A stone goes through a considerable process to arrive at the stage of being a topstone. This process implies death and resurrection. In Matthew 21:42 the Lord Jesus told the Jews that the stone which they rejected was made by God to be the cornerstone. In Acts 4:10-12, after the Lord’s resurrection, Peter preached the gospel to the Jews, telling them that they needed to know that Jesus Christ, the Nazarene whom they crucified, had been raised from the dead and that the stone which they, the builders, rejected had been made the cornerstone by God.
While the Lord Jesus was on the earth before He was killed, He was persecuted and rejected by the Jews. At that time He was a stone that had not been resurrected. He was a stone that had not passed through the procedure, being without resurrection. At that time people could not see much glory upon Him; they only saw a small stone from Nazareth. The Jews despised this stone; they showed no respect to this stone, considering it merely a small stone from Nazareth of Galilee. Hence, they cast it away and even buried it in a tomb. After such a casting away and burial, God came in to bring the stone out of the tomb. Before His crucifixion, He was a small Nazarene. The Bible says that “He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, / Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him” (Isa. 53:2b). However, after He was raised from the dead, He became the glorious Son of Man. This means that after His death and resurrection, He became the first stone in resurrection. When He was cast away, He was a small stone from Nazareth, but after His resurrection from the dead, He was transformed into a condition like that of His transfiguration on the mountain, in which His entire being was transfigured, His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light. He no longer looked like a Nazarene who had no form nor majesty. When the Lord was transfigured on the mountain, Peter said, “It is good for us to be here” (Matt. 17:4). That was a miniature of the Lord Jesus’ resurrection. The Lord Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was the transfiguration of His whole being. In other words, that small stone from Nazareth became a precious stone, exceedingly glorious and bright.
First we see the golden lampstand and then the stone. This sequence—the golden lampstand, Jehovah, the Lamb, and the stone—is very meaningful. Gold is not something transformed, but precious stones are something transformed. The more they are transformed, the more glorious and precious they become. Gold denotes the Lord’s divinity, whereas the stone denotes His humanity. According to His divinity, He is gold; according to His humanity, He is stone. His divinity is unchangeable, but His humanity, which was not that glorious or bright as a Nazarene before His death, became glorious, brilliant, and resplendent like a precious stone.
Let us repeat, using the stone as a figure: When He was in the flesh, He was a small stone from Nazareth, having no splendor or brilliance. Therefore, the Jews looked down upon Him and cast Him aside. They counted Him as nothing, considering that nothing good could come from Nazareth. Hence, they cast Him aside and buried Him in the tomb, but God resurrected Him. This stone from Nazareth was changed, but His divinity was not changed. What, then, was changed? His humanity was changed. The eternal God did not change, but Jesus the Nazarene was changed. The divine nature is unchanged, just as pure gold cannot change, but the humanity which He had put on was changed.
Originally we were not stones but clay. Thank the Lord, one day we were saved and the pure gold came into us. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name.” Since we have become the children of God, within us is the divine nature, which is pure gold. Within us we all have a portion of the ever-unchanging pure gold. However, we ourselves are clay. The record in John 1:42 tells us that when Peter was brought before the Lord, the Lord immediately changed his name. Originally he was called Simon, but the Lord said, “You shall be called Cephas.” Cephas being interpreted is a stone; hence, “You are a stone.” I believe at that moment Peter became a stone, but I also believe he was not yet a precious stone. The Peter in the Gospels was not precious at all. On the one hand, I like him, because my disposition is much like his: straightforward and quick. On the other hand, I am a little disgusted with him because he was not precious and was barely even a stone. However, the New Jerusalem has a foundation of twelve layers of precious stones, one of which is Peter. In Revelation 21, the stone which is called Peter is no longer an ordinary stone but a precious stone. He was changed. When he came to see the Lord, the clay was changed by the Lord to a stone. After following the Lord for many years, this stone became a precious stone.
Matthew 16 tells us that one day the Lord Jesus brought His disciples into the parts of Caesarea Philippi. The sky there was clear, unlike in Jerusalem where the religious atmosphere was thick and dense. It was there in Caesarea Philippi that the Lord asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord Jesus said, “You are Peter,” that is, “You are a stone” (vv. 15-16, 18). That was to remind him once again that he was a stone, and upon the rock of that revelation the Lord would build His church. Originally Peter was clay, but he became a stone by knowing the Lord. Later, in his first Epistle, Peter said that the Lord is a living stone and we come to Him also as living stones. Just as He is a living stone, so also we are living stones. As living stones, we are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.
Today some in Christianity also claim that they are the church. I believe that in their mind they consider that as long as there is a group of people who have been baptized in the name of Jesus and have formed a Christian organization, that is the “church.” However, our eyes must be opened to see that this is not the church. What is the church? The church is a group of muddy people, people of clay, into whom a new nature has entered, by a new birth, to make them people of stone. These people of stone, however, still have to become people of precious stones.
I can see that many of the young brothers and sisters have a seeking heart. Consider this: Were you clay before you were saved? Yes, you were really clay, but one day you were saved and the pure gold came into you, but others could not see much stone in you. Perhaps a little transformation began in you with a tiny amount of stone, but it was hardly noticeable. Gradually, however, others can see a little stone. A few years ago when I came to Taiwan, I saw that some of the “small stones” were not bad, but neither were they precious. However, at this time, I notice that at least some among the young people are beginning to become precious. This means that others can see in them not only stone but also precious stone.