An identity that is built on the fulfillment of God's promises and plan...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter is preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. Yesterday, we looked on as the Apostle Peter revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the power that hope has in the life of a follower of follower of Jesus in that the hope we have in Jesus should lead to us embracing our identity as part of God’s kingdom community.

We discovered that in 1 Peter 2:4-10 Peter reveals for us three different aspects of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. First, in 1 Peter 2:4-5, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the foundation of Jesus.

As the foundation, Jesus is the one who is life and who gives eternal life. As the foundation, Jesus was rejected by humanity as being unworthy to build their lives upon. However, as the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being the best of the best by God. As the foundation, Jesus is viewed as being of great value and worth by God.

As followers of Jesus, our rescue from rebellion into relationship with God gives us a new identity as we are being built into a kingdom community by God. We are being built into a kingdom community that has eternal life with God. And we are being built into a kingdom community that is set apart and dedicated to the ministry and mission of God: A ministry that mediates between God and humanity so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to humanity: A ministry and mission that lives in a way that demonstrates that we view God as being of supreme value.

 

And as Peter continued in this letter to early followers of Jesus, we see Peter begin to provide the evidence to support his claim of the new identity that followers of Jesus have as a part of this new kingdom community called the church. And as a result, we see Peter reveal a second aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus. Peter begins to provide this evidence in 1 Peter 2:6-8. Let’s look at it together:

For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." ⁷ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," ⁸ and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Here we see Peter begin to provide the evidence to support his claim of the new identity that followers of Jesus have as a part of this new kingdom community called the church by quoting from a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 28:16, during this time in history, the Jewish people were consistently rebelling and rejecting the Lord and the words that the Lord was bringing to the Jewish people through His prophets. And Isaiah was no exception.

Instead of listening to the words of warning from Isaiah regarding their selfishness and rebellion against the Lord, the Jewish people rejected Isaiah’s words of warning from the Lord. Instead of running to the Lord in their times of trouble for help, the Jewish people chose to run to the nation of Egypt for help. The Jewish people decided to trust in the nation of Egypt instead of the promises of the Lord.

And it was in this context that the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed God’s promise of a rescuer, a deliver, a Messiah, who would be sent from God to bring the Jewish people back to God. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that whoever placed their confident trust in God’s promises would not be disappointed in God. However, whoever refused to place their confident trust in God’s promises would be disappointed and destroyed as a result of their rejection of God’s promise.

Then, in verse 7, Peter explained that God’s promise of this precious cornerstone of a Messiah was for those who would place their confident trust in God and God’s promises. However, for those who rejected God and God’s promise, Peter reminded the readers of this letter of another part of the Psalmists’ words in Psalm 118:22, which both Jesus and Peter had previously quoted and which we had looked at a few minutes ago. Peter then quoted from another section of the book of Isaiah, this time Isaiah 8:14. 

In Isaiah 8, the prophet Isaiah contrasted the responses of those who would trust in the Lord and the promises of Lord by regarding the Lord as Holy as opposed to those who refused to trust in the Lord and the promises of the Lord by refusing to regard the Lord as Holy. And in refusing to trust in the Lord, Isaiah proclaimed that the Lord and the promises of the Lord are a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

You see, the Jewish people just could not get over the Lord and the promises of the Lord. Instead, they stumbled over the Lord and the promises of the Lord. Instead, they took offense at the Lord and refused to trust in the promises of the Lord.

Peter quoted from Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14 to reveal the reality that regardless of what people think about Jesus; regardless of whether or not people place their trust in God and God’s promise of a rescuer, a Messiah; Jesus is that rescuer, that Messiah. Regardless of whether or not people would view Jesus as the life giving foundational cornerstone of God’s movement in history called the church, that is who Jesus is.

Jesus is the life giving foundational cornerstone of God’s movement in history called the church, who has began to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth by establishing a new kingdom community that would be responsible for bringing the light of the kingdom of heaven into the dark spaces and places of this world. Whether you like it or not; whether you believe it or not; Peter’s point is that is who Jesus is. You see the most important question anyone can ask and answer is “who is Jesus?”           

Peter then hammered home his point in the second half of verse 8 by boldly stating that “they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” But this morning, what does that mean? What does Peter mean when he says to this doom they were appointed?  Peter’s point here is two-fold.

First, Peter is stating that those who stumble over Jesus, those who cannot get over Jesus, do so because they reject the message and teachings of Jesus. Instead of responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by placing their trust in Jesus and obeying the message and teachings of Jesus, they chose to reject Jesus and disobey the message and teachings of Jesus.

Second, Peter is revealing the reality that people should not be surprised that people would choose to reject Jesus and disobey the message and teachings of Jesus, because that was anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment as part of God's plan. When Peter uses the word appointed here this word literally means to cause to undergo a change in experience or condition. Peter’s here is painting a word picture to reveal the reality that the stone that was rejected by them will end up destroying them.

Wherever God discloses Himself, people respond differently. God anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment God’s right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. God anticipated, predicted and brought to fulfillment the suffering of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to be rescued from their selfishness and rebellion. And God anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment the rejection of the Messiah, as well as His triumph.

You see, God is sovereign and we are responsible. God does not take good people and make them bad. Instead God chooses to confirm and set into place the selfishness and rebellion that is already present in them. The great reformed theologian Calvin referred to this truth this way: “The same sun which melts the wax also hardens the clay”. Because, the timeless reality is that God’s freedom to choose some and reject others is just because no one deserves to be chosen.

Every human being selfishly rebels and rejects God and the relationship with God that they were created for.  God sovereignly chooses to confirm and set into place the selfishness and rebellion that is already present in some. And God sovereignly chooses, by His gracious and transformational activity through His Son Jesus Christ, to melt and bend some hearts to Him.  And we are responsible for our response to the most important question that we can ask and answer, which is “Who is Jesus?” We are responsible for the decisions that we make and God is sovereign to fulfill His plan for humanity.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that our identity as part of God's kingdom community is built on the fulfillment of God's promises and plan. God promised a rescuer that was worthy of trust and would not disappoint. And God's promise of a rescuer would be fulfilled regardless of response.

Those who trust in God's promise will view Jesus as being worthy of honor and respect. Those who refuse to trust in Jesus will view Jesus as unworthy and reject Him. However, their refusal to trust in Jesus does not change who Jesus is. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on stumbling over who Jesus claimed to be. Their refusal to trust in Jesus is based on rejecting Jesus message. And their refusal to trust in Jesus was anticipated, predicted, and brought to fulfillment as part of God's plan.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal a third aspect of the kingdom community that should shape our identity as followers of Jesus...