24. The Centrality of Jesus as the Church's Foundation

The Centrality of Jesus in the Church’s Foundation: Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone.

Introduction: The last time we were in 1 Peter we started a series on the centrality of Jesus. We first saw the centrality of Jesus in the believer’s life. We answered these questions: 1. When do we come to Jesus? How do we to come to Jesus? With what do we come to Jesus? Why do we come to Jesus? We looked specifically coming to Jesus in all of our need, coming to Him the living stone, the chief cornerstone, and we should certainly always do that, but there is more to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. But before we begin, I’d like to thank each one of you for the time and effort you put in food preparation and decorating and cleaning for my ordination and reception. It was perfect. And all of our out-of-town guests commented on how kind everyone was preparing them meals to take on the drive home. It was a sweet, sweet time and Connie and I so appreciate your labor of love.

1Pe 2:4-10  As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,  (5)  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.  (6)  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.”  (7)  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,”  (8)  and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  (9)  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  (10)  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

It is my hope that we all would be like the noble minded Berean’s that Luke mentioned in Acts 17:10-11  The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  (11)  Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

That you would be careful to take what is said behind this pulpit and examine it in light of Scripture. The word of God is your spiritual heritage and for far too long the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the United States has had stunted spiritual growth as a result of fundamentalism that deprives congregations of the rich doctrine found in the whole council God. You can not worship, praise, and practice livening before Him properly without understanding the depths of the riches of the glory of God and His infinite wisdom given in His Word and to the church. So my brothers and sisters own this. Thirst for this as the deer pants for the brooks of water.

Observations: Just as we saw in the first chapter Peter continues his use of contrasts. He highlights these contrasts using the word ‘but’. IN verse 4 he contrasts believers, those coming to Him vs unbelievers ‘rejected by men’, unbelievers vs God by Whom Christ is chosen and precious. Verse 7 The hope and confidence of the believer verses the stumbling (disobedience to the Word) and in verse 9 the destined to disobedience of the unbeliever vs the being chosen of God. And we will flesh all these things out in the coming weeks.

The other main observation to see Jesus as chosen and precious. These words are used in two verses: verse 4 and verse 6. Chosen and precious in the sight of God and chosen and precious in the sight of the people of God. This will be a sermon unto itself but this morning we will focus on the centrality of Jesus as the church’s foundation. So first what is the church?

What is the spiritual house mentioned in verse 5? It is the Church

Without a proper understanding of the church there can be no proper appreciation of Jesus as the chief cornerstone.

Defined – The church is that body of believers who have been called before the foundation of the world, predestined to adoption as children and after listening to the message of the truth the gospel, by the free gift of God’s grace through faith, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning life, death, and resurrection for sin, having been redeemed and forgiven all trespasses and sins, repents for the purpose of holiness, to serve in the priesthood of believers unto God, to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. It is the church that is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 5:15) where the local church is the visible expression of the body of Christ. (Acts 20:28). Rom. 1:1-6, 1 Cor. 1:2, Eph. 1:3-14, Phil 1:1-5, Col. 1:1-8; 1Thess 1:1-10.

Eph 1:3-14  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  (4)  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,  (5)  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,  (6)  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (7)  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace  (8)  which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,  (9)  having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,  (10)  that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.  (11)  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,  (12)  that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.  (13)  In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  (14)  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Structure of the church is seen in this text:

Foundation – it has a chief cornerstone

Form – it is a spiritual house

Function – service of worship and proclamation of the excellencies of God.

Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone v6

In construction today engineers determine how think the foundation of concrete must be before the building is built. While working for MMC Materials, a concrete manufacturer, I saw firsthand the pouring of a foundation for a 20+ story building in Mobile, AL. The hole in the ground that the concrete was being poured into was 10’s of feet deep. In ancient times they did not have the luxury of concrete foundations and so a cornerstone was laid first. So what is a cornerstone?

Defined – It is an architectural term used in construction in ancient times. The cornerstone was carefully cut and placed and it determined the size and shape of the following stones in the foundation. The cornerstone, therefore determines the height, width, and depth of the building. These size of cornerstones could be enormous. It is said that the cornerstones for the temple of Solomon were 30 feet long and weighed 20 tons. Ex: the pyramids.

Peter quotes 3 verses in this text. Psalm 118:22, Is. 8:14, Is. 28:16. Each reveals a specific purpose in Christ the cornerstone: Salvation, a stone of stumbling, and judgement.

Psa 118:21-24  I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; And Thou hast become my salvation.  (22)  The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.  (23)  This is the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.  (24)  This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Isa 8:14  "Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Isa 28:14-17  Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,  (15)  Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception."  (16)  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.  (17)  "And I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the level; Then hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters shall overflow the secret place.

The prophet speaks God's words directly to the rulers in Jerusalem who boasted that they were immune to the scourges of life because they were secure in themselves. God said their security was false because he would lay a stone in Zion, a precious cornerstone, which really was secure and it was not those present rulers. The use of the plumb line and level line to denote anything outside of the boundaries of the cornerstone were bound for judgment.

There is a 4rth aspect that cannot be overlooked even with the most casual reading of the gospels and that is discipleship. His example in making disciples and His command to make disciples. Mat 28:19-20  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  (20)  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Paul echoes this. 2Ti 2:2  And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

In this one verse we see three generations of discipleship. Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful men, faithful men who will teach others also. And this is not limited to the realm of men. Titus 2:3-5  the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—  (4)  that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  (5)  to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Paul uses this term ‘cornerstone’ in Eph 2:20-22  having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,  (21)  in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord;  (22)  in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Here we see the glorious harmony and unity of the Scripture.

Remember what it is that the cornerstone does. It determines the size and shape of all the other foundation stones. The foundation of the church are the apostles and prophets with Jesus as the cornerstone. What was the purpose of the apostles and prophets? They proclaimed the word of God in word and deed. The word of redemption and also the word of judgment; of Who God is and what He requires of us. We think of the OT prophets like Hosea who God called to marry a harlot, or Jeremiah who God commanded wear a yoke around his neck. These and the apostles suffered and many were killed at the hands of evil men. These could only point to the chief cornerstone Jesus, Who He Himself is redemption and revelation, the word of God incarnate.

-Jesus stands above as The Prophet whom Moses spoke of Deu 18:18-19  'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.  (19)  'And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. He stands above as the Apostle of apostles. Apostle defined as Envoy, ambassador, or messenger commissioned to carry out the instructions of the commissioning agent. Joh 17:18  "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

Joh 1:16-18  For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.  (17)  For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  (18)  No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him..

There was a prophet whom God spoke to face to face as a man does his friend. There was a prophet who was called highly esteemed of the Lord. But there was never a prophet like Jesus who was called the Son of God, there was never a prophet like Jesus who has seen God the Father, there was never a prophet like Jesus who is in the bosom of the Father, and there has never been a prophet like Jesus who has explained Him like Jesus has explained Him.

Col 1:15  And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.

How can there be an image of something invisible? Being the exact representation of His nature. Do you want to know God the Father, then study the life of Jesus His Son. Every act of compassion, the longsuffering of the Jesus, His patience, grace, mercy. All of that is the Father.

Heb 1:3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Jesus reveals the exact nature of God positively. He also reveals the exact nature of God negatively. How? The prophets and apostles suffered the wrath of evil men and many were killed. Jesus, alone suffered the wrath of God. He drank the cup of His Father’s wrath until there was nothing left to drink

Isa 53:10  But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

How great is this cornerstone? It determines the size and shape of the every other stone; if it determines the size of the building itself. We know that He is infinite in every respect but to put it in some kind of perspective, believers are called living stones and we are being built into a spiritual house. Consider the spiritual seed of Abraham. God promised that they would be more numerous than stars in the heavens or the sand on the sea shore. That would be a lot of stones.

This chief cornerstone not only determines the size of the building and the shape pf every stone in it. Jesus, our cornerstone secures us in place in this spiritual building now being built up. In Christ alone there is true security for every soul that comes to Him by faith. Remember the text from Is 28:14-17. It was speaking against the rulers in Jerusalem who thought they were immune to the scourges of life because they were secure in themselves. But the only true security was in the cornerstone that God was going to establish. This cornerstone is not only the person of Jesus Christ but also His words and works. It is His instructions concerning the church, it’s structure, the ordinances of the church, and the worship of the church. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is an extension of the work of Christ and as the Word of God is God breathed it alone is our rule for faith and practice. There is no new revelation, Heb 1:1-2  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  (2)  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

Application: Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the church corporately, but He is also the chief cornerstone of each one of individually. My question to you is, this Jesus, the chief cornerstone of the church, is He the chief cornerstone of your life? You may ask, how will I know if He is? The answer is do you, by faith believe that Jesus in His life, death, burial, and resurrection paid the penalty for your sin. Do you seek to obey God’s word in your day to day living? Remember those who stumbled were those who were not obedient to His Word. But Jesus says this Mat 7:24-25  "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  (25)  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

Where is and what is your foundation?