Sermon series: AN EXPOSITION OF FIRST PETER

Subject: Jesus Christ, The Chief Cornerstone

1 Peter 2:4-10 (Amplified Text)
"Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight.

[Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.
For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen (honored), precious chief Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall never be disappointed or put to shame.
To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him) is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone. And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy."

Throughout Scripture, various metaphors are used to describe the person of Jesus Christ. Peter reaches back into the Old Testament, as well as the words of Christ, to give us the title...Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone.
Psalm 118:19-24 reads: "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. The Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

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In this original Old Testament setting, the "cornerstone" is a reference to Israel. The powers of the world flung it aside as useless; but God destined it for the most honorable and important place in the building of His kingdom in the world. The words express Israel’s consciousness of its mission and destiny in the purpose of God. Jesus took these words and applied them to Himself! It looked as if He was utterly rejected by men; but in the purpose of God He was the cornerstone of the edifice of the eternal Kingdom of God, honored above all.
One of the most illuminating parables Jesus ever told was the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. Listen to the words of Jesus: "Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomsoever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them" (Matthew 21:33-45).
In this parable, Jesus is showing how the nation of Israel had again and again refused

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to listen to the prophets and had persecuted them, and how this refusal was to reach its climax with His own death. But beyond the death He saw the triumph and He told of that triumph in the words of this ancient Psalm. In the Old Testament there are other references to this symbolic stone, and the early Christian writers used them for their purposes. The first is in Isaiah 28:16: "Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation; he who believes will not be in haste."
Again the reference is to Israel. The sure and precious stone is God’s unfailing relationship to His people, a relationship which was to culminate in the coming of the Messiah. Once again the early Christian writers took this passage and applied it to Jesus Christ as the precious and immovable foundation stone of God.
Again, in Isaiah 8:13-14 we read: "But the Lord of hosts, Him you shall regard as holy; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He will become a sanctuary, and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
The meaning of this verse is that God is offering His lordship to the people of Israel; that to those who accept Him He will become a sanctuary and a salvation, but to those who reject Him He will become a terror and a destruction. Again the early Christian writers took this passage and applied it to Jesus. To those who accept him...Jesus is Saviour and Friend; to those who reject Him He is judgment and condemnation.
Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, referred to Jesus as the Cornerstone. "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." (Ephesians 2:19-22)
In the book of Romans, Paul made reference to the Old Testament passage when he writes: "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not

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seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." (Romans 9:30-33)
The actual quotation which Paul uses here is a combination of Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16. The Christians, including Paul, took it to mean this——God had intended His Son to be the foundation of every man's life, but when He came the Jews rejected Him, and because they rejected Him that gift of God which had been meant for their salvation became the reason for their condemnation. The eternal truth behind this thought is this: Jesus was sent into this world to be the Savior of men; but He is also the touch-stone by which all men are judged. If a man's heart goes out in love and submission to Him, Jesus is for him salvation. If a man's heart is entirely unmoved or angrily rebellious, Jesus is for him condemnation.
There is one other reference to Christ being the Chief Cornerstone. It is found in Acts 4:10-12: "Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
CORNERSTONE...what is it? The dictionary gives us this definition: "A stone which lies at the corner of two walls and serves to unite them; specifically, a stone built into a corner of the foundation of an important edifice as the actual or nominal starting point in the building.
That is the role of Jesus Christ in the Church. Jesus is a lively (living) stone and the chief cornerstone Who seeks to be the master builder of our lives and who desires to build us together into a holy temple in the Lord—His Church. "Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ." (2:5) Thus, in text, the Christian is likened to a living stone, and the Church is likened unto a living edifice into which He is built.
No one can be a part of God’s building unless he places himself upon the foundation stone laid by God in the person of Christ. God is just like all builders; He has a foundation upon which all workers must lay

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stones of their lives.
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock [Christ and His Word]; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which build his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24-27)
"Nevertheless the foundation of God [Christ] standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. And, let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19)
Our text in 1 Peter 2:5 reads: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
When we place our lives upon the Living Stone of God, we become living stones...stones that shall exist forever and ever. We have been given the very life of God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
When we turn to God and lay our lives upon the foundation stone of Christ, we become a part of God’s eternal house. It takes many stones to build a great building, and the same is true of God’s spiritual house. To be a living stone in God’s eternal house is another way of stating our position as members of God’s eternal family.
Jesus Christ has a Body, which is the Church. Those who are related to Christ as Lord and Saviour relate themselves to the Church. And Christians are the living stones, destined to perform redemptive functions among men and to be a unique incarnation in the social world.
Much is said in our text (1 Peter 2:4-10) about the nature of the Church, and the function of the living stones that make up the Church. The foundation of the Christian community is a solid and living and historical reality...Jesus Christ. Christians worship no dead Christ. From Him the entire edifice gets its stability, its trueness, its design; upon Him the entire house ultimately rests. Theologians have long debated about the nature of the Church, only to become more and more bewildered at its mystery and its complexity. The Church is both "visible" and "invisible." It exists in invisible form as well as visi-

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ble form. Peter is aware of the mystery of the Church and its divine nature, but he is also conscious of the fact that it is composed of real people who are living stones. For an individual to be reckoned a member of the Church is a solemn and sacred reality. His solitariness is surrounded by the glory of fellowship with Christ and with His community of divine destiny! He is given a place in the drama of divine redemption. He is a member of the living household of God’s family, an initiate into God’s redemptive priesthood, an elect of God’s race, a citizen of God’s holy nation.
The priesthood of the believer is one of the great teachings of Scripture. Just imagine! We stand before God as a priest, as one who has access into God’s presence any time of any day, that we might offer spiritual sacrifices to God. What are these spiritual sacrifices we have the joy of offering to our God?
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but, be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Galatians 5:24)
We have the joy of offering our life, our time, our talents to God daily following Him in love, even as He loved us and gave Himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God.
Continual praise is another sacrifice we can offer to God.
"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15)
"And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing." (Psalm 107:22)
"But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)
Another spiritual sacrifice is good works gifts and money.
"But to do good and to communicate [give] forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Hebrews 13:16)
"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)

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The offering of spiritual sacrifices...what a glorious privilege for us as living stones in God’s eternal edifice. Our prayers and our praises, our work and our lives, all bringing glory to the Chief Cornerstone!
The purpose of the apostle here is to compare the church to a beautiful temple--such as the temple in Jerusalem, and to show that it is complete in all its parts, as that was. It has within itself what corresponds with everything that was valuable in that. It is a beautiful structure like that; and there were real and acceptable sacrifices offered, so it is in the Christian Church. The Jews prided themselves much on their temple. It was a most costly and splendid edifice. It was the place where God was worshipped, and where He was supposed to dwell. It had an imposing service, and there was acceptable worship rendered there.
As a new dispensation was introduced; as the tendency of the Christian system was to draw off the worshippers from that temple, and to teach them that God could be worshipped as acceptable elsewhere as at Jerusalem. "Jesus said to her (the Samaritan woman at the well) 'Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (John 4:21-24)
As Christianity did not inculcate the necessity of rearing splendid temples for worship of God, and as in fact the temple of Jerusalem was about to be destroyed for ever, it was important to show that in the Christian Church there might be found all that was truly beautiful and valuable in the temple at Jerusalem; that it had what corresponded to what was in fact most precious there, and that there was still a most magnificent and beautiful temple on earth. The sacred writers labored to show that all was found in the Church that had made the temple at Jerusalem so glorious, and that the great design contemplated by the erection of that splendid edifice—the maintenance of the worship of God—was now accomplished in a more glorious manner than ever in the services of that house. For there was a temple, made up of living materials, which was still the peculiar dwelling place of God on earth! And in that temple there was a holy priest-

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hood--for every Christian was a priest.
In verse 9 of our text, Peter gives us a wonderful description of the Church, the Body of Christ, the Family of God.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
A chosen generation! Peter reaches back again to the Old Testament. Exodus 19:5-6 says: "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, that you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
The believer has been chosen to enjoy a new and intimate fellowship with God, to live a life of obedience to God’s commands, and to serve Him in a unique relationship.
An holy nation! The Christian has been chosen that he may be different from other men. That difference lies in the fact that he is dedicated to God’s will and to God’s service.
A peculiar people!
Christians are a people for God specially to posses. It frequently happens that the value of a thing lies in the fact that some one has possessed it. A very ordinary thing acquires a new value, if it has been possessed by some famous person. The Christian may be a very ordinary person but he acquires a new value because he belongs to God. Peter tells us that once we were nobody, but now we are children of the Most High God.
God has called the Christian out of darkness into His glorious light. "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." (Colossians 1:13)
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-8)
Believers! We are living stones built upon the Chief Cornerstone, to tell forth the glories of our Savior and our God!