The spiritual sacrifices that the believers offer in the New Testament age according to God’s economy are: (1) Christ as the reality of all the sacrifices of the Old Testament types, such as the burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering (Lev. 1—5); (2) the sinners saved by our gospel preaching, offered as members of Christ (Rom. 15:16); and (3) our body, our praises, and the things that we do for God (12:1; Heb. 13:15-16; Phil. 4:18).
First Peter 2:6 says, “Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious; and he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame.” Here we see that Christ is the chosen stone laid in Zion, the precious cornerstone, and that he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame. The expression on Him implies that Christ is a base, a standing. This indicates that Christ as the cornerstone is a base upon which we put our faith. We believe on this cornerstone as a strong base; hence, we will never be put to shame. Christ is trustworthy, stable, and steadfast. We can put our trust in Him and be assured that we will never be put to shame.
Christ as the cornerstone is for the building up of the church in the New Testament age. In God’s New Testament economy Christ as the cornerstone, in His saving us (Acts 4:11-12), first makes us living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house (Matt. 16:16-18; John 1:42; 1 Pet. 2:2-6), and then, in the process of His transforming us (Rom. 12:2a; 2 Cor. 3:18), builds us up into a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:19-22), that He may carry out God’s eternal economy for God’s good pleasure (1:9; 3:9-11).
As the all-inclusive stone, Christ is the centrality of God’s move for the building up of His eternal habitation (Matt. 21:42, 44; Zech. 3:9, cf. Rev. 5:5-6; Acts 4:10-12; Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-8; Dan. 2:34-35; Zech. 4:7; Rev. 21:11, cf. 4:3). Everything Christ is, everything He has done, and everything He is doing is due to the fact that He is the cornerstone. It is by His being the cornerstone that He could die for us, that we could be crucified with Him, made alive with Him, resurrected with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenlies, and that He could save us, transform us into precious stones, and build us together to be God’s habitation, God’s unique temple in the universe.
In 1 Peter 2:7-8, Peter says, “To you therefore who believe is the preciousness; but to the unbelieving, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’; who stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.” In verse 7 the Greek word translated “preciousness” is a word kindred to precious in verses 4 and 6. The Christ chosen by God as a stone, even a cornerstone that is precious to God, is the preciousness to His believers, that is, the quality of being exceedingly precious. But to the unbelieving, He is a stone which the builders, the Jewish leaders, rejected (Acts 4:11) and which became the head of the corner, the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Many Jews, including famous men, fell on Him as the stone of stumbling.
The “builders” in 1 Peter 2:7 were the Jewish leaders in Judaism, who were supposed to build the house of God. They rejected Christ to the uttermost. The reliable Christ (1 Pet. 2:6), being rejected, became a stumbling stone, on which the rejecting Judaizers stumbled (Matt. 21:44a).
In the Bible Christ is revealed as at least nine kinds of stones. He is the eternal rock (Isa. 26:4; Matt. 16:18), the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11), the living stone (1 Pet. 2:4), the cornerstone (v. 6; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; Psa. 118:22; Isa. 28:16), the precious stone (v. 16; 1 Pet. 2:4, 6-7), the topstone (Zech. 4:7), the cleft rock (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4), the crushing stone (Dan. 2:34-35; Matt. 21:44b), and the stone of stumbling (Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33).
As the cleft rock, Christ is not for building but for flowing out the living water. He is the rock that was smitten and cleft on the cross to flow out His eternal life as our living water (John 19:34). In contrast, Christ is the foundation stone, the cornerstone, and the topstone, not to be our supply but to be the material for God’s building. One day Christ will be placed on God’s building as the topstone. According to Zechariah 4:7, at that time all the people of God will shout, “Grace, grace to it.”
In Daniel 2:34-35 Christ is revealed as the crushing stone, who comes to destroy the totality of human government, represented by the human image (vv. 31-33). In Matthew 21:44, concerning this stone the Lord Jesus told the people, “On whomever it falls, it shall crush him to powder and scatter him like chaff.” Christ is the crushing stone, not toward the believers but toward the unbelieving Gentiles. Christ is also revealed as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense toward the unbelieving Jews (Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8).
There are three basic categories of people on the earth—the Jews, the Gentiles, and the believers in Christ. Christ is related to each of these categories of people as different kinds of stones. To the believers, Christ is the eternal rock, the foundation stone, the living stone, the cornerstone, the precious stone, the topstone, and the cleft rock. These are items of Christ as a stone in a positive sense. In a negative sense, Christ will be a crushing stone to the unbelieving Gentiles and a stone of stumbling to the unbelieving Jews. Thus, Christ is related to every kind of person on the earth. No one can say that Christ has nothing to do with him or her.
In verse 8 Peter speaks of those “who stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.” Concerning the relative pronoun who, there is not a clear antecedent expressed. However, we may say that the antecedent is implied. Peter’s thought may be that those “who stumble at the word” may refer to anyone or to everyone who stumbles. If we stumble at the word, then this “who” includes us. It refers to anyone throughout the generations who stumbles at the word.
What is the word at which people may stumble? It is the word quoted by Peter in verses 6 through 8, the word regarding a chosen stone, a cornerstone held in honor, being laid in Zion. It also refers to the word concerning the stone rejected by the builders that becomes the head of the corner (v. 7). Furthermore, it includes the word in verse 8 about this stone being a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. This is the word at which people may stumble.
The Jews at the time of the Lord Jesus and the apostles would not believe in such a word. Their attitude was that it was impossible for Jesus of Nazareth ever to be the head of the corner. Instead of believing in this word, the Jewish leaders and the rabbis argued against it. Whoever does not believe this word will stumble at it.
We should not think that it is impossible for Christians to stumble at the word. There are many Christians who have stumbled at the word. They do not believe that the Lord Jesus can be so strict, straight, or narrow. Sometimes we may have spoken with certain believers regarding the matter of Christ being both the building stone and the stumbling stone. Yet they have replied that because the Lord Jesus is merciful and has a broad heart, He would never be a stone of stumbling or a rock of offense. However, if we are too broad, we will not believe, on the one hand, that Christ is the building stone and, on the other hand, that He is also the stumbling stone. Many Christians have stumbled at this strict word. The Jewish leaders were not the only ones who have stumbled at it.
We need to see that Christ could purposely be a rock of offense. We also need to be careful concerning this and ask ourselves if we believe this word. If we do not believe it, then we are stumbled by it. Then automatically the Lord will become a stumbling block to us. We stumble at such a word because, in our opinion, it is too narrow and strict.