The Mission of God (1 Peter 2:1-12)

Series: The ChurchPreacher: Ps. James TangDate: 8th February 2026Passage: 1 Peter 2:1-12Sermon Summary:We commonly assume that God’s priesthood is reserved for those called to full-time or vocational ministry. Like the Levites before them, God must have set these people aside for a special calling. This couldn’t be further from the truth: the call for all of God’s people to be part of His holy priesthood has remained the same over the ages. The heart of the priesthood is to create and maintain a space for people to encounter God. We see this in Genesis, where God called the first man and the first woman to rule over and subdue the earth, to have dominion over every living thing on it. (Gen. 1:28) We see this in the Israelites after they were brought out of Egypt, where they were asked to obey God and to keep His covenant. (Exod. 19:5-6) The apostle Peter tells us in the New Testament to put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. No longer do we need to offer up animal sacrifices to God like the Levites did, since Christ’s sacrifice did this once for all when He offered up Himself. (Heb. 7:27) But Peter tells us to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (1 Pet. 1:1-5), and the apostle Paul tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. (Rom. 12:1)We might not associate the call to God’s priesthood with the command to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28L16-20), but the two are shockingly similar—in both, there is the command to observe everything Jesus taught us. We are to dedicate God’s people to Him by baptizing them in the name of the triune God. Because we are people ransomed by Him, we are to live holy, set-apart lives, lives that are different from those around us. Will you obey the command of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations? Will you heed the included call to become part of God’s priesthood?