«　WEEK 5　DAY 3　»

　　Acts 4:11-12 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.

　　Peter's quoting [Psalm 118] indicates that he preached Christ not only as the Savior for the salvation of sinners but also as the stone for God's building. The fact that Christ our Savior is a stone reveals that God's salvation is for God's building. It is such a Christ who is the unique salvation to sinners, and it is in His unique name under heaven, a name despised and rejected by the Jewish leaders but honored and exalted by God (Phil. 2:9-10), that sinners must be saved (Acts 4:12) not only from sin (Matt. 1:21) but also to participate in God's building (1 Pet. 2:5). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 2985)

　　In Christ God came in incarnation to be a stone for the building up of His universal habitation, but the Jewish leaders, who should have been the builders, despised this stone, Jesus Christ. However, God made Him the cornerstone. The more the Jewish leaders rejected Him, the more God used Him. At first, He was a common stone. Then the Jewish leaders rejected Him by killing Him. But God honored Him by raising Him up from among the dead and making Him a particular stone, the cornerstone, the prominent stone that joins the walls of a building. As the cornerstone of God's habitation, Christ joins the wall of the Jewish believers and the wall of the Gentile believers.

　　Christ is not only the holy One, the righteous One, the Author of life, and the Servant; He is also a stone for God's building. According to Acts 4:12, this stone is the unique One in whom we can be saved. Hence, He is the Stone-Savior. As the Stone-Savior, He is solid, strong, and reliable. We can rely on Him and stand on Him. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2985-2986)

　　When Peter and John were asked by what power or in what name they healed the lame man, Peter took the opportunity to say more concerning Christ as the Healer. Acts 4, therefore, is actually the continuation of Peter's presentation of the Healer....All [the] aspects of the Healer [in chapter 3] are for our benefit. But in chapter 4 Peter presented an aspect of the Healer that is especially for God; he presented Christ as the stone for God's building.

　　Acts 4:12 says, "And there is salvation in no other, for neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved." This verse is often used in the preaching of the gospel. But have you ever heard it used in relation to verse 11? Acts 4:11 says, "This is the stone which was considered as nothing by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner." These verses indicate that the stone in verse 11 is the Savior. The stone despised by the builders has become the head of the corner, and there is no salvation in any other name. We can be saved only in the name of Jesus, and Jesus is the stone. This means that we have a Stone-Savior. In the four Gospels we have the King-Savior in Matthew, the Slave-Savior in Mark, the Man-Savior in Luke, and the God-Savior in John. Now in the book of Acts we have the Stone-Savior. Our Savior is not only the King, a Slave, a Man, and God—He is also a stone for God's building.

　　In 4:7 Peter and John were asked by what power or in what name they had healed the lame man. Then in verse 10 Peter said, "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." Here Peter spoke boldly concerning the name of Jesus Christ. Then in verse 11 he said that this name is the stone that was considered as nothing by the builders. Although Peter was uneducated and unlearned (v. 13), he could nevertheless declare that Jesus Christ is the stone despised, considered as nothing, by the builders. (Life-study of Acts, pp. 122-123)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msg. 15