The Chief Cornerstone
Notes
Transcript
Who He Is:
Who He Is:
The Living Stone - in the Old Testament God is the Rock Deut. 32:3-4 “For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”
Rejected by Men - obviously the crucifixion is the pinnacle of his rejection. However, Jesus continues to be rejected by millions today.
They thought He was too weak.
Today they think His claims to lofty
Or that His path to heaven too easy.
Chosen by God
Isaiah 42:1 ““Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
He is and was the one sent by God through His own choice to redeem man for the Father’s glory.
Precious
Costly, prized, rare or honored
Every sense of the word applies to Christ.
Most importantly it was in the eyes of God that Christ was precious not in the eyes of men. Men rejected Him.
Alive
Don’t forget that He is a living stone.
Early Peter referred to Him as our living Hope now He is the Living Stone. It would seem that the resurrection had a profound impact on Peter.
The Chief Cornerstone - in the sense of a building the cornerstone in Peter’s day would have been the stone against which all the others in the building would have been measured.
Stone of Stumbling - back to the concept of His rejection of men.
Rock of Offense - Christ is offensive because acceptance of Christ always come with an admission of powerlessness. I cannot save myself.
Elect
Precious
Who We Are:
Who We Are:
Living Stones - What does it mean to be a living stone?
Before they became living stones they were dead stones. The point being that the Living Stone gave life to these dead stones. We are living because He living.
A major part of the picture that Peter is painting here is that we are being conformed to the image of Christ. That is what sanctification is, after all, being made more and more like Christ. He is the Living Stone and we are the living stones.
Spiritual House - it means we are being built into a spiritual house.
In this illustration of believers being built into a spiritual house who do you think is the Cornerstone?
Not literal - it is a spiritual house, whereas in comparison with Israel they had a literal house, the temple.
Ephesians 2:20-21 “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,”
In the Old Testament, the temple was designed to be that place where God would meet humanity. It was the house of God (see, for example, the references to the temple as the house of God in 1 and 2 Chronicles). Paul explains that this house of God’s own possession is actually the dwelling place of God. Believers are being built together into a dwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Because God is Spirit, it makes perfect sense that His dwelling would be a spiritual dwelling, and He lives in believers through the Holy Spirit.
John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””
Would the God is who is spirit live in a physical house or a spiritual house? Spiritual, and Paul and Peter’s point is that you and I are that spiritual house.
Implications
God’s presence - what did the temple represent to Israel?
Conviction
Holiness - how do we the little stones of this house measure up to the Cornerstone?
Holy Priesthood
Before the death of Christ who was permitted into the Holy of Holies in the temple? - Only the High Priest
What happened to the veil of separation that kept others out of the Holy place when Christ died? - It was torn in two.
The priesthood served as a picture or "type" of the coming ministry of Jesus Christ--a picture that was then no longer needed once His sacrifice on the cross was completed.
When the thick temple veil that covered the doorway to the Holy of Holies was torn in two by God at the time of Christ’s death (Matthew 27:51), God was indicating that the Old Testament priesthood was no longer necessary.
Now people could come directly to God through the great High Priest, Jesus Christ
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
This is another picture of Christlikeness. He is the High Priest and we are His priests.
There are now no earthly mediators between God and man as existed in the Old Testament priesthood (1 Timothy 2:5).
The Point:
There is no temple required for you to know God’s presence. If you know Christ you are the temple.
There are no priests required to mediate between you and God for Jesus our High Priest has made you, your own priest.
One of the key points of Baptist theology is the priesthood of the believer.
Believers
Chosen Generation (people / race)
Wait I thought Israel was God’s chosen people. They are, and God still has a future for Israel when He will draw them back to Himself.
On of the things that Peter is pointing out is that there are similarities between how God worked in Israel and how God works in and through the Church.
It is not inaccurate to say that the Church is God’s chosen people for this age in which we live.
It is okay to be excited that you get to be a part of God’s program for this moment in history.
Royal Priesthood
Here Peter is probably referring to a passage in Exodus that call the people of Israel a “kingdom of priests.”
I thought only one tribe of the twelve were priests. That hardly constitutes a kingdom of priests.
However, all of Israel had the priestly responsibility to glorify God and to make His name known to all peoples.
What is our primary responsibility as God’s chosen generation of royal priests in this age? To glorify God and to make His name known to all peoples.
Holy Nation & His Own Special People
These last two are essentially Peter repeating himself for the sake of emphasis.
We are a separated people group that God has chosen for Himself to accomplish His purposes in the world.
Purpose
Drawing Near - This is a directional passage, “as you come to Him...” v. 4
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
“coming” - a verb used in Scripture often to communicate the idea of drawing near to God
Sacrifice (v. 5)
The illustration continues, if we are the temple and the priests what are we to be doing? Offering sacrifices
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Not only are you the temple and the priest you are also the sacrifice. Perhaps not “the sacrifice” that was Jesus but “a sacrifice”.
Praising (v. 9) -
Why has God chosen us? Why has God saved us? That we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!
Have you felt that light on your face? Have you tasted the goodness of God?
Standing (v. 10)
Individually - we have been adopted.
Corporately - we have been placed into the body of Christ. We are His people.
Vehicle: Mercy
The redemption we have in Him
The goodness of God that brings such joy
The community we have in the body of Christ
It all comes through His mercy. We didn’t deserve any of it.