Our Cornerstone

1 Peter 2:4-8

1. Jesus is…

God clearly describes His plan – His Son is the foundation by which His church will be built, but it will not be built until Jesus makes “the way” through His death and resurrection.

This living stone was rejected by men.  

In The New Testament, Jesus did not fit the hopes and expectations of the Jewish people for the Messiah - so they rejected Him.

We also reject Jesus…

• when He does not fit our plans, 
• when we want to build our own lives and our own church, 
• or when we determine His way is not worth the personal cost.

The living stone was chosen and precious in the sight of God. Jesus was foreknown before the foundations of the earth (1:20) and is precious to God (1:19).   Equally as important, God's plan cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).

God’s plan is not determined by our approval or acceptance.

 The reason God’s church will succeed in its purpose is because His church is built upon the foundation of Christ. 

In Matthew 16:18, when Jesus gave Simon the name “Peter” (which means rock) and claimed He would build His church on this rock – did Jesus claim Peter was now THE living stone, chosen and precious by God? Did Peter superseded Christ Jesus in His role as the foundation of the church? No, and it would be a heresy to lift Peter to such a position.  

Jesus was referring to Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16) that “Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), Son of the living God”. 

It is upon this direct revelation from God to mankind and the confession by man that the church will be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Peter moves from identifying Jesus as the living stone to the cornerstone.  The cornerstone is the preeminent stone that comes before all others that sets the pattern for which everything else will be built.  

Jesus came to be the very foundation of our lives that would become the standard for everything we would say, think and do.  If He is not your foundation, He is not in the proper role in your life.

Jesus is also a stumbling stone. If your life is not built on the cornerstone, His way has become a stumbling stone in your life.

2. The Church is…

As you continue coming to Him, you are like living stones. In the midst of our daily challenges, our weariness and our discouragement – something miraculous happens when we continue coming to Him.  

We become more like Him and can be used for His purpose!

By nature of this verse, God is presently and continually building us up as a spiritual house. A spiritual house is the dwelling place of God made up of those who follow Him.  It is not a physical temple or church building – it is the work of the Spirit in us through Jesus.  

It is in this process, we discover our purpose and reason for existence together.  The impact of this truth; however, must translate to our everyday lives.  

We carry the presence of God as we leave this place, and with that, carry the responsibility of making Him known at school, at work, at home, as we date, as we play sports or other hobbies, etc…

He is building us up to be a holy priesthood. Holy means to be set apart for service to God.  It describes our loyalty and commitment to follow Christ. 

The priesthood; however, describes our status.  God did not give His Son for us to only escape the eternal fires of hell; He saved us to be heirs to His kingdom.

Therefore, with a genuine relationship that results in salvation, we are full-time servants of God for the rest of our days and our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable, because they are offered through Jesus.

What are these sacrifices?

Romans 12:1 says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. Simply put, your spiritual sacrifice is dying to your desires and living for His daily.

In verse 7, we are also honored just like Jesus is.  Not because of our accomplishments or successes, but because we are found in Christ (Colossians 3:3).

3. Who the rest are (those who do not believe)

The rest are disobedient builders who choose to build without the foundation of Jesus Christ. What God counts as precious, is rejected by them.  They may want Christ enough to prevent an eternal Hell, but they do not want Him enough to live for Him.  Therefore, Christ is a decorative stone without true function.

They are also stumblers. To them, Christ has become a stumbling stone. They believe Jesus was real, was a good teacher and prophet, who experienced an unfortunate death – counting Jesus as just another man. If He is just a little better than man – He is but a hollowed out stone in your life.

They cannot believe Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy and was born of a virgin.  The world tries to explain it away, but if your savior was not born of a virgin, He is not the Savior of the Bible and is only a hollowed out stone in your life.

They cannot believe Jesus lived a sinless life. If your Savior did not live a sinless life, He is not divine and does not have the power or authority to save – a hollowed out stone in your life.

They cannot believe Jesus was raised from the dead.  There are many worldly theories about the death and resurrection of Jesus, but there is also a detailed explanation (with witnesses) in the Bible. Jesus is precious and chosen by God, but if your Savior did not overcome death, he cannot give you eternal life – he is but a hollowed out stone.

Rejecting the Gospel rejects the only hope we have. 

Rejecting Jesus as the cornerstone leads us further down a path of unbelief and disobedience.

Good news – if you will stop, and turn to Him, the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  

If you already have, you have a purpose!  God is currently building you up with other followers to be a spiritual building, representing Him in your daily life.

Jesus as your foundation first brings about salvation. Second, it brings strength. Third, it brings purpose. And Fourth, it brings glory to God as He builds His spiritual house in us.