The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 2:4-5,
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
As we see in the above verse, God the Father made a choice. His choice, his election, was to send his Son, Jesus Christ, who is precious to him, to come to planet earth and pay the penalty for our sins that he might make a people for himself for all eternity.
I use the term "election" because it is a word that has been used, abused, and misused in the church. A lot of wacky theology has been promoted using the term "election". However, "election" is a very simple word that simply means to make a choice, to select something. God has a will and he expresses his will by making choices. When God made mankind in his own image, he gave mankind a will which we express as we make our choices.
Here in this chapter, in the above verses, we see that God chose his Son to be a "living stone." A few verses later we see the purpose of this "living stone" is to winnow out those who would embrace him in faith, from those who reject him, resulting in their eternal judgment:
"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.'
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,'
and,
'A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.'"
Peter quotes from Isaiah and Psalms to remind us that God has chosen a path for us, that if we follow it, we will find ourselves in God's family for all eternity, otherwise we stumble into God's judgment. That path goes through Jesus Christ, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
As we see in the above verse, God the Father made a choice. His choice, his election, was to send his Son, Jesus Christ, who is precious to him, to come to planet earth and pay the penalty for our sins that he might make a people for himself for all eternity.
I use the term "election" because it is a word that has been used, abused, and misused in the church. A lot of wacky theology has been promoted using the term "election". However, "election" is a very simple word that simply means to make a choice, to select something. God has a will and he expresses his will by making choices. When God made mankind in his own image, he gave mankind a will which we express as we make our choices.
Here in this chapter, in the above verses, we see that God chose his Son to be a "living stone." A few verses later we see the purpose of this "living stone" is to winnow out those who would embrace him in faith, from those who reject him, resulting in their eternal judgment:
"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.'
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,'
and,
'A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.'"
Peter quotes from Isaiah and Psalms to remind us that God has chosen a path for us, that if we follow it, we will find ourselves in God's family for all eternity, otherwise we stumble into God's judgment. That path goes through Jesus Christ, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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