What is the mission of the church? What is its purpose? Why does it exist? The church itself was seen in the Epistles to be God’s new society, the new community, the new creation of God. The very existence of the church, with the new life its members were living, was a standing testimony to the saving power of God’s gospel. In 1 Peter 2:1-12 we find one of the fullest and most vivid characterizations of the church to be found in the New Testament. He brings together five striking metaphors to illustrate different aspects of the church’s being and consequent responsibility.
First, the church is likened to newborn babies. He wants them to grow up into maturity. We do it by drinking the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God. The daily discipline of Scripture meditation is necessary if we are to grow into maturity in Christ.
Secondly, we are to be living stones built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. We are to be built into a spiritual house attached to one another to form a solid community of faith, hope and love.
Thirdly, we are to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. All of us enjoy direct access to God through Jesus Christ to offer our sacrifices of praise. We are a priesthood of all believers in touch with the transcendent God.
Fourthly, we are a chosen race, a holy nation, God’s own people, to declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. This is an echo of Exodus 19:4-6 and Deuteronomy 7:6. We are the true Israel, God’s chosen, holy, priestly, special people, his peculiar treasure. God has elected us to witness to him, to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 4:1,6). We witness to deliverance from the darkness of sin and guilt, the darkness of ignorance and death. God has enlightened us, adopted us, had mercy on us.
Fifthly, we are aliens and exiles. We have been born again into God’s family and kingdom. Heaven has become our home. In consequences, we are strangers, even refugees, on earth. We are citizens of two kingdoms and we have responsibilities to perform in both. Earthly possessions, affluence, luxuries, sorrow, suffering and death all look quite different in the light of eternity. Holiness or Christlike character becomes important to us only when we remember that we are traveling to an eternal destiny. For Christlike character endures. We have important duties on earth, but we must never allow them to preoccupy us in such a way that we forget who we are and where we are going. We are not to behave like a secular humanist who believes that man is on his own and that this life is everything. We have a more exciting and enduring life in Christ to bear witness to.
(Ted Schroder, John Stott: A Summary of his teaching, pp.97,98)
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