The Living Cornerstone in the House of God
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Introduction
Introduction
Read 1 Peter 2:4-8 “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
In Victoria this week, I was sharing from this passage, because our art camp dealt with the topic. Victoria is highly post-Christian. They don’t understand church-speak the way we do.
As I was sharing on this passage, I said, “God doesn’t build his church out of bricks, stone, or wood, He builds His church with people.”
A fourth grader who was watching us yelled, “What?!” I don’t know what image he had in his mind, but he looked horrified. But it gave me the chance to clarify, that we are like a living house of God.
We have talked for several weeks about what “we” do in the church.
We serve.
We worship.
We evangelize.
We join in membership.
We have been given the keys of the kingdom.
We cannot forget the sustainer and keeper of our lives. King Jesus. Stand with me, and let’s read 1 Peter 2 this morning.
Explanation
Explanation
1 Peter 2:4-6 “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.””
God’s Faith Family, the church, is like a house. The first stone, the cornerstone is Jesus. (v. 6)
Explanation of a cornerstone
A cornerstone is the first piece of foundation that was laid in a house or a building. Everything else was built around it. Now, the implications of this are very important.
It was the principle stone. It was the first stone to be laid. This meant that as the cornerstone lay, so the building was built.
It was normally one of the largest, most carefully constructed stone in the structure. This
The weight of the building rested upon this stone.
Christ is the cornerstone of his church. As He laid down his life, all who lay their lives upon Him become living stones.
As the cornerstone is the principle stone, so Christ is first in his church. “The means justify the ends.” Christ is the end, but He is also the means. (Col. 1, He is the firstborn from among the dead that he might have preeminence.)
As the cornerstone is the largest and strongest stone in the structure, so Christ is strongest and greatest. The success of the church comes not from our programs, abilities, or staff, but rather, our success comes from Christ crucified.
Everything that happens here must be built around Christ - who He is, what he has done, and what He wants from us.
The church is not built upon...
Giftedness
Good Ministries
Marketing
The church IS built upon the Work of Christ.
As the cornerstone shoulders the burden of the building, so Christ shoulders both the weight of the sin of believers and the burden of the success of the church.
We are a faith family, because we looked at Christ and said, “Like a stone is laid upon a foundation, I will lay my life upon Christ.”
Notice in this passage how Peter speaks to us about Jesus, and then, how Peter tells us to respond to Jesus. (v4-5)
Jesus is chosen and precious. Some translations say “choice” and precious. The Greek word Peter uses really means more than simply chosen, but “choice.” Which matters...
Because the watermelon you have at your house is absolutely your chosen watermelon, but it might not be a “choice” watermelon.
You can flick that watermelon and slap it and turn it over, but we’re all just guessing, aren’t we?
Jesus is not simply chosen, but choice. Meaning that Jesus was not an option of God, but rather, from the reserve of the best that God had.
Imagine God building a house and he has four good stones that he can use as a cornerstone. He looks at the stone, sees the flaws, and chooses the best option. Instead, God looks at what he is to build, grabs a stone, and said, “I have been saving this stone for this specific purpose.”
Isn’t that what the second adjective says? Jesus is precious, treasured, and beloved by God.
In building his church, no manmade device would do for our God.
So God gave of his own perfect store that His church would be built upon something precious and eternal.
Peter’s response is to worship Him. Because of who Jesus IS, our response is and always will be worship.
Worship is to esteem our God the way He is worth being esteemed.
When we esteem Christ the way he deserves, we know Him as God’s chosen way of redemption, and we understand that He is precious.
The world rejected Jesus.
Jesus was precious in God’s sight.
We have come to Jesus, because we see His worth.
We worship, sing, teach, lead, sing, greet, extend fellowship, give… on and on and on, PRIMARILY because we believe that Jesus is worthy.
This is why, Christian, when you choose something consistently over the corporate worship of your God, you are showing Him His worth to you.
In this text, we have both individual and corporate responses. We are living stones, but we are built into a house.
We worship God individually, but we also worship Him corporately.
God can do more through all of us than one of us. There is only a certain level of spiritual maturity that you will ever have by yourself.
We are a spiritual house, or a place for someone to reside. That Person is our God. (v. 5)
God isn’t building a museum with us to tell of a bygone era. God isn’t building a business. God has built a house of us that He would live among us.
Because the Holy Spirit resides in each of us who have given our lives to Jesus, God literally lives among us.
God is alive and working. The central point of our faith is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
That’s why we are living stones not simply stones.
Two of the most common ways that God speaks to us is through His Word and His People.
What is our response? It will always be spiritual sacrifice. (v. 5)
Your live is placed upon an altar.
Your money, your time, your body, your mind, your affections, your hobbies, your work, your spouse, your children, your entertainment - you take all of these things and you give them to God.
When a lamb was sacrificed in the Old Testament, it was killed as an offering to God, MEANING that it belonged to God.
When you make a spiritual sacrifice, you are giving everything as they relate to you to the Lord.
Invitation
Invitation
I want to invite you to join our faith family.
I hope you will lay your life upon the cornerstone that is Christ.
If you are a believer, I want to call you to spiritual sacrifice.