Jesus is our Cornerstone
The Christian life is built on Jesus Christ, the cornerstone and foundation of the temple where God can dwell with man by his spirit. The picture of a cornerstone gives the Christian an idea of how Christ is always the chosen medium between God and man.
God saw the need for a permanent High priest to intercede on behalf of both sides of the new covenant. When God chose Jesus Christ 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. Appointed by God, Jesus Christ did not come from the established ancestral line of former High Priests, but he became the guarantee of a better covenant because of his sinless life and indestructible life.
Jesus Christ became the perfect lamb for the only sacrifice that was approved by God for all of mankind. It’s not a matter of convenience, but an imperative to accept Jesus Christ into our lives to take advantage of God’s grace and forgiveness.
According to history the cornerstone was the first stone laid on the outside corner of the building foundation. Until recent years, the cornerstone was used as the only point where all measurements were taken and was used to true up the building. Paul uses this picture of how buildings were constructed to show how Jesus rebuilds the house we live in to become the spiritual house where God can live by his Spirit.
Paul also wrote.
Through Jesus Christ, God’s children receive God's promises through faith, find grace, truth and eternal life because Jesus Christ is building you into a spiritual house to God’s praise. Through Jesus Christ you have been adopted as his sons, have the strength to live a holy life, receive the forgiveness of sins, know the good news and have the Holy Spirit who reminds us that everything Jesus Christ said. In addition our hope of Glory and the resurrection of our body comes through our faith in Jesus Christ. Through the name of Jesus Christ we may ask God anything and expect to receive that which we ask for.
The temple was designed for the worship of God and quoting Paul, your body was the temple of the living God. this coinsides with what Jesus said,
Within 1 Corinthians Paul tells us that,
Understanding how Christians are the temple of the living God and the temple of the Holy Spirit at the same time can be somewhat confusing. What makes it confusing is the bible tells us how Jesus Christ and the Father lives in us and not how the Holy Spirit lives in you. His work on the Cross of Calvary became the foundation of our salvation and the cornerstone from which Christ would build our lives into a temple for God to live in by his Spirit.
As the builder of God's house, Jesus takes the shambles of our lives and begins to assemble our lives into a holy temple that God will live in. God asks that you take part in rebuilding your life through obedience. However, our righteousness is not based on what we do, but having faith in Jesus Christ and the grace of God. Jesus Christ became our righteousness and the strength we need to survive the world. Remember this , Jesus Christ overcame the world, with his help we can too.
Everything involved with our spiritual lives revolves the authority of Jesus Christ and what he has done to ensure our salvation. The central theme of the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the one who was, who is, and the one to come. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He died on the cross yesterday, he saves us today and he is the one who save us from the wrath of God. Still you can not have a personal relationship with God, you can not forgive the sin that separates you from God, nor can you hide from the wrath of God apart from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the rock that Christians cling to.
The cornerstone presents a picture of the stone placed on the outside of two connecting walls and often contains information about the history of the building. Spiritually speaking, Jesus Christ is the stone that connects you the Christian with the Father. Jesus Said, no one comes to the father except through me. In other words, Jesus Christ is the stone that joins the human spirit and spirit of God into a cohesive unit. The purpose of being of one accord is that the church may bind themselves together to work as a unit for common goals rather than running is several directions. The purpose of the cornerstone is serve as the platform to build a Christian life to please God. Paul wrote,
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20
Christ is in you to complete the work of salvation that God had planned for us through faith and preservence. God’s hope is that his children would become more Christ like, but the human nature stands in the way. If we are to -
We need his help, if for only one reason. Without the help of Jesus Christ our flesh is weak and we do the things we don't want to do. We need to lean on Jesus Christ to live a Christian life and to live for him.
The Christian life can not be lived by the rebellious sin nature of the old man. instead we need to live according to the Spirit. Paul relates his own experiences by saying,
He continues, Though I desire to live a Christian life I can not do it in my own life because the sinful nature still lives in me. It is through the power of Jesus who lives in me that sets me free from the power of the sin nature living in me.
Though men desire to live a Christian life they must anchor their lives in the cornerstone of Christ and set their minds on Christ seated at the right hand of God.
Jesus Christ ran the same race as men do today and was tempted and suffered in the same manner. Yet Christ overcame the same sin filled world that Christians have to subdue.
God is building a kingdom of kings and priests and has laid a foundation in Jesus Christ for Christians everywhere to anchor to. Christ purpose is to recreate the heart of the Christian into a dwelling place where God can have fellowship with you. Jesus said,
but you must be determined to live in God’s kingdom as the sinful mind will not allow Jesus Christ the right to reign in our lives.
We must also learn to cooperate with the Spirit within the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.
Christians have access to the Father through Christ who lives in us. Through his name Christians become the children of God built around the cornerstone of our faith. Christians become more like Christ while they remain in Christ.
Paul wrote that Christian life is;
Paul went on to say in Ephesians 3:1 for this reason,
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. vs6. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. vs10-12 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. vs16-17 to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. v18 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us vs20.
The thought of divine unity other than the trinity is foreign to most Christians, but the triune nature of God as taught in the church does more to close our mind to what God wants us to know about him. Paul writes,
In this passage the Holy Spirit is a promise guaranteeing our inheritance and the redemption of those belonging to God. You were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal.
This seal is the promised Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ baptizes you with when he comes with his father to dwell in you. This seal is also a logo placed on your foreheads that identifies you as God’s servant who represents him on earth. It is the badge of authority to the nations outside God’s kingdom that you come in the name of Jesus. The Seal describes the characteristics of the Holy Spirit with terms foreign to the substances living beings are known to have.
The doctrine of the trinity must be corroborated with biblical facts, not by the opinions of man. The question being how does one believe in the trinity when the scriptures leads you in a different direction?
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