Before the worlds were framed, before the stars were named
It all began.
Before the depths were laid, and heights would be displayed
God made His plan.
Magnificent. A treasure. A place for His good pleasure.
A grace for His Great Name to ever be.
So hidden there in history. Until its time, a mystery
Then rose to shine, for all the world to see!
But first, that crucial hour, when Sin had lost its power
before the Holy One upon the tree.
His death would break the chains, His love would heal the pain
and all that now remains is liberty!
This One who formed the heart, knows well its deepest part
He’d risk it all for love, at any cost.
His joy would fan the flame—a people for His Name!
And we are now His own, those once so lost.
~Ken
Christ made this Possible
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:5-6
These verses are taken from Isaiah chapter 53; I encourage you to read the whole chapter. Written around 700 years before Christ, Isaiah beautifully describes the fallen state of a lost and languishing humanity—and prophesies of the Savior to come.
Humanity without a Savior are like sheep without a Shepherd. Every one is lost, as they turn to their own way—their own way of thinking and walking, which is in their sinful nature.
The Lord Jesus—Our Savior and Shepherd—took upon Himself the iniquity (Sin) of every human being, when He willingly and lovingly went to the cross for us.
God, in His tender mercies, created a direct connection to Himself, through Jesus Christ.
Without God’s saving intervention, it was impossible.
But with God, all things really are possible.
And we were made possible. A people, once lost—now rescued from Sin and gathered together into His body, the Church.
We Are God’s Living, Spiritual House
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
1 Peter 2:4-7 (NKJV)
Peter gives us such a descriptive picture in this verse. Can’t you just see that One, principal cornerstone—Christ Jesus—being laid into place there? Strategically placed. Structurally flawless. Able to hold the entire foundation and building of His church securely together.
Now visualize his church body, built upon Christ—stone upon added stone. One row upon another. A house—a living house!
A spiritual organism of faith and courage, who has been given the holy office of priesthood. A priesthood of offering up sacrifices to God, that are acceptable to Him because of our faith in Christ Jesus.
Unlike the Jewish followers of God in centuries past, we no longer offer animal sacrifices to God upon physical altars. Our sacrifices are spiritual, and presented through Jesus Christ. Through Christ, the only living sacrifices that we are able to present are our very lives.
Lives tried in the fires of faith. Lives that continually die to self, and live to serve—to honor the King.
What a privilege to offer up our lives to God—our own desires and expectations. Even our Sin, and our pain. Our brokenness, regrets, disappointments and losses—things we presently can’t fully understand, but can hide within the cleft of that Rock.
We can be sure such sacrifices are well received.
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul completes the picture for us here, in this verse. How beautiful. How honorable. How loving and gracious of that Chief Cornerstone, to allow us to be added to Him. To become a habitation of God, through the leading and the liberty of His Holy Spirit within us.
We are now fellow citizens—with all those that have come before us, and soon to be joined by all that are still to come! We are citizens of the faith—all honoring the NAME of Jesus! You, and me—the very household of God. Just think of it!
We Are Chosen as God’s Special Agents
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;”
1 Peter 2:9a
That word “generation” tells the story. An offspring. People who were created by the One, who would eventually adopt each and every one of them as firstborn sons.
And the word “chosen” here completes the meaning for us. We have been selected. Plucked out from humanity, for His glory.
“Nation” in the Greek is “ethnos,” which identifies a certain group of people, distinguished from all the others.
We already understand what “Holy” signifies—a separation from Sin, and separated unto God. Add the “Ethnos” to this equation, and we see what Peter is proclaiming us to be: A new nationality of people, separated out from the world. Now centered upon and serving Almighty God, through the active presence of His Holy Spirit.
It then becomes so evident, that—just as Jesus said—we are in this world, but not of it. (John 17:16) This new nationality we have been made to be, truly makes all things new.
We no longer think like the world around us, or hold the same values. Our hearts contain a peace that our heads don’t always understand. Our eternal future has certainly been changed. And even our present becomes the brand new day as we arise in faith each morning, to believe anew, that we might take up our cross and follow Him!
He has made us into His “royal” priesthood. We’ve already seen in 1 Peter 2:5 how God has made His living house a “holy” priesthood. Is this just semantics, or was Peter making a distinction between the two statements? I believe that he purposely was. And we can understand the significance of this contrast by the contexts they lie within.
The Greek meaning for “holy” in 1 Peter 2, verse 5 is “Hagios,” which means “sacred.” Blameless. Separated from Sin, and consecrated unto God.
But when we get to verse 9, we see that the priesthood is now clearly distinguished as “royal,” meaning kingly in nature. Regal!
We are not only separated from Sin, and consecrated unto God, but we have been selected and placed into a position as the direct representatives of God upon earth!
And….we are peculiar. You always knew you were a little quirky. But Peculiar? Yes—and be so thankful that you are. Our Greek meaning for “peculiar” here is, beyond the usual. Special.
And it is not conceited to identify ourselves as “special” to God.
We are the people who have been purchased, chosen and adopted by Christ Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who paid a price beyond comprehension for us. We have been pulled from the slime pits of Sin and ruin. We have been pardoned out from the slave houses of civilization. I think we can safely say that we are no longer some ordinary folk, randomly focusing on whatever happens to be trending on TikTok.
Each and every Christian that has ever lived—within each generation of God’s perfect timing—has been gifted with a special, spontaneous and powerful message to this world. Our message is delivered by God Himself, through us—His living group of specialized agents…
“that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”
1 Peter 2:9b
Surprisingly, these “praises” Peter is referring to here, may not resemble much of what we might equate with praise or worship. The Greek word for “praises” means “valor.” Excellence. Virtue. An inner strength, God-confidence, and courage.
Evidently, these “praises” are more of a living testament of the Holy, powerful Life within us—out to a dying world around us. Not necessarily verbal, but a demonstration before mankind—revealing the Light and Liberty of the Holy God who dwells within us!
As we are lovingly led into situations where God has the opportunity to shine.
We Are Called into Christ’s Sufferings
“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return;
when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—
by whose stripes you were healed.
For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
1 Peter 2:18-25 (NKJV)
Wait now. Hold the phone. You and I didn’t sign up for any suffering, when we chose to follow Jesus. Did we?
To be sure, this is the harder part of living as the people of God—being the people of God. This is where the “acceptable” sacrifices of a laid down life really become…real. Painful. Real painful.
But Peter doesn’t simply tell us to buck up and stand on our own. He points out something far more weighty and superior to depend upon, than just our own self-determination.
Our Christ Jesus has humbly left his own footprints in the sands of suffering, for us to follow. We shouldn’t faint in the desert, especially in those difficult, unjust moments of our days. We have a Shepherd and Friend in our suffering. We can entrust ourselves to Him, as He leads us through.
Life can make us feel like we are losing sometimes. Loved ones…relationships…jobs…possessions. Even worse is when we feel like we have lost ground in our walk with the Lord. Disastrous mistakes…wrong turns…false starts…years wasted in sinful habits and patterns.
But no matter what we lose, we will never lose our positional place within the living and loving body of Christ. For He has paid the exorbitant price for our salvation, our freedom, our righteousness, and so much more.
Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to be his living entity—built up together, stable and strong. His chosen generation, His royal priesthood, his Holy nation, His own special people. And we have been endowed with a supernatural strength in suffering—for His Name.
As people who are owned by the Eternal One, eternity is in our hearts. And we know that any suffering we may endure now, will ultimately result in our victory, when we finally see our Lord Jesus face to face!
Are you suffering right now? Are you downcast and disheartened? Do you feel like giving up? Please—let my words in this article sink down into your soul, and remind you of who you are, and who were created to be.
You are of the NAME.
At the moment you believed, and put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your life and your salvation, you became holy. Royal. Chosen. One of the priesthood.
You are one of the selected and solidified building blocks of the temple of the Most High.
You are part of God’s body of believers—given all the strength and ability that you need, from Him.
You are God’s special agent upon this earth—claimed and called into His service, within this last generation of the church age.
Friend, you are going to make it. Please, don’t give up.
Come along with us—into this last-days commission of holy service. Just as you are. You and I don’t need to be perfect, to deliver His message.
Let us proclaim the NAME that has made all of this possible. The NAME that has made US possible. The NAME, far above every other name that is named in heaven or in earth.
For we are the people of His NAME!
Let the world now witness what God has done!
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.