Cornerstone

Advent Day 6 Immoveable Anchor

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 8:13-15
Isaiah 28:14-18
1 Peter 2:1-10
Matthew 12:9-14

Advent, Day 6

For over a decade, I was a raging legalist, complete with judgmental heart and nose turned up in the air. I grieve over the condition of my heart and my harsh view of others during this season, but I praise the Lord for the testimony I now have, by His grace, of just how much He truly can change a person’s heart and life.

Why do I specifically share this as we walk through the season of Advent?
Well, there are two common ways of perceiving Christ:
either as the Cornerstone He truly is,
or as the stumbling stone the enemy wants Him to be.

As we Journey Into Advent, our minds turn to the purpose of Christ’s first coming. We ponder the Old Testament prophecies concerning a coming Messiah, and we meditate on how those prophecies were fulfilled in the God-man, Christ Jesus.

While these Advent musings, perused in front of a roaring fire or twinkling Christmas tree, may feel rather warm and cozy, some of them hit harder and a little closer to home the more we dive into them. Take, for example, Christ’s purpose of being Chief Cornerstone.

We first hear this description in the Old Testament in passages such as Isaiah 28:16,

“Therefore the Lord God said, ‘Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.’”

Jesus is to be the Chief Cornerstone in our lives,
our firm foundation,
the One we rely on and hope in,
the One in Whom we find our salvation, rest, and peace.

Salvation – and our heart-felt gratitude for it! –  then inspires us to live a life of obedience, in a right relationship with God. At peace with God, we experience His presence as the Cornerstone, a firm foundation to build upon as we journey through this life.

But what if we don’t joyfully rest in salvation and wholeheartedly pursue obedience?
Then, we often fall into one of two other camps.

The first is residence for those who are willfully disobedient. If we are living in willful disobedience, Christ then becomes a stumbling stone in our lives, something we get tripped up on as we experience ongoing guilt over sin.

Isaiah 8:14 explains, “He will be a sanctuary; but for the two houses of Israel, He will be a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and a trap to snare the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

We see this confirmed in 1 Peter 2:4-8 following the first Advent (coming) of Christ,

“As you come to Him, a living stone–rejected by people but chosen and honored by God–you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and honored Cornerstone,
and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.

So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected–
this one has become the cornerstone,

and

A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over.”

The second group of people who experience Jesus as a stumbling block rather than a cornerstone are the legalists (this is where my experience comes in!). We read throughout the four gospels of the Pharisees who were self-righteous, hypocritical religious leaders constantly stumbling over Christ’s teachings. He didn’t fit their mold; He challenged their legalistic, man-made rules (an example of this can be found in Matthew 12:9-14).

If we are in either camp, it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to experience Christ as He is meant to be experienced – as our Chief Cornerstone, our sanctuary, our place of hope, rest, peace, and sanctification.

If we find ourselves experiencing Christ as a stumbling block (or know someone who is!) I urge us to examine our hearts with honesty and humility. Let’s commit to asking Jesus to reveal the heart issue at the root of our stumbling, and to be consistent in praying for ourselves and others. Let’s ask the Lord to work in our hearts if we need to be drawn out of sinful living or legalism. Let’s ask Him to use us in the lives of others who are stumbling still, to share how Jesus is our Cornerstone and desires to be theirs as well.

Beauty can be found here, for Christ does not need to remain a stumbling block in our lives or anyone else’s! He longs to be our Cornerstone, our Rock of Defense, and our Immoveable Anchor. As we continue to Journey Into Advent, let’s invite Him to be our Chief Cornerstone!

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Treasure Day 14 Living Treasure: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Living Treasure!

The Questions

1) Who is the rejected stone who became the cornerstone?

2) What is meant by living stones in verse 5?

3) What does the song in verse 9 mean?

1 Peter 2:1-9

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and honored cornerstone,

and the one who believes in him

will never be put to shame.

7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—

this one has become the cornerstone,

8 and

A stone to stumble over,

and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Original Intent

1) Who is the rejected stone who became the cornerstone?
This reference to a cornerstone is language Peter’s readers would have quickly understood and related to. It references Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 28:16 about a precious cornerstone that would come that would provide an unshakeable, firm foundation for those who believe.  The original audience would have immediately made the connection between the prophecy and Peter’s teaching as he quoted Isaiah. Peter also makes it perfectly clear how this stone was originally rejected, but now has become the cornerstone. In this, he is referring to Jesus who came to earth, was rejected by His own people, innocently crucified, and now is the cornerstone of the Church.

2) What is meant by living stones in verse 5?
A “living stone” picks up on the same language as “cornerstone” because it is wording the original audience would have understood and rightly connected to the Old Testament. Here in Peter’s letter, he references both Exodus 19:6 and Isaiah 61:6 where God refers to the Israelites with this same language. They are His chosen people through whom He is going to work and continue to build the covenant He made with Abraham. It is through these people that the Messiah, the Cornerstone, would come. The “temple” language would have resonated with Peter’s readers as well. Peter’s original audience had a concrete visual for temple and all it represented as God meeting with them. Now, Peter was teaching the temple was not about a physical building, but was made up by people who believed and anchored their lives on the unshakeable Cornerstone of Christ. This was not an erasing of the past, but a shift in how they thought about God’s purposes enacted in and through His people. The Cornerstone is set in Jesus and now God would build His Church through His followers.

3) What does the song in verse 9 mean?
Verse 9 uses very specific language tying together what it meant to be an Israelite in connection with their purpose on earth. They were the chosen people of God (Deuteronomy 10:15), with whom He made a covenant with Abraham to fulfill. They were a holy people as described in Deuteronomy 7:6 belonging to God and set apart to declare His glory and righteousness to the world around them. Within Israel, priests acted as the intermediary bridge between God and His people. The Israelites had no direct contact to God and no Holy Spirit continuously dwelling inside of them. Instead, priests made sacrifices for the people and went before God on behalf of His people. Peter is reminding these believers they are now the chosen, holy nation with a new, fuller intended purpose. While there is no longer the need for a priestly intercessor, they each still have a role to play in sharing the gospel and declaring the hope and freedom of Christ to all people!

Everyday Application

1) Who is the rejected stone who became the cornerstone?
Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and He is the foundation upon which the Church is built and flourishes. He was the Cornerstone for Peter’s original audience and He is to us as well! Jesus is the unshakeable foundation on which our faith is built. Without Him, and His sacrifice that leads to restoration, we would have nothing and would be eternally separated from God! Jesus was rejected and betrayed by the very people He came to save, but without that sacrifice, we would not be offered the incredible gift of salvation. We need the strong cornerstone of Jesus for our salvation, our everyday faith, and for the stability of the Church as a whole. As Paul said, “and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Everything is anchored to, and hinging on, Christ Himself as Cornerstone!

2) What is meant by living stones in verse 5?
Just as Israel was called living stones, so are all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Living Stones! Just as God used Israel to build a people to be His people He is about the same work today through believers. It is not our job to simply accept Jesus and then do nothing but sit around and wait for Him to return. Quite the opposite! We are to be living stones representing Him to the rest of the world, sharing Him with those He puts in our path, and actively engaging alongside the other believers in our local church bodies. That role is going to look different for each of us. We are not all called to the same places or even in the same way. However, we are all called!

3) What does the song in verse 9 mean?
Just as Peter’s readers were now this holy nation, this royal priesthood, so are we today. We don’t have the visual of the temple building and have the same ingrained thinking as being God’s chosen people as Israel did, but we do have the same calling. Our challenge is not to minimize it or cover it up with other things. We are called to be the light, His Light, in a dark world that is utterly lost for eternity without the Hope of Christ. When Jesus came and paid the penalty for our sin, He also provided restoration in relationship between God and all who believe Him. We are now able to come to God on our own without an intermediary priest as in the Old Testament. However, that does not mean God is finished working. There is still much Kingdom work to be done and a lost world who needs to hear the truth. We have been called “out of darkness and into marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9) and we are called to share that same light with a world in darkness.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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