 |
|
| Volume 25 Number 2 February 2023 |
Page 10 |
|
|
| Volume 25 Number 2 February 2023 |
Page 10 |
Christ, a Living Stone
Johnny O. Trail
When I worked on the summer staff at Short Mountain Bible Camp, I became very familiar with laying stone. I had done very minor masonry work helping my father to lay cinder blocks in various types of foundations, but stonework was a different type of animal in nature. Much of the stonework that one sees at the camp was done by various individuals, but I had a hand in laying and helping with much of what was done. In many respects, there is an art to laying stone. It is almost like working a giant puzzle, putting the stones in place to make some beautiful creation. In doing this work, I obtained a great education that was vocational in nature, and I learned a few spiritual truths along the way.
Stones appear in various places throughout God’s Word. Sometimes, they were used to establish memorials for the people (Joshua 4). At times, they were used to build altars for offering sacrifice to God (Joshua 8:31). Sometimes, stones were used for the construction of walls (Nehemiah 4:3), temples (1 Kings 6:7) or other structures. Oftentimes, the idea of a “stone” was used symbolically to refer to Christ and the importance of His work. For a moment, the Bible student might consider the importance of Christ in God’s plan for the redemption of lost humankind.
Christ Is a Precious Cornerstone
Prophecy reveals the preeminence of Christ in God’s plan to save humanity. Isaiah 28:16 reads, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily’” (NKJV). The apostle Peter referred to this prophecy (1 Peter 2:6), and the apostle Paul, likewise, discussed it in his writings (Romans 9:33).
Since it is a “precious cornerstone,” it cannot be discarded in the construction process that God predetermined before the foundation of the universe. Ephesians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Those who get into Christ at the point of baptism (Galatians 3:26-27) are chosen to enjoy spiritual blessings now and eternal life one day.
Christ Is the Chief Cornerstone
Psalm 118:22 states, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” When one rejects the “chief cornerstone,” he does it to his own ruination. In doing foundation work with cinder blocks, one lays the corners first before positioning the blocks betwixt the two points. These cornerstones are extremely important because they determine the squareness and plumbness of the entire structure. If this part of the building process occurs haphazardly or in a slipshod manner, the entire structure is off and hard to construct properly from then onward.
Many ancient Israelites, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, missed this prophecy and its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. The builders “rejected” Him as being God’s only begotten Son, just as they had rejected God and His Law. When the Logos (the Word, John 1:1-3, 14) dwelt among them, they did no better in recognizing and accepting Him as the “Chief cornerstone,” which is essential in accomplishing God’s will for man’s redemption. John 1:11 says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
Whenever the Chief Cornerstone (Jesus Christ) is rejected (Luke 6:46), no meaningful, sound structure can be erected upon it. First Corinthians 3:11 informs us, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Any church or plan of salvation that is not built upon Christ cannot withstand examination by either God or the Scriptures.
Christ Is a Living Stone
First Peter 2:4 tells us, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.” This living stone is the solid, bedrock foundation upon which the church is established – rather than upon Peter with all of his human frailties (Matthew 26:34, 74-75; Galatians 2:11-14). This stands in contradistinction to what many of our Roman Catholic friends erroneously believe regarding the stone upon which the church was built (Matthew 16:13-18).
Christ Is the Rejected Stone
Acts 4:11-12 announces “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.” In essence, this stone that was rejected could not be discarded because God’s will must be accomplished (Isaiah 55:11). Humankind could not thwart the ultimate will of God for souls (those who obey, Hebrews 5:8-9) to be saved through His Son (John 3:16).
Christ Is a Stone of Stumbling and a Rock of Offense
This refers to the rejection by both the Jews and the Gentiles of the proclamation about the crucified Christ. The Jews stumbled at the fact that Jesus was crucified. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 records, “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” The difference between Christ and the one hanged upon a tree under the Law of Moses was that the man executed under the Law deserved to be hanged upon a tree, but Christ was not guilty of sin (1 Peter 2:22) and did not deserve any of the things that befell Him.
The Gentiles thought that any god needed to be a type of conquering hero rather than one who died on a Roman tree. Note 1 Corinthians 1:22, which reads, “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.” Christ was a conquering hero, though not in the way that either the Jews or the Greeks imagined. Jesus was victorious over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). This was a victory that no one other than Christ could have achieved, and it is only through Him that we can win this battle with sin. First Corinthian 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Conclusion
Since we have accepted the chief cornerstone who was rejected by the builders (nevertheless precious in the sight of God), we are “living stones.” As living stones, God the Son placed us (with our spiritual lives) in the church (Acts 2:47), which is the blood-bought bride of Christ (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:22-32; Revelation 21:9; 22:17). Christ provides eternal life – redemption from sin in this life and the real prospect of eternal life in Heaven. Jesus Christ is the solid foundation, laid by God, on which rest all divinely given promises. Second Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’”
