1 Peter 2:4-8 - The Chosen and Precious Cornerstone

The Word Read

Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from 1 Peter 2:4-8:

1 Peter 2:4–8 ESV

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Behold, brothers and sisters, this is Word of the Lord. Please be seated. Let us pray.

Summation and Diagnosis

If you have your Bible or Bible app, I invite you to open it up to 1 Peter 2:4-8. I’d like to start this morning by reading two passages of Scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Ephesians 2:19–22 ESV

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Every building has a cornerstone. The cornerstone is the first stone set in the masonry foundation. All other stones are then set in reference to the cornerstone which then determines the position of the entire building. Cornerstones are significantly important. Most church buildings use their cornerstones to put the year the building was constructed or a Bible verse. A church we attended previously put John 10:10 on their cornerstone which was right next to the doors where people walked in. So every time a person walked in for worship on Sunday morning they would see John 10:10:

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Did you know that the first time the word “church” was used to describe a building in America was after 1819. Prior to this, the buildings were usually called meeting-houses. Why? Our spiritual forefathers never wanted their members to be confused with who the church is according to Scripture. “Church” is the body of people, and their covenant children, who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior. “Meeting-house”, or even “chapel”, was the building where the church met. I believe our previous leaders had a keen understanding of our minds. We are prone to believe the church is physical/material, such as a building, when instead the Church is actual spiritual. How do we know we are more prone to thinking in the physical/material way? What do we say when we tell others of our plans for Sunday morning? I am going to… “church!” Not, I am going to be with my church or I’m going to gather with the church. No, it’s “I am going to church”. Over the course of the last 7 months, you may have noticed that I do not call this building “church”. I do this with a theological conviction from the Word of God - church is not a building, it is the people of the living God built upon the true cornerstone, the risen Lord Christ Jesus. So, in our passage this morning, we will see that Christ is the cornerstone of the church, the true building of God, and we are that building built upon Him.

With this in mind, the title of the sermon is “The Chosen and Precious Cornerstone.” I have the passage in 2 sections: 1 Peter 2:4-7a - The Cornerstone and the Living Stones and 2) 1 Peter 2:7a-8 - The Cornerstone and the Dead Stones. Again, the title of the sermon is “The Chosen and Precious Cornerstone.” I have the passage broken down into 2 sections: 1) 1 Peter 2:4-7a - The Cornerstone and the Living Stones and 2) 1 Peter 2:7a-8 - The Cornerstone and the Dead Stones.

1 Peter 2:4-7a - The Cornerstone and the Living Stones

Let us come to 1 Peter 2:4-7a:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

So the honor is for you who believe,

The passage begins with “as you come to him” with the “him” referring to Christ Jesus. The wording here pictures a daily communing with Christ, not just a one time event where a “sinner’s prayer” is prayed. We are 21 days into 2024. At this time, we usually begin to notice that we are a day or two behind on our New Year’s Bible reading plan. We started off strong, but maybe we got behind. The real failure is not “I’m behind on my Bible Reading Plan”. The real danger is “I haven’t spent time with the Lord Jesus”. This is the expectation for the Christian - to spend time each day with the Lord Jesus enjoying communion with Him.

Now do you see what the Scriptures state about Jesus Christ in this verse? He is “a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious”. Think about the life of Christ in the Gospels. He was a man who was constantly rejected by men. Jesus Himself says this in Luke 20:17:

Luke 20:17 ESV

But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

In Jesus’ life, He constantly faced the ire of religious leaders who desired to kill Him. He was a man rejected by His own hometown. He was tried by the Sanhedrin under a false trial. He was condemned to death by the Jews. He was crucified outside of Jerusalem. He was a man of sorrows. Yet, though rejected what type of stone does Scripture say He is? A LIVING stone. Crucified, died, risen, and now alive. He sits victorious over sin and death at the right hand of the Father. He sits ALIVE making intercession for His people this very moment. He is no dead stone, but one who is living.

This living stone, though rejected by men, was chosen and precious in the sight of God. Do you remember who Peter is writing to at this time? Congregations who have been rejected. Jesus is rejected by men, but to God is chosen and precious. What does Peter call his audience at the beginning of the epistle? The elect exiles. Just as Jesus is rejected by men, so are they. Just as Jesus is chosen and precious to God the Father, so are they. The same is true this morning. Let’s be clear, the world rejects us, BUT we are chosen and precious to the Father. Have you had any recent moments with family or friends where they reject you because of the Gospel? Know that in the sight of the Father you are precious and chosen. All of the pain of that rejection can fade away because of the Father’s deep love for you. Ever have a parent, teacher, or loved one say they never wanted you or wished you weren’t around or maybe even never born? Well, that’s not the case with God the Father. He always wanted you. You are precious to Him. You are chosen by Him. The world, family, and friends may reject you, but the Father’s heart is for you. His love wraps around you perfectly. Why? Not because of ourselves, but because of Him. So be encouraged that like Jesus you are rejected by the world, but chosen and precious to the Father.

If you look to verse 5, you’ll see Peter addresses the churches by saying “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house”. There are a couple of realities that I want to draw our attention to here. First, notice that we are also living stones as Jesus is the living stone. Our resurrection is based upon His resurrection. Listen to Scripture in Ephesians 2:4-5:

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Prior to Christ redeeming us, purchasing us, or delivering us we were dead. DEAD. Yet, by the mercy and great love of the Father, we have been brought to life! There are two categories for all humanity - dead stones and living stones. Those who are right with God through the work of Christ and those who do not have salvation.

I remember being trained by a missionary in the “3-circles” Gospel presentation a few years ago. I think most of you know this as Pastor Eric did a series or set of teachings on this method for sharing the Gospel. The first circle has a heart in it representing God made creation very good. God and man enjoyed sweet fellowship with one another in the Garden of Eden. Then there is a arrow pointing away from this circle, which represents man’s rebellion against God, to a second circle with a crack in the middle of the circle. The crack representing the brokenness that came as a result of Adam’s rebellion in the Garden. No matter what we do to try to find our way back to God, we always end up back in the circle of brokenness. An arrow comes out of the circle of brokenness to a third circle with a cross in it. The cross represents that God sent His Son to this world. Jesus, the Son, lived a perfect life never sinning against God. He went to the cross where He died a death we could never die. Yet on the third day, He rose from the grave proving that He holds power over sin and death. The second arrow that connects the “cracked” circle and the “cross” circle has a person on their knees in prayer. They are repenting of sin, confessing that Jesus is the Lord and Savior, and believe in Him. Finally, there is a third arrow that emerges from the “cross” circle pointing to the first circle with a heart. This arrow represents a person has repented and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and is now a new creation who has a right relationship with God through Christ.

The missionary then told us that at this point they ask people, “where are you in the three circles? Are you in a right relationship with God due to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ or are you still in brokenness?” They told us most people believe they are not right with God nor are they in a state of brokenness. They are somewhere in between. Today as you sit here, where are you in regards to a relationship with God? Are you in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, still under the power of sin and brokenness, or somewhere in between? Remember what Ephesians 2:4-5 states, you are either made alive or are dead. There is no in between. You are either a living stone or you are a dead stone. If you thought, “I’m in brokenness or in between” know that you are still under the power of sin. However, if you cry out to the Lord, repent of sin and believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation He will cause you in this very moment to have spiritual resurrection whereby you are made a living stone.

Not just a living stone, do you see what Peter writes in verse 5? Living stones being built up into a spiritual house. This refers to the true church, not the building, the people of God. How many of you remember when Notre-Dame in Paris burned a few years ago? They vowed that the cathedral would be rebuilt. They are currently rebuilding Notre-Dame and the renovation is expected to cost over a billion years. Yes, billion with a “b”. However, if you placed the finished renovation, again valued at over a billion dollars, on one side of a scale and on the other placed us, all 100 of us, the scale would tip in our favor, in the sight of God, every single time because we are the true spiritual house or the true building of God. Our worth in the sight of God far outweighs a billion dollar building. When the Son of God came the first time, He did not spill His blood for ornate buildings. He spilled His blood for the chosen and precious elect exiles. When the Lord Jesus returns, He is not coming for ornate cathedrals. He is coming for His beloved bride, His true building, His true spiritual house, and His true temple where His Holy Spirit dwells.

Take a second to think through that truth, as we sit here today the Lord dwells in our midst because we are His spiritual house. Is the highlight of our week, the gathering of the church where God has called us to be His audience? God dwells in the midst of His living stones, PLURAL! The highlight of our week should be when we come together as gathered living stones offering praise to our Living Lord!

In this spiritual house, again the true building of God, we have all become a holy priesthood - not some of us, but all of us are holy priests. God is the one who builds the spiritual house as He adds people into the church with the expressed purpose of all becoming His priests. My mom grew up Catholic and at a very young age she went to confession. She told the priest, “father, I know it’s you behind this screen and you can’t forgive my sins.” As Hebrews 10:12-14 states, Jesus is the only One who can forgive sins. Yet, God has also made us all priests in His spiritual house whereby we all have access to the Father through Christ Jesus. Again, notice the focus on the plurality here. We tend to think individually, but the point is the church as a whole is priests unto the Lord. As priests collectively, we can now understand that the body of Christ is the true temple of the Lord where He resides. He does merely reside in a physical building, in a physical location, but in the true building, the people He’s redeemed.

What is our role as priests? To offer spiritual sacrifices to God that are only acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ. First, this verse absolutely proves that every other religion does not bring us into a right relationship with the Lord. The only way we can offer spiritual sacrifices to God is through Jesus. There is no other way God accepts spiritual sacrifices. We shouldn’t deny this reality when speaking with those of other religions. It is only through Christ where people are accepted by God, nowhere else!

Second, what does it mean that we offer spiritual sacrifices? This speaks to the entire life of a believer being lived to the Lord. If you’ve ever received an email from me, you’ll notice that my signature is “all of life to the glory of God”. Not surprisingly, I got this from a documentary on the Puritans entitled, “Puritans: All of Life to the Glory of God”. The documentary, over the course of 2 hours, details how the heart of the Puritans was to live every portion of their lives to the glory of God. They viewed their whole lives as a sacrifice to the Lord and the Church must be purified collectively living for the glory of God. This is what Peter is getting to in this verse. Our whole life is a sacrifice to the Lord and it is our job as the priests to offer our life, through Christ, as a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God. How are you doing with offering your whole life as a sacrifice to God? Do you desire that all of our life is lived to the glory of God? Do you long to give God preeminent glory as you make breakfast? Does your heart fill of the glory of God as you get the mail? Are your interactions with friends and family filled with the glory of God? Or do we settle for mere earthly realities that present a glitter and shine? Remember, you are the chosen and precious living stones of the Lord. So, live entirely for the glory of God!

In verse 6, Isaiah 28:16 is quoted. In Isaiah 28, Ephraim, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, has been disobedient and is issued judgment. The reason for their judgment? They had trust in foreign alliances and military strength instead of Yahweh. However, over time this verse also became understood as Messianic. Those who are true followers of the Lord will look to the Messiah and trust in Him because He is their cornerstone. Due to their trust in Him, those who believe will not be put to shame. As a result, as the first part of verse 7 states, the honor is for those who believe. On the day of the Great Judgment, we will not be put to shame. Though we may be mocked on earth, we continue to trust in Jesus as the cornerstone. Though we may be rejected by family and friends, when the Day comes, He will deliver us from judgment and we will receive honor, not shame, and not damnation. This is a promise we can take to the bank. We will receive honor, not shame. We are the living stones built upon the Living Stone.

1 Peter 2:7b-8 - The Cornerstone and the Dead Stones

Now let us come to our second passage, 1 Peter 2:7-8:

(ESV)

But for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

In this second section, we will take a look at how Christ the Cornerstone is rejected by humanity. Peter quotes both Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14 to reveal that Christ the cornerstone will be rejected. As previously mentioned, Jesus was rejected when He lived on earth. The apostles, Peter and John, speak to this when they stood before the Council of Jewish leaders in Acts 4. After they were released from custody, Peter says this before them:

Acts 4:8–11 ESV

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

Did you hear that in the passage at the end? Jesus is the stone that you all rejected. The wording for “rejected” both in Acts 4 and here in 1 Peter 2 mean that people examined the stone and found it worthy to be rejected. In their rejection of the Cornerstone, they stumble and sin. Ironically, the very cornerstone they reject is the foundation of the Church! Those leaders in Acts 4, who are Jewish leaders, rejected the very Messiah they longed to see and proved they were never a part of true Israel. So, Jesus is the Cornerstone and many will stumble and sin as they reject Him.

If we look at the end of 1 Peter 2:8, we see a wonderful truth - the sovereignty of God in salvation and humanity’s responsibility in salvation. “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” Simultaneously, humanity’s volition to reject the Gospel, the true Cornerstone AND God destined them to disobedience. For us this may seem like a contradiction. How can both be true at the same time? How can God destine people for disobedience AND they have volition to disobey on their own? Yet, these truths are not in contradiction to one another and are instead wonderful friends. God’s sovereignty in salvation and humanity’s responsibility in salvation are friends, not enemies.

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon was asked to reconcile divine sovereignty and man’s responsibility once. Here is how he responded, “I wouldn’t try. I never reconcile friends.” Friends? Yes, friends. Those who stumble and reject Christ do so in their own volition while at the same time are destined by God to disobey.

Conclusion

1 Peter 2:4-8 centers us on the true cornerstone, the chosen and precious Christ Jesus. He alone is the cornerstone who imputes righteousness to His people. From here there are two types of people. Those who do not believe in the cornerstone, the dead stones who are disobedient and stumble upon the rock of Christ.

The second group are those who find their foundation in Christ alone. We are the ones who believe and have become the true building, the spiritual house, the temple of God. As a result of becoming this building, we all are holy priests who offering spiritual sacrifices to the Lord through Christ by living all our lives to the glory of God. What is our result? We will not be put to shame on the Last Day! Continue to trust in the Lord Jesus. Continue to follow Him in obedience marked by the Spirit’s work in your heart. Do not give up for Christ has redeemed you. We all, those who sit here this morning and have tasted that the Lord is good, are the true building of Christ. Let His Spirit dwell richly among us as we gather this Sunday morning and every Sunday morning. May His Spirit cause our hearts to long for the glory of God when we gather. May we worship the true Cornerstone of the Church. May we never have more excitement during the week than we do when we gather as the livings stones built upon the Living Stone. Come our great Cornerstone, Come! May we proclaim as Revelation 22:20 proclaims, Come Lord Jesus!