The Cornerstone

                                                                                                      

Aloha Dearest Family,

               In the book of Acts chapter 4, we read that Pater and John are standing before the Sanhedrin, the 70 rulers of Israel. Peter and John had just healed a crippled man at the temple gate Beautiful and because of this, they were arrested and questioned. Peter’s answer to them was quite bold.

                “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.” (Acts 4:10 and 11)

This last reference may not be clear to many but Peter was quoting a scripture from the Psalms. This scripture would have been very familiar to the counsel.

                “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” (Psalms 118:22)

Peter referred to these leaders of Israel as ”builders” of God’s temple. Not a physical building, but referring to the people of Israel as being the “temple of God”. But these “builders” rejected Jesus and killed him. When a builder builds a house of brick or stone, he will first examine the bricks to see if they are “good enough” to use in his building. The bad bricks he will reject and cast aside and only use the worthy bricks (or stones). These religious leaders rejected Jesus as being worthless and not worthy to being a part of God’s temple. But GOD prophesied that Jesus would not only be worthy enough, but he would become the head stone of the corner.  

                In ancient construction, no stone was more important than the cornerstone because the integrity of the entire structure depended upon the cornerstone containing the exact right lines. The builders would search diligently for this stone in the quarry and it would be the first stone laid in the foundation of the building. (In Latin, this stone is called the foundation stone). If the cornerstone was not exactly right, the whole building would be out of alignment. The full weight of the building would rest on the cornerstone and every angle in the building would be measured by it. God made Jesus Christ this Cornerstone of His building.

But what has ancient building construction have to do with us today?

                Ephesians states that before we were born-again, we were without Christ, without God and had no hope in this world. (Yuckk!) (Ephesians 2:12) But after we were saved everything changed.

                “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;” (Ephesians 2:19)

We, who were without hope and without God, are NOW fellow-citizens with the saints. We are now members of God’s household and are a part of God’s holy temple – His building.     

          “And (we) are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Verses 20-22)

We are now a habitation of God because of the spirit that now dwells within us. This concept is almost beyond belief; that God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, has chosen to dwell within us. This is made possible because of the finished work of His son who gave his life for us.

        Jesus Christ is STILL the Chief Cornerstone in our lives. He is our foundation, being the first and most important stone. Our entire identity is made stable by his life, death and resurrection. If we measure ourselves by one another, our “building” will be unstable and off center. But Jesus is the one we align ourselves with to keep us centered. As the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus ensures the stability of the whole system of our salvation.  

                “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.” (Isaiah 28:16)

                                     Love always, Ray

                “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:11)                 

Living in the Age of the Mystery

                                                                                                             

Aloha Dearest Family,

                 Most Christians understand and acknowledge that Jesus Christ died, was resurrected and ascended to God’s right hand more than 2,000 years ago. And most also know that sometime in the future, there will be a final judgement for all men and women. The righteous will live in paradise forever and the ungodly will be destroyed.

                 But what about the gap between these two monumental events? What does the Bible say about THIS time period that you and I are now living? The answer is wrapped up in a Mystery.

 What Mystery?

                In the Bible, God mentions a mystery, a sacred secret, that NO ONE knew but God alone. The Old Testament does not mention it and the prophets of old never wrote about it. This is because it was a secret that was “hid in God” from before the world began.

                 “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,” (Romans 16;25)

                  “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” (Ephesians 3:9)

                “The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations…” (Colossians 1:26a)

 This mystery God kept to Himself. A secret so precious that, had the devil know about it, he never would have crucified Jesus Christ.

                 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the rulers of this age knew (the devil spirt realm); for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2;7 and 8) (WOW!)

 This mystery that was hidden by God since before the world began, was finally revealed to the Apostle Paul.

                “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; (here it is) That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:” (Ephesians 3:4-6)

  This is the mystery that had been hidden in God alone for eons of time. This may not seem like a big deal to us today, but to the first century church, it was earth shattering. We must remember that Israel had been God’s chosen people for thousands of years. Gentiles (anyone who was not of the house of Israel) were excluded from the promises of God. Gentiles were considered by Israel as filthy dogs. They were common and uncircumcised, the scum of the earth. This is how Judeans viewed anyone not of the seed of Abraham – unclean dogs. But now, because of the work of Jesus Christ, anyone that confesses Jesus as their Lord, is now a fellow-heir and in the same body (the body of Christ) and partakers of God’s promises. The new birth changed everything. Salvation was now open to EVERYONE. Now whether you were a Jew or a Gentile, you could now have “Christ within”.

                 This is why, if the devil would have known this secret, he never would have crucified Jesus Christ. Jesus could only be in one place, at one time. But now everyone who is born again has CHRIST IN YOU. (Colossians 1:27) So whenever a believer walks in, Christ walks in. Satan would rather have had Jesus himself to deal with than to have tens of thousands with the spirit of Christ within.

                 The NEW BIRTH was the mystery that God had kept hidden for so long.

 Living in the Age of the Mystery.

                The new birth was the secret of all secrets and it has been available since the Day of Pentecost, over two thousand years ago. Remember that this period in time that you and I are living was known to God alone, therefore He did not have it recorded in any of the ancient scriptures. However, many Old Testament prophets did try to find out about this time period but could not find it. By studying the scriptures, they knew there a time gap between Christ’s suffering and Christ’s glory. But all they knew was that there would be a period of grace when the spirit would be within people; but they knew nothing about it or how long it would last.

                 “Concerning this salvation (the Mystery of the New Birth), the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow…. even angels long to look into these things.” (I Peter 1:10, 11 and 12b)

 Even the angels of God longed to look into and discover what the mystery of this period of time was but even they could not find it out – because only God knew it.

                It wasn’t until after the day of Pentecost that God could reveal His most closely guarded secret to the Apostle Paul. The greatness and magnitude of this mystery is written about in Paul’s seven church epistles -  Romans through Thessalonians.

 WE are living in this time period that was kept hidden since before the world began. We are living in the Age of Grace where salvation is open to all, where forgiveness is available to everyone and eternal life is given to all who have confessed Jesus as their Lord. This is the time where the spirit has been poured out freely to all of God’s children, guaranteeing their future in paradise to come.

                                     Love Always Ray