Cornerstone
The cornerstone gives the Christian a picture of how Christ is always the chosen a way of connecting God with man. There is only one way to describe the cornerstone with a spiritual tone, it is the intersection in life, a meeting point, where man and God can meet to associate with each other. That intersection is Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ is the way and the life and through him we have access to the father.
We learn that at one time, the High Priest was chosen by ancestry from a line of Levitical Priests, but they had to atone for sins of Israel many times. God saw the need for a permanent High Priest to intercede on behalf of both sides of his new covenant. When God chose Christ as the High Priest of the New Testament, his appointment was not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life Hebrews 7:16 Jesus Christ did not come from Levitical line of High Priests, but was chosen by God to became a guarantee of a better covenant because of his indestructible life. Due to his sinless life, Jesus Christ did not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Hebrews 7:27 And due to his sinless life Jesus Christ was the perfect lamb needed for the perfect sacrifice needed to be done once for all. By accepting Jesus Christ into our lives Christians can take advantage of God’s grace to forgive us of our sins.
According to history the cornerstone was on the outside corner of the building foundation. Until recent years, the cornerstone was used as the hub where all measurements were taken and used to square up the building. This construction method is still used today to erect buildings properly, but God is using Jesus Christ as his hub as the point to square up our house into spiritual house where God can live.
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:21
In Christ, you are equipped with everything good for doing his will and to rid your house of the leaven acquired in your lifetime. While in you Christ will sweep your house and throw the trash out so his father will have a holy place to reside. In him you will receive God's promises through faith, find the Grace and truth of God and have eternal life because he is at work rebuilding the shambles of a house neglected through sin.
Through Jesus Christ you were adopted as God’s sons and receive the strength to live a holy life. Previously you were a slave of sin, unable to resist the fear of death, but Jesus set you free through the forgiveness of your sins and now you have the Holy Spirit who guides you into all truth.
At one time the chief priests and teachers of the law, were the builders of God Kingdom. However, the Priests lost sight of their position and became a stumbling block to God’s plan. Ultimately God rejected the builders as Priests of his covenant for a hand picked man that overcame the world to become the corner stone of his church.
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Matt 21:42
The capstone was placed on top to tie the building together. Like a roof, the capstone was an important part of the building, just as the death of Christ was an important part of the new covenant. Christ’s finished his work on the cross to die once for sin of man. The crowning achievement came three days later when God raised Christ from the grave and was seated at God’s right hand.
The cornerstone is an important part of a building, but how does this cornerstone apply to my life?
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:9-16
Paul laid the foundation for the expert builder and now Jesus Christ is in you working with building materials that came at the price of his life and the covenant you made with him. Paul said that your body was the temple of the living God and Christ is in you to rebuild you unto a building designed for God to dwell in. Paul described the temple where God lives by his Spirit in this manner.
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22
A wise man builds his house on the rock for a solid foundation. The foundation has already been laid through the cross of Calvary and those coming to Jesus Christ for eternal life need to restructure their life to accommodate the need of an awesome God. Jesus knows what to do and you have to work with him so he may accomplish his Father’s purpose. For this reason Jesus Christ became the cornerstone by which the whole building is joined together.
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. "Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house," bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:3-6
God asks that you take part in this rebuilding process through obedience.
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23
How does Jesus Christ defend our lives to God? Our righteousness is not based on what we do, but our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ became the mentor that we need to survive the world. Because Jesus Christ overcame the world, we can too. Remember this,
Apart from me you can do nothing John 15:5
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
Do Christians know what it means to be in Jesus Christ? First let me say that your body is a container, something that you live in and something that God can pour his spirit into. You are a container having contents that can overflow at the discretion of the person who holds you in his hands. In the same way Jesus Christ spoke of being united with God at least nine times in the book of John. In his description Christ said, I am in the father and the father is in me. In the same way when Christ comes into your life he doesn’t come alone.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20
Jesus Christ, is still your access to God but he is in you. This picture is like putting God into an envelope, which is Jesus Christ, and placing Jesus Christ into another envelope, which is your heart. Consider this, Paul wrote that in Christ the fullness of deity lives. Because the fullness of deity lives Christ we have access to God and fellowship with the father.
This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 1 John 2:5-6
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.1 John 4:13
Lets remember that sin separates God from man, but we are reconciled back to God through Christ. The purpose of the cornerstone is serve as the platform to build a Christian life from. The cornerstone becomes a connector that overcomes the barriers that keep us apart and makes it possible to be linked to God.
Jesus Christ is called Emanuel, God in us even though Christians are still sinful by nature. As a man, Jesus was tempted and suffered in the same manner we do today. Since Christ ran the same race as men do today and went through same trials and tribulations that we have so he can help us run our race. Because of this he is the High Priest that is able to intercede for man on his behalf.
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25
God is building a kingdom of kings and priests and Jesus Christ is a cornerstone of our faith and the Kingdom of God. In Christ the whole building becomes a dwelling place where you and God can have fellowship.
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