Paul spoke of the Church "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone..." (Eph 2:20). Christ is the Rock (Gr., petra) upon which the Church is built (Mt 16:18), even the Chief Cornerstone. So while Peter (Gr., Petros), whose name means "rock," was one of the apostles and prophets upon whom the Lord has built His Church, Jesus Himself is the corner stone.
Just imagine the builders of the temple out in a quarry looking for the best stones from which to build the temple. As they consider one particular stone, they determine after examining it that it is not fit to be used at all in the temple, so they reject it. This is what the psalmist wrote:
"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes." (Ps 118:22-23, NIV).
This is what they did with Christ, the stone they rejected. He is the Stone the builders rejected, which has become the Cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. It is interesting to note that Psalm 118 is part of The Great Hallel, which spans from Psalm 113 to 118 with Psalm 118 being the Passover Hymn, which Jesus would have sung after the Last Supper with His disciples on the night He was betrayed. Scripture says that after they ate the bread and drank the cup, when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives (Mt 26:30). Therefore, they probably sang about Christ the cornerstone being rejected by the builders, which was the Lord's doing, as He was being betrayed by Judas perhaps even while they sang it.
The Lord Himself quoted this psalm to the chief priests, elders, and Pharisees who came out Him to question Him (Mt 21:23). Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures? ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’" (Mt 21:42, NIV). Hallelujah! He is that Stone, who has become the very Cornerstone of God's temple.
The cornerstone is the most important stone in the entire building. It must be true in the sense that it is perfectly aligned, exactly upright and level. In order for the cornerstone to be true, it must be plumb, which means that it is perfectly vertical and straight. Since it is used as a central point of reference, all other walls must align with it, so if it is not true, then the whole building will be lopsided or leaning like the Tower of Pisa. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Him (Jn 14:6). Therefore, we know that He is perfectly true and the only One worthy to be the Cornerstone of God's holy temple.
Peter "the little rock" apostle wrote about the living Stone in his first epistle:
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 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.'
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,'
and,
'A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.'
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for." (1 Pe 2:4-8, NIV)
Closing Words
While we who are in Him are like living stones being built into a spiritual house, we must align ourselves perfectly with our Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. There is no other way for it to work. Others rejected Him and still reject Him to this day, but we love Him and fully embrace Him as our Cornerstone and the foundation upon which our lives are built. Do you know this perfect Cornerstone?
Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission. Other Scripture quotations taken from the NASB copyright The Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.
Author's note: Also see The Rock as a Type of Christ, Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
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