The People God is Building

Sermon Title: The People God Is Building

Scripture Text: 1 Peter 2:4-10

1. Key Scriptures

• 1 Peter 2:4-10
• 1 Peter 2:1-3
• 1 Peter 2:12
• 1 Peter 1:1-3
• 1 Peter 1:18-19
• 1 Peter 1:22-25
• Isaiah 28:16
• Isaiah 8:13-14
• Psalm 118:22-24
• Exodus 19:5-6
• Hosea 1:6-10
• Hosea 2:23
• John 14:6
• John 4:22
• Ephesians 2:1-22

2. Sermon Flow & Takeaways
3. Come to the Stone God Has Chosen

Peter begins with Christ, the Living Stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in the sight of God. The Christian life begins by coming to Christ, and it continues by coming to Him again and again in faith, repentance, weakness, and need.

Takeaways:

• Do not measure Christ by the world’s verdict; measure Him by God’s verdict.
• The world may vote Christ down, but heaven has declared Him chosen and precious.

1. Trust the Cornerstone God Has Laid

Peter grounds the church’s hope in Scripture: God Himself has laid Christ as the chosen and precious Cornerstone. Christ does not merely begin the church; He defines the church.

Takeaways:

• Whoever believes in Christ will not finally be put to shame.
• There is no neutral response to Jesus: He is either the Cornerstone on whom we rest or the stone over whom we stumble.

III. Become the People God Has Made

Peter takes covenant titles from the Old Testament and applies them to believers in Christ: chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, and people for God’s own possession. God’s promises have not failed; they have reached their fulfillment in Christ and now belong to all who are united to Him by faith.

Takeaways:

• In Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles together are brought into the people of God.
• Your deepest identity is not self-created, culturally assigned, or rooted in your past; God has named you in Christ.

1. Proclaim the Praise God Deserves

God has made His people His own possession so that they may proclaim His excellencies. Christian identity is never meant to terminate on us; it exists for the glory of God.

Takeaways:

• Your identity exists for doxology.
• We proclaim God’s excellencies with our lips and with our lives, as those called out of darkness into His marvelous light.

3. Primary Sources

• Matthew Henry, Commentary on 1 Peter 2:4-10
• John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Peter 2:4-10
• Charles H. Spurgeon, “The True Priesthood, Temple and Sacrifice”
• D. A. Carson, “A Holy Nation: The Church’s High Calling”
• D. A. Carson, teaching on 1 Peter 2:4-12

4. Additional Resources

• D. A. Carson, “A Holy Nation: The Church’s High Calling”
• Ligonier Ministries resources on the priesthood of all believers
• Ligonier Ministries resources on Christ as the Cornerstone
• The Gospel Coalition articles on the church as the temple of God
• Further study: Exodus 19:1-6; Isaiah 28:14-22; Hosea 1-2; Ephesians 2:11-22; Hebrews 10:19-25; Revelation 21:1-27