Behold, I Lay in Zion a Chief Cornerstone

Introduction: The Privileges and Possessions of God's People

0:04 Now let us turn together to 1 Peter chapter 2, 1 Peter chapter 2, and will you follow, please, as I read the first ten verses. Putting away, therefore, all wickedness or malice, and all guile and hypocrisies and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that you may grow thereby unto salvation, since you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Unto whom coming a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, you also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a homestead.

1:06 Unto whom coming a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, you also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a homestead.

2:08 Our Father, we have sung out the desire of our hearts that we would indeed, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures, be taught more of the Lord Jesus. Taught in such a way that the eyes of our souls will behold Him, and that our faith will feed upon Him, so to behold Him, that we will love Him more passionately, and in prayer. Taught in such a way that the eyes of our souls will behold Him, and that our faith will feed upon Him, so to behold Him, that we will love Him more passionately, serve Him more devotedly, and for those who have never seen any glory in Him, whose eyes are utterly filled with the trinkets of this world, who treat Him as a stone unworthy to be incorporated into the building, O Lord, this day, open their eyes, we pray, to behold Your glory in the face of Christ. Taught in such a way that the eyes of our souls will behold Him, and that our faith will feed upon Him, so to behold Him, that they may cast themselves upon Him, and become living stones in His spiritual temple.

3:20 Hear us, we plead, our Father, for our good, and for Your glory. Amen. The privileges and the possessions of the true people of God are both manifold and marvelous. The Apostle Paul affirms this in the familiar words of Ephesians 1, when he states that all believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

3:58 And if the people of God are to live as they ought to live in the hostile environment of this world, they must understand with increasing spiritual comprehension who and what they are in Christ. If their privileges and...

4:18 And possessions are indeed manifold and marvelous, it is God's will that His people who have these manifold and marvelous possessions increasingly understand them and live in the light of them. For as we've emphasized again and again in our expositions of 1 Peter thus far, it is what we are in Christ, by the grace of God, that sets the contours and the direction of what we are to do for Christ as we live out our lives before Him. And to this end, the Apostle Peter, in giving apostolic and pastoral directives to the believers in the five Roman provinces of Asia Minor, has these cycles of setting forth the privileges of the people, of God, followed by the implication of those privileges in the specifics of the Christian life. And after opening up their great salvation in chapter 1, verses 3 to 12, he followed with five imperatives that are to mark the life of the people of God. Now when we come to chapter 2, verses 4 to 10,

5:40 we find the Apostle again setting out a rich display of the privileges, and the possessions of the people of God. Verses 4 to 10 of chapter 2 have no imperatives, no exhortations, no admonitions. Now in expounding them and preaching them, it is right that the preacher should base certain exhortations and admonitions upon the text, for all scripture is given not only in profit for teaching, but for reproof, for correction, and for instruction, which is imperative. But in the text itself, Peter is giving to those believers and to the church, throughout its history until the coming of Christ, this rich deposit of stating the indicatives of grace, who we are and what we possess in Christ. And last Lord's Day, we looked at verses 4 and 5, in which describing all of God's true people, as those who continually, come to the Lord Jesus, unto whom coming, and the whom is the Lord, whom they have tasted as gracious, in verse 3. Everyone thus coming to the Lord, has these four great privileges that Peter describes,

7:08 in the remainder of those two verses. They become living stones in union with Christ. They are being built up into this, living spiritual house, this temple of God's dwelling. They are constituted a holy priesthood, and they are privileged to offer up spiritual sacrifices, that are truly acceptable and well pleasing to God, as they are offered and received, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus.

Overview: Peter's Twofold Concern in 1 Peter 2:6-8

7:42 Well now we come this morning to verses 6 through 8, and as we do, I want to say by way of an overview of these verses, that we must understand that Peter's concern is basically two-fold in these verses. And before we get into the detailed exposition, I want us to stand back and see the big picture, and not to lose that as we get into some of the details. First of all, in verses 6 to 8, Peter is desirous of demonstrating to his readers, that the idea of Christ, as a chosen and honored stone, is an idea that has its tap roots, in a major Old Testament strand of prophetic utterance, concerning Christ the Messiah. He is concerned that his readers understand, that in referring to Christ as a stone, in verse 4, particularly as stone rejected of men, but with God elect and precious, that Peter was not spinning this notion out of his own head, nor was he simply setting it before them as some revelation that came subsequent to the coming of Christ, with no distinct reference to the Old Testament. He therefore begins the section by saying,

9:08 because it is contained in Scripture. This is one of Peter's favorite ways of introducing a Scripture, a spiritual quote, with the little conjunction, Deocti. He did it in verse 16, after mandating that believers live a life of holiness. He says, because, Deocti, because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

9:35 Similarly, he does the same thing in chapter 1 in verse 23. But now he says, when I have told you, that Christ is living, as stone, and he is elect and precious, though he is a stone, which upon evaluation has been rejected by men, under God's evaluation has a unique place in God's spiritual temple, I am not giving you a notion that is novel. This concept of Christ as stone has its tap roots in a major motif of Old Testament messianic, prophetic utterance. And that's his primary concern in his selection of these three passages from the Old Testament. You will notice that these passages say nothing about the spiritual temple explicitly. They say nothing about the holy priesthood. They say nothing about acceptable sacrifices.

10:37 But each of them contains a reference to the stone. Because it is contained in Scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner, stone. Verse 7, the stone which the builders rejected. Verse 8, a stone of stumbling.

10:56 The common denominator in the three Old Testament passages quoted by Peter, Isaiah 28, Psalm 118, Isaiah 8, the common denominator is the stone motif. Now that's the first thing I want us to have clearly in our minds as we come to the exposition. The second, the second major concern of Peter is this to demonstrate that those who believe upon Christ as cornerstone in God's temple are blessed and those who disbelieve in Christ are cursed. That's his second major burden in demonstrating the stone motif with tap roots in the Old Testament. He is not setting before us an abstract theological. He is concerned to demonstrate that in his capacity as stone, Christ is the determiner of every man's destiny. Some will believe upon him to their blessedness.

12:02 Therefore he can say, and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame. For you therefore that believe is the honor. He is concerned to demonstrate the relationship of believing upon this stone and the relationship of believing upon this stone. And the result, in the life of those who do believe.

12:21 But he is also concerned to demonstrate what happens to those who do not believe. But for such as disbelieve, verse 7, the stone that the builders rejected, the same was made head of the corner. And with reference to those who disbelieve, a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, for they stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. Peter is not concerned, concerned with abstract theology.

12:50 He wants to establish the stone theology from the Old Testament. But he wants his readers to know, and he wants you to know, and he wants me to know. This is not some nice truth floating by our eyeballs. Your state of being blessed or cursed is determined by your relationship to that stone, either in faith or in unbelief.

God's Sovereign Activity: Christ as the Corner Headstone

13:15 And that stands on the very surface, of the passage. Well, so much for that overview. Now we come to expound the verses, and I will attempt to do so under two major headings. First of all, the verses begin with a call to consider God's sovereign activity in relationship to Christ as stone.

13:39 A call to consider God's sovereign activity with relationship to Christ as stone. Because it is considered contained in Scripture. And it's a beautiful way Peter is saying, I'm not quoting word for word any specific passage. What I'm saying is contained in Scripture.

13:59 And that term, Scripture, used 51 times in the New Testament, always refers to the canonical writings. Twice, it even incorporates what we would call New Testament canonical writings. So Peter says, what I'm saying is found within the compass of Scripture. And then in his statement, three quotations, he gives a free quotation, some of it taken right from the Greek translation of the Hebrew text that we have come to know as the Septuagint.

14:28 Sometimes he reverses even the order of words. And then he intersperses some pastoral comments. But he's confident that when he says, Christ is stone, he is speaking according to the mind of Scripture. And the first strand of that emphasis is this call to consider God's sovereign, sovereign activity in relationship to Christ as stone.

14:53 If you turn to Isaiah 28 and verse 16, the passage to which Peter first alludes, you will notice that it is introduced with the words, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah. This is one of God's pronouncements. I'm sorry, Isaiah 28 and verse 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah.

15:17 Thus saith the Lord, the ever-living One, the great I Am, the self-existent, eternal God is speaking, and His first word is, Behold. Behold. Pay attention. Something important is about to be said.

15:40 In the midst of a chapter filled with God's indicting of His people in their sins, pronouncing, judgment upon them, in some of the most scathing, denunciatory passages in the prophecy of Isaiah, God says in the midst of all of this, in my determination to punish sin and to judge my people, pay attention. I'm about to tell you something wonderful. As a modern day coach would say to the troops in the locker room, Hey guys, listen up! I want your ears.

16:16 Something important is about to be uttered. God calls us to consider His own sovereign activity. Behold. Listen up.

16:25 Pay attention. I lay in Zion. I'm going to tell you what I am going to do. I am going to lay in Zion.

16:39 I will do a work of construction in Zion. City of God. The place where the literal temple existed. And God is here.

16:49 Pronouncing through the prophet. And Peter picks up that strand of thought that he has an intention to construct a temple in the very place where the literal temple had been constructed. And God is going to do it by His own sovereign might and power as the Lord Jehovah. Behold, I am going to do a construction work and I'm going to do it in Zion.

17:17 I lay in Zion. I lay in Zion. I lay in Zion for a foundation stone. And omitting certain words from the Hebrew text as we've already indicated, Peter then says, and now we're back in 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 6, I lay in Zion a stone and there are three adjectives.

17:39 You wouldn't get this in most of your English translations that you have three parallel adjectives. And Peter takes the very language from the Septuagint and he says, he takes and inverts the order under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and this stone is characterized by three things. The first one points to the function of the stone. It is the corner headstone.

18:05 And the next two point to the value or the worth or the divine estimation of the stone. It is elect and precious or honorable or esteemed. So three adjectives about this stone. When God goes to his construction work that he'll do in Zion, constructing another building, another temple, one that Peter has already said is a spiritual.

18:36 Unlike Solomon's temple and then the rebuilt temple under Herod, this will not be one made of literal stones, but it will be spiritual in its nature. It will be affected, by the hands and operation of God the Holy Spirit. And what will characterize this stone? Well, first of all, and this is of supreme importance, so what is second in the Old Testament translation of the Hebrew text into Greek?

19:05 Peter puts first. It will be corner headstone, translated in our Bibles as chief cornerstone. A word found only one other time in the New Testament, in the parable of the cross. Parallel passage in Ephesians chapter two.

19:21 The church is built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being, and here's our word, chief cornerstone. Perhaps better rendered, the corner headstone. It was the large stone fashioned in this kind of construction in such a way that when it was laid, it would bind together the walls of that building, at least the two walls, that came together on that stone. It was crucial to give the contours, the size, the direction of much of that construction.

19:59 It was the most honored stone in the entire building. One writer has noted that archeological excavation unearthed such a stone that was 69 feet in length. I mean, we're talking about wider than both edges of this platform, or just about that, what? 69 feet in length.

20:21 12 feet by 13 feet in width and depth. And that was the stone that was laid in that unique place and bound the building together. It had the place of supreme preeminence in that construction. And that's the first thing Peter wants us to know concerning God's sovereign activity in conjunction with his construction work, of laying in, Zion a stone, that it would be the corner headstone, that in God's spiritual temple, everything within it will have as its reference point Christ Himself, who He is in the uniqueness of His person. He will be able to bear upon Himself the full weight of all of God's redemptive grace towards those who are brought into that temple. From Him, the temple will take all of its contours and lines, and the most honored stone in that building will be Christ Himself in the language of Paul, that in all things He might have the preeminence. Now, the next two adjectives point to the value or the divine estimation of the stone, and they're precisely the words that Peter, you, used up in verse 4. You see, in verse 4, he simply wrote,

21:47 Unto whom coming a living stone, rejected indeed of men, an illusion, to Psalm 818, but no direct quote, no reference, but he's speaking biblically. But he hasn't told us what the biblical roots were. Well, in the same way, when he then goes on to say, but with God, elect, precious, honorable, esteemed, those are the precise words, taken out of the Greek translation of the Old Testament text. He used them, but he didn't say, as the Scripture says. And there's a vital lesson there. When we who are preaching speak in biblical language, we don't have to always stop and tell you where the text is and ask you to turn to it. Nor does it mean we're only preaching the Word when we do turn you to the text. You are preaching the Word when you are true to the message of Scripture. And Peter was preaching the Word.

22:43 Preaching the Word. He said, unto whom coming a living stone, rejected indeed of men. That was a scriptural truth. But he hasn't paused to say, as the Scripture says, and cite the place.

22:56 He does that now. He says, quoting from Isaiah 28 and verse 16, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, and it is elect, and it is precious or honorable. It is the chosen. The chosen, selected stone, chosen by God, as we saw last week in opening up verse 4.

The Believing Response and Its Blessed Results

23:20 Precious and honorable, esteemed for all that he is in himself. So having called Christ the living stone in verse 4, and made it evident that all who possess spiritual life in God's spiritual temple derive that blessing from Christ, Peter now says, and this is contained in the Scripture. And he shows us precisely what Scripture sets forth Christ in this context of a call to consider God's sovereign saving activity in establishing Christ as a stone. A stone that is to be understood as corner headstone, as elect, and as precious. But now secondly, having considered the call to consider God's sovereign saving activity, notice with me in the second place the two responses to God's activity and their results. The two responses to God's activity and their results. We've already noted the contrast. I want you to note it again in verse 6.

24:32 And he that believes on, literally upon him, shall not be put to shame. For you therefore that believe is the precious. And he that believes on, literally upon him, shall not be put to shame. For you therefore that believe is the precious.

24:44 And he that believes on, literally upon him, shall not be put to shame. For you therefore that believe is the precious. There is one response to God's sovereign activity in assigning to Christ the precise place he has assigned him as stone. Chief head cornerstone, elect and precious in God's estimation.

25:01 And with reference to him, some are believing. Present participles, to you who are believing, to those who are believing, they have rested upon. They do rest upon him. All of their hopes for life and salvation rest down solely upon this cornerstone.

25:22 But then there's another group. But for such as disbelieve. And it's precisely the same Greek word in the precise same form with that little alpha privative in front of it. You have the believing ones and with that little A in front you have the not believing ones.

25:41 And in the original text here in, that verse 7, the two words are set one against the other. Therefore the honor is to the believing ones. For the unbelieving ones. Here is the two responses, or here are the two responses to God's activity.

26:06 And in between we have both scripture and Peter's pastoral comments, inspired by the Holy Spirit now constituting and equal authority with the Testament scriptures that he quotes telling us the results of being in the one category or the other. And as you sit here this morning, this passage will be a mirror of where you are. For there are only two groups of people here this morning, no three, no four. Those of you who are believing and those of you who are disbelieving. No middle category. Well, I'm almost believing, then you're still not believing. Believing ones, non-believing ones. May God help us to see where we are as we work through the text. Notice, first of all, the believing response and its result. The believing response and its result. Because it is contained in scripture,

27:02 behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame. For you, therefore, that believe is the preciousness. The believing response and its result. It is stated, first of all, negatively and then positively. The ones believing, described in verse four as continually coming to him. You see the richness of the biblical vocabulary about faith. Unto whom continually coming. Now he describes those continual comers as those who are continually believing. And quoting from the Old Testament Greek translation of the Hebrew,

27:48 the Septuagint, he says, such people shall not be put to shame. The original Hebrew text says they shall not make haste. And as the commentators have tried to figure out, because these people knew their Hebrew far better than I know Hebrew, why did they translate shall not make haste into shall not be put to shame? And the consensus of commentary is that they understood the sense of the Hebrew text to be this.

28:18 He that believes upon this, stone that God has appointed and established his elect and well esteemed stone shall never have occasion to hurry and scurry about in embarrassment that he found he had a misplaced trust and therefore they rendered it. He that is believing upon him shall never be put to shame. Shall never have cause to think he was a fool for entrusting himself to this chief cornerstone. And he said, I was trying to think of an illustration. I thought in the light of Pastor Lamar's lesson of a fable.

28:58 Rocks can't talk. But can you imagine what you would feel if you were a stone and you could choose where you were going to place yourself in several temples that were beginning to be erected. And you saw one temple that had what appeared to be is the most massive, the most impressive chief head cornerstone. And you say, man, I want to be identified with that.

29:21 I thought. I will share in something of the glory of that cornerstone. People will be drawn to that temple because of its impressive cornerstone. And I will share in its glory.

29:34 And so you decided to go to that particular temple and place yourself on that cornerstone, only to find after a few more stones came on top of you and around you, it was made of paper mache and crumbled. Oh, what embarrassment. You would feel as you look down on that. at the other stones that maybe went to a less impressive cornerstone in another temple under construction, and you would be a red stone, blushing all over that you had put your trust in paper mache. The text says, he that believes on him shall never be put to shame, will never be brought to the place where he goes about helter-skelter saying, what shall I do? I entrusted my never-dying soul to one who seemed to be a tribe, as he's called in the original Hebrew text, and a proven foundation stone. And I entrusted myself to him only to find that my trust was misplaced. No, Peter says, the believing response has as its first result, shall never be put to shame. The lovely phrase from one of our hymns came

30:51 to mind in my preparation, none shall ever be confounded who on him their hope have built. That's the first blessed result of a believing response to God's stone. He that believes on him shall not be put to shame. But then there's a second one, and this is the positive statement. For you, therefore, that believe is the preciousness. Now I know I'm going to explode what has been a lovely phrase. I'm going to explode what has been a lovely phrase. I'm going to explode what has been a lovely phrase. I'm going to explode what carried over from the old authorized version in many of our minds, and it's in the New King James. For you that believe he is precious, and sermons have been preached on that, well that's a wonderful biblical truth. Christ is precious to those who believe. Peter had already said this in chapter 1. Whom having not seen, you love. He is precious. He's precious

31:44 to all believers. He is the pearl of great price. Jesus taught that. He is the treasure in the field. He is the treasure in the field. He is the treasure in the field. He is the treasure in the field. He is the treasure in the field. He is the treasure in the field. Which when we find, we sell all to possess him. It is a biblical truth that Christ is precious to believers. But I haven't found one responsible commentator that says the Greek text in any way warrants that translation and that understanding. A literal rendering of the text would be, to you, therefore, is the honor. That is, the ones of you believing.

32:14 To you, therefore, is the honor. Do you see what he's saying? A same root word as we had concerning Christ himself. To you, therefore, is the honor. To you, therefore, is the honor.

32:23 To you, therefore, is the honor. To you, therefore, is the honor. To you, therefore, is the honor. In verse 4, unto whom coming a living stone rejected of men but with God elect, here it is, precious or honorable. And now again in verse 6, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect, precious, honorable. To you, therefore, that believe is the honor. You do share in the very honor of Christ the cornerstone. As you are made living stones and incorporated into that tower, you are made living stones. You are made living stones. You are made living so that God does not scruple to say that at the coming of Christ it will be the manifestation of the glory not only of Christ but of the sons of God waiting for the manifestation of the glory of the sons of God. Say, Pastor, that's too good to be true. No, it is true. And it is good, but not too good to be true.

33:18 If God says it, it is true. What are the results of embracing Christ for who and what God says He is? God says, by my sovereign activity, I am laying in Zion this stone. This stone that has a unique place in this spiritual temple.

33:40 This stone that I've chosen. This stone that I esteem and honor for who and what He is. He says negatively, you'll never be put to shame. You who believe upon Him.

33:53 You have cast yourself upon Him. He will be no papier-mâché cornerstone. And furthermore, unto bear these very such people is the honor that is to the believing ones. The honor.

34:09 The honor that is Christ's is conferred upon the people of Christ. Now think what that meant. To these despised, persecuted believers the minority community, to use a term that's very familiar to those of you who know what's going on in Pakistan and in other communities where Islam dominates as the official religion. They were the minority community.

34:36 And God says of these nobodies, nobodies in the eyes of the world, nobodies in the eyes of the great ones of the earth, to you is the honor. You, the believing ones. You who have come in. You who have seen all the nakedness and felt ignorance and darkness of your souls and you've seen in Christ life and light and salvation and in this imagery you've seen Him as God's placed stone in His temple and you've said yes, I want to be connected with Christ.

35:10 I want to know the virtue and the righteousness and the saving power of Christ. I did myself up to be placed in that spiritual temple. He says, in so doing, not only will you never be put to shame, never have an occasion to be embarrassed and disappointed that you became a believer, but you share in the very honor that is conferred upon Christ. You see, He wants the people of God to know and believingly to embrace who they are.

35:44 So that when He comes to say as He does in verse 11, Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners in pilgrimages, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. Do you see the connection? If I am who God says I am, and I will experience what God says I will experience, why do I need to dabble in lust of the flesh when I am incorporated into that spiritual temple and will never be disappointed? And I share in the very honor that is conferred.

The Unbelieving Response: Man's Inability to Frustrate God's Purpose

36:22 Upon the Lord Jesus. You see, who I am in Christ becomes the basis and the motivation and the context out of which I seek to live obediently to Christ. So the believing response and its result. But now notice the unbelieving response and its result.

36:46 And isn't it interesting that the Spirit of God through Peter has more to say in this passage about the unbelieving response and its result than about the believing response and its result.

37:00 And my task is to follow the track of Scripture. And therefore, we're going to consider what it says. The Spirit of God has said more about this latter issue than the former. They are described as disbelieving.

37:15 Look at the text. But, but, a word of an adversity. But, in contrast, for such, as disbelieve. It is the word believe, as we indicated with the A in front of it.

37:31 They are non-believers. In other words, they've heard about Christ the stone. They have been exposed to God's sovereign activity laying in Zion this head cornerstone. This one that is elect and precious.

37:49 They've heard the promises of God in conjunction with Christ. His willingness. And delight to receive sinners. But whatever their response may be, it is all put under this one umbrella.

38:01 It is something short of the response of faith. They are the unbelieving ones. But to those who are not believing. And then quoting from Psalm 118 in verse 22.

38:15 And then from Isaiah 8 in verse 14. Interspersed with a pastoral comment, he gives us, Four results of being in the category of the unbelieving ones. Look at the first. The first is this.

38:33 But for such as disbelieve. And now he quotes Psalm 118 verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. What's he saying?

38:47 He's saying that man's unbelief cannot frustrate the purpose and work of God. That's what he's saying. But for such as disbelieve. They either will discount the testimony of God about this cornerstone.

39:04 Or they say it's not for me. I want no connection with this cornerstone. Whatever the particular expression of their unbelief. God says to such.

39:14 The stone that the builders rejected. And that's the same word that we saw in our study last week. The rejection means to cast aside as worthless. After examination.

39:25 The stone which the builders examine. And cast aside as worthless for the particular function that it was proposed. The same was made the head of the cornerstone. In other words.

39:44 Their casting aside of the stone does not determine the fate of the stone. God's will and God's work determines what will happen to the stone. All of their unbelief. Cannot crush the stone.

39:58 Cannot remove the stone. Cannot displace the stone. The stone which the builders rejected. The same was made the head of the corner.

40:11 Now this is a pivotal text in the scriptures. Jesus quotes it with reference to himself. And the immediate context of who the builders were in redemptive history. I want you to turn for a moment.

40:23 To Matthew chapter 21. And see how significant. This passage is. As the work of Christ unfolds in the New Testament.

40:37 Remember that toward the end of his earthly ministry. Our Lord is found again and again. In face-to-face opposition with the religious leaders. And here our Lord gave a parable.

40:51 About a householder who had a vineyard and what he did with those who abused their privileges in conjunction with the vineyard. And then we read in verse 42 of Matthew 21. Jesus said to them. Did you never read in the scriptures.

41:06 Now he quotes from Psalm 118 verse 22. The stone which the builders rejected. The same was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord.

41:19 And it is marvelous in our eyes therefore say I unto you. Because of what you're going to do. As the primary builders. Here in Israel.

41:31 In Zion. Where God is establishing his spiritual temple. You are rejecting that stone. Yet God will make it the cornerstone.

41:42 In the light of your activity the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you. And shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. He that falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces. But on whomsoever it shall fall it will scatter him as dust and when the chief priest and the Pharisees heard his parables they perceived that he spoke of them.

42:06 They knew he was going for their juggler thing. And he said this scripture is being fulfilled in what you are doing with me. I am the stone. You builders are rejecting me.

42:23 But I will yet be made the head of the corner. And in the unfolding of the purposes of God. The kingdom will be taken from you. And given to a nation.

42:33 bringing forth the fruits, and furthermore, my place as the rejected cornerstone by you is such that any who stumble over me will be broken, and if I fall upon them, I'll crush them to powder. Now, when Peter is preaching in the city of Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 4, notice the use he makes of this same passage, Acts chapter 4.

43:06 And verse 10, Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him does this man stand here before you whole, he is the stone, Jesus, in whose name this man has been healed, Jesus of Nazareth, he is the stone, which was said it not, notice, of you. You, the builders, what Jesus had said, Peter now says, you are the builders, the primary fulfillment of that text is in conjunction with what you did to Jesus, you set him at naught, you viewed him and said, unworthy to be incorporated into anything that has to do with God's saving purposes, put him up on a Roman gibbet, spit on him, mock him, press a crown of thorns. Put him on his head, jeer, flay him, put him on a cross, you people, he is the stone, said it not, of you, the builders, which in spite of your estimation, was made, notice, was

44:29 made, not shall be made, in some future manifestation of his grace and power, but has been made the head of the corner, and in what sense is he made? A cornerstone in a building, verse 12, and in none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. If you want to be saved, get related to that stone, rejected of men, but elect and precious with God, and set as the cornerstone in God's spiritual temple, outside of which there is no doubt. There is no salvation.

45:14 You see how Peter ties together the stone motif and individual salvation? There is salvation in none other, unless you are savingly, believingly related to this stone, rejected by the big shots in Israel, but established by God himself as head of the corner. You cannot be saved. Man's unbelief cannot frustrate the purpose and work of God.

The Unbelieving Response: Man's Own Undoing

45:42 And my unbelieving friend, you need to face that. You see, you may feel very smug and content that you can put Christ off and treat him like these builders did. You contemplate what you hear of Christ in the preaching of the word, in family worship, in people who may witness to you, and you look at that stone and you say, in the full sense of that Greek word, I evaluate it. I examine it.

46:12 And I regard it unworthy of being incorporated into anything of any significance to me. But my friend, your estimation and actions with regard to Christ do nothing to frustrate the purpose and the saving activity of God. He has made him head of the corner.

46:35 And if the entire world were to rise up with one voice and say we have evaluated him unworthy of consideration. the word of God stands true the stone that the builders rejected the same is made head of the cornerstone this is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes but then there is a second result of man's unbelief look at it verse 8 man's unbelief is his own undoing notice the little word and so to tie it all together you go back to verse 7 but to such as are disbelieving what's the first result you don't frustrate the purpose of God the stone that the builders rejected the same was made the head of the corner and to those who are unbelieving he becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense and here he quotes from Isaiah 8 in verse 14 he becomes to them a stone over which they stumble to their own ruin and he becomes a rock and you see Peter is not fastidious about keeping everything neat he used the word here it doesn't mean just a stone or a stone in a building but a rocky cliff against which they smash themselves and split their skulls open and you see in the Isaiah passage

48:03 there is a convoluting of this imagery look at it for a moment Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 16 Isaiah chapter 8 verses 14 and 15 Isaiah 8 and verse 14 and he shall be for a sanctuary but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel and for a gin and for a snare the gin is an instrument to catch a fish or an animal for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many shall stumble thereon and fall and be broken and be stoned and be broken and be snared and be taken in other words a negative response to him will result in your own undoing whether the undoing is the picture of stumbling over this stone to your own destruction smashing against it to your own death being snared and taken and captured man's unbelief is his own undoing you may think that you do harm to Christ by your disposition of unbelief but my friend

The Unbelieving Response: Resolute Disobedience and Appointed Destruction

49:31 you do no more harm to Christ than the moon is harmed by the yelping of a dog I've never yet seen the moon twitch when there's a wolf or a pack of wolves on the hill howling at a full moon the moon doesn't twitch and it doesn't get nervous and it doesn't move from its appointed place and in your heart you may be howling against Christ you do not know no harm to him my friend but you destroy yourself to such as are not believing a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense but thirdly man's unbelief is manifested by his resolute disobedience to the word how can you tell whether you're in this second category well Peter gives his pastoral comment and answers that question for they stumble at the word being disobedient and here careful exegetes and students of the original say it could be rendered either of two ways for they stumble comma being disobedient to the word or they stumble at the word being disobedient and I'm not sure which is the preferred rendering but this much is clear

50:59 their stumbling is in conjunction with the word and in the present of the word it is a disposition of settled adamant resistance and disobedience the word apitho sometimes translated unbelief is unbelief with a clenched fist it's not unbelief with an inquiring open searching inquisitive disposition that unbelief that says I will not have this man to reign over us and it's interesting in the book of Hebrews and here in 1 Peter it's used as a synonym for , unbelief and yet it's unbelief with an added dimension Hebrews 4 says they entered not in because of unbelief verse 2 but then verse 11 says they entered not in because of apitho because of disobedience disobedience and unbelief an unbelief that merges into a settled attitude of resistance against the revealed will of God Peter uses it in chapter 4 in verse 17 he says what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel there's our word that obey not the gospel you see the gospel is not only a set of propositions to be believed to be embraced cognitively it comes with the overtures of divine mercy and a mandate to comply with it I read something a couple of weeks ago that has stuck and I can't get it

52:28 out of my head this particular writer speaking of unbelief said no sinner has a right to refuse the Lord Jesus Christ and that's true the God of heaven who made you who gives you life and breath he comes to you in the word and promise of the gospel and says look what I've done I've set my holy son as the cornerstone in the spiritual temple and in the light of the mercy and grace and pardon and forgiveness that I offer in him I command you repent and believe on my son and my unconverted friend you don't have a right to go on in your unbelief you have no right what right do you have to say no to the God who made you to the God who sustains you to the God who has sent his son in the word and promise of the gospel and promises pardon upon such simple terms forsake that which will damn you and commit yourself to him who will never disappoint you you have no moral right to refuse the overtures of his grace and mercy in the gospel commands to repent and to believe

53:55 but your unbelief you see is manifested by this resolute disobedience to the word they stumble at the word being disobedience or they stumble being disobedient at the word it is in the word that Christ is set before you as God's stone chief cornerstone elect and precious stone it is in the word that you hear as such a stone there is salvation in no other no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved there is nothing like the preaching of the word to show where your heart is is it a believing heart that embraces the word in faith and that faith then giving birth to love to the object of faith produces a pattern of obedience to Christ out of a motive of love to Christ you see dear children who struggle am I a Christian or am I not here is the acid test what is your response to the word do you obey the word do you obey the word the word that points you to Christ in a way that goes away from yourself the word that tells you honor father and mother the word that tells you don't lie don't steal the word that tells you avoid evil companions the word that tells you

55:24 be diligent what do you do with that word children you see life is relatively simple for you kids the commands are relatively few how do you respond to those are you disobedient at the word or are you compliant before the word obedient to the word man's unbelief is not a belief is not a belief is not a belief by his resolute disobedience to the word and then there's one final strand that I must touch on very briefly notice the last phrase where unto also they were appointed where unto also they were appointed some believe that in these words we have a statement of what theologians call the doctrine of reprobation and what is the doctrine of reprobation simply stated is this that when God freely sovereignly of his own good will set his love upon a people whom he determined to save through Christ he bypassed others to leave them to the just desert of their sin he did not choose men in a morally neutral position and say I'll choose these to go to heaven and these to go to hell no the biblical doctrine of reprobation is that in setting his love upon a great multitude whom no man can number out of every kindred tribe and tongue and nation for whom he sent

56:52 his beloved son and whom he is committed to save God for reasons locked up in his own heart chose to bypass other equally hell deserving sinners and leave them to the just desert of their sin the question is is that what is being taught in this text where unto what is the where unto unto which thing more literally they were appointed what is the thing to which they were appointed and some would say even their unbelief in their stumbling is part of the mystery of God's sovereign will I'm not convinced that the text says that I do believe the bible teaches the doctrine of reprobation as I have defined it but I'm not certain that's what's taught here but one thing is clear from the analogy of scripture from the immediate context and that is this there is an appointed relationship between unbelief and self-destruction that's clear there is an appointed relationship between unbelief and self-destruction we need not trouble our minds about that high and lofty doctrine of reprobation in the former sense what we need to do is ask ourselves will I be a living proof that it is appointed to be that when people are unbelieving

58:21 in the presence of God's stone God's elect and precious stone they will stumble to their own destruction remember what Jesus said whoever stumbles on this stone will be broken and on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to dust or to powder think of those words from the gentle gracious son of God and he's speaking of himself and he's speaking on his way to die on a cross this is reality dear people don't fool yourself that you can trifle with God's stone this latter part of the text if it teaches nothing else teaches that it is an inescapable relationship between unbelief disobedience stumbling and self-destruction may God grant that you will not determine to make yourself a living even an eternal proof of that reality but rather come over into the camp of the believing ones say oh God what a fool I've been to despise your elect and chosen one your estimation of Christ is such that you've placed him as the head of the corner and I see

Conclusion: Embrace Christ, Know Your Identity

59:51 around me those who've been made living stones and I see that to them is indeed honor as much as I'd like to say in my mind ah their Christianity cramps their lifestyle you know in your heart of heart it's an honorable and a blessed life that God has given to your parents to some of your siblings my friend no longer resist what is evident in the deepest recesses of your own heart and conscience but this morning say oh God could it be in the preaching of the word in the providence of God we are in this passage at this time with its focused emphasis upon unbelief in its results that you oh Lord in mercy would reach out to me and bring me in to be part of that living temple he that believes on him shall never be disappointed shall never be put to shame should the Lord Jesus break through the clouds tonight and you be summoned to judgment trusting in him you would not be disappointed he will be no paper mache savior in the last day he said he'll confess us before his father before the angels of God and everything we trusted him to do he'll do all of it and more may God grant that you run to him and dear child of God know who you are it has nothing to do whether you're worthy if your worthiness is the measure of what God did for you pack it in

61:19 that's not the measure of what God's done for you the measure is the largeness of his heart and the virtue of his son that's the measure of what God does for us in Christ what he makes us in Christ and it doesn't honor God to say oh well if you're some real super holy saint then you can say yes this is true you'll never be disappointed you are honorable but not me not poor little me with my weak faith and my besetting sins it has nothing to do with your weak faith and your besetting sins it has to do with who Christ is and what you are in relation to him now stop groveling in your unbelief that dishonors God and it cripples you and you're never going to make progress in those besetting sins in your unbelief as long as you're locked in that fixation upon your own deficiencies locked in on your sufficiency in Christ and what God in grace has made you well let's pray our father oh how we thank you for your word thank you for the richness of your truth thank you for that which you revealed long before Peter had any existence in space time history we can come in the confidence that our faith as Christians is not the result of some overly enthusiastic followers of Jesus

62:48 of Nazareth who concocted a place for him spun out of their own inflated estimations of him but you've said centuries before he came that you would lay in Zion a proven cornerstone a choice stone in the elect and precious oh how we thank you our father and we thank you for your promise that believing upon him none of us shall be disappointed ashamed never will we put in the haste of confusion and embarrassment oh God have mercy upon those who do not yet believe upon your son use the preaching of your word to draw them to faith and repentance we commit to you commit your word to your ongoing care and work in all of our hearts through him who is our chief cornerstone even Jesus Amen