Introduction
If the question is, “What is the Church?”, then the answer seems to be: a mess. The church today is a mess.
And even that response is an understatement.
Other people can sort through the mess; that’s not my concern right now. Instead, I want to talk about what God says the Church is, and not the mess we’ve made of it.
This topic came to mind this week while I was browsing Substack, and a video popped up. A priest I know was giving a talk he called “What is the Church?” He opened by saying that the church is the ἐκκλησία, the Greek word for “church” in the New Testament. This word comes from two words, ἐκ + καλέω, meaning “called out.” He was saying that the Church is the “called out” ones, those called out of the world and made a special people by God.
That explanation is accurate, except that ἐκκλησία isn’t a specifically Christian term. It really just means “an assembly” or “gathering.” It has secular usage, Jewish usage in synagogues, and was used by the first Christians to refer to the church. But the term itself isn’t distinctly Christian, so I don’t think the etymology of ἐκκλησία is the best way to understand the nature of the Church.
Instead, a more effective way to explore the question is to analyze the metaphors and language the New Testament authors use to describe the Church. Fortunately, 1 Peter 2 is rich in such expressions. In fact, it’s so loaded with imagery that the answer I’m about to give to the question “What is the Church?” is not only incomplete because we’re only examining one part of one chapter in one book of the New Testament, but also because we can’t cover all the language and imagery even in this brief section of Scripture. Each of these metaphors probably deserves its own sermon. But we’ll do our best.
Jesus Christ
The first thing we should mention is that whatever the Church is, it is because of its identification with and inclusion in Jesus Christ. Pay attention to the reasoning in vv. 4–5:
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:4–5, ESV).
It’s beneath the surface, but the logic here — and this same logic runs throughout this section — is that what is true of Jesus is true of his people. Not in a precise 1:1 way, but not far from it. Jesus is the living stone (which is a bit of an oxymoron since stones aren’t alive), and so the Church, both collectively and individually, is also a living stone.
That phrase by itself — living stones — is interesting because whatever stones are, they’re not living. They’re dead. They’re inert. But Peter refers to Jesus as the living stone, which reminds me of the image of the Lamb standing as though he had been slain. Two images that shouldn’t fit are pushed together, and suddenly we find that they do fit in surprising and interesting ways.
I suspect Peter is drawing on the language of the stone that the builders rejected and killed, but which is now alive again. He is the rejected and killed stone, yet he lives. And if that’s the connection Peter is making, as would seem likely given what Peter writes in the verses that follow, I do wonder if, in calling the Church living stones, his mind is also going back to that scene where John the Baptist says:1
And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham (Matt 3:9).
That word “raise up” is ἐγεῖραι, the word for resurrection. John says that God is able to take these dead stones and raise them up, bring them to life. In that sense, they would be living stones.
A New Temple
Regardless of the background, these once dead and inert but now living stones aren’t just lying around. They’re being built into a structure, what Peter calls “a spiritual house,” by which he undoubtedly refers to the Temple. I’ve discussed this elsewhere, and since Pentecost is approaching, I will have more to say on this topic later. But for now, suffice it to say that the Church is the place, the house, where God’s Holy Spirit has at last come to dwell in creation. No longer does God dwell in a tabernacle or in the Jerusalem Temple. Instead, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within his people — and he has done this not just to fill a certain space (the Church) with his own life and presence and to then spread from that space out into all of creation, but also so that all his people might serve him as priests.
That’s right. You are not only a new temple, but you are also a new priesthood.
A New Priesthood
In v. 5, Peter calls the Church a holy priesthood. In v. 9, he says “royal” rather than “holy.” The primary thing to notice is that you are all priests. I cannot emphasize this enough. My title as priest comes from the Greek word πρεσβύτερος, meaning “elder.” πρεσβύτερος became presbyter in Latin, which became prēost in Old English, which became “priest” in modern English.
My ordained ministry — all ordained ministry — is not the ministry of a priest in the biblical sense. We are all, the entire people of God, priests in the biblical sense of that term. And as priests, you are called to serve in God’s new temple at the intersection of heaven and earth.
This is an incredible responsibility that God has placed on all of you. This is why he has called you. This is why he has saved you. This is why he has redeemed you. This is why he has poured his Holy Spirit into you.
You are the ones tasked with bringing the world’s cares and concerns to God and bringing God’s love, mercy, and presence back to the world. That dual movement — from the world to God and from God back to the world, all through you — is what Peter calls your “spiritual sacrifice.”
And in this new Temple in which we serve as new priests, we don’t offer physical sacrifices to mediate between God and the people. Instead, our sacrifices are spiritual. We serve as mediators between people and God by offering not bulls, goats, and lambs, but ourselves — our time, our treasure, our talents, and even our lives — and we do so by the power of the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence inside us. This is why Peter calls it our “spiritual sacrifice.”
So then, to summarize vv. 4–5, the Church — all of you — are living stones, once dead but now made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you are being built into a new Temple where God, through the Holy Spirit, once again dwells in creation. In this new Temple, you also serve as priests, offering not physical sacrifices but yourselves as spiritual sacrifices to God.
The New Israel
Moving on to v. 9, Peter says something remarkable. He takes language that specifically applies to Israel and applies it to the Church.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
Look at Exodus 19:5–6:
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Likewise, Deuteronomy 7:6 says of Israel:
The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Peter is directly applying the language of covenantal Israel to the Church, not because the Church has replaced Israel, but because Israel’s story has been fulfilled, filled up, reached its climax in Jesus the Messiah. Now the Church, both Jew and Gentile alike, is “in Christ.” He is Israel, and so what is true of him is true of the Church.
What this language puts to the lie is any notion that there is still a chosen race, a favorite nation, or one specific people group that belongs to God above all others. That language has no place in a Christian’s vocabulary — and we use it far too often. None of that language belongs to any one people group, because it now properly belongs only to the Church. The Church is a new people, a new nation, a new race, called out of darkness (we’re back to ἐκκλησία language) into God’s marvelous light. This language recalls the Exodus, which is why Peter immediately moves to describing the Church as sojourners and exiles (1 Pet 2:11).
This language indicates that the Church is the New Exodus people of Israel. We are Israel because Christ is Israel. We have been set free, but we have not arrived at the Promised Land of resurrected and eternal life. We’ve left Egypt. We’ve passed through the Red Sea at our baptism, but we haven’t yet arrived at the Promised Land.
Peter doesn’t say you’re already there, you’ve already arrived, you’re already in the land of milk and honey. He says, rather, that you are sojourners and exiles. That means that you’re still wandering. It means that you’re still a work in progress, still separated from who God created and intended you to be, and that’s okay. That’s right where you’re supposed to be right now.
We know this to be true of ourselves, which is why it’s so strange that we expect other people to live as if they’ve already arrived when we know for sure that we haven’t.
We are all wilderness people, and as such, we are called to live in this world in such a way that our lives serve as a living witness to what God has done in us and what God wants to do for the entire world, so that, as Peter says, “they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (2:12).
So, What Is the Church?
The Church is a called-out people, united to Jesus Christ, so that what is true of him is true of us. He is the Temple, and so we are the Temple. He is a priest, so we are priests. He is Israel, so we are Israel.
As the new Temple, we are the place where heaven and earth connect, the place where the cares and concerns of the people are brought before God and where God’s presence, mercy, and love flow back into the world.
As priests in this new Temple, we are called to offer not the blood of bulls and goats, but spiritual sacrifices. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we sacrifice ourselves: our time, our treasure, our talents, and even our very lives in service of God and the people that he has made.
As the new Israel, the Church is drawn from every race, nation, language, and people group on earth. The Church is God’s chosen race. The Church is God’s holy nation. The Church is God’s people of his own possession. And he has called us out and made us into this new ἐκκλησία so that we may proclaim his excellencies in a world that so desperately needs to hear it.
God created the Church for this purpose. He filled the Church with his Spirit for this purpose. And for this purpose, he feeds his Church in word and sacrament and sends us back out into the world as his new temple, his new priests, and his new Israel.
Amen.
Life Group Discussion Guide
Introductory Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we gather together in your name, we thank you for calling us out of darkness into your marvelous light. We ask that you would open our hearts and minds to receive what you want to teach us today through your Word and through one another. Help us to understand more deeply who you have called us to be as your church, your temple, and your priesthood. May your Holy Spirit guide our discussion and draw us closer to you and to each other. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Ice Breaker
What is one building or place that holds special meaning for you, and why is it significant?
Questions
How does understanding that we are all ‘living stones’ change the way you view your role in the church community?
What does it mean practically for the church to serve as the ‘new temple’ where heaven and earth meet?
Fr. Michael emphasizes that all believers are priests, not just ordained clergy. How does this understanding impact your view of your own ministry and calling?
Peter describes the church as ‘sojourners and exiles.’ How should this identity shape the way we live in the world today?
What are some specific ways we can offer ‘spiritual sacrifices’ of our lives, time, treasure, and talents?
How does the truth that the Church is made up of people ‘from every nation, every race, every language’ challenge any prejudices or divisions we might have?
In what ways can our way of life serve as witnesses that cause others to ‘glorify God’?
How can we better fulfill our calling to bring the world’s concerns to God and carry God’s presence, love, and mercy back to the world?
Life Application
This week, identify one specific way you can serve as a priest by bringing someone’s concerns to God in prayer and then demonstrating God’s love to them through a practical act of service or kindness. Consider how you can be a living stone that helps build up the spiritual house of your church community.
Key Takeaways
The Church’s identity comes through union with Jesus Christ: what is true of him becomes true of his people.
All believers are priests called to mediate between the world and God through spiritual sacrifices.
The Church serves as God’s new temple, where heaven and earth connect and intersect.
The Church is God’s chosen people from every nation and race, not any single ethnic or national group.
As sojourners and exiles, the Church is called to live transformed lives that point others to God’s glory.
Ending Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for making us living stones in your spiritual house and priests in your holy temple. Help us to embrace our calling as your chosen people, set apart not for our own glory but to proclaim your excellencies to a broken and hurting world. As we go from this place, may we carry your presence with us, bringing the concerns of others before you in prayer and demonstrating your love through our actions. Guide us as sojourners and exiles to live in such a way that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. In your precious name we pray, Amen.
When I preached this sermon, I attributed the quote to Jesus, not John. Obviously, I was mistaken.