Spiritual Masonry
Introduction: Identity Politics, Divine Edition
We live in an age obsessed with identity. Our culture tells us that you are what you feel you are. Your identity is something you construct, something you discover deep within yourself, and then present to the world for its mandatory approval. This is the central project of the modern self. But this project is a house built on sand, and the tide of reality is coming in. It results in a frantic, anxious, and ultimately tyrannical society, where everyone is forced to applaud the ever-changing identities of everyone else, lest the whole fragile structure collapse.
Into this chaotic marketplace of self-creation, the Apostle Peter speaks with the authority of heaven. He tells us that our identity is not something we invent, but something we receive. It is not discovered within; it is bestowed from without. It is not self-determined; it is God-determined. In the first chapter, Peter told us that we have been born again to a living hope. We have a new nature. Now, in this chapter, he tells us what that new nature looks like and what it is for. He is moving from the reality of our new birth to the responsibility of our new life.
He begins with demolition, telling us what must be torn down. Then he moves to nutrition, telling us what we must crave. And finally, he gets to the construction project, explaining that God is not just saving isolated individuals. He is building a house. He is building a temple. And He is using saved sinners as the living stones. The Christian faith is not a solo endeavor. It is a corporate construction project, and God is the master builder.
The Text
Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have TASTED THE KINDNESS OF THE LORD. And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE.” They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed. But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
(1 Peter 2:1-10 LSB)
Demolition and Diet (v. 1-3)
Peter begins with a logical connector, "Therefore." Because you have been born again (chapter 1), certain things must follow. The first is a stripping away, a demolition of the old self.
"Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander..." (1 Peter 2:1)
This is the spiritual equivalent of taking off filthy work clothes before you come into the house. These are not respectable sins. Notice that they are all relational. They are the kinds of sins that corrode a community. Malice is the desire to see others hurt. Deceit is the practice of lying and trickery. Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not. Envy is being bitter about the blessings God gives to others. And slander is tearing people down with your words. You cannot build a spiritual house with stones that are constantly grinding against and chipping one another. These things must be put off, decisively.
After the demolition comes the diet. We are not just to empty ourselves of vice; we are to fill ourselves with the Word.
"...like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have TASTED THE KINDNESS OF THE LORD." (1 Peter 2:2-3)
The image is powerful. A newborn baby does not have a mild interest in milk. It is a desperate, life-or-death craving. This is to be our attitude toward Scripture. A Christian who has no appetite for the Bible is a sick Christian. The Word is not an optional supplement; it is our essential food. And it must be "pure milk," not watered down with worldly wisdom or sentimentalism. The goal of this consumption is growth. We drink the milk of the Word so that we might grow up. Salvation is not a static event but a dynamic process. We are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. The Word is God's appointed means for this growth.
And what drives this appetite? Verse 3 gives us the reason: "if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord." This "if" is not an "if" of doubt, but an "if" of settled fact. It means "since you have tasted." The new birth gives you a new set of taste buds. You have experienced God's grace in Christ, and it was good. It was kind. And because you have had that first taste of His goodness, you now long for more. The Christian life is driven by a Spirit-wrought hunger for the God who has been so kind to us.
The Living Temple (v. 4-8)
From the individual's diet, Peter moves to the corporate construction project. Our growth is not for our own sake, but so that we can be fitly joined together into God's new temple.
"And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5)
The Christian life is a continual "coming to Him," to Jesus. He is described with a paradox: a "living stone." Stones are dead, inert. But Christ, the foundational stone, is alive, and He gives life to every other stone in the building. Here we see the great conflict of values. Men rejected Him. The builders, the experts, the religious authorities of His day, threw Him on the scrap heap. But in God's sight, He is "choice and precious." The entire gospel is contained in that conflict of judgment. Whose verdict will you trust? The world's, or God's?
Because we are united to this living stone, we too become "living stones." Our life is derivative. We are alive because He is alive. And notice the passive voice: we "are being built up." God is the architect and the mason. We are the materials. This demolishes all American individualism. God is not saving a random assortment of pebbles to keep in His pocket. He is building a "spiritual house," a temple. And what is a temple for? It is for priests to offer sacrifices. We are not only the building; we are the "holy priesthood" that serves within it. The sacrifices we offer are not animals, but "spiritual sacrifices", our praise, our good works, our very bodies laid on the altar. And they are only "acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Without Him as our mediator, even our best religious efforts are like smoke blowing the wrong way.
Peter then proves his point from the Old Testament, showing this was God's plan all along.
"For this is contained in Scripture: 'BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.' This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,' and, 'A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE.' They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this stumbling they were also appointed." (1 Peter 2:6-8)
Christ is the cornerstone. He is the reference point for the entire structure. For those who believe, He is precious. To trust in Him is to be made secure, to "not be put to shame." But there is no neutrality. For those who disbelieve, this very same stone becomes a "stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They trip over the very foundation that is meant to save them. You either build your life upon Jesus, or you break your shins on Him. There is no third option.
And Peter does not flinch from the hard truth. They stumble because they are disobedient, and "to this stumbling they were also appointed." This is the doctrine of divine sovereignty. God is in charge of all things, including the judgment of the wicked. Their disobedience is their own fault, their own rebellion, and yet it serves God's ultimate purpose. God's decree does not violate human responsibility; it establishes it.
A Nation of Proclaimers (v. 9-10)
After describing the fate of the disobedient, Peter turns back to believers with a torrent of glorious titles. This is our true identity.
"But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION..." (1 Peter 2:9a)
This is who we are. Every one of these titles was originally given to Old Testament Israel, and they are now applied to the Church. We are a "chosen family," elected by God not on the basis of ethnicity but by grace. We are a "royal priesthood," meaning every believer is a king and a priest, sharing in Christ's rule and having direct access to the Father. We are a "holy nation," a people set apart from the world with a different citizenship and a different king. We are "a people for God's own possession." We belong to Him. He bought us with a price.
But this glorious identity is not for our own private enjoyment. It has a purpose.
"...so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" (1 Peter 2:9b)
Our identity is missional. We are chosen, made royal priests, and set apart for the task of proclamation. We are to be a walking, talking advertisement for the goodness and glory of God. The content of our proclamation is what He has done: He "called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." The gospel is a divine summons. We were sitting in the dark, blind and lost. God did not suggest we find the light switch. He spoke, and invaded our darkness with His marvelous, wonderful, astonishing light.
Peter concludes by summarizing this gracious transformation, quoting from the prophet Hosea.
"...for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY." (1 Peter 2:10)
This is our story. By nature, particularly for us Gentiles, we were nothing. We were not a people. We had no covenant, no claim on God. We were outside, alienated. But now, in Christ, we are "the people of God." We were objects of wrath, but now we have "received mercy." Our entire identity, our entire existence as Christians, is founded on this one-way, unmerited, sovereign act of mercy. We did not make ourselves His people. He made us His people. We did not earn mercy. We received it as a free gift.
Conclusion
So what is the takeaway? It is that your identity is not up for grabs. If you are in Christ, it has been settled by God Himself. You are a living stone in His temple, a royal priest in His service, a citizen of His holy nation, a treasured possession.
Therefore, you must live like it. You must demolish the relational sins that would tear this house apart. You must cultivate a desperate, daily appetite for the Word of God that you might grow. And you must understand that your life has a grand purpose beyond your own comfort and happiness. You were saved to proclaim. You were brought out of the darkness to be a beacon of His marvelous light.
For every person, Christ is the stone. The only question is what kind of stone He will be for you. Will He be your precious cornerstone, the foundation of your life, your hope, and your security? Or will He be the rock of offense, the stumbling block over which you trip and fall into eternal judgment? You must choose. Build on Him, or be broken by Him.