The Stone that is Our Foundation

On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:5-12).

As Peter and John appear before the Jewish authorities to give an account for the healing of a crippled man, we see the fulfillment of another of Jesus’ promises. He promised that the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say when we are brought before the judges of this world so that our testimony will bring glory to Christ… “You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:18-20). It appears the Holy Spirit even prompted the authorities to ask the right question… “By what power or by what name did you do this?” This opened the door for Peter’s Holy Spirit inspired testimony about the stone that is our foundation.

Jesus is the rejected stone. The Spirit moved Peter to identify Jesus Christ as the stone the Jews rejected by crucifying Him. Jesus came to the Jews first to fulfill God’s promise to His chosen children but they did not receive Him… “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11). The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to teach that there were many reasons why the Jews rejected Christ, and every one of them contributes to a spiritual blindness that kept them from understanding the truth… “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:15). But God’s grace goes to work removing the veil and revealing the truth about Christ to anyone who turns toward the Lord… “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2 Corinthians 3:16). The same grace is available today to every repentant sinner that responds to the call to turn from sin and turn toward the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the cornerstone. The Spirit moved Peter to reveal an important truth about the church here. Because there is one name that saves us, we are all united together by our faith in that name. When we trust Christ, we become part of the fellowship of believers that is the church. This makes Jesus Christ the cornerstone in the foundation of our church… “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20). Our faith in Christ unites us around the world and across the generations with others of the same faith.

Jesus is the saving stone. The Spirit moved Peter to remind the Jews that God alone was the rock of their salvation. This was another affirmation of the divinity of Jesus and echoes David’s praise to God when the Lord had delivered him from Saul… “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation” (2 Samuel 22:47). This affirmation was repeated seven times in the Psalms and finds it’s fulfillment in Jesus Christ. All true believers are united by faith in one name alone, the name of Jesus… “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Our affirmation of faith in His name makes Jesus Christ the cornerstone of our personal salvation and the foundation of our eternal life.

As we grow up into Christ, our maturing faith and fellowship with other believers is securely built on…

The Stone that is Our Foundation.