The Precious, Yet Rejected Stone

Last week, we started a discussion dealing with the amazing spiritual privileges we have because we are born again through faith in Jesus Christ. For the next couple of weeks, we want to look at some more of the incredible privileges that are ours through Christ Jesus.

As we study this passage, we will continue with a similar theme as previously:

It behooves us to give God glory and honor and praise for giving to us such undeserved privileges and blessings.

My Precious - 2:6

1 Peter 2:6 NASB95

For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

1 Peter 2:7 NASB95

This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,”

i Peter 2:7

This verse which Peter quotes is from . Peter lets it be know that this is directly from the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. Paul also quotes this same Old Testament passage in . Very simply, Christ became the cornerstone of that spiritual house which we discussed last message. And of course, the spiritual house is the body of believers.

Peter’s audience understood that when Isaiah shared this, it was actually a condemnation to the nation for their unbelief which led to their disobedience and defiance. Isaiah was reminding the people that the only way to avoid judgment was to quit trusting everyone and everything else other than God. The person who would place their trust and faith in the Lord would not be destroyed. This was originally promised to the nation of Israel. Ultimately, this all would be fulfilled in Christ.

Romans 9:33 NASB95

just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

We might wonder why Peter stated that this was being done in Zion, or even what is Zion. Most often, this is in reference to Jerusalem. Indeed, that is where the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus occurred which established His right to rule over all who believe in Him. In addition, many scholars feel that this alludes to the reality that what Christ had done was going to completely replace the Jerusalem temple.

The fact that Peter refers to Him as a choice stone further reminds us that Christ was the only one who could actually be the basis of the church. Christ was chosen by God to redeem the world even before the world was made.

He is further described as a precious corner stone. The Greek word for precious actually shows that there is nothing that can compare to this corner stone; it cannot be replaced or substituted by anyone or anything else. Quite simply, we can deduce that if anybody tries to base the church on anything other than Christ, it will completely fail. For those who understand building structures, it is common knowledge that when buildings were made of stones, the cornerstone was the most important and essential stone.

The corner stone as described here shows just how vital it is. Throughout the Old Testament, the Messiah is often referred to as a rock or stone. Based upon the fact that the resurrection of Jesus Christ shows that what He did on Calvary’s cross was completely sufficient and was validated by God. Thus, everything about the rest of the building is dependent upon it. True horizontal and vertical are based on the corner stone. So for the church, it was essential that this precious corner stone have absolute perfection, which it did.

As a result of God’s perfect plan in Jesus Christ, we are blessed with even more privileges. In this verse, Peter says that followers of Jesus Christ will not be disappointed. I love how the Greek is so intense in its literal translation. It should actually read, as a double negative: never, no never, be disappointed. In other words, we can have complete confidence and hope in Jesus Christ and the promises of God without any fear that we will be disappointed in any way. This translates into so many areas. I can rely upon so many promises in Christ: He will never leave me; He has completely forgiven me; He has sent His Holy Spirit to indwell me permanently; when I fail Him, He will never fail me; my salvation is eternally secure; my glorification will be complete when I see Jesus face-to-face; He will provide what I need when I need it; the list goes on and on.

So for the church, it was essential that this precious corner stone have absolute perfection.

The Rejection - 2:7-8

This choice, precious, corner stone Who will not disappoint does not actually bring joy to everyone, as Peter shares.

1 Peter 2:7–8 NASB95

This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

The glorious precious value only makes sense for those who believe. A more accurate translation might read The honor, therefore, is for you who believe. This continued usage of believe is a helpful reminder of our need to completely trust God.

In complete contrast, Peter points out the results for those who disbelieve. It is helpful to understand that Peter is quoting . The Jewish leaders were usually referred to as the builders. We know that multiple times in the Old Testament, the religious leaders and the people as a whole rejected what the prophets shared. We also recall the intense animosity by the religious leaders in Jesus’ time who rejected the Messiah and even intentionally opposed Him. We know from the Gospels that since Jesus didn’t fit their specifications for what they wanted the Messiah to be, He must be rejected. Amazingly, those who rejected the stone thought they were actually building God’s building or kingdom.

Peter goes on to explain by referring to , which showed that the Messiah would be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. John MacArthur helps to explain it this way: A stone of stumbling was any stone that people could trip over as they moved down the road, and a rock of offense was the rock bed they could be crushed against after they fell over the other stone. In Peter’s symbolism, the Jews threw away the true cornerstone, then wound up falling over it to be finally crushed in judgment by the same rock.

The reason people stumble is because they are disobedient to the Word. This phrase is actually a present active participle, which shows the continuation of their disobedience to God’s Word. And it always results in rejecting Christ. Because of an arrogant and hard-hearted view of Jesus, people refuse to believe in Him. And because of this, there will be judgment. Even Paul wrote very clearly about this in .

1 Corinthians 16:22 NASB95

If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.

We must remember that God does not predestine people to judgment. However, He does follow through on His promises of the consequences of refusing to believe in Christ. All disobedience is directly related to not being willing to trust God.

Let’s continue looking at some more of the wonderful spiritual privileges the Christian has.

1 Peter 2:9 NASB95

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

A Chosen Race - 2:9a

Peter is contrasting the negative scene of the unbeliever with the blessings and privileges of the believer. But you is in the plural, signifying that this is not limited to select believers but to all who are born again. It also shows the complete contrast to the unbeliever. How the believer is described in the first part of this verse sounds very similar to how God labeled Israel, a chosen race. Even though God is not finished with that nation of Israel, it seems quite clear that those who are born again are to be to God and the world what His desire for Israel was supposed to be.

To take just a little time to deal with the word race, this refers more to a people group or a nation, not a skin color, which is alluded to a bit later in the verse. Israel was referred to as God’s chosen race. Christians are now referred to as this chosen race. This is actually an Old Testament phrase that refers to individuals chosen for the purpose of service to the Lord. This is not based on ancestry, but by believing in Christ. Even among the people of Israel, one could become part of their race by choosing to follow God. Regardless, the focus needs to be upon the fact that believers are chosen.

We have already learned earlier what it means to be chosen by God. In His unimaginable grace, God chose us before the foundation of the world to be saved through Jesus Christ. As much as we might like to believe that we play a major role in our salvation, Peter makes it clear that it’s all of God, once again. Chosen shows all the readers that God is completely sovereign in choosing or electing those who follow Jesus. Even though I can’t fully explain this, I can be ever so thankful for this incredible blessing and privilege.

But we’re not just chosen merely for salvation. There are even more privileges that are ours, as we see in the next phrase.

A Royal Priesthood - 2:9b

In the last message, we learned that we were a holy priesthood. Today, in the second part of verse 9, we see that we are a royal priesthood. So, not only are we to be like Christ in His holiness, we are also given a label of royalty because He is the King. This is a unique combination of being royalty and a priest; that is because of Christ. Melchizedek, as we discovered in Genesis, was the only other individual who was royalty and a priest. We also know that he was a type or a foreshadowing of Jesus.

What might this involve? As priests, we have access to the King at all times and are privileged to be His servants. As priests, we also are to continually offer spiritual sacrifices. In addition, when considering what God’s desire was for the nation of Israel when He used the same term, we are given further insight. The intent was that Israel was to reflect God’s glory in such a way that all other nations would recognize there is no other god. The same is for the church today. We are to mirror Jesus Christ in such a way that others would be blessed as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The aspect of royalty involves the fact of ruling or leading. We are truly a royal family, as seen by the fact that we are a spiritual temple and royal priests. In royalty, there is invariably the look backwards to see how it was first established. Ours was obviously established by Jesus Christ, Who alone is Lord of all and King of Kings.

The aspect of royalty involves the fact of ruling or leading. We are truly a royal family, as seen by the fact that we are a spiritual temple and royal priests. In royalty, there is invariably the quest backwards to see how it was first established. Ours was obviously established by Jesus Christ, who alone is Lord of all and King of Kings.

This being the case, we remember that we will rule with Christ in His kingdom. It saddens my heart to hear of believers who choose to go to court to settle disputes, rather than following God’s Word to resolve issues between brothers and sisters. It is a tragedy when the world looks at many who claim to be Christians but who are not reflecting Jesus. The believer is privileged to be a royal priest.

Conclusion

In view of all of what we’ve covered today, it behooves us to give God glory and honor and praise for giving to us such undeserved privileges and blessings.

We are called by God to proclaim Jesus to a world in desperate need of a Savior.