1 Peter 2:1-5 – “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  NASB

I have always found this to be a fascinating passage.  I believe it is God’s Word to the Church at this hour!  I believe the Church, the Body of Christ, has come to a ‘new phase’ in its development and progress in the Kingdom!  I believe we are at a new juncture on our road to Becoming that which God has designated and desired for us to be now. 

If we are to become One Body and function as a body to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our sphere of influence and world, we must become a Spiritual House rather than be a Stone Pile filled with individual stones.

• We MUST Realize and Know Who We Are.

We will never fully know who we are until we truly know whose we are.  I do not mean the religious cliché “I’m God’s;” I mean Him – His person, nature, character, love, grace, trustworthiness, etc.  We must come to know the Covenant Maker and Keeper, who is GOD!  I am talking about intimacy with Him, not familiarity with Him.

• We MUST Come to Know His Covenant and His Kingdom.

Covenantal Relationships are the ‘foundation for function’ in the Body of Christ and life.  They provide power, provisions, and promises of Covenant are to be walked out in daily living.  I believe that as we know God’s Covenant and Kingdom, we come to know God and thereby know Who We Are!

• We MUST Come to Know God’s Pattern for Function Locally.

I have often called this the “Jethro Principle,” revealed to and practiced by Moses in the wilderness and Jesus in the New Testament.  I believe it is the pattern for Body Ministry and the only way to successfully reach and develop the harvest.  Here, we come to know God’s Truths about Body Ministry, Team Ministry, Apostolic authority, and function rather than position.  It is here that we are able to pull down religious hierarchies and come to maturity in Christ.

• We MUST Become a Spiritual House that is FULLY FUNCTIONING. 

We must be ‘fitted and framed’ together as a unit, house, body, and family, with the parts functioning as the whole.  In this condition, we ‘reproduce’ and ‘disciple’ others, enabling them to function fully as a part of the Body of Christ, God’s Spiritual House.

We are Living Stones, and the problem with living stones is that we have minds and wills of our own.  We do our own thing; we do not stay where we have been placed and have egos, ambitions, and feelings. 

Unlike natural building stones, we present a unique problem in building.  We are not inanimate objects but Living Stones, and as living stones, we are literally ‘cells’ in the Body of Christ and linked to each other cells by the blood.  It is imperative that we ‘die to self’ in order to ‘live unto Him.’  Truly, the words of John the Baptist are fitting – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

I urge you to make it your objective and purpose to become a Spiritual House rather than a Stone in a Stone Pile.   

May God be with you as you go through your day!