1 Peter 2:6 (NIV) For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
Romans 9:33 as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
Psalm 118:22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
1 Peter 2:6 (KJV) reads, "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded."
This verse is found within the context of Peter's first epistle, where he is addressing the early Christian community in Asia Minor. In this particular passage, Peter is drawing on Old Testament scripture to emphasize the significance of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the church.
The setting of this verse is significant for understanding its full meaning. The early Christian community was facing persecution and opposition from both Jewish authorities and the Roman government. Peter's letter was intended to encourage and strengthen the believers in the face of these challenges. By referencing the Old Testament and connecting it to the significance of Christ, Peter is reinforcing the foundation of their faith and encouraging them to remain steadfast in their belief.
The verse begins with "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture," indicating that Peter is drawing on a specific Old Testament passage to make his point. This phrase highlights the continuity and fulfillment of the Old Testament in the person of Jesus Christ. It also underscores the authority and relevance of the Old Testament scriptures for the Christian community.
The quotation itself is from Isaiah 28:16, which reads, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." In this passage, the prophet Isaiah is speaking of a future day when God will establish a sure and trustworthy foundation in Zion. Peter's use of this passage is significant because it emphasizes the continuity between the prophecy in Isaiah and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Peter describes Jesus as "a chief corner stone, elect, precious." The image of a cornerstone is a powerful metaphor for Christ's role in the church. In ancient construction, the cornerstone was the principal stone placed at the corner of a building, from which all other stones were aligned. It was essential for the stability and integrity of the entire structure. By identifying Jesus as the chief cornerstone, Peter is emphasizing his central and foundational role in the church. Jesus is the unifying and stabilizing force that holds the church together.
The terms "elect" and "precious" further underscore the significance of Jesus. "Elect" conveys the idea of being chosen or selected, indicating Jesus' unique and special status. "Precious" emphasizes the value and worth of Jesus, highlighting his incomparable significance. These descriptors serve to exalt and elevate Jesus as the preeminent figure in the Christian faith.
The verse concludes with the promise, "and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." This statement assures believers that their faith in Jesus will not lead to disappointment or shame. Those who put their trust in him will not be put to shame. This promise speaks to the confidence and assurance that believers can have in Christ as their foundation and cornerstone. Even in the face of persecution and opposition, they can trust in the unshakable security that comes from their relationship with Jesus.
One of the key themes in this verse is the significance of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the church. Peter's use of Old Testament prophecy to point to Jesus as the fulfillment of God's plan underscores the continuity and coherence of God's redemptive work. This verse also emphasizes the importance of faith in Jesus as the source of stability and assurance for believers. It speaks to the enduring significance of Christ as the foundation of the Christian faith and the unifying force that holds the church together.
In conclusion, 1 Peter 2:6 draws on Old Testament prophecy to highlight the centrality and importance of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the church. This verse serves to exalt and elevate Jesus as the preeminent figure in the Christian faith and to provide assurance and confidence to believers in the face of opposition. Peter's use of Old Testament scripture and his emphasis on the unshakable foundation provided by Jesus underscores the continuity and coherence of God's redemptive plan throughout history. This verse continues to serve as a source of encouragement and strength for believers, reminding them of the unchanging and secure foundation they have in Christ.
1 Peter 2:6
This post is about Christ the cornerstone and stumbling block. We're studying through a book of the Bible, the book of first Peter in the New Testament. if you'd find your bible and open it to 1st Peter , We'll begin. We're starting with first Peter chapter 2 and verse 6.
We're going to start reading at verse 4 since it blends right in with today's lesson. It says in first Peter chapter 2 verse 4 to whom and that's talking about the Lord Jesus, that pronoun, means Jesus coming as into a living stone. So Jesus is a living stone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious. You also as living stones or lively stones are built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Okay then verse 6, wherefore also it is contained in the scripture , behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious and he that believes in him shall not be confounded. Verse 7, unto you therefore which believe, he is precious but unto them which are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same has become the head of the corner. Verse 8 and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense even to those who stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto they were appointed.
Let's pray
Father, in the name of Lord Jesus Christ , as we worship you in your word in this lesson we ask for open minds and open hearts we ask that you might teach us from your Word that we might see the Lord Jesus high and lifted up we might see him as that stone upon which our lives are built and upon which you're building your church and that our faith in his word is of paramount importance that we believe what you've said and that we believe all that you command us to do Lord give us faith give us repentance make us live before you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well first Peter chapter 2 verse 6, God has made Jesus the chief cornerstone. Wherefore it is contained in scripture it says behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious and he that believes in him shall not be confounded. In verse 5 of this chapter 2, the believers are set forth as living stones and in verse 4, Jesus is set forth as a living stone that is the foundation stone. So we have an analogy of building here. It is all about our salvation. It is all about what God is doing, is he is building his church, he is making a spiritual temple and he is making that spiritual temple in heaven but he laid the foundation for it here on earth. And he is building it here on earth. It is made up of saved people, all of us together who are saved, are being fashioned by God as a holy temple where he is going to live forever. This is extraordinary. This is amazing. God is making a house in heaven for himself out of us believers now the temple that was made on earth according to God's instructions was fashioned after this way. They would cut the stones out at the quarry and they would shape them and put them in the shape that exact shape that they needed. Then they would transport those stones to Jerusalem to the place they were going to be set in place and place them there. And there were no tools used in Jerusalem to cut the stones or to shape the stones. You find this in first Kings chapter 6 verse 7 it says and the house that is the temple of God when it was being built was built of stone made ready before it was brought there so that neither hammer nor action or tool or of iron was heard in the house while it was being built so it was built according to God's instructions. He gave exact instructions about how big it was to be, what the shape was to be, what it was to look like. And they constructed this thing at a distance, at the quarry. And then they brought the stones there and they built it there and right now there's a correspondence to what God is doing. We're going to be a temple in heaven for God. And on earth he is cutting us out, saving us and shaping us by sanctifying us making us holy by the things that we go through and fitting us for that temple that's in heaven to be placed there as a holy temple for the Lord wherefore it says or for it stands in other words this comes directly out of the scripture where apostle Peter is quoting from the scripture of the Old Testament, God told us ahead of time by prophecy how he was going to do this and how he was going to make this temple and how it was going to transpire what he would do to do it. It's in book of Isaiah 28 :16 among other places. Isaiah 28 :16, 700 years before the time of Christ . I mean I can't tell you what's going to happen tomorrow. 700 years before it happened, God told exactly what was going to be done therefore thus says the Lord God behold I lay on Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone. And Jesus Christ was tried. A precious cornerstone, he was precious to God, a sure foundation. Nothing can move him as the foundation for the church, he that believes on Him , shall not make haste. Well, we don't use that kind of language anymore. But in other words, this is a firm foundation. This is steady. This is going to last. You can trust it. You can put all your eggs in that basket. You can believe in it. You can commit yourself to it. That is the Lord Jesus, he is the foundation for the church. This is how the temple in heaven is made without hands. He says, behold , in verse six : it's contained in the scripture behold in other words wonder at this thing this is fantastic. Can you imagine this is the way God builds a temple in heaven is in Jerusalem at Zion at that hill, that is there, God causes his own son to suffer and die at the hands of the wicked religious leaders of the time the chief priests and the scribes and the pharisees those people hated him and they were out to get him from the beginning of his ministry and they sent their best lawyers to confound him and ask him questions to catch him up and anything that he would say that they could find that would be wrong and he could say to them which of you can convince me of sin? Nothing that he did was improper or wrong or violated God's law. He only did what pleased the Father everything he did was perfect and yet they hated him. This is God laying a foundation for the temple in heaven here on earth in Zion that's how he did it. His perfect son came in a human body and was rejected by the religious leaders, crucified, dead, buried, raised again, ascended up into heaven on the 40th day. That's the foundation for the temple of God in heaven wherefore wonder at this behold this is amazing. God did this. This is what God did in Jerusalem in time with a human body. He sent his son and he laid the foundation in heaven. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem to die. He was born to die, that was his purpose , come into the world to die, then every believer, every elect person who comes to God through the Lord Jesus Christ is then cut and saved and shaped and sanctified to fit into that temple that God is going to have in heaven. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. Apostle Paul lays out the same plan for the building of the temple in Ephesians chapter 2. That chapter is all about how the Gentiles believers are going to be brought in with the Jews believers and made part of the church. And the dividing wall of partition that God had erected the law is going to be broken down in the body of the Lord Jesus it's taken away and disparate groups of people can be brought together and be part of the same body of Christ's body so Jews and Gentiles are then brought together as part of Christ's body in Ephesians 2 :19 and to 22, it says now therefore you're no more strangers that's the Gentiles, you're not strangers anymore, not foreigners anymore but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building in Jesus that whole building is being fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord. You grow as you're a Christian. You start out as a baby, you need sincere milk, you need the milk of the word but you don't want to stay there, you want to progress, you want to grow to a child and to a young person and eventually to a mature adult by taking in the Word by growing and that's what Jesus Christ does to us. He sanctifies us, he makes us holy, the Holy Spirit inside of us conforms us to the image of Christ and that's the fitly framing us together we grow up into a holy temple unto the Lord in whom it says in verse 22 you are built together for a habitation of God through the spirit. Amazing God did this and he did it in Zion, he laid the foundation there for the church and what happened to the Lord Jesus then our verse says that he was elect. Well, we understand what election is for individuals. Ephesians chapter one, we're elect according to the foreknowledge of God before the foundation of the world, God chose those that he would that he would save in his Son those people are set apart to him and he does it for his own glory. He does not do it because he finds any goodness in us. He does it so that he's glorified but Jesus was elect how can the Son of God be elect Jesus was chosen by God to be the foundation of the church that's what this is talking about. He is selected by God through the cross, he conquered death, he was chosen to die, so God could be just in the forgiving of our sins. The payment was made for all who believe. That is the election of the Lord Jesus chosen for this end and we are right in the middle of God's fulfilling this prophecy. God is saving people. He is working in their lives and sanctifying them. He is fitting them to be placed in that temple in heaven to add it be added as building blocks in that temple each believer that is saved is cut out and sharpened and shapen here on earth to be taken to the quarry here on earth to be taken where the temple is being made in heaven shaped into the perfect dimensions that God wants us to be in. That is why James chapter 1 verse 2 can say, my brother count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. Why? God is shaping you. He saved you and he sets about the process of holding off all the stuff that doesn't belong there using the tools at his disposal, his Holy Spirit in us, all our circumstances, our family life, our vocation, our money, our friends, the government that we're under, everything shapes us into the the shape that we need to be in to be a stone in that temple then it says if you believe on him you're not going to be confounded. Well , we don't talk like this anymore. But he is not going to let you down, you can hope in him , you don't need to be afraid, you don't need to be agitated, you don't need to have fear. Luke 12 : 6-7 says the hairs on our head are all numbered. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, in other words, these sparrows are of little value they're really cheap to buy not one of them is forgotten before God. He cares for them and he understands them and he knows them, none of them, sparrow doesn't fall without your Father's knowledge in heaven but even the very hairs of your head are numbered, fear not, for you are more value than many sparrows, the sparrows weren't considered to be valuable birds weren't considered to be valuable the poor people brought sacrifices of birds because they were poor and sparrow birds were cheap and they could make sacrifices of those well we're of more value than a sparrow, I mean, I think you can agree with that you're more valuable to God than a sparrow so if he takes care of them by analogy he's going to take care of you. So God will not let you down you can hope in him, you can trust in him, you don't need to be afraid, Jesus is precious to the Father, he is loved by his Father, Matthew 3 verse 17 , the Father says, lo! a voice from heaven the father speaking saying, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. The Father and the Son were like this. There's no daylight between them. They were together on everything up until the point of his crucifixion when there was a separation between them because of sin because of Jesus Christ becoming sin and paying for our sin. So Jesus was laid as the foundation stone for the church by the Father in Jerusalem according to his plan and his purpose and his prophecies he was elected by God he was precious to God and all of us who believe in him are not going to be confounded you can put your faith and your trust in that cornerstone that will not be moved. First Peter chapter 2 verse 7 and 8. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious but unto them which are disobedient to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed the same as become the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense even to those who stumble at the Word being disobedient whereunto they also were appointed.
Lord Jesus Christ is the precious head stone or cornerstone first he's precious to believers to us christians, he's the head of the corner when you see yourself as lost before God when you understand your spiritual condition like the prodigal son in the pig pen out there feeding with hogs starving and clothes have turned to rags and no one's helping him and he's emaciated and he smells like pigs . That is a spiritual condition. That is a good place to be when you become when you come to that spiritual condition of great need then you will understand who Jesus Christ is and you can trust in him. Even the highest person in a Fortune 500 company, the CEO when he comes to Christ, he comes as a beggar, down there in the pig pen, he comes broken. That is how precious Jesus Christ is to us. We see our sinfulness, we see the wrong that we've committed, we see the death that we're headed for. That is the correct view of everyone who becomes saved.
Jesus Christ is supremely precious to believers, serving as the chosen and precious cornerstone upon whom their faith and lives are built. This preciousness is rooted in His intrinsic value as God incarnate and His sacrificial love, having died for sinners while they were yet enemies.
Divine Selection: He is precious in the sight of God, chosen by the Father and honored by believers who trust in Him.
Redemptive Value: His blood is described as more precious than perishable gold, having redeemed humanity from empty ways of life.
Personal Treasure: For those who believe, He is more valuable than all earthly wealth, fame, or health, satisfying the soul’s deepest needs.
Everlasting Hope: He is the living Stone who ensures that those who trust in Him will never be put to shame, offering an imperishable inheritance.
Then Christ is valuable and he's esteemed and he is gained for us and he provides for us our eternal welfare, he is of inestimable value to christians, he is the pearl of great price that Jesus talks about in Matthew 13, verse 45 and 46, he says again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he'd found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it. That is the Lord Jesus. When you see him that way in your life as precious to you, you will get rid of every sin, you will repent of all sin and when sin come rears its ugly head, you'll repent of it again and you'll confess it to God and he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To believers, Christ is the head of the corner. We are very happy to have him as the foundation of our lives: all that he said, all that he commanded is our delight to do, to follow him, to obey him, to listen to him. When the Word is preached or in the quiet times of our devotional life. But the disobedient stumble and are offended in Christ, verse seven and eight, unto you which believe he's precious but unto those who are disobedient, and verse eight says, and he becomes a stone of stumbling in a rock of offense even those who stumble at his word being disobedient where unto they were appointed . The disobedient are in contrast to the believers. Believers obey, unbelievers disobeyed the Lord Jesus. Believers delight to do God's Word, unbelievers hate to do God's Word. Believers look for what God wants them to do. Unbelievers look for ways out of what God wants them to do. It is like the wicked citizens who would not have their noblemen rule over them in Luke 19:14. It says but as citizens hated him. That is what unbelievers are like. And send a message after him saying, "we will not have this man to rule over us."
"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' - Luke 19:14
That's what unbelievers are like they won't have jesus for their foundation they will not have him rule over them a thousand years before the psalmist predicted this in Psalm 118 verse 22 it says the stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the corner.
The phrase "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner" appears in the Old Testament and is quoted in the New Testament in the following contexts:
Psalm 118:22: The original source, often interpreted as referring to King David, Israel, or the Messiah.
Matthew 21:42: Jesus quotes this verse to the chief priests and Pharisees, identifying Himself as the rejected stone who becomes the cornerstone.
Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17: Parallel accounts of Jesus using this metaphor.
Acts 4:11: Peter quotes this verse before the Sanhedrin, explicitly identifying Jesus as the rejected stone.
1 Peter 2:7: Peter applies the verse to believers, describing Christ as the precious cornerstone.
The metaphor signifies that Jesus Christ, rejected by the religious leaders (the builders), was exalted by God to become the most important foundation stone of the church and the world.
Those people that should have been in place when Jesus came to build up that nation to teach it to bring it to God the chief priest the scribes the pharisees those people refused him they would have nothing to do with him they disallowed him they refused him they hated him for who he was. God placed Jesus Christ as the head corner stone and the kingdom was taken from those people those wicked unbelievers who refused christ as their savior as their messiah as their redeemer.
John 1:11 is a verse in the Gospel of John stating that Jesus came to his own creation and people, yet they did not receive him. The verse highlights a profound tragedy where the Creator, who entered his own domain and nation of Israel, was rejected by those who should have welcomed him.
The phrase "his own" carries a dual meaning in the original Greek text:
🔴Neuter (ta idia): Refers to his own things, meaning the world he created or his earthly home.
🔵Masculine (hoi idioi): Refers to his own people, specifically the Jewish nation chosen as God's covenant people.
While the world did not recognize him (v. 10), his own people actively rejected him, fulfilling prophecies of a suffering Messiah. However, this rejection is immediately contrasted in verse 12, which promises that those who do receive him are given the right to become children of God.
John 1 :11 says he came unto his own and his own received him not. They saw no worth in Christ. They disallowed him. Banned him. Disallowed is the past tense, past participle, and adjective form of the verb disallow, meaning officially rejected, prohibited, or not permitted by rules or laws. They saw no sin on their own account which needed relief. Their righteousness was their own, and they were in deep trouble. Because of that they stumbled over the Lord Jesus. They were offended in him. They disobeyed his word. So he was a stumbling stone. Well, you all probably tripped over something. If there's a pavement made out of stone and one of them is higher than the others, that can cause you to fall. You do not see it. You're not expecting it. Your foot hits it and down you go. And Jesus Christ is a rock of offense. This means he's a snare or a trap or a gin. So when you're in survival mode and you're trying to live off the land and you're trying to catch animals you know you take something heavy, a rock and you put a stick underneath it and you're gonna pull the stick out when the animal's there and it's going to fall down on them. That is what Jesus was to them. He is going to crush them. He was a rock of offence. He was a snare, the trap is going to spring upon them, their fall, notice the reason they don't believe is because they stumble at the Word of God, in verse 8 , they stumble at the word, being disobedient, they won't hear what God has to say to them. Thhey withdraw from that, they rebel at it, they won't have it in their lives.
The Word of God should bring life to us. The Word of God is the Lord Jesus.
It is what the spirit uses to bring life to our souls. John 6:63 says the spirit makes alive or quickens, the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you these are, this is Jesus' words, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63 states, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life" If you hear his word you will have life within you so that's why I continually emphasize spend time in the word of God for your own self your personal time listen to it preach listen to it taught take in as much as the word of god as you can do it daily do it regularly just like you eat your food this is the same way you should be about God's word there should be a constant intake of it because you need it to live these people no thanks they don't want to have it they have no interest in that when you refuse to hear the Lord Jesus in his word that adds to your condemnation those who refused him were disallowed him stumbled over him were offended at him did so at God's appointment look at the end of that verse 8 being disobedient whereunto they were also appointed so this was not a surprise to God these people acted of their own volition yet they fulfilled the prophecies that God has made their hearts, their hearts were hardened
John 12 : 37-40 says although he had done so many miracles before them yet they believed not on him that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke, Lord who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed so faith in what the what he was saying. The arm of the Lord is the power and the strength of the word as it comes into your life.
Verse 39 says therefore they could not believe because that Isaiah had said again verse 40 he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts and be converted that I should heal them. So that prophecy of hard hearts unbelieving hearts and unseeing eyes was 700 years prophesied by Isaiah and fulfilled in the chief priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees as they rejected the Lord Jesus with their hard hearts. Don't let Jesus be a stumbling block to you. Trust in him, put your faith there. Look to him for your salvation. Look to him to build your life upon. That is where we need to go. He has to be the foundation for our lives and we are living stones in his temple, so this was God's choice that Jesus by his unjust death in Jerusalem was made the chief cornerstone of God's temple in Jerusalem it happened in Jerusalem and he and it is being built in heaven. Each believer is brought into and shaped, brought into the kingdom by salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance of sins and faith in Christ and is being shaped and sanctified to be a living stone in that temple. It occurs during our lifetime by the trials and tribulations that we face and also by the good people that come into our lives and disciple us and teach us what it means to be a christian. We are going to be set in place there in heaven, in the tabernacle that is made without hands. Those who stumble over the Lord Jesus are snared by him or trapped by him. Their eyes are blinded and their hearts are hard and they will not hear God's word. So this fits the overall theme of this book, be holy because God is holy. You're being shaped by God if you're a believer to be fit for that temple in heaven to be a stone in that temple.
So let's praise Him and pray.
Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus the sure foundation for our lives. He is elect, he is precious. Lord help us not to stumble in his Word. Help us to have faith and trust in him. Help us to commit ourselves to him. Lord help us to understand what you're doing in our lives as you shape us and mold us to be part of the temple that's in heaven. Don't let us be like those people who disallowed him, who would not have him rule over them and who would not believe His Word and would not trust in Him. Lord put that far from us. Let us be faithful to you. Let us cooperate with your sanctification of our souls, in Jesus's name, amen.
1 PETER
a living stone, disallowed of men, chosen of God, precious, you are living stones, a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious, he who believes on him shall not be confounded, to you who believe he is precious, the stone which the builders disallowed, is the head of the corner, to the disobedient he is a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, stumble at the word, whereunto they were appointed,
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