The Bible uses not only plants to signify God, Christ, the church, the believers, and the world but also stones to signify Christ and the believers. According to 1 Corinthians 3:6-15, plants are for growth, and stones are for building. Plants grow to produce materials, and stones are built to accomplish a purpose—the building up of the church. The change from the growing plants to the building stones involves a process of transformation. To grow, to be transformed, and to be built involve Christ being life to the believers. This is the intrinsic reason that the Bible uses plants and stones to signify what Christ is to the believers and what the believers’ function is to Christ.
Using stones as symbols, the Bible likens Christ to a living stone, rejected by men but with God precious for the accomplishing of the glorious building in God’s eternal economy (1 Pet. 2:4).
A natural stone, being lifeless, is dead and not living. However, as a stone, Christ possesses life and is living to bring forth transformation and building.
As a living stone, Christ is able to generate us so that we may become living stones.
The generation and transformation by Christ as the living stone is for God’s building and expression, the consummation of which is the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is built with precious stones generated and transformed by Christ as the living stone to be the corporate expression of God in eternity.
Not only is Christ Himself a living stone, but He also makes the believers living stones by His life for the building up of the spiritual house of God (v. 5), which is the church.
The believers were clay in God’s creation (1 Cor. 15:47a). After they are regenerated by God with the word, the embodiment of the life of Christ (1 Pet. 1:23), they receive the divine life and nature and become stones (John 1:42).
The word which regenerates us is likened to the seed of a plant (1 Pet. 1:23). As regenerated persons brought forth by the word, we are plants that have been planted and watered by gospel preachers (1 Cor. 3:6-7). By enjoying Christ as our life supply and through growth and transformation, we become materials for God’s building (vv. 9-12).
The purpose of Christ’s being the living stone is for the building up of the spiritual house of God, which is the church. This purpose is accomplished by the believers being regenerated and becoming living stones for the building up of the church as the spiritual house of God (1 Pet. 2:5). These living stones are not separated or scattered and not merely piled together; rather, they are built with one another. Such a building is approved by the Lord, as indicated by the Lord’s giving a white stone to the overcomers in Pergamos, who overcome the worldly church (Rev. 2:12-17).
The Scriptures liken Christ to a living stone. They further liken Him to a rock (1 Cor. 10:4).
A living stone, as a figure of Christ, shows that He possesses life and is living. A rock, as a symbol of Christ, shows that He is steady and sure. He is firm, fixed, and stable in order to carry out His various functions.
As a sure and trustworthy rock, Christ has been tested. Some of His tests were of God (Isa. 53:4), some of His tests were of men (Matt. 16:1-12; 19:3-12), and some of His tests were of Satan (4:1-11). All these tests confirmed that Christ, as the rock laid by God, was sure.
As a tested stone, Christ is trustworthy. Hence, those who believe on Him shall not be put to shame (Isa. 28:16; Rom. 9:33).
As the shadow of a massive rock in a wasted land, Christ is a shelter for men. Thus, the believers have a resting place while walking on the heavenly pathway (Isa. 32:2).
As a massive rock, Christ is also spiritual (1 Cor. 10:4), having God, who is the Spirit, as His content and substance. As such, He is able to minister all the riches of divinity to those who believe on Him. He is not only living, possessing God’s life, but He is also spiritual, having God’s riches.
As a spiritual rock, Christ is able to move (v. 4). Hence, He is a spiritual rock who follows His believers. When His believers move according to the Spirit, He follows and moves with them to supply them with all the riches of God wherever they go and whatever they do.
As a living rock who is sure, tested, trustworthy, massive, spiritual, and movable, Christ has also been cleft so that all the spiritual riches in Him, signified by the living water flowing out of the cleft rock, might be released to be our supply (Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:11; 1 Cor. 10:4).