1 Peter 2:7-8

1 Peter 2:7-8 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.”

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” is taken from Psalm 118. Specifically verse 22. However, I thought looking at the verse in context was quite interesting:

Psalm 118:22-24 “(22) The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; (23) the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. (24) This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

The fact that Christ, the one rejected by men, has become the foundation, is marvelous. The LORD did this, and only the LORD. We are also reminded that this is a day that the LORD has made, just as every day is, and that we are to rejoice and be glad in it. Why not? Look at all we have to rejoice over just in this verse!

Now back to 1 Peter. Again we are reminded that to us, this Stone, Christ, is precious. This is because we believe and have accepted His salvation. It is only natural that He would be precious to us. In fact He should be supremely precious to us! I am currently reading a book by John Piper called Desiring God. In it He talks about how as believers we should find our joy and satisfaction in Christ. He should be our supreme desire and satisfaction above all else. This naturally flows out of all that He is and all that He has done for us.

To unbelievers Christ is still the Cornerstone, nothing can change that. He is a stumbling block and as the KJV says a “rock of offense” to them. Blue Letter Bible has this to say about the phrase “rock of offense:”

fig. applied to Jesus Christ, whose person and career were so contrary to the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah, that they rejected him and by their obstinacy made shipwreck of their salvation

Since they don’t accept Him for what He is, He gets in their way. He can’t be completely ignored.

“They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.”

At first glance I didn’t really want to deal with the implications of this one. The following excerpt from The First Epistle General of Peter seems to give a good explanation of this passage:

“also–an additional thought; God’s ordination; not that God ordains or appoints them to sin, but they are given up to “the fruit of their own ways” according to the eternal counsel of God. The moral ordering of the world is altogether of God. God appoints the ungodly to be given up unto sin, and a reprobate mind, and its necessary penalty. “Were appointed,” Greek, “set,” answers to “I lay,” Greek, “set,” 1Pe 2:6 . God, in the active, is said to appoint Christ and the elect (directly). Unbelievers, in the passive, are said to be appointed (God acting less directly in the appointment of the sinner’s awful course) [BENGEL]. God ordains the wicked to punishment, not to crime [J. CAPPEL]. “Appointed” or “set” (not here “FORE-ordained”) refers, not to the eternal counsel so directly, as to the penal justice of God. Through the same Christ whom sinners rejected, they shall be rejected; unlike believers, they are by God appointed unto wrath as FITTED for it. The lost shall lay all the blame of their ruin on their own sinful perversity, not on God’s decree; the saved shall ascribe all the merit of their salvation to God’s electing love and grace.”

Jamieson, Robert; A.R. Fausset; and David Brown. “The First Epistle General of Peter.” Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Blue Letter Bible. 19 Feb 2000. 5 Mar 2008.

Application:

• Realize that Christ is supremely precious to us.  He should be our supreme desire.
• Realize that to unbelievers He is a stumbling block and rock of offense.  We need to help them understand, not beat them on the rock, so to speak.