Identity. Who you understand yourself to be plays a big part in what you believe you can do. If you see yourself as dumb or clumsy, it will affect how you act. If you see yourself as capable and responsible, it will make a difference in what you attempt. Peter emphasizes the identity of Christians in this passage.

We are the temple of God, with Jesus as the cornerstone. That cornerstone was rejected by men but chosen by God. This is how we should see ourselves as well. We have put our faith in the Rock of God and he will never let us down.

We are a living temple, with the additional identity of being a priesthood, offering sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. Moreover, we are that sacrifice, offering ourselves to God (see Romans 12:1).

We are God's chosen people, transformed by him into being God's kingly priesthood and holy nation. We used to be nobodies, but now we are the very people of God. We used to be hopeless because of our sins, but now we have received God's mercy.

A living, breathing temple of God, resting on a cornerstone that had been rejected by the world but given a special place of honor by God. Priests. Holy. Nobodies given the identity of God's family. That is who we are as Christians.

As a result, we don't follow the world's ways. We no longer belong to the world. We have a new identity and a new purpose: as God's people, we are to declare his praises and live holy lives in a pagan world. If we live this way, when God comes our opponents will have to admit that we were right.

We don't have to live this way by our own strength. The God who has given us this new identity will also give us the power to live as his people in a world that is arrayed against us. We may feel like losers at times in this world, but in the end we will be on the winning side.

1. When have you seen a person's self-concept affect what he or she attempted or accomplished?

 

2. What is the significance to you of the church being described as the temple of God; that is, God's dwelling place (2:5)?

 

3. How does it affect your relationship with the world when you realize that you have accepted as Savior one whom the world has rejected (2:7-8)?

 

4. How is Jesus the cornerstone for your life?

 

5. Israel was God's chosen people in the Old Testament (the phrases in 2:9 are similar to those used in Exodus 19:5-6, when God chose Israel). God chose Israel to carry out a mission in the world: to be a light among the Gentiles. However, Israel took being chosen to mean that they were better than the other nations. Since they were chosen, they thought that they only needed to defend what they were doing and didn't have to be concerned about other people. How has the church also misunderstood being chosen and how have we turned inward in a similar way?

 

6. How do sinful desires war against your soul (2:11)?

 

7. Why would pagans accuse Christians of doing wrong (2:12)?

 

8. How are good deeds something your enemies can't argue against?