When asking the Lord what name to work on next, I kept hearing “Jesus the Rock”. I started looking up verses on this. The 2 things I felt led to focus on were Jesus being the Cornerstone, and our Rock. These are both stones/rocks if you will, but they both give us a little bit of a different understanding of who Jesus is and how we relate to Him.
I. Jesus – “The Rock”
Matthew 7:24-26 NLT “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
Luke 6:47-48 ESV “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.”
The first thing that caught my attention was the strength of the rock. It is immovable and unchangeable. Jesus is secure! No storm can move Him. He is solid and unchanging! Hebrews 13:8 says:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
So no matter what is going on the the world, Jesus is the same and will never change. We can rest in Him. We know that He is with us and will always hold us up and keep us stable.
Another thing that stuck out to me about these two passages was that the storms came to both the wise and foolish builders. In life we will have storms. As Christians, we are not spared dealing with violent storms. What is different though is that our house will not fall. The storms will not destroy what we have built if it has been built on Jesus.
“…but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
When we build our lives upon Jesus, we will not be shaken. We are secure! We are safe and stable. So how do we build our lives upon the rock? We obey the Lord and His Word. We have to not only hear what He says but we have to do them.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
II. Jesus – “The Cornerstone”
In Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16, it was prophesied that Jesus would be the stone that the builders rejected and He would become the cornerstone.
Psalm 118:22 NLT “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
Isaiah 28:16 NLT “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.’ “
Jesus also referenced this verse in Matthew 21:33-46 and Luke 20:9-19. Later on, after Jesus ascended, Peter and Paul also confirmed that Jesus was the cornerstone.
acts 4:11 NLT “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the Cornerstone.’ “
1 Peter 2:7 NLT “Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, ‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’ “
Ephesians 2:20-22 NLT “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
So what is a cornerstone? Why is it significant? As I was researching, I found out that the cornerstone was the most important stone in the entire building. It was the first stone to be laid, and the entire weight of the building is dependent on this stone. Every other stone laid is done so in reference to the cornerstone. So it determines the alignment of the other stones. If the cornerstone is straight, the walls will straight as well.
“And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.”
This is very important to understand. Everything we do needs to be in alignment with Christ. He is building his church, and as we build our lives upon him, we need to make sure we are in line with Him and His Word. As we build we need to always go back to the cornerstone to double check we are aligned. ❤️
ADDITIONAL VERSES:
- Psalm 78:16
- Psalm 78:35
- Psalm 81:16
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-12
- Deuteronomy 32:4
- 1 Corinthians 3:11
- Psalm 18:2
- Numbers 20:8-12
- 2 Samuel 22:2
- Acts 4:11
- Psalm 62:2
- Psalm 71:3
