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Text: 1 Peter 2:1-10
Title: “The Lord’s Building”
Subj: To show the materials God uses to build a church.
Intro: Jesus said, “I will build My
church...” Matt. 16:16
The most important event in _______________ is taking place in this
location tonight! I am speaking of the dedicating of this building to the
glory of God. Here, on this property will stand a lighthouse for
_____________ and her visitors to see, that in a world of make-believe, God
is real! Here is a place for sinners to find the Saviour. This is a place
for backsliders to find forgiveness and reconciliation. Here is a place for
blood-bought Christians to become part of a N.T. Baptist church. And here is
a place for the Gospel to be sent around the world. You have done a great
work befitting our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ! You cannot be
proud, but you can be humbled and satisfied by this marvelous accomplishment
that seemed so far from reality when you began.
And Jesus said, “I will build My church…”
The pattern for a building dedicated to the glory of God was set
in the O.T. It was called the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a portable
building for the worship of God that wandered with the Jews in the
wilderness. Concerning the building of the Tabernacle the Bible says,
“And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his
spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the
tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service .... And they came,
both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought..”
(Ex. 35:21)
The result of the peoples’ obedience in giving to God’s work is found in
Ex. 33:9,11 where it says, “...the cloudy pillar descended and stood at
the door of the tabernacle ... and the Lord spake unto Moses face to face as
a man speaketh unto his friend.”
And Jesus said,
“I will build My church…”
And thus tonight we return to the concept of the original
Tabernacle, a movable “structure” that that can be assembled and can meet in
any location it chooses. I trust you realize that you who are the members
of this church are the actual church, and that this beautiful building only
represents Grace Baptist church. When you choose to assemble in this new
building, then Grace Baptist church meets here. When you disperse from this
building, Grace Baptist is no longer assembled, but you, as individual
members continue to represent Grace Baptist to your community and to carry
out her purpose of doing what the Lord Jesus Christ would be doing if He was
here in His earthly ministry.
I said all that to remind you of the gracious provision of God for His
people, for it was God who instituted the Tabernacle and the Temple, and
Christ who instituted His churches. We rejoice in God’s provision for
__________Baptist Church, for Jamaica and for the world as represented by
this building. We trust it will always be used for the glory of God.
Text: 1 Peter 2:1-10 – “The Lord’s Building” – prayer
I. The Purification of the People;
II. The Responsibilities of the People of God; III. The Need for a
Cornerstone; IV. The Rejection of the Cornerstone; V. The Description of the
Spiritual Stones
The 1st step in building requires:
I. THE PURIFICATION OF THE PEOPLE (1:22-23)
A. Wherefore (takes us back to what went before, but we will look only
at 1:22-23)
1. Requires obeying the Truth
Joh 17:17 “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.”
2. Requires the work of the Holy Spirit
Joh 16:8 “And when He [Holy Spirit]is come, He will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”
3. Requires the purification of your soul (inner man)
Joh 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto
you.”
4. Requires being born again (“born from above”)
Jesus said to the most religious man of his day, “Ye (religious man) must be
born again.” (turn Jn 3:7, 15-18). Jesus says to the most
irreligious of our day, “Ye must be born again.”
a. Not by corruptible (“perishing”) seed (not
by descent from human parents, who are born to die: or any other human
source) No man can save you.
b. But by incorruptible (“imperishable”) seed, the Word of God
(the one source that will never pass away)
(1) Which Word lives and abides forever. (v23, 25)
Note: To purify your soul you must, 1) Hear the
Truth; 2) Obey the Truth; 3) Through the Holy Spirit; 4) Be born again
Are you saved? Have you been born again?
II. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD
(v1-5)
Note: God used many of you to build this building, but
it is God’s purpose to use you in building a spiritual house that will meet
in this building and reflect His glory. What a privilege!! But to be a
part of God’s building there are certain requirements for the building
materials that must be met. What a responsibility!!
A. [Once born again you’re responsible],
Laying Aside (v1) (“putting away as if taking off clothing” or “as if
washing off dirt & filth”). You can’t wear the things of this world & the
righteous robe of Christ at the same time! Dirty people can’t serve a clean
God!
Robertson: “Because of the new birth, a new life is
demanded.”
1. All (Evil)
a. Malice (a passionate “desire to injure or see others suffer;
evil”).
b. Guile (“craftiness; deceit”; deceitful cleverness)
c. Hypocrisies (“actor wearing mask; seeming to be
someone/something you are not”; falseness)
d. Envies (“wanting what others have”; a feeling of discontent
and resentment)
e. Evil speakings (“back-biting”; gossip)
Application: How do you “lay aside” all malice, guile,
hypocrisy, envy & evil speech? 1) By an act of your will under the
conviction of the Holy Spirit. 2) By repentance toward God. 3) By a
renewed faith in Jesus Christ.
B.
(You’re responsible) Desiring (“intense longing for or pursuing
after”)(v2)
1. As (“like”) newborn (“just born [again]) babes (“infants”)
a. Desire the sincere (“pure, unadulterated, unmixed”) milk
(foundational truths) of the Word (this is Christ and/or the Word of God)
Heb 5:14 “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil.”
1) Our milk, our meat, our desert! Baptists are people
of the Word!
b. Desire the sincere growth (“increase”) from the Word
Lu 2:52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom (“use of knowledge”) and
stature (“spiritual] maturity”), and in favour (“good will”)
with God and man.”
Application: How do you build your desire? 1) By a continual remembrance
of what Christ has done for you. 2) By an intent in your life of being like
Christ.
C. (You’re responsible) Tasting
(“experience; enjoyment; nourishment”) (v3)
The milk of the Word draws and leads you to the conclusion...
1. That the Lord is (P.T.) gracious (“good, kind, benevolent”)
a. Gracious in salvation
b. Gracious in changing your lifestyle from sinner to saint
c. Gracious in giving you the Word of God
d. Gracious in providing you with a church home.
e. Gracious in providing you eternal life.
Application: How do you “taste” the goodness of God? 1) By
replaying the intruding of God in your life. 2) By reading or hearing about
the intervention of God in other’s lives (Bible, books, preaching,
teaching).
D. (You’re responsible) Coming
(“approach, draw near”) (v4)
The milk of the Word leads you to the living Stone (Christ)
1. To Whom [continually] coming (to the Lord)
a. Not for salv., but for sanctification (right living)
1) Unto a living (“having
vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul”) Stone
(“large building stone shaped and wrought”)
b. A disallowed (“rejected after testing”) [by men]
Stone
Note: How many people have said “that I tried Christ
and it didn’t work.” But you don’t “try Christ,” you trust Christ!
c. A chosen (“appointed”) [of God] Stone
d. A precious (“honored, prized”) Stone
Note: Four stones for four corners of the
building--living, rejected, chosen, and precious.
Application: How do you come to the Lord? 1) By an
act of your will to pray, attend all church services, and by becoming an
example of Christ.
E. (You’re responsible) Built Up to
Offer Up (v5)
The milk of the Word makes you something you weren’t before
1. As lively (“living”) stones (as Christ is, so the saved can be
also)
a. Are built (“built up from a foundation & established”) [by
God]
1) This is the same word used by Christ, “I will build My
church.”
Note: The Christian is “to come to be built up” into a
spiritual building. Every “brick” is important to the building!
2. Built up a spiritual house (“filled with &
governed by the Spirit of God”)
Eph. 2:20-22 (turn)
3. As a holy priesthood (“an active order of priests”)
a. One who intercedes for man with God (Rev. 1:6)
b. One who can approach God directly (Heb. 4:16)
4. Offering up spiritual sacrifices (freely given for another
without expectation of return/reward). Sacrifices with a spiritual intent.
a. Acceptable to God
b. By (“though”) Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1-2)
1) The Great High Priest
Application: How are you “built up”? 1) By doing taking
your responsibilities in the church seriously/faithfully. How do you offer
up? By making available to God all you have, and responding to God in
obedience when He wants to use you.
III. THE NEED FOR A CHIEF CORNER STONE (v6-7a)
Note: God now has the proper quality of materials to
build the spiritual building, but He needs a chief corner stone to set the
whole building correctly. The cornerstone makes the building square, true,
solid and unified.
A. As Contained (set within) in
Scripture (Isa. 28:16)
1. The Bible--our only source of faith and practice
2. Christ--the subject of the Bible—revealed as the Corner-stone
B. As Confirmed & Authenticated by God (“I
lay”) (v6)
1. The Author of Scripture is the Holy Spirit
2. The Builder of the building is the Lord Jesus Christ
3. The Architect of the building is the Father
a. A supernatural work
C. As Descriptive of Christ (v6) (What type
of C.S. do we need?)
1. A chief (“highest, most prominent”) corner Stone (“primary
foundation stone of the structure”) (Not 2nd best!)
a. Laid (“set”) in Zion (Christ was born and reared around
Jerusalem, or the place with the Presence of God). (Not moveable and
changeable!)
2. Elect (“chosen for the purpose”) [of God]
3. Precious (“held in honor, prized; of very great value”) [by
God]
a. Do you appreciate His worth?
D. As
Observed in Christians (v6c-7a)
1. He that believes (“trusts in, puts confidence in”) (One we can
rest on)
a. He is not put to shame (“confounded, confused, mentally
uncertain”)
Isa 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”
b. He recognizes what is precious [Christ] and what is
false and/or profane (v7a)
IV. THE REJECTION OF THE CORNER STONE (v7b-8)
A. The Stone to Those Who do not Believe (v7b)
1. Disallowed (“rejected”) by the builders (religious
"experts”)
a. Every person is in the construction business building a
life
2. Made (“become”) the Head
(“prominence”) of the corner
3. A Stone of stumbling
(“obstacle struck by accident”)
4. A Rock (“projecting rock”)
of offence (“a trap set to trip”)
Note: Four more “stones” for four corners of the
building—rejected, Head, Obstacle and Trap.
B. The Effect of the
Stone on the Disobedient (v8)
1. They stumble at the Word
a. The Bible taken literally becomes their obstacle
2. They are disobedient (“not to allow one’s self to be persuaded; to
refuse or withhold belief”) to the Word
3. They were also appointed (“set forth”) in the Word
a. If you are here as a Christ rejecter, you are mentioned over and
over in the Bible. Your cause is lost, your end is Hell!
Notice that there is no hope for those who reject Jesus
Christ as the corner Stone!
V. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SPIRITUAL STONES
(v9-10)
A. Pictured in the O.T. Nation of Israel, Confirmed in the N.T. Family of
God (v9-10)
Note: As the Nation of Israel was supposed to be,
so today's Christians can be.
Christians share in the attributes of Christ
1. A chosen (“picked out”) generation (“offspring; family”)
a. United by Christ’s blood through the new birth
2. A royal (“kingly, regal”) priesthood (“an order of priests”)
a.. Marks of a priest
1) One who offers [spiritual] sacrifices publicly (Do you?)
2) One who acts as mediator between man and God (Can you?)
3) One who is an indispensable source of religious knowledge
for the people (Are you?)
a) It was because of the priestly functions that the
chosen people were brought into near relations with God and kept therein.
3. A holy (“separate, distinct, unique”) nation (“people group”), with
a “national” identity—Christian
4. A peculiar (“God’s special, treasured possession”) people
5. A praising (“telling”) people
a. That you should
1) Show forth praises (“virtue, moral goodness”) of Him
a) Who called you out of (“away from”) darkness
(“heathenism, paganism, “I”ism” and all its spiritual ignorance; ending in
Hell”)
b) Who called you into His marvelous (“excellent”) light
(“knowledge, wisdom, purity, service; ending in Heaven”)
6. A changed people
a. In time past (“formerly & in a continuing state”)
1) Not a people (no valid spiritual identity nor family) (Hos.
2:23)
2) Had not obtained mercy (acts of grace)
b. But are now (“at this time, which ended the former state ”)
1) The people of God
2) Have obtained mercy [at your conversion].
Concl: The purpose of
this new building is to house _________ Baptist Church and to be a
lighthouse to this community; then _____________; then the world. But it is
the spiritual side of __________ Baptist that will make the difference, and
that means the spiritual side of the members of __________ Baptist.
Are you good building
material that will add to the spiritual life of this church? Are you a
clean, living stone that “fits” into God’s purpose and plan for this
church? Are you taking off and putting on characteristics that draw others
to Christ and __________ Baptist. We all have a lot of work to do. Why not
start tonight in getting things right.
Visitor and friend, we
appreciate your presence at this dedication. I know nothing of your present
spiritual condition, but I do know that only by trusting Christ as your
Saviour will you see Heaven, for “Ye must be born again.” Jesus said it—you
must believe and act on it. The question is not “do you need to,” but will
you come to Christ tonight. |
