1Pe 2:4-10

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God’s living temple (1Pe 2:4-10)

People in general might see no worth in Christ and reject him, but God sees him as the chosen one through whom sinners have eternal life. Those who receive new life through Christ are likened to living stones who form a temple in which God is worshipped. They also form the priesthood that offers the worship (1Pe 2:4-5).

Christ is the chief cornerstone in this living building, and those who believe in him will never be disappointed (1Pe 2:6).

The people of Israel, who were originally intended to build God a living temple, threw out the main stone when they rejected Christ. A rejected building stone lies in the way and becomes an obstacle to the builders, preventing them from doing their work as they should. In the same way Jesus Christ, whom the people of Israel rejected, becomes an obstacle to them, so that they cannot do what God requires of them.

God has now taken this rejected stone and made him the chief cornerstone in a new living temple, the Christian church (1Pe 2:7-8).

During the period of the Old Testament, Israel was God’s people, God’s chosen nation; but now all believers are God’s people, regardless of race. They pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. They have received God’s mercy, and their task now is to tell others about the great and merciful acts of God (1Pe 2:9-10; cf. Exod 19:4-6).