1 Peter 2:4-5 4As you come to him, a living stone, on the one hand, rejected by people, but on the other hand, chosen by God and precious to him, 5you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house into be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter shifts imagery and calls Jesus a living stone. Stone is not alive, although lava might be considered alive because it moves. Peter combines two ideas with this phrase. The image of stone comes from Psalm 118, which Peter quotes in verses 6-8. A stone represents a solid, immovable, and strong foundation. In the ancient world, stone was a key building material. In modern times, concrete has replaced chiseled stone that the ancients used. Stone lasts millennia, as evidenced by the many buildings still in existence from ancient times. The image of this stone as alive could refer to how Jesus rose from the dead and is alive forevermore.
People rejected Jesus as the keystone of the building of their lives. The specific historical reference could be to his crucifixion, but not accepting the message of salvation is also a similar rejection. People determine that Jesus does not fit into the building of their lives. The result is a shaky foundation. Jesus used the illustration of a house built on that crumbled when the wind and rains came. However, the house built on solid rock, which represented his teaching, would endure the tests (Matthew 7:24-27). In God’s perspective, this living stone is the primary one that keeps the building together. A weak foundation will result in a weak building. Often as much work and costs go into the foundation as with the rest of the building. Jesus as the foundation of our lives is God’s plan for humanity.
Peter then calls his readers living stones as well. Once again, he combines a mixed metaphor of an immovable rock that is alive. He seems to be pointing to the idea of the firmness of stones and the new life that comes in Christ. We form part of the walls of the house of which Jesus is the foundation. This house is spiritual in nature, since it is a community joined together through the Holy Spirit. This is not an ordinary house but a temple. We are formed into God’s house where God’s Spirit dwells. Paul used a similar image in Ephesians 2:19–22.
Part of our purpose in being this spiritual house is to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through our high priest, Jesus Christ. The implied exhortation in verse 5 is that the sacrifices are acceptable to God. What makes such a sacrifice acceptable to God is when it is offered in faith, commitment (Romans 12:1-2), and obedience (Hebrews 13:15) through Jesus Christ. An acceptable sacrifice is one that has been given completely to God, entirely sanctified, open to be used for God’s sacred purposes. Other passages refer to the church as God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Ephesians 2:19–22; Hebrews 3:6). Jesus’ own sacrifice of his life makes our sacrifice acceptable because we are trusting in the power of his blood to make atonement for our sins. Only a life built on him is acceptable to God and part of his temple.