«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　John 1:42 He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).

　　Matt. 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

　　In John 1 we see that Andrew brought his brother, Simon Peter, to the Lord Jesus. "Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter)" (v. 42). Later, in Caesarea Philippi, the Lord Jesus asked His disciples, "But you, who do you say that I am?" (Matt. 16:15). Peter took the lead to declare, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). In His response to Peter, the Lord said, "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church" (v. 18). Here the name Peter means "a stone," which is material for God's building. The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, "You are Peter, a stone. I will build My church with stones." (Life-study of Acts, p. 128)

　　No doubt, the Lord's word [in Matthew 16:18] must have made a deep impression on Peter, even though it is not likely that he understood it at the time. However, after the life-giving Spirit had been breathed into him and after the economical Spirit had blown upon him, Peter became a man of Spirit, a man with the essential Spirit within him and the economical Spirit upon him. As such a man, he surely began to understand the Lord's word concerning him being a stone. Peter might have said to himself, "I recall that when I first met the Lord, He said that He would give me a new name, a name that means ‘stone.' Later He called me Peter and said that He would build His church upon a rock. Now I understand what the Lord was saying."

　　Having this understanding, Peter in Acts 4 could present the Lord Jesus as the stone considered as nothing by the builders but which has become the cornerstone. Later, when he had become old, he wrote his first Epistle, in which he spoke of the Lord as the living stone and of the believers as living stones for God's building: "Coming to Him, a living stone, rejected by men but with God chosen and precious, you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:4-5a). According to Acts 3 and 4, Peter knew the Healer not only as God's Servant, the holy One, the righteous One, the Author of life, the Prophet, and the seed in whom all the earth would be blessed; he also knew Him as the stone for God's building.

　　I do not believe that throughout the centuries many have taught from the Word that Jesus Christ is a stone for God's building. He is not only the Servant, the holy One, the righteous One, the Author of life, the Prophet, and the seed; He is a stone for God's building. According to 4:12, this stone is the 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. This stone is the rock, the foundation stone, and the cornerstone. In Zechariah 4:7 we see that He is even the topstone. Christ is the material for God's building. God's building is entirely of Christ.

　　It is in the name of Jesus Christ, the all-inclusive One, that we are saved. Do you know why His name is so powerful? His name is powerful because He is the wonderful, all-inclusive One. We have been saved in the name of Jesus Christ, and He is the all-inclusive One. As the all-inclusive One, Christ is God, man, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, the rock, the foundation, the cornerstone, the topstone, the door, our food, our drink, our clothing, our life, our strength, our ability, our function, our walk, our living, our words, our breath, our sight, our hearing. Oh, it is impossible to exhaust all that Christ is to us! (Life-study of Acts, pp. 128-130)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msg. 16