He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (ibid.). 4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ... For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “ Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, The word "house" simply means a dwelling place, and since this is a spiritual house, it implies "a dwelling place for God." Solomon's Temple was only a type of the true House of God, the real Temple, the church of God (I Corinthians 3:17; II Corinthians 6:16). Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events ( Genesis 28:18; Joshua 24:26 Joshua 24:27; 1 Samuel 7:12, etc. ‣ Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. We are still in the quarry where all we can see are a few other stones perhaps similar to ourselves. The building metaphor is equally appropriate for us. To be identified as Christ’s living stones means that we are in union with Him and share His nature. While they may still have the truth, their dead works indicate a lack of living faith (James 2:17-20). That process is not all fun! Which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The living Stone is “precious” to those who believe (1 Peter 2:7), but some men reject the living Stone in order to build their lives their own way, not God’s way (see Psalm 118:22 and Luke 6:46–49). Just as the Temple had many types of stones, rocks. We are to be living sacrifices, deliberately choosing to allow ourselves to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ through obediently following His way of life. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. As important as that is, it pays little attention to any other purpose and responsibility attached to it. Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. ... Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ‣ By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ‣ Introduction. We too are required to endure hardships and setbacks. Loyal devotion given to please God in every labor of life is the most satisfying and acceptable response we can give God. He does not need to see us leading vast numbers of people, but He wants to see leadership in spiritual growth as we overcome our carnal natures. ‣ This indicates a people who perceive themselves to be alive, but who apparently are basically standing still, spiritually catatonic, and comatose. Being a living stone is … Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Publisher: OpenBible.info. T My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Let the life of Jesus sink into your mind and heart with 312 readings from the gospels—one for … Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Tools. We cannot see the stones from the other quarries: first-century Christians, patriarchs, prophets, kings, true Christians throughout history, or even all the believers alive today. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Livingstone [Livingstone] Readers of the Life Application Study Bible—the #1 bestselling study Bible—will welcome the arrival of the new Life Application Study Bible Devotional. He was in the beginning with God. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. This begins to place responsibilities on each of the living stones that are set apart and made a part of the dwelling place for God. M We must prepare to lead in the Kingdom of God. F But he is the one God chose as one of great value. By no means! ESV - 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious. 2 As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow, 3 if it is true that you have experienced that the Lord is good. So come to him. Much of the rock chosen was probably the hard white limestone found near Jerusalem, but Solomon's builders found many other beautiful stones, boulders, and pillars from all over the known world. God needs gems, stones, and boulders of different shapes, sizes, materials, and colors to finish His beautiful House. Suffering is part of the process of quarrying, sizing, polishing, and preparing us, the living stones, for our roles in God's Kingdom.