⁶For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Driving home the imagery, Peter quotes Isaiah 28:16. God’s most choice, most precious work in the world is the focus of our faith. This is the God who communicated to His people:

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4–5)

This one and only God directed His people to believe in the “choice stone,” which seems like a shift in the focus of our faith. The Jews saw this cryptic message as deeply significant, but it wasn’t until Christ came that it became clear the stone “I lay in Zion” referred to the coming Messiah. Peter was making an astounding statement: Jesus is the long-promised deliverer of the Jews.

In this rich imagery God wants His people to see that He is building a temple, made not of physical stones but of people, and the first person in this building process was and still is the Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage invalidates the idea that Peter is the first stone, that is, the rock on which the church is built. Jesus had indeed said to him, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:17–18). But if Peter had understood that the rock referred to himself, we might have expected him to mention that in the letter here. Peter is not the foundation of which Jesus is the cornerstone. No. The church is being built on the rock-solid faith that Peter expressed on behalf of all believers: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). It is our faith that places us into the body of Christ, like stones in His temple.

This important theological imagery reminds us who we are, the community of which we are a part. Believers are an insertion of God’s presence into the world. While we may be persecuted, maligned, and harassed, we may suffer difficulties, discouragements, and rejections, we are in good—no, outstanding—company. For we are like Jesus, who is a fellow stone in the temple of God’s presence, with each of us lined up right next to Him in God’s stonework.

How, then, can anything knock us off our faith? God is using you and me, not to build a wall or even a building but a temple for His presence! How can the gates of hell withstand His purposes in us as we face the world?

Lord, help me always remember that I am a significant stone in Your temple.