What is the foundation of your life? What is your life built upon? When a building is built, it
is necessary to have a good foundation. The chief corner stone must be right. The rest of the
stones must line up with the chief corner stone.
King Solomon built a temple for the worship of God in Jerusalem. It was rebuilt after the
Babylonian destruction. But God gave a prophecy through Isaiah about 700 B.C. that God
Himself would lay a chief corner stone, a sure foundation.
Isaiah 28:16:
Isaiah 8:14, 15:
Notice that God Himself would lay a stone for a foundation, a corner stone, a sure foundation.
When was this fulfilled? What is this building? What does belief have to do with this corner stone,
this foundation? This stone is called "He" - a person!
This foundation corner stone was also prophesied in:
When Jesus was talking with the Jewish chief priests and elders, He quoted this verse. He
applied this verse to Himself.
Matthew 21:42:
Yes, Jesus is the chief corner stone that the religious leaders rejected.
God laid in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation, who is Messiah, Jesus. Then not long after that, the Romans came and destroyed the
temple Herod had built.
Are you willing to believe in Jesus the Messiah as the head corner stone?
One time Jesus and his disciples were at Caesarea Philipi. This is a beautiful area in northern
Israel. Caesarea Philipi is at the base of Mount Hermon, which is a great rock to the northeast.
Jesus used this setting to talk to them about a rock:
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is the this that had been revealed to Peter.
This rock that the church was to be built upon is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In Matthew 16:18:
Jesus did not say that He would build the church upon Peter. Jesus built the church upon what
Peter had confessed, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
Peter and John were brought before the Jewish rulers, elders, scribes and the high priest. They
had preached about Jesus the Messiah at the temple portico when a lame man had been healed.
Acts 4:7-12:
Peter said that Jesus the Messiah is the corner stone.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Head Corner Stone? The chief corner stone? A precious
corner stone? A sure foundation?
Peter himself quoted these verses that we have read that prophesied about Messiah being the
sure foundation, the chief corner stone, a stone of stumbling and rock (Greek petra) of offense:
Peter quoted Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22, and Isaiah 8:14. In 1 Peter 2:8, Jesus the Messiah
is the Rock, petra:
The House of God, the Temple of God
As we have read in I Peter 2:4-8, the spiritual house of God has Jesus the Messiah as the
Chief Corner Stone and Christians as living stones. What is this spiritual house? We read in:
The congregation of the living God is the house of God made up of living stones, Christians,
and Jesus the Messiah as the Chief Corner Stone.
The temple that Solomon built was destroyed by the Babylonians. The rebuilt temple was
destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. But God laid a stone for a foundation, a chief corner stone,
which is Jesus the Messiah. Jesus built the house of God, His church, the temple of God.
Ekklesia is the Greek word which is translated church. It means the assembly, congregation.
Church in the New Testament is never a physical building, but rather Christians.
Ephesians 2:19-22:
You can believe in Jesus; you shall not be disappointed. He is a sure foundation, the chief
corner stone. You can trust in Him. You can become a living stone in the house of God, the
church that Jesus built. Do not reject Jesus as religious leaders did. He is the chief corner stone
that God has laid in Zion. Do not stumble on this stone. "And he who falls on this stone will be
broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."
Messiah is Head Over All Things to the Church
Ephesians 1:20-23:
Christ is the head of His body, the church. Christ is head over all things to the church. No man
can be head of the church that Jesus built. Since Jesus is head over all things to the church, no
man can even be head over the earthly part. The church is His body. He is the head. His body does
not have two heads. As you read the New Testament, you learn how Jesus built His church, the
original orthodox, universal church. We need to have the church that Jesus built, the original,
orthodox, universal church. This church needs to be the way Jesus built it. Since Jesus is the
Messiah, the King, the Lord and the Head, we need to obey Him. In the New Testament, you will
not find a pope, patriarch, metropolitan, primate, exarch, president, cardinal, or archbishop in the
church that Jesus built. Such titles and offices are not from God. They are not a part of the
original, orthodox, universal church that Jesus built. Jesus is head over all things to His church.
He is Messiah, Lord, King and Head. Will you follow Christ Jesus? Is He your Lord? Jesus is now
ruling and reigning. He is seated on the throne at the right hand of God in heaven. Where is the
headquarter of the church that Jesus built? Rome, Constantinople, Moscow, Athens, Brooklyn,
Salt Lake City or Jerusalem? No, none of these! Headquarter is where the head is, in heaven on
the throne at the right hand of God. Psalm 110:1. Acts 2:30-33. Hebrews 10:12.
1 Peter 3:22:
Matthew 28:18-20:
Yes, Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. He is head over all things to the church
in heaven and on earth. No man is to take His place. We need to get back to the way the church
of Christ was in the beginning with Christ as the only head over all things to the church.
Messiah is the Only High Priest Between God and Man
Hebrews 7:17:
Hebrews 10:12:
Jesus is the only high priest between God and man. He offered Himself for our sins once for
all time. All Christians are priests:
No man can be High Priest today, only Jesus the Messiah. All Christians are priests. No man
can be a priest over Christians between them and Messiah.
What about the religious titles that men use today?
It is wrong to use such religious titles. It is against the commands of Messiah. It is sinful to
call a man by the religious title Father. Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Messiah is the Only Mediator Between God and Men
1 Timothy 2:4:
Mary is not a mediator. Jesus is the only mediator between God and men.
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He is the chief corner stone, a sure foundation, a rock
of offense, the head over all things to His church, the only high priest, and the only mediator
between God and men. On the Day of Judgment you will not stand before a rabbi, a pope, a
patriarch, a president or Mohammed. You will be judged by Jesus the Messiah. 2 Corinthians
5:10. Romans 2:16. Acts 17:30, 31.
Jesus loves you. He is the only one who died for your sins. He was buried and raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures. Right now He wants to save you from your sins, from
eternal punishment. Will you obey Him?
Hebrews 5: 9, 10:
Galatians 3:26, 27:
Germaine Lockwood
Copyright ©1996 by Germaine Charles Lockwood. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Scripture quotations in this work, unless otherwise indicated, are from
The New American Standard Bible, Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963,
1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations from The New King James Bible (NKJB), Copyright
©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN. Used by permission.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily. (NKJB)
He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken." (NKJB)
Psalm 118:22:
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures,
'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone (Greek: head of the
corner).
Jesus also said:
Matthew 21:44: "And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever
it falls, it will scatter him like dust."
(See Isaiah 8:13, 14.)
Matthew 16:15-18:
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said,
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but
My Father who is in heaven. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
1. Peter in Greek is Petros, a stone, which is masculine in gender.
2. Rock in Greek is petra, a large rock, which is feminine in gender.
3. Therefore, Peter is not the rock that the church is built upon.
And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or
in what name, have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
"Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man,
as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God
raised from the dead - by this name this man stands here before you in good health. "He
is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone.
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has
been given among men, by which we must be saved.
1 Peter 2:4-8:
And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the
sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For this is contained in Scripture:
"Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in him
shall not be disappointed."
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" . . .
1 Corinthians 10:4:
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which
followed them; and the rock (petra) was Christ.
1 Timothy 3:15:
. . . the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the
truth." (NKJB).
I Corinthians 3:11:
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints,
and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone in whom the whole building being
fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built
together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places, . . . And He put all things in subjection under His
feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of
Him who fills all in all. (See Col. 1:15-19.)
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and
powers had been subjected to Him.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
For it is witnessed of Him,
"Thou art a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4.)
but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT
HAND OF GOD.
1 Peter 2:9:
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE
FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Jesus commanded:
Matthew 23:8-10:
"But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. "And do
not call anyone of earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. "And do
not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time.
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal
salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
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