Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. ~ 1 Peter 2:4
Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is highlighting the secret to a stable life despite the fact that we might be going through the most arduous moments of life. You see, the real purpose of studying the Bible is to know God in a personal way. This means when we read the Bible, we must read it as if we are having a conversation with the Lord Jesus Himself. Christianity is a relationship and if we approach the Lord any other way, it will not be life-giving. This section of 1 Peter is Peter’s own commentary on the meaning of the words of the Lord Jesus to him in Matthew 16, where the Lord Jesus changed his name to Peter which means rock.
In this verse, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as the "living stone" which is a reference to the promised Messiah.
The word Peter used translated "living" is zoe, the Greek word for eternal life. According to John 6:57, zoe is the very life that God has in Himself. According to John 5:26, the Father imparted His life to His Son: "For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself." In John 1:4-5 we read, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
The Apostle employed a stone to describe the Lord Jesus because He is the only one who is stable, unmovable, and unshakable. He is the bedrock of all of reality, the firm foundation for a well-lived life. When we are defined by Him, we will be rendered secure and mature, having the ability to withstand the pressures of life. In my many years of ministry, I have discovered that if I can get a struggling married couple to pray regularly together, most of their marital problems go away. This is because they are seeking the Stable One together. And when He is stabilizing them, He will stabilize their lives together.
In addition, Peter points out that the Lord Jesus was rejected by men. This was predicted some 700 years before the Lord Jesus walked this earth by Isaiah. In Isaiah 53:3 we read, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."
Next, according to today's verse, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "Chosen by God." This means that we must not depend upon fallen man's evaluation of the Lord Jesus since He was chosen of God to be mankind's Savior. It is truly only the definitions of God that truly amount to anything in this world. And, the Father has deemed the Lord Jesus to be the answer that our longing hearts yearn. It was Saint Augustine who once said it well when he said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."
Finally, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "precious" to God the Father. This word literally means "of greatest value." Christ could not be precious to us until He was first precious to the Father. The Lord Jesus said to the Father while on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That was the only time when the Lord Jesus addressed His Father as "My God" rather than "My Father." At the cross the Father forsook the Son as the full wrath for our sin was placed upon Him. God the Father treated the Lord Jesus as if He committed every single sin by every single person. God treated His Son as if He lived your life, so that He could treat you as though you had lived the perfect, righteous life of the Lord Jesus. I close with a quote from Arthur W. Pink who once said, "Surely this is the cry that ought to melt even the hardest of hearts."
The Apostle employed a stone to describe the Lord Jesus because He is the only one who is stable, unmovable, and unshakable. He is the bedrock of all of reality, the firm foundation for a well-lived life. When we are defined by Him, we will be rendered secure and mature, having the ability to withstand the pressures of life. In my many years of ministry, I have discovered that if I can get a struggling married couple to pray regularly together, most of their marital problems go away. This is because they are seeking the Stable One together. And when He is stabilizing them, He will stabilize their lives together.
In addition, Peter points out that the Lord Jesus was rejected by men. This was predicted some 700 years before the Lord Jesus walked this earth by Isaiah. In Isaiah 53:3 we read, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."
Next, according to today's verse, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "Chosen by God." This means that we must not depend upon fallen man's evaluation of the Lord Jesus since He was chosen of God to be mankind's Savior. It is truly only the definitions of God that truly amount to anything in this world. And, the Father has deemed the Lord Jesus to be the answer that our longing hearts yearn. It was Saint Augustine who once said it well when he said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."
Finally, the Apostle Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as "precious" to God the Father. This word literally means "of greatest value." Christ could not be precious to us until He was first precious to the Father. The Lord Jesus said to the Father while on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That was the only time when the Lord Jesus addressed His Father as "My God" rather than "My Father." At the cross the Father forsook the Son as the full wrath for our sin was placed upon Him. God the Father treated the Lord Jesus as if He committed every single sin by every single person. God treated His Son as if He lived your life, so that He could treat you as though you had lived the perfect, righteous life of the Lord Jesus. I close with a quote from Arthur W. Pink who once said, "Surely this is the cry that ought to melt even the hardest of hearts."
