Is Peter the Rock upon which the Church is built? How is it that unbelievers are “appointed” to doom? These are some of the questions that this study in 1 Peter 2:4-8 address. Tune in!
Teaching Notes:
Jesus Christ: The Corner Stone
1 Peter 2:4-8
Intro:
Peter describes Jesus Christ in this passage as a corner stone in vs.6 and 7. He quotes from Is.28:16 and Ps.118:22 to prove his case. In Is.28:16 this corner stone is laid “for the foundation” and it is firmly placed. What exactly is a corner stone? It was a massive rock laid for the foundation of the whole structure, but also provided the corner of one wall. Everything was built on and proceeded from the corner stone. Jesus Christ is the foundation for the Church. The entire church is built on and proceeds from Him. 1Cor.3:11. Without Christ, there could be no church. All the church’s hope of salvation, joy, and heaven is in Him alone.
Roman Catholics teach that Peter is the Rock on which church is built (Mt.16:18). Peter, however denies this and asserts that Christ is the True Bedrock of the church.
There have been 2 buildings. The 1st Building was constructed upon the foundation of Adam. But it was a foundation of sand. Sin quickly demolished the building, and it fell down in ruins. The 2nd Building: God, as the Master Architect, decided to raise up a permanent and glorious building out of the ruins of the 1st building. But this new building must have a solid and stable foundation – thus Christ was chosen. Jesus is eternal, solid, stable, firm, and unmoving. In order to have a building that will last, you need a sure foundation. A house built on sand will be swept away in the storms and floods.
In this passage, Peter gives us a wonderful description of Jesus Christ as the Corner Stone. Then he how believers respond to that Corner Stone, and then how unbelievers respond.
1. Jesus Christ:
A. He Is A Living Stone: seems like a contradiction. Stones don’t live! This one does! Not only is Christ the foundation upon which entire Church is built, He is Living, so every stone that comes into contact with Him lives as well. Jn.1:5 “In Him was life”; Jn.11:26 “I am the resurrection and the life.” Rev.1:17-18 “I am the first and the last, and the Living One”
B. He Is A Chosen Stone: 2:4,6. God, from all eternity, planned this building and chose Christ to be the foundation. 1Pet.1:20; Lu.9:35. Christ was chosen in the eternal decree of God to be the Mediator, Redeemer and Savior of His people.
C. He Is A Precious Stone: 2:4,6. Precious in the sight of God! He is of inestimable value. He is the Beloved Son in whom He is well-pleased. He is the One who has been the infinite delight of the Father. He is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature, the Son of His Love. There is nothing more precious to God than Jesus! Therefore, there should be nothing more precious to us than Jesus!
2. Believers:
A. Are Living Stones: Christ is a Living Stone, we are Living Stones. We partake of the same nature as Christ. 2Pet.1:4. In Him was life. In us is life. The only difference is that His life is underived. Ours is derived from Him. How do we get this life? We come to Him? He’s the foundation stone. We come to Him. The moment we come into contact with Him, He imparts to us His very life. Eternal life. Gal.2:20.
B. Are A Spiritual House: “being built up”. Passive. 1Cor.12:18; Mt.16:18. We don’t just jump into this building anywhere we want. This is a Building, not just house, not just a jumbled pile of stones. There is an orderly and purposeful arrangement. In Solomon’s temple all the stones were quarried and cut away from the construction site, and then brought and put into place. We were hewn out of the quarry of sin by the Holy Spirit, then made alive, and put into the building where He desired. 1Cor.3:16; Eph.2:19-22. God decides where He will place us in His Church, what gifts and what ministry we will have. All sovereignly determined by God. Our job? Be content with God’s gifts and ministry and corner in His church, and do everything we can to be faithful to Him.
C. Are A Holy Priesthood: Peter changes the metaphor. Not only are we a spiritual house (temple), but a holy priesthood that ministers in that temple. Who is a holy priesthood? You – vs.5. All believers constitute the holy priesthood. This is not referring to those in full-time ministry. What does a priest do? Offers up sacrifices. Our role as a holy priesthood is to offer up spiritual sacrifices. What are those sacrifices? Heb.13:15-16 – praise, doing good, sharing. Phil.4:18 – sacrificial giving. Rom.12:1 – our bodies. Our spiritual sacrifices then, are all the deeds we do and words we speak and songs we sing when we do them spiritually (in the power of the Spirit, according to the will of the Spirit). Notice, this is a “holy” priesthood. In order to offer up spiritual sacrifices we must be holy. We must be set apart for the service of God.
3. Unbelievers:
A. Reject Christ: vs.7 is taken from Ps.118:22. According to tradition, during construction of Solomon’s temple, work went smoothly until the builders were unable to locate the cornerstone. Word was sent to send the missing stone up to the temple mount. They replied, “We sent that stone up a long time ago.” The builders were confused until one of them remembered a perfectly cut stone that was tossed over the gully into the Kidron Valley because no one knew what to do with it. They then had to retrieve the stone from the valley and bring it back up so that it would form the Corner Stone of the temple. That’s what the Builders (Jewish leaders) did with Christ. They rejected Him. All unbelievers do the same.
B. Stumble Over Christ: 1Cor.1:22-24. Why did Jews stumble at Christ? He wasn’t the kind of Messiah they expected or wanted. They wanted a Messiah to deliver them from the bondage and oppression of the Romans. They wanted a great, triumphant, military Deliverer. Instead they got a Messiah who was born in a feeding trough, raised by peasants, no formal education, a lowly carpenter, obscure followers, and a shameful death. Instead of basing their life and hopes on Him, they stumbled over Him.
C. Are Disobedient To Christ: what does the Word say? Receive Him – Jn.1:12; Believe in Him – Jn.3:36; Love Him – Mt.10:37; Treasure Him – Mt.13:44; Obey Him – Jn.3:36. Because they won’t obey the Word concerning Christ, they stumble over Him to their own destruction.
Thoughts for Personal Application:
1. Believers Come to Him – Unbelievers Stumble over Him: 2:4,8. Not talking about coming to Christ 1st time for salvation. Continually come. For a believer this is habitual. Why do they come? Because they’ve tasted the kindness of the Lord (2:3). He alone satisfies and refreshes. The Greek word for “come” is translated as “draw near” in Heb.3:16; 7:25; 10:22. This speaks of fellowship. Believes are drawn to Him; unbelievers are repelled by Him.
2. Believers Esteem Him – Unbelievers Despise Him: 2:7. God chose Jesus. He is precious to God. And believers agree with God. They choose Him, and He is precious to them. They esteem above all else in this world, even more than life itself. You could offer a true believer a billion dollars to deny Christ, and he wouldn’t do it. Millions of true believers have given up their lives rather than given up Christ. On the contrary unbelievers reject him as having no worth. He was despised and forsaken of men. This is one of the ways you can know if you are a child of God. How precious is Christ to you? Are you willing to give up anything, or do anything in order to have Him? Or could you take Him or leave Him?
3. Believers Will Not Be Disappointed – Unbelievers are Appointed to Doom: 2:6,8. If you will base your hope, future, eternity on Christ, you will never be disappointed! But if you will not, you will be everlastingly disappointed! Try to recall a major disappointment in your life, and how that made you feel. That will never happen if you bank everything on Christ! The Stone will not prove faulty. If you build your life on Christ, you will not crumble in the Storm. If you believe on this Stone, you can’t lose. If you disbelieve on Him, you can’t win. Human unbelief can’t frustrate the purposes of God. If God has decided that Jesus will be the corner stone, man can betray, desert, deny, mock, spit, scourge, blaspheme, crucify and bury Him, but they can’t stop Him from being what God destined Him to be – the Living Corner Stone of the Church. What if a proud unbeliever claimed that he was going to choose his own destiny, reject Christ, and have the final say in his life. He would find out in the end that whatever he chose, unto that he was appointed. God, not man will have the last say.
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