LIVING STONES
Opening Prayer
I praise You, Lord, that You kept Your promise and sent Your Son to be the Savior of the world.
Read 1 Peter 2:4–10
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 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.”[b]
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,”[c]
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]
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.
Footnotes:
a 1 Peter 2:5 Or into a temple of the Spirit
b 1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16
c 1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22
d 1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Living” and “stones” are not words we would usually put together. Ponder the significance of this concept.The picture of Jesus as a living stone is rich in Old Testament significance, and Peter quotes from Isaiah three times in this short passage. The first quote is a positive promise about God providing a firm and tested stone. The second two are about this stone being rejected by those who should know better.
Jesus still divides people today. Pray for those you know who have thus far rejected the love of Jesus.
Peter merges two promises made by God and shows how they are being fulfilled. God promised to send his Son and he promised to build a house where he will live forever. Jesus is his Son and those of us who follow him as Lord and Savior are also living stones, making up the house where God dwells, where he is worshipped.
Peter has described the Christians he is writing to as exiles (1:1; 2:11) and foreigners. What significance would verses 9 and 10 have for people in that situation? How often do you think about your identity in Christ—not just your personal identity, but your corporate identity with other Christians? Are you able to thank God that once you had no secure identity, but now you are chosen and precious to God?
Apply
In what ways is the Lord Jesus the solid rock of our security and living dynamic life within us?
Closing prayer
Lord, I thank You for bringing me out of darkness and into Your wonderful light.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.