In 1 Peter 2:5, Peter uses the metaphor “living stones.” Today as we delve into this metaphor, we will answer two questions. First, what do living stones mean in this passage, and second, are you a living stone? We find the living-stones Scripture in 1 Peter 2:5, but before we go there, I want to point back to 1 Peter 1:23 for context. It says, […] you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. He is speaking to people born again through the living Word of God.
Then in chapter two, he continues with an example of what that looks like lived out in daily life:
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. (1 Peter 2:1-2)
Because we have been born again, these things should no longer have a place in our lives. Putting off in the Greek is the word used for taking off clothes. It means we are to strip ourselves of these things. Malice means evil thoughts, deceit refers to deceitfulness in all its forms, and hypocrisy is acting like you are something other than you are. In this context, it is about pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that you do not possess. Envy is pretty clear-cut, but what about slander? Here it refers to gossiping. These things dressed us in the past but should be stripped off and set aside when born again.
In verse 2, we see how we are to grow in respect to our salvation by feeding on the Word of God. I’m not discounting spiritual experiences, but as exciting andin Ephesians 2:20-22. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
These living stones are the church built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Peter uses the metaphor of living stones to illustrate the secure and intimate relationship believers have with Jesus. It creates an image of how God joins Jesus and his followers into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.
If you are a living stone
When talking to my husband about the meaning of living stones, he pointed out that stones are God-made while bricks are man made. The only way to become a living stone is through God's way—Jesus.
As living stones:
You have new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
You are an integral part of the building of God and have security in Christ (John 6:37)
You are placed by God where he wants you to be (1 Corinthians 12:18)
You are connected to others in the body of Christ (Romans 12:5)