The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone^(A)—rejected by humans but chosen by God^(B) and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built^(C) into a spiritual house^[a](D) to be a holy priesthood,^(E) offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.^(F)

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^(A) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^(B)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(A) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^(B)

¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?^(A) For we are the temple^(B) of the living God.^(C) As God has said:

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,^(A) but fellow citizens^(B) with God’s people and also members of his household,^{(C) 20} built^(D) on the foundation^(E) of the apostles and prophets,^(F) with Christ Jesus himself^(G) as the chief cornerstone.^{(H) 21} In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple^(I) in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.^(J)

⁶ But Christ is faithful as the Son^(A) over God’s house. And we are his house,^(B) if indeed we hold firmly^(C) to our confidence and the hope^(D) in which we glory.

⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness^(A) of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire^(B)—may result in praise, glory and honor^(C) when Jesus Christ is revealed.^(D)

Suffering for Being a Christian

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you^(A) to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice^(B) inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,^(C) so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.^(D)