JESUS CHRIST, the BEGINNING and the END

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (Rev 21:6). "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Rev 22:13).

Devotion 5 of 20

THE CORNER

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone . . . Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner" (Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6-7)

In these texts, the word "corner" refers to the "corner stone" of a structure. This was the first positioned stone of the edifice, and determined the size and dimensions of the building. Corner stones are not always used in this manner today. In Scripture, however, the "corner stone" was the most significant stone of the building. If it was imperfect, the building was imperfect. The figures illustrated in Figure 1 show the effects of a true cornerstone. It determines the shape of the edifice.

The Prophets

Prophets revealed that those receiving this Corner Stone would never be put to flight, or chased away by their enemies. "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste" (Isa 28:16). How precious these words must have been to those ancient strangers and pilgrims in the earth. Indeed, they are a refuge for us today, who have fled to Jesus to lay hold of the hope set before us (Heb 6:18).

Jesus speaks

The Lord Jesus faced His critics with an arresting question. They were about to reject the salvational provision of God, and did not know it. He pointed them to the Word of God, challenging them to consider the One appointed by God Himself as the Head of the corner. "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The Stone that the builders rejected is become the Head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?" (Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17).

The "Head of the corner" determined everything about the spiritual temple in which Deity would reside. How ironic that those representing the Lord, supposedly giving themselves to the formation of a worthy body of people, not only ignored the only accepted Corner Stone, they "rejected" Him. However, He was placed in the preeminent and determining position in spite of their corrupted judgment! Peter preaches Following Christ's ascension and exaltation to the right hand of God, Peter announced that He had become the Head of the corner. "This is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the Head of the corner" (Acts 4:11). Observe the poignant language of Peter. How vivid are his words. The "Stone" given by God, for the purpose of determining the interface of Deity with humanity, was "set at nought" by those who should have recognized Him. He was thrown into the scrap heap, so to speak, considered worthy only of destruction.

The Holy Spirit provoked Peter to speak candidly, with a greater interest in justifying God than avoiding the offence of sinners. It would be refreshing to see more of this type f holy boldness in our day. Some of us can confess that God has placed Christ at the center of our lives in spite of the corrupted doctrines and techniques of "the builders."

PRAYER POINT: Father,

-- Tomorrow: EXPOUNDING THE CORNERSTONE --