«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　Psa. 118:22-24 The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is from Jehovah; it is wonderful in our sight. This is the day that Jehovah has made; let us exult and rejoice in it.

　　We come to the hardest point in the Bible—Christ as the cornerstone. Who would think that Christ would be the cornerstone? Prior to the Psalms there is not a verse which speaks of Christ as the cornerstone. Then, all of a sudden, Psalm 118:22 says, "The stone which the builders rejected / Has become the head of the corner." (Life-study of the Psalms, p. 439)

　　In Acts 4:10-12 we see that as the cornerstone Christ was despised and crucified by the Jewish leaders, the builders, but raised from the dead by God, becoming the cornerstone of God's building with God's salvation being uniquely in Him. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2984)

　　Peter testifies to the Jewish leaders in Acts 4:10-12: "Let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified and whom God has raised from the dead, in this name this man stands before you in good health. This is the stone which was considered as nothing by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no other, for neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved." The word Nazarene indicates the One despised by the Jewish leaders (John 1:45-46; Acts 22:8; 24:5). In 4:11 the Greek word translated "considered as nothing" also means "rejected" (Matt. 21:42). In Acts 4:10, you is emphatic. Here Peter emphasizes the fact that the Jewish leaders crucified the Lord Jesus, but God raised Him from the dead.

　　The stone despised, rejected, by the builders has become the cornerstone. Literally, the Greek words rendered "cornerstone" [in some versions] mean the "head of the corner." Verse 11 is a quotation from Psalm 118:22. The Lord Jesus also quoted this verse in Matthew 21:42, where He was indicating that He is the stone for God's building (Isa. 28:16; Zech. 3:9; 1 Pet. 2:4) and that the "builders" were the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to work on God's building. His word unveiled the Jewish leaders' rejection of Him and God's honoring of Him for the building of His habitation among His people on earth. By this word Peter learned to know the Lord as the precious stone held in honor by God, as he expounded concerning Him in his first Epistle (vv. 4-7). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2984-2985)

　　Christ as the cornerstone is for the building up of the church in the New Testament age. In God's New Testament economy Christ as the cornerstone, in His saving us (Acts 4:11-12), first makes us living stones for the building up of God's spiritual house (Matt. 16:16-18; John 1:42; 1 Pet. 2:2-6), and then, in the process of His transforming us (Rom. 12:2a; 2 Cor. 3:18), builds us up into a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:19-22), that He may carry out God's eternal economy for God's good pleasure (Eph. 1:9; 3:9-11). (Psa. 118:22, footnote 2)

　　On the day of His resurrection the Lord Jesus was made the cornerstone by God. Christ was chosen by God in eternity past to be the cornerstone for God's spiritual building (1 Pet. 1:20; 2:4). Then, the Jewish leaders as the builders rejected Him to the uttermost, to such an extent that they put Him on the cross (Matt. 21:38-42a). God chose Christ as the cornerstone a second time in Christ's resurrection (Acts 4:10-11), thereby confirming His initial choosing of Christ in eternity past. After God resurrected Christ, He uplifted Him to the heavens (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9). Christ's ascension to Zion in the heavens (Rev. 14:1) was a further confirmation that God had chosen Him to be the cornerstone (Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6). Both Christ's resurrection and His ascension prove and confirm that He is the One whom God has chosen to be the head of the corner for God's building. (Psa. 118:24, footnote 1)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 291