Our Privileges in Christ and His Qualities 1 Peter 2: 4—8.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold,. I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and “ A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.”

Once again Apostle Peter refers to our privileges in Christ. That leads him to write about the person of Christ using a metaphor – stone.

I. Christ as a stone

The word used here is not ‘petros’ – ‘a loose stone by the road side’, not even ‘petra’ – ‘rock’ but ‘lithos’ –a word for a ‘worked stone’, may be taken from a rock but worked on it for a particular purpose as in a building.

Of course ‘rock’ is an apt figure of speech for the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the rock of ages, the unchanging, eternal and omnipotent God. Genesis 49:24; Deuteronomy 32:3, 4; 1Corin 10:4. It seems Peter is using ‘stone’ mainly as he wants to describe the privileges of a Christian metaphorically.

Peter presents seven things about Christ as a stone.

1. Living Stone 1Peter 2:4a “Coming to Him as to a living stone”
He has life in Himself. He is the source of it. “In Him was life”. John 1:4.His life is not sourced from any where else. He is the self existent God.

That’s why the Lord Jesus said, He has power to give His life and take it back. John. 10:18. Yes, The Lord gave His life as an atoning sacrifice, and took it back triumphantly, and became a life giving Spirit today. 1 Cor. 15:45. He gives eternal life to all those who comes to Him. Jn. 10:10; 1Jn. 5:11.

2. Tested Stone 1Peter 2:6. “Elect” / “tried stone” cf. Isa. 28:16.
Verse six is a free quotation from Isaiah 28:16. We find Isaiah describes the stone as a ‘tried stone’. Peter’s use of ‘elect’ gives an idea, as being chosen by God the Father in eternity to be the chief corner stone – the most exalted one. However it is also noteworthy that He is the tried and tested one as Isaiah puts it.

God the Father tried Him for 30 years and declared at the time of His baptism, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matt. 3:17. By the end of Christ’s public ministry once against the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Matt. 17:5.

Apart from that, we see how devil and even the mortal man trying the Lord Jesus Christ. Matt.4:1; 19:3 etc. He has come through all those tests successfully.

3. Rejected Stone. V. 4, 7c