Our last time together we talked about Christ being the Living Stone. Today our verses continue in this theme.
v. 6- 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." Peter is speaking the words of the prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 28:16) I love how the scriptures tie together from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the story of our redeemer Jesus Christ.
Here we see that if we are trusting in Jesus our precious cornerstone we will never be put to shame.
v.7- Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, (Ps. 118:22) vs. 8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." ( Is. 8:14). Again, Peter refers to two Old Testament scriptures about Christ being the stone. One, that is precious to those who believe. Christ is the foundation of the believers faith and this picture of Christ being the cornerstone shows that he is our true foundation. In vs. 8 The stone that causes men to stumble and the rock that makes the fall uses two metaphors that illustrate what results in our disobedience to Christ. (Patterson & Kelly, 2006). As believers, we are not be a stumbling block or obstacle to other believers. This is shown in (Rm. 9:32-33, 14:13,20, I Cor. 8:9) The rock that makes them fall is a snare or trap that causes someone to fall. According to Patterson and Kelly in the Women's Evangelical Commentary it states " Jesus used this word when He rebuked Peter for objecting to His telling the disciples of His imminent death in Jerusalem (Mt. 16:23) and when He acknowledged the ...impediments to belief and of people who cause the downfall of others. (Mt. 18:6-7, Lk. 7:1)" p. 820.
This tells me that as believers we have a mandate to live holy lives as Peter spoke earlier in his book. We are to live lives that think of others first so that we do not become a stumbling block to others who are still growing in the faith. We are not to cause our brothers or sisters in Christ to stumble and fall. May we live lives of integrity and holiness to be an example to the world of what a Christ-follower should be.
v.8b- The stumble because they disobey the message-which is also what they were destined for. Christ came to die for us all and we have the choice to believe in Christ and follow Him or to not believe and live in disobedience to His will for us.
v. 9- But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. v. 10- Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
These verses speak to believers today as well as the nation of Israel. The church today has not replaced Israels role as "God's chosen people" but believers today, thanks to the work of Christ on the cross, gave us the ability to come to the Father without a "priest" to intervene for us. (Heb. 4:16- speaks to our ability to come directly to the Father)
So now, how are we to live as God's chosen people, his holy nation and belonging to God. We are to declare his praises. Our lives are to glorify the Father and give him praise for everything in our lives. Good or Bad. He has called us out of the darkness of sin and placed us in the light of his life. We have received mercy and we are to show mercy to the world.
I am reminded today that even in the tough times of life, God is in control. When we walk through the dark valley's of life- He is there. We must trust the God who saved us and called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
May we walk in the light today. May we have the love of Christ shining on our faces and bring the word of his salvation to the world.
Shine brightly today!!!
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