彼得說你們需要來到活石耶穌基督面前。活石代表什么？其中一個涵意就是雖然耶穌被許多人拒絕，但祂卻被神揀選、尊貴。 當你們歸向耶穌時，也會成為活石。涵意就是，你們也會被人們拒絕。 但無論如何，神要把你們分別出來。因為你們被神揀選、尊貴，像耶穌一樣，成為聖潔的祭司。
天人匯點: 我們在匯點教會的目標是成為神與人的「交匯點」。耶穌既是完全的神，也是完全的人，所以耶穌本身就是神與人之間的「交匯點」。
基督與教會的三個相似之處：活石、絆腳石、寶石。
活石: 耶穌基督是活石和房角石。教會成為活石，在房角石基督上，被建造為了屬靈的宮殿。
- 房角石是活石，生命的石頭，因為它是穩固的根基，你可以把你的生命建立在根基上面。
- 基督教會的最基本信仰宣言: 「你是基督，是永生神的兒子」。
絆腳石: 耶穌基督被世人棄絕，是不信的人的絆腳石。教會也會被世人棄絕。傳福音會使一些人因信基督而稱義得救。但同時也會有人拒絕福音，被真理絆倒。
- 「耶穌是基督，是神的兒子」這個基本宣言既是信的人的基石，也是不信的人的絆腳石。不信的人就好像在黑暗中摸路，沒有看見這一塊石頭，被石頭絆倒了。
- 就像耶穌被人拒絕和逼迫一樣，歷世歷代的基督徒也被世人拒絕和逼迫，因為世人是瞎眼的。
寶石: 耶穌基督是被揀選的，是尊貴的。教會被揀選，也是神眼中看為寶貴的。所以必須要聖潔。
- 貴重的身份。就像光明的寶石一樣。
- 但另一方面。我們也是地上的居民。有使命要到世上度去「宣揚那召你們出黑暗入奇妙光明者的美德」。
- 儘管我們不再屬於這個世界，我們仍然會受到這個世界的罪惡慾望引誘。
- 雖然我們成為客旅寄居地上，但我們永久的國籍是在天上。我們已經自由了。在神的眼中，我們本身就是珍寶。 我們不需要為自己在地上收集更多的寶藏。
Building Spiritual House Together
1 Peter 2:4-11
What does it mean to be a living stone? It means although Jesus was rejected by many people, he was chosen and honored by God. And what happens when you, the Church, come to Jesus? You too will become living stones. Implicitly, you too will be rejected by the people. But God wants to set you apart anyway. For you are chosen and honored by God to become a spiritual house.
In Crosspoint, we set our goal to be the point where God meets Man. But being fully God and fully Man in one person, Jesus is literally the “Cross Point” between God and Man.
We focus on the three similarities between Christ and the Church: living stone, stumbling stone, and treasure stone.
First, living stone and cornerstone. Jesus Christ is the living stone and the cornerstone. The church will be a spiritual temple built from living stones.
- A cornerstone stone is a “living” stone because it is a secure foundation to build your life on it. You can build a house on that cornerstone and know that you can safely live there.
- “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That is the faith declaration on which that the church is defined.
Second, rejected stone and stumbling stone. Jesus Christ is rejected and is a stumbling block for the unbelievers. Christians will also be rejected by the world. And in preaching the gospel, we will cause some to obey and be justified. But at the same time, some will reject and be stumbled.
- But the word of God is always both a cornerstone for those who believe and a “scandal”, a stumbling block for those who don’t believe.
- Christians too will be rejected and persecuted by the world because they are blind.
Third, treasure stone. Jesus Christ is chosen and honored. Christians are chosen to live in holiness and to proclaim the goodness of God who shows them the truth.
- We are spiritually regenerated. We belong to God. We were chosen not because of what we did but purely out of God’s mercy.
- We do have a mission to go into the kingdom of this earth to “proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”.
- Even though we no longer belong to the world, we can still be tempted by the sinful desires of the world.
- . It is by recognizing that although we are made aliens and exile travelers on earth, our permanent citizenship is in heaven. We are already free. We are ourselves treasures in God’s sight. There is no need for us to gather for ourselves more treasure on earth.