1 Peter 2:6-8, “6 “For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8and
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
This is the second time Peter has quoted Isaiah. In chapter 1 he quoted Isaiah 40 and, in our passage, today, he is quoting Isaiah 28. In effect, Peter is asserting that Jesus what all the Apostles of the New Testament have asserted: Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scripture.
Because of this, I want to hone in on one central attribute of God- His sovereignty. In our passage today, Peter reminds the suffering believers that God predestined that Christ would come in the incarnation, be rejected and become the cornerstone of our salvation. God predestined that everyone who trusts in Jesus will not be put to shame. And God predestined that some would stumble and disobey the word.
Think for a moment of how incredibly encouraging and reassuring this is to a group of believers that are experiencing immense persecution and suffering. Nothing at all is outside the hands of our sovereign Triune God. He has orchestrated our salvation, He hardens hearts, and He uses our sufferings to accomplish that which He loves. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says in chapter 3, “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and immutably- that is without the possibility of changing it- God did freely and immutably ordain whatsoever comes to pass…”
How encouraging is it to know that anything that happens in life, in eternity has passed through the hands of our Sovereign God?
Be encouraged dear Christian. The God you worship and serve is absolutely sovereign.
Joey Tomlinson (DMin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a husband, father, and pastor at a local church in Newport News, Virginia. He blogs regularly on broadoakpiety.org and hosts a weekly podcast called The Broad Oak Piety Podcast with another local pastor in the community.
