Scripture Passage
And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. (1 Peter 2:5 NLT)
Observation
1 Peter 2:5 launches a wonderful metaphor for what it means to be the church—the people of God. Peter writes that we “are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple” (1 Peter 2:5 NLT).
Certainly there are other great Biblical metaphors for the church—“the body of Christ” and “the bride of Christ” come to mind—but there’s something especially attractive about this description of the people of God as “living stones” being built into a “spiritual temple.” At the same moment that those words picture stability (stones) they picture fluidity (living). At the same moment that those words portray structure they portray movement. At the same moment that those words recognize individuality they recognize and call for connection…interrelationship…interdependence.
All of those things are qualities the church must embrace in a rapidly changing environment. Given the significant cultural shifts that have occurred especially over the last fifty or perhaps one hundred years…and given that those changes continue to occur with increasing rapidity…the church must be marked by fluidity and movement. But she cannot neglect those realities that tie her together as a body and provide the foundation for her health and strength—the finished work of Christ, the present activity of the Holy Spirit, and the living, authoritative Word of God.
What a blessing to know that the Scriptural message overflows any cultural boundaries imposed upon it and that the church remains, by the grace of God, His church—equipped to partner with God in Kingdom progress until the day of His glorious return.
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