Sermon - Lent Midweek 2 2023 - 1 Peter 2

The Corner Stone, James Tissot, 1886-1894

Christ is the Cornerstone of the Church

1. We are built upon Christ and live under Him as our Head.

1. Others will stumble over Him, but not we who believe in Him.

2. So as true priests, like Him, we offer ourselves as spiritual sacrifices.

2. Though we are free, we live as servants.

1. Christ, who is Lord of all, came to be a servant.

2. We are free through Christ, but in Him we live as servants.

When laying a brick foundation, the most important stone to lay is the cornerstone. This one stone, upon which the rest of the house is built, determines the sturdiness of the entire structure. So if the assembly of christians is considered a house, and individual christians are the stones, then Christ is the Cornerstone of the Church, the living Stone, upon whom we are all built. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

We are truly built upon Christ and live under Him as our Head. Submission or subordination isn’t a popular concept in our culture, but it is how we are to live as Christians. If Christ is our Cornerstone, then we are built upon Him and all of our life’s purpose is found in Him. Moreover, who we are as human beings is defined by Christ, since we are so thoroughly built upon Him. This means that how we are to live is not up to us, but dependent upon Christ. Our life is wrapped up in His, and so we must submit our lives to His life, since we are founded upon Him. 

But since Christ is not what this world idealizes as a perfect stone, others will often stumble over Him. He is the stone that the builders have rejected, He is the “Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense.” Why does the world stumble over Him? “They stumble because they disobey the word.” Christ’s teachings don’t always accord with human wisdom, and more often His Word is simply offensive to this world since this world lives according to the flesh. We see this regularly play out in our lives today. God’s word says that homosexuality, fornication, divorce, abortion, transgenderism, gluttony and a host of other things are sinful, and as such the world stumbles over Christ because they disobey the word. Perhaps most powerfully, the world believes there is no such thing as objective truth and is offended by the very notion of objective truth, so that when Christ says “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me, they stumble over Jesus. 

We Christians, who are built upon the living stone of Jesus, are not like the world around us, and so we are not to stumble over Christ. Rather, as “sojourners and exiles” in this world, we “abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against our souls.” Since Christ is our Cornerstone, we live as He lives. He is our great high Priest who offered up Himself as a spiritual sacrifice. We, like Him, offer up ourselves and our lives as spiritual sacrifices. The sacrifices God desires are a broken and contrite heart, knowing and following His commandments. To do God’s will and turn away from evil are the spiritual sacrifices God requires of us.

Built upon Christ our Cornerstone, Jesus has freed us from the evils and sins which surround us. Built upon Christ, we are perfectly free lords of all, just like Him. Nevertheless, though we are free, like Christ we live as servants. Christ who is Lord of all creation, servant to none, came among us as a servant. Jesus demonstrated His servanthood on Maundy Thursday when He stooped down to wash His apostles’ feet. Christ came as a servant, serving mankind, when He bore our sins on the cross, not merely washing our feet of dirt, but washing us free of every sin. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

So we are free through Christ, but in Him we live as servants. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” Just as Jesus lived as a servant, serving mankind, so too do we live as servants. Here St. Peter teaches us how to live in this world in submission or subordination to others. In this chapter the apostle Peter mentions two areas where we must live in submission: to our rulers and to our masters. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.”

Here the submission that our Lord requires of us is very counter-cultural. Not only are we to submit to those over us when they do us good, but even when they do us evil. Just as Christ suffered for our sakes, so have we been called into a life of suffering. Even though we are perfectly free on account of Christ, we don’t use our freedom as a cover for evil, instead we do good in spite of the evils that we suffer. Whether it is the government in authority over us, or it is our masters over us, we live as dutiful servants to all.

Though rebellion may feel better than suffering, Christ has not called us to rebel but to submit. As Peter says, “this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” Just as it pleased God to send Jesus as a suffering servant, so does it please our Lord when we live good lives while suffering evil. Why? Because it silences the ignorance of foolish people, and when they see our good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.

Our suffering is not ignored by God, nor does He take it for granted. He will bless our suffering, by using it to bring others into His fold. And in time He will take us out of the veil of tears. Remember, we are but sojourners and exiles here, and on the day of visitation we shall return to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.