Sunday June 3- Christ Our Foundation

1 Peter 2:4-8

He had always dreamed of a beach front home. Throughout his career he saved as much money as possible and even added the maximum amount to his retirement account as possible. He would have so much money in retirement that his dreams of a beach front house would be realized. As his retirement came closer he began looking for that perfect beach front lot. He found it and bought it. Then he found a reputable builder. He told the builder what he wanted and they discussed the different options for different aspects of the home. The builder told him, “Your home should be built on stilts down to the bedrock.” “Sir, I insist on a slab foundation. That is what I want.” They went back and forth on this issue and finally the builder refused to build his home. So the man found another builder who was willing to build him a slab foundation home. The home was built and retirement came. He went to his new home and enjoyed the ocean, salt breezes from the water and beautiful sunrises. Hurricane season came, and a hurricane that year was headed his way. As the storm grew closer, the water began to rise. As the storm was only hours away water was nearly to his porch. The storm came and the surge was rising halfway up his house. The water crashed against the house with a fury he had never seen. Soon water was coming through the doors and windows. Within a couple of hours there was two inches of water standing in his home. By the time the storm had passed his furniture was ruined and the walls were falling apart. The next day as he was pulling his furniture out he saw the first builder he talked to. The builder told him, “You needed a proper foundation.”

As we look at 1 Peter 2:4-8, we see a description of a proper foundation for the church. Within our passage this morning there are two truths we will see concerning the foundation of the church.

The first truth we see this morning is that Christ is the foundation of a new work of God. In verse 4 we are told that we should come to Christ as a living stone. How many of you have ever met a stone that was alive? Now I am not talking about the Rolling Stones, but a rock or boulder. How many of you really appreciate rocks in your yard or stuck in the bottom of your shoes or stepping on a rock when you are barefoot? Most of the time rocks are really kind of pointless. They have some value and uses. They do not do anything for themselves they just sit there but we are coming to Him as a living stone. He is alive there is more to him than something that just sits there. If he is a living stone and is being used to build something then that something is alive. Think about the temple of the Old Testament. It was beautiful. It was known throughout the world because of its beauty, but it was never alive. Yet Christ is alive, and the temple being built now is alive spiritually in the hearts of the people of God. Christ is a precious and choice stone in the sight of God. He is desired and beautiful. It is as if he is a beautiful diamond as the cornerstone rather than a boulder of stone that is covered in gold. He is precious in and of himself rather than having to be made precious. Verse 5 you are being built up as a spiritual house. A reminder that this is not necessarily an earthly physical building but is something spiritual! We are a spiritual people and the work that Christ seeks is a spiritual work. IT says we are being built up for a holy priesthood. We are becoming the priests. The sacrifices are over and now we can come to God through the Spirit by way of the work of Christ. Now our lives are the sacrifices we offer up. They are acceptable through Christ. By way of his work. What Christ is building is a new work of God. It is through people who are found alive in Christ. It is through the church. Does this replace the Jews? No. The Jews are welcome to this new work. They are not being excluded, but this new work is apart from the temple. The sacrifice is complete in the temple. Christ offered it already and it was accepted. The new work is through Christ, the gospel.

In the Old Testament, they were having faith that God would provide means to atone for their sins. They were trusting that God would one day provide the sacrifice that was great enough to cover all of their sins. From birth till death. Now it has been done and the work of God is being founded upon the fact that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the Living God. And He died to pay for our sins. The Gospel is the foundation of the church. The believer is a member of the church because of the gospel. The church is expanded through the gospel message being proclaimed. It is about people as individuals being saved through grace and being brought into the body. The Gospel is the foundation of the church.

The second truth we see this morning is that Christ is an offense to human pride. We are told in verse 6 that God is laying a choice corner stone in Zion. God is replacing the old temple and building a new one. As we saw at the beginning of the passage, it is one that is spiritual and being built of those who are believers in Christ. Those who have faith in this cornerstone they will not be disappointed in having faith in Christ. Then we are told that the builders rejected the cornerstone which God had laid. They picked it up and tossed it out. I am sure most supervisors of construction projects would not be happy if the workers rejected his work. When I worked at a grocery store it was always amusing when the stockers would complain about the manager’s lack of skill in stocking. He was the manager he should know what he is doing. But when it comes to the spiritual, we will never exceed the need for God. He is far greater than ourselves and he is perfect and we are not. We have need for his perfection. But what the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone. The elders of Israel are the builders, or Israel itself, and they are the ones who rejected Christ who is the cornerstone. They rejected him and had him crucified, but through that he became the powerful chief corner stone. Christ was ultimately exalted through his rejection. Are we willing to humble ourselves as Christ? Are we willing to allow others to be greater than ourselves? Are we willing to admit that no scheme or plan or ministry that we come up with is great enough to not need to be driven by the gospel? It amazes me when I hear or read about the latest church or ministry fad that is out there and the gospel is not the focus? We are saved through Christ’s death which is our good news. We cannot expect others to come to Christ apart from the gospel! We just cannot! The gospel is the central focus and foundation of the church. You are the Christ the Son of the Living God. Why is the gospel offensive? Because it says there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Nothing. Yes you have faith but praise God you have it. The church cannot reject the gospel. It is the foundation on which we work. The goal of VBS ought to be to bring children and teens to Christ through the gospel. The goal of our family nights ought to be to bring people into the fellowship of the church in order that they might come to accept the gospel. Have we in our minds rejected the power of the gospel? Unfortunately I think some of us have. Have some of us overlooked the importance and the centrality of the gospel? Unfortunately, I think some of us have. It is bitter to take the fact that we cannot help ourselves spiritually. It hurts our pride. Christ took the most bitter cup any of us will ever experience. He tasted and enjoyed the sweet fellowship of his heavenly father and then he allowed himself to be separated from him. We must be founded upon the gospel and we cannot allow ourselves to overlook or reject it as the foundation of the church.