Cornerstone
Summary
A foundational stone of great importance in building construction, used symbolically throughout Scripture to represent Christ as the essential foundation and unifying element of God's spiritual building, the church.
☩Architectural Significance
In ancient building practices, the cornerstone was a massive stone so formed as to bind together two outer walls of an edifice, giving stability to the whole structure. Some temple cornerstones were enormous, measuring 19 feet long and 7.5 feet thick. Builders laid the cornerstone of the foundation with great care, as the whole building was set out in relation to it. Additional cornerstones were used to tie walls together at various points.
☩Christ as Foundation Stone
Isaiah prophesied that God would lay in Zion 'a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation' (Isaiah 28:16). Peter applies this directly to Christ, declaring that believers 'come to Him as to a living stone' and that He is 'the chief corner stone' upon whom the church is built (1 Peter 2:4-6). Paul affirms that 'other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 3:11).
☩The Rejected Stone
Psalm 118:22 declared that 'the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner,' a prophecy Jesus applied to Himself when rejected by the Jewish leaders (Matthew 21:42). In rejecting Jesus, the Jews were like builders discarding the most essential stone. God took this rejected stone and made it the chief cornerstone, exalting Christ to the highest place with the whole church built around and into Him (Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20).
☩Stone of Stumbling
The same stone that serves as the church's foundation becomes a stone of stumbling to unbelievers (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). Just as a projecting cornerstone could cause builders to stumble, Jesus becomes an obstacle to those who reject Him. For believers, Christ is precious and provides stable ground; for unbelievers who stumble at the word, He becomes the cause of their fall (1 Peter 2:7-8).
Related Verses12 mentions
References
- 1.George Morrish, "Corner Stone," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Cornerstone," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.Don Fleming, "Cornerstone," in Bridgeway Bible Dictionary (Bridgeway Publications, 1990).