Transcript

I have read that genealogical studies have skyrocketed in the past few years. Today people are searching websites that help them discover their ancestry. In Fact, more than a thousand searches are initiated online every sixty seconds of every single day. 

Millions of people are tracing their family tree. They want to know where they came from.

One of the benefits we have as believers is an inspired resource in genealogical studies. We even know the names of our first ancestors: Adam and Eve.

The human race today is experiencing incredible confusion and even despair because it has neglected or rejected God’s inspired account of our origin and ancestry—and even of our future. And here is why the world is disheartened: When your past is disconnected from God’s Word, then not only is your past unknown, but your purpose in life is also confusing, and your future becomes uncertain as well.

The world today is asking, “Where did we come from? Who are we? Why are we here?”

For the believer, those answers are spelled out in God’s inspired Word. Your ancestry has its roots in the creative work of God, your present life has purpose, and your future, eternal life has certainty in the wonderful plan of God.

As we sail into 1 Peter 2, the apostle is going to fill in even more details regarding our purpose in life today.

First, Peter talks about growing in Christ. He writes here in verse 2 that we are to grow up, saying, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”  

Have you ever seen—or heard—a newborn baby long for milk? You are not going to sleep until that longing is satisfied. That is the picture of a believer passionately longing for the milk of God’s Word.

If we are truly going to grow up in the faith, Peter says in verse 1 that we are going to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” In other words, we will stop acting like children and start making mature, deliberate choices regarding our behavior.[1]

When we do that, Peter writes, we can “grow up into salvation.” The verb here, “grow up,” is actually passive—he means that we are made to grow up. God is the one who brings the growth as we feed on His Word and apply it to life.

My twin boys used to long to grow taller. We measured their height on the frame of a doorway in the house—and their growth was never fast enough. But the truth was, they could not make themselves grow taller by sheer desire. They had to eat. And they certainly did that!

Likewise, we cannot make ourselves grow spiritually. God builds that into us as we, who “have tasted that the Lord is good” (verse 3), keep eating—feeding on His Word.

So, who are you? You are a child of God. What are you supposed to do? Grow in Christ.

And that is not all. Peter next begins to speak about serving Christ. He describes Jesus in verse 4 as “a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” He moves from the baby’s room to a construction site.

Peter uses a building metaphor in verse 6, where he quotes Isaiah 28:16. The Messiah, Jesus, is the chosen and precious “cornerstone” God is laying; the prophet declares that “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Then in verse 7, the apostle quotes Psalm 118:22, which says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

Peter then goes on to quote another verse from Isaiah (8:14), which describes this “stone” as a “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” To this day, unbelievers “stumble” over Jesus and outright reject Him. He is not the Messiah, the world leader, they are looking for or want.

In verse 5, Peter says that we as believers fit into this building program:  

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.

Just like Jesus, we are now called “living stones.” We have been given life through union with Christ, and we have been added to the “spiritual house”—that is, the church—and Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. Other passages tell us that Jesus is our High Priest.

Notice, too, here in verse 5, that every believer is part of a “holy priesthood.” This is a core Reformation doctrine; we call it, “the individual priesthood of the believer.” What that means is that you, as a Christian, are serving today as a priest under the Lord’s direction. Beloved, you have direct access to the throne room of heaven today.

Millions of people go to a guru or a spiritual leader or a priest to confess their sins. Well, the apostle Peter says that every believer is a priest. You can have your sins forgiven immediately, because you can talk to God directly, as you confess your sins through Christ alone. What a wonderful doctrine this is.

Finally, verse 5 tells us that as priests we can “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter does not enumerate what these “spiritual sacrifices” are, but other passages do. The New Testament speaks of an offering of trust and faith (Philippians 2:17); offerings of financial gifts (Philippians 4:18), the giving of our own bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), and the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15).[2]

Who are you? You are a priest in a spiritual house made up of all believers. And why are you here? You are here to offer spiritual sacrifices to the Lord.

So, we are to be growing in Christ and serving Christ. Now Peter calls us to be proclaiming Christ in verse 9. But he begins by reminding us of who we are: “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.”

That is an amazing description of who you are and to whom you belong. And to this Peter adds why you are here: so that you might “proclaim [God’s] excellencies” to the world today. This word for “excellencies” refers not only to God’s attributes, but also to His ability to do mighty works.[3]

We’re effectively making God famous by proclaiming His excellent work of salvation, which, Peter writes, brought us “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Out of confusion about our ancestry, out of speculations about our origin, out of the darkness of sin, He brought us into His marvelous light.

Now let us live up to our wonderful ancestry and our wonderful occupation as priests. And what happens when we do? Peter answers in verse 12:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles [unbelievers] honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Keep your conduct “honorable,” Peter writes. The Greek word means “noble, beautiful, attractive.” Your noble life will silence the accusations of unbelievers and become an attractive testimony to the great God you serve—attractive enough, Peter writes, that people might be drawn to the Lord and glorify Him when He visits them, which is a reference to their being personally saved by Christ.[4]

This is a reminder that people are watching us. The question is, do they see in us something attractive, something they want for themselves? Or do they see people who are just as confused as they are, forgetting where they came from, where they are going, and to whom they ultimately belong?

Let us make sure, by the way we live before them, that they see the excellencies of our God.