Peter’s writings have been striking me in a new way this past month. It is as if the flavor of the authority of his writings is just a little more meaty, more substantial than I’ve experienced from it in past readings. Recently I’ve been meditating on 1 Peter 2:5
“…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.”
I love how Peter takes three elements of Hebrew worship and reveals how they pointed to the post-crucifixion, post-resurrection, post-Pentecost daily reality of believers. He takes the temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices and says “That’s you guys now”. The reality is that we as believers are being built into a structure, the very place where the presence of God is pleased to dwell, while at the same time we are initiated into priestly ministry through Christ’s blood. In the past, the presence of God dwelt in the tabernacle and later the temple, and only the high priest could minister in the presence of God and live. Here it says that the body of believers is the place of God’s dwelling, and we are also those who minister in the presence of God. Whereas these were two separate elements of worship before Christ, now they are mentioned as being one and the same, and we who are given over to Christ embody both.
With only a little bit of cross-referencing we can even see ourselves in the third element of worship mentioned – sacrifice. Romans 12 begins with an exhortation for believers to present themselves as living sacrifices. Just as the Old Testament prophets knew, God desired the love, affections, and obedience of his people far more than the blood of sheep and bulls.
I’m in awe of how the structure of worship God established for the Israelites now finds a more perfect image in the outworking of life and faith of those who believe in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ the Messiah. We embody what the tabernacle, priests and sacrifices pointed to. A people whom God dwelt among, who administered blessing and forgiveness by the Blood, and whom poured themselves out before God in worship. Incredible.
