
of them. God has known them. God has known them from all eternity,
has a special knowledge of them. He has set His sovereign love
upon them when He chose them in the Lord Jesus Christ from
before the foundation of the world. They are not only those
who are like the Lord Jesus Christ in being disallowed and rejected
of men, but they are also those who were chosen in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then furthermore we see that this superstructure, as
we've said, is made up of living stones. What's true of Christ
is true of them. They come to a living stone,
in verse 4. Verse 5, He also has lively stones. It's really the same words. These
are living stone, and they are also living stones. And how true that is, all because
I live. Ye shall live also, says the
Lord Jesus Christ. His life is their life. Thy dead
men shall live. Together with my dead body shall
they arise. There is that wonderful connection
between the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that new
spiritual life that comes into the soul of those who are brought
to believe in Him. They, of course, must be the
partakers of new life, spiritual life, before ever they can believe.
Those who are dead in trespasses and in sins they can do nothing
spiritually, because they are spiritually dead. But as spiritual
life is communicated to the soul, how is it evidenced? By faith. But there's a connection
between Christ being raised from the dead, and the sinner dead
in trespasses and sins being raised to newness of life. You
know the language there in Ephesians 1 verse 19, it's the exceeding
greatness of his power to us who do believe. And it's according
to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ
when he raised him from the dead. That same power that is there
when the Lord Jesus Christ who has made the great sacrifice
for sins is brought again from the grave, raised from the dead,
it is the same power that God puts forth in the souls of those
dead in trespasses and in sin. Oh, it's the outworking of God's
eternal purpose. as we said, they are chosen.
Now, what is the evidence of election? Well, remember the
language that we have in 1 Thessalonians 1 at verse 4. He says to those
Thessalonians, knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. The evidence
of their election is the way in which the gospel comes to
them. Or it comes with such a power that though they were by nature
dead in trespasses and sins, there is the communication of
spiritual life. And as there is that communication
of spiritual life, so they know the efficacious grace of God. It's the effectual call of God.
It's God calling his people. And what is the church? Well,
the church is this spiritual house, and what's it made up
of? It's made up of those who have been called, called out
of the world. As we've said previously, we
mentioned it this morning, we said it last week, the very word
that is used in the New Testament, and here in our authorized version,
translated as church, is that word Ecclesia. And it's derived
from the verb that means to call out. The church is made up of
a people who have been called out, called out of the world.
They've known the effectual call of God. They've known that gracious
work of the Spirit in their souls. They've been brought from death
to life. It's the same power that was there in the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ that was necessary in order that they
should be brought to saving faith. Oh, the wonder of these things.
Christ is a living stone. That's the foundation, but the
superstructure that is also made up of living stones, he also
has lively stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy
priesthood. Here we have it again. Remember we're trying to establish
that there is a certain sameness between the foundation and the
superstructure. The foundation is a stone disallowed
of men, rejected of men. That's true also of the superstructure. The foundation is a chosen stone,
chosen of gods and precious, it says in verse 4. And the superstructure
is also made up of those who are chosen. They are chosen in
the Lord Jesus Christ, a chosen generation. As we have it here
in verse 9. The foundation is a lively stone
and the superstructure is made up also of living stones. And then also
here we have this sameness with regards to priesthood. That's
the amazing thing. This spiritual house is made
up of an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ. Now, Christ is the Great High
Priest. that's made so clear when we
read the epistle to the Hebrews. Consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our calling, says Paul. That is Christ. And what does
Paul say concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? Hebrews 5 verse
5 Christ glorified not himself
to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art
my son today, have I begotten thee? As he saith also in another
place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Oh, the one who is the eternal
Son of God is that one who has been appointed in the eternal
covenant to be the great High Priest. And not a priest after
the Aaronic Order. The Lord Jesus is not of the
tribe of Levi, that's the priestly tribe under the Old Testament.
Christ comes of the tribe of Judah. It's a new order of priesthood. And it's identified with that
mysterious character called Melchizedek. He's a priest forever. After
the order of Melchizedek. Those priests of the tribe of Levi,
those Aaronic priests, they offered sacrifices daily. And with every
sacrifice is the reminder of sins. They must keep on sacrificing. The blood of bulls and of goats
unable to take away sins, that the Lord Jesus has come and He
has made that one sacrifice for sins forever. He has fulfilled all that was
foreshadowed and typified in the Aaronic priests. No more
any bloody sacrifice, because Christ has once died for sins. the just for the unjust to bring
sinners unto God. But what do we learn here with
regards to this spiritual house, this superstructure that is built
upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ? It's made up not
just of living stones, but it's a holy priesthood. to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Christ Jesus. Again, look at what he says in
verse 9. You have a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. A royal priesthood. It's the priesthood of all believers. It's the priesthood of all believers.
That's what we believe. on the authority of Holy Scripture.
We don't say that there are certain men who are priests, as might
be said, or is said, in the Romanist Church, or is said in the Church
of England. There's no priestly office in
that sense. Of course, with the Romanist
Church, what the priest does is to offer a sacrifice. He offers
the sacrifice of the Mass. and the whole doctrine of transubstantiation,
imagining that Christ is repeatedly being re-sacrificed on the altars
of the Roman Catholic churches. But that's not what he's being
spoken of. What is it that these priests offer? They offer up
spiritual sacrifices. And what are those spiritual
sacrifices? It's a sacrifice of praise. It's a sacrifice of
worship that they bring to God. Oh, it's that priesthood of all
believers. You see, there's no hierarchy there, there's no pageantry,
there's no pomp, there's no ceremony. What we look for in that true
spiritual house is the simplicity. that is in the Lord Jesus Christ
and there is that sameness that wonderful union between the Lord
Jesus Christ who himself is the foundation stone and the chief
cornerstone and all that is built upon that precious foundation but then how is it how is it
that we can know that we are part of this spiritual house. Well, what does it say? The beginning
of verse 4, to whom? Coming. Verse 3 it says, If so be ye
have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom? Coming. Oh,
there is a coming. What is this coming? It's coming onto a living stone.
disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious it's
coming to the Lord Jesus Christ now it's not a physical coming
because the Lord Jesus Christ is no more here upon the earth
when he was upon the earth people could come to him in a physical
sense he was in a local place and people could come where he
was but the coming that is spoken of here surely can never be that
it is a spiritual coming it is actually believing it's coming to him with believing
prayers and our prayers must be believing prayers for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is And what does the Lord
say concerning His house? My house shall be called the
house of prayer. How do we come? We come by praying,
by calling, by seeking. It is the only way we can come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. And how He speaks so kindly and
so graciously. He says, He that cometh to me
shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. Now, in that statement we see
quite clearly that the coming is exactly the same as the believing. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. And then he repeats it, He that
believeth on me shall never thirst. or those who believe on Him,
those who come in faith to Him they will find satisfaction they
will not be disappointed but what does He say to the Jews?
ye will not come to me that ye might have life or what of us
tonight? are we like those Jews? He says
ye will not come are we those who refuse to come? we have no
desire to come and we have to examine ourselves you see and
prove ourselves and know ourselves are we those who will come now
it's true he says no man can come to me except the father
that has sent me draw him and I shall raise him up at the last
day it is written in the prophets they shall be all taught of God
every man therefore that has heard and have learned of the
father cometh unto me We have to learn of God, we have
to be taught of God if we're going to be those who would come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. No man can come to me except
it be given to him of my Father. What is the Lord saying? He's
saying there that it is impossible for men to come. Why? Because of man's condition. What is man's condition? He's
dead in trespasses and sins. It's that doctrine of man's total
depravity. And where there is that total
depravity there is an utter inability. That's what the Lord is teaching
there. He's teaching doctrine you see. No man can come to me
except the Father which hath sent me draw him. It's doctrine that we have to
come to terms with and we have to wrestle with and struggle
with the doctrine of our own total depravity but also the
doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty. All the Father must draw. It's
written in the prophets, they shall be all taught of God. God
is the one who is an absolute sovereign with regards to the
gift of salvation. But what do we see? We see that
these doctrines are an offence to men. These doctrines are an offence
to men. Isn't that what the Lord is teaching
there in John chapter 6? Therefore said unto you that
no man can come to me except it were given unto him of my
father. From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him." There at the end of
John 6, verses 65 and 66, there we see it. There we see the terrible
offense of the doctrine of the sinner's
total depravity, of the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty. It's the words of the Lord Jesus.
And he says those words quite deliberately. Therefore I said
unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given
unto him of my father. Always that chapter you see of
diminishings. You know the chapter, it's a
long chapter. The multitudes, the Lord performing the miracle,
the feeding of the 5,000. or they want to take him, they
want to make him king, and then the Lord begins to preach. And
how that ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is such a searching
and such a sifting ministry, it's an offensive ministry. And many of his disciples went
back and walked no more with him. Ah, but what does the Lord say? Or what gracious words? All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And he that cometh to me I shall
he no wise cast out. Now, we don't know. I don't know. You don't know. Who are those
that the Father gave to the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eternal Covenant? We don't know. the Lord says
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me but we're not
to trouble ourselves there the Lord goes on to say and he that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out that's where we have
to look to ourselves are we those who come or are we those who
come to him we want to come to him and we keep on coming to
him That's what we have here in verse 4, to whom coming, it's
a present participle, it means a continuous coming, a constant
coming. Are we those who are always coming? Always calling, always crying,
always seeking? Oh yes, seeking and finding,
because if we do seek we shall find, there's no doubt. because
all the promises of God in the Lord Jesus Christ are yea and
amen and he has said that he that seek shall find and he that
knock it's open to him but we have to come and we have
to come again and again it's the life of faith that is the
mark of those who are built up lively stones in this spiritual
house our men and women of faith And they're built upon a foundation,
as we see here in verse 5, built up a spiritual house. They're built into a cornerstone. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone. Elect precious he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded, or those that believe they're
not confounded. It's interesting, back in Isaiah, that verse, Isaiah 28, 16, it
says, they don't make haste. Here, Peter uses the word confounded,
they shall not be confounded, they shall not make haste. Well, what is this? What is this
coming? It's It's waiting. It's waiting patiently upon the
Lord, as we have it there in Psalm 14. I waited patiently
upon the Lord, and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. And there's a Hebraism really
there, as the margin indicates. It literally reads, in waiting
I waited. In waiting I waited upon the
Lord and He inclined unto me." Or we cannot wait upon Him, we
cannot seek His face in vain. Are we those then who desire
to come to know that we are part of this wonderful superstructure,
this spiritual house, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and the grounds of the truth. Oh God grant that
we might be those then who know what it is to build upon the
foundation, to be built into the cornerstone as we have it
there in Colossians 2. Paul says, As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus, the Lord so walk ye in him, rooted and
built up in him and established in the faith. Oh God be pleased
then to establish us on this sure and this precious foundation. The Lord bless. His word to us.