Standing Firm on the Cornerstone

A frequent image for God (and His Son) in Scripture is both a stone (Heb: ‘eben; Gk: lithos) and a cornerstone. Here, Peter refers to Jesus as both a living stone and a chosen and precious cornerstone. Moreover, he writes that “as we come to Him” – indicating a daily coming to Christ in personal relationship with Him – we too, like living stones, are “being built as a spiritual house” (v5). Peter envisions Christ’s Church as the new temple of God, complete with holy priests and spiritual sacrifices. In this way, believers receive great honor; unbelievers, however, stumble over Jesus as a rock of offense as long as they continue to disobey the Word (v7-8). Our calling as stones in Christ’s temple is to proclaim God’s excellencies; as such, we are the stones that “cry out.”