Rejection
is never pleasant, but when we face it, we need to remember to consider the
source. Just who is it who has rejected me? How important is their opinion
really, and is it even correct? In times of rejection, we have to remember to
assign the most importance to those who have an opinion that truly makes a
difference in the grand scheme of things.
As we’ve
been studying the letter of 1 Peter, we’ve been listening in on one side of a
conversation between the Apostle Peter and some Jewish believers in Christ who
were facing rejection because of their faith. In our passage for today, Peter
is going to remind these believers that the reality about them was precisely
the opposite of what other people might have been saying about them. It was
also precisely the opposite of the way that these believers themselves may have
been feeling about their status and role in this world.
Though they
were objects for rejection in the eyes of some people, they were objects for
honor the eyes of God. Let’s see how Peter develops this thought today in a way
that would’ve been particularly special for these Jewish believers – by
appealing to numerous passages from the Old Testament.
1. God sees you as an object of honor and part of a new work
He is doing in the world (vv. 4-8)
Let’s read
through these verses first in order to get the full context before we take a
bit of a closer look at these word pictures [READ vv. 4-8].
The main
word picture in these verses is that of God building a temple. Temples, both in
ancient times and today, are considered to be the dwelling place of a god – or,
at the very least, the place where human beings can have some access to the
deity who is worshiped in that temple. So the idea is that we as Christians
collectively are the dwelling place for the living God.
According
to the text, the cornerstone for this spiritual temple is none other than Jesus
himself. Now when we read the word “cornerstone” here, we shouldn’t think of
what we sometimes call a cornerstone today, which is usually little more than
just a piece of decoration for a building. Modern cornerstones typically make
no difference whatsoever for the shape or the stability of the structure, and
they may actually be the last feature of the building that’s put in place.
But in
ancient times, a cornerstone was precisely the opposite – it was the very first
stone that was laid, so the rest of the building was literally built around
that stone. That stone would dictate the shape of the rest of the building, so
it had to be a stone that was quarried well to ensure that it set the proper
angle for the walls that would be built around it.
So Jesus is
the first and most significant stone in this spiritual temple. Now, to us,
that’s no surprise, but according to the text this fact is a bit ironic because
Jesus had already been rejected for precisely that role by some other people.
Historically, the religious leaders of the Jewish people in the first century –
like the Pharisees and Sadducees – were the first ones to reject Jesus, but
since that time everyone who has rejected him would fall into this category of
those who do not believe, those who have stumbled and have disobeyed the word.
Now before
we go on to look at a twist in this word picture in verse five, let’s step back
and make sure we understand what Peter is doing. He is setting up a contrast
between two different groups of people – those who believe in Jesus and those
who do not. What he’s emphasizing is that the true reality of life is exactly
the opposite of what the unbelievers thought it was. They had rejected Jesus;
they had considered him unworthy to be the cornerstone for their lives, and so,
they had rejected not only Jesus but they were also rejecting those who
followed him.
But in the
eyes of God the Father, Jesus was certainly not an object to be rejected
because he was chosen and precious. And since Jesus is a person worthy of honor
in the sight of God, those who believe in him are likewise considered to be
worthy of honor. We are destined for honor according to verse seven, and we
will not be put to shame according to verse six.
So Peter’s
basic message to his audience was, “Look – those who have rejected you because
of your faith have gotten it all wrong! They think you deserve shame and disgrace,
but in the eyes of God – the one whose opinion truly counts – you are honorable
and will not receive shame from him, but praise.”
One
application of this message for us is to make sure that we always allow God’s
opinion of us to define the way that we think about ourselves, not the opinions
of others. Here’s the truth for you to hang onto throughout your life – other
people may lie about you, but God never does. So if his word says that whoever
believes in Jesus will not be put to shame, that’s the truth! You are not
destined for shame, then, but for honor! If other people call you a fool
because you embrace Christ, that’s a lie, because God the father embraces him
and calls him chosen and precious. Other people may lie about you, but God
never does! Everything he says about you in his word is true.
We need a
healthy dose of this today because of the increasing rejection we are facing in
our country for following Christ and upholding Christian values. Christian
ethics about the family and sexuality are being openly mocked and rejected
today, so much so that the narrative in the media and in our wider culture is
that you are obviously a hateful bigot if you still live by and promote such
values and standards. This situation seems likely to only increase, so we need
this reminder today that those who reject us because of our faith and its
teachings have gotten it all wrong! Their opinion could not be more wrong,
because God, who defines right and wrong and has made reality, considers us
objects for honor because of our faith in Christ. We are not and will not be
rejected by the One whose opinion truly matters, so even if we have to deal
with rejection from others for a little while, we have to remember that their
rejection of us is based on a lie, not the truth.
Now, a
moment ago, I mentioned that verse five presents us with a bit of a twist in
this whole word picture of a spiritual temple. The twist is this – not only are
we the spiritual temple, but we are the priests of that temple as well, able to
offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. I bet that comment was
very significant to the Jewish believers who first received this letter, and
they probably appreciated it more than we might – at least initially.
Within
Judaism, most of those Jewish people could not have been priests because the
priesthood was open only to members of the tribe of Levi. Only the Levites had
that honor – it was not available to anyone else. But within Christianity,
every Christian is called a priest, and in this verse, we have that position
because we are each able to offer the sacrifices of the New Covenant to our
God.
According
to the New Testament, we could say that the sacrifices we offer are the acts of
obedience that we perform for God. We do not simply offer animals, but rather
we offer our lives themselves as sacrifices, with all of our goals and dreams
and aspirations and hopes. We place all of these things in the hands of the
Lord and dedicate them to his glory.
Now why did
Peter add this little twist into his word picture? Why did he also point out
that we are not only the temple of God but the priests of that temple as well?
I think perhaps he did it to show that Christianity is not in any way deficient
compared to other religions.
Christianity
was very different from all of the religious activity that surrounded these
Christians in the Roman Empire. It was very different from both Judaism and the
worship that was practiced for the Greek and Roman gods because – outwardly at
least – it lacked the three main elements of worship in all of those religious
systems – namely, a temple, priests, and sacrifices. Christianity has no
temple, no central place where we must go in order to have access to God. It
has no priesthood, at least in the sense of some believers having unique access
to God that isn’t available to all believers. And we offer no animal
sacrifices.
Now I
wouldn’t be surprised if some of the people who rejected these Christians to
whom Peter was writing made fun of the believers for these things. They
probably thought that Christianity was deeply flawed because it didn’t have the
external trappings of the other religions in the Roman Empire. But according to
Peter, Christianity was not lacking in any way compared to these other
religions. We do have a temple, a priesthood, and sacrifices, they are just
different and in fact superior to the elements of those other religions. Our
temple is not limited to just one place; it can be found everywhere! Our
priesthood is not just a small group within our fellowship – it is the whole
group! Our sacrifices are not offered once and then gone forever – they can be
offered again and again, and they have much more power to actually bring about
change in the world.
So despite
what these believers may have heard from those who rejected them, neither they
nor their religion were deficient in any way. They were objects of honor in the
sight of God, and they worshiped in a manner that was far superior to that of
everyone else around them.
But not only does God see us as priests to serve Him…
2. God sees you as a messenger of His glory (vv. 9-10)
I think
verses 9-10 would have been deeply moving for these Jewish believers because
they are so rich with allusions to the Old Testament. Each of the titles we
find here had been used of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament [READ vv.
9-10].
Peter’s
point in these verses is quite clear—as members of the Church, this new
spiritual temple, they were living out the role that had been given to the
nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Remember—these Christians were
apparently from a Jewish background. Many of their family members had perhaps
been telling them that they had betrayed the people of God by following Christ.
But as we saw before, their opinion could not have been further from the truth.
They were God’s people precisely because they had embraced Jesus by faith. They
were now living as the people whom Israel was supposed to be all along.
Now lest we
think that a passage like this means that God is finished with the nation of
Israel, as though He has cast them aside completely, we need to understand that
other passages in both the Old and New Testaments teach us that this is not the
case. God still has big plans for the nation of Israel, but when their leaders
rejected Christ, the nation could not be used by God in that condition. So God
has ceased to carry out His work through them for a time, but He will once
again use them in a great way in the future.
Perhaps a
sports analogy will help clarify their status and their relationship to the
Church of today. Every sports team has its starters, the players whom the coach
wants to have on the court or the field for the majority of the game. But if
the starters aren’t following the game plan or they’re not performing well, the
coach will take them out for a while and put in the subs.
You can
think of Israel as being kind of like the starters. God’s desire for them was
that they would follow his game plan, his commandments, and that they would
accept the Savior whom he was sending to them. Unfortunately, they chose to
reject him, though God in his foresight and wisdom used even that rejection to
bring about good, since it brought about the death and resurrection of Christ.
But since
the people of Israel did not follow God’s game plan, He has put them on the
bench for a while, so to speak. Today he is accomplishing his work through
people who are defined not by a single ethnic identity but by faith in Jesus
Christ. We are presently carrying out the role that was meant for Israel, but
just as every coach wants to get his starters back in the game, God has plans
to carry out his work through Israel once again.
So we are
not permanent replacements for the nation of Israel, but for now we have been
given this great task that is laid out at the end of verse nine – to proclaim
the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. This is why God has called you and me and put us into the game, so to
speak. This is his intention for his great work of salvation in us – that he
might also do a great work through us.
These
privileges we have of being destined for honor and of being a special people in
the eyes of the Lord have not been given to us just for our own benefit and enjoyment.
With these treasures comes a tremendous task – the task of being God’s
messengers and ambassadors in this world. How keenly are we aware of the
excellencies that God has put on display by calling us out of darkness into
light – traits like his goodness, justice, holiness, mercy, grace, and love.
Christian,
never forget – other people may lie about you, but God never does! They may
reject you for your faith and thus communicate ideas about you that are not
true. So do not walk in that rejection; do not let it define the way that you
think about yourself. Rather, walk in redemption. Live as a child whom God
treasures and wants to use to do a great work in this world. Look at yourself
at all times in that light, and then live to proclaim the excellencies of the
one who has called you into that light from out of the darkness.
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