Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

MEMORY VERSE: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.  —2 Timothy 2:19

CENTRAL THOUGHT: Jesus Christ was a solid Rock, a living stone of truth, holiness, faithfulness, obedience, humility, love, and steadfastness for God. He is the Son of the living God, and the revelation of Himself to man brings a steadfastness to the soul as we build our faith and hope upon Him.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Isaiah 28:16 “Shall not make haste”: Haste means excitement or hurry. This indicates fear, doubtfulness, or shame. The rendering of this verse in 1 Peter says “confounded” and in the Septuagint it says, “shall by no means be ashamed.”

LESSON BACKGROUND

From Isaiah and the Psalms come two important prophecies concerning the foundation of the Church of God. Jesus Himself did not shy away from the responsibility that was on Him of being the Rock upon which the Church of God was to be built. He was a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; yet, He was also the refused, the disallowed, the rejected stone, who was set at naught by the builders, or the professed people of God. These people were going about to establish their own righteousness and were not submissive to the righteousness of God. How clearly Peter brings out and applies these scriptures!

Isaiah’s expression of the future foundation for the Church came in the midst of his denouncing the scornful men of his day whose life-language spoke of making an agreement with hell and a covenant with death, making lies their refuge and hiding themselves under falsehood. People were doing so in Christ’s time, and they are doing so today. Isaiah went on to say that their hiding places would be swept away.

Jesus quoted from the 118th Psalm about Himself being as the rejected stone and becoming the head of the corner. It is true that to some He is a precious and solid Rock upon which to build, while to others He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (Isaiah 8:14). It is our decision as to what He will be to us.

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

DISCUSSION:

1. Upon what does every person in this life need to build his faith and hope?
2. In what way is Christ a solid Rock?
3. What does Christ have that qualifies Him to be the foundation of the Church?
4. What does Christ have that causes many to refuse Him?
5. What kind of disposition causes people to reject Him?
6. A building is positioned upon and fastened to its foundation. What is our application to Christ in our building upon Him?
7. Is there any other real foundation for us to build upon besides Christ?

8. To whom is Christ precious?
9. What is Christ to the disobedient? At what do they stumble?

    

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

What a blessing to have a solid foundation upon which to build our experience of faith, love, and hope in God! Without this foundation of Jesus Christ in His blessed revelation to our hearts, all would be in vain and hopeless.

Jesus was a tried stone. He was put to the test and tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin. The devil was turned loose upon Him, but he never yielded to the enticements and pressures of Satan. He triumphed openly over him. He endured great contradiction of sinners against Himself and overcame their antagonizing arguments and accusations. The hardships and privations of this mortal life He endured gracefully. He was not hardened to the needs of humanity by their relentless coming unto Him. He did not become weary with their errors and ignorance. He was strong, and as a servant He bowed beneath the yoke of suffering that His Father put upon Him. He never flinched under that dark prospect of being despised and rejected of men.

Oh, how we love and admire Him! He was so strong, steadfast, and faithful! When we survey His life of service and humility, our hearts are warmed with love and devotion. We gladly turn from the paths of sin and worldly pleasure, and press closer to Him! All in this world is uncertain, vain, perishable, changeable, and unsatisfying to the heart of man, but in Christ we find a solid Rock upon which we lean, cling to, and for which we gladly give our life, our love, and our all.

Oh, the great mistake that so many make who reject Him for the vain pursuits of this fleeting world! Many do reject Him. They did it back then, and they are doing it today. He is the same; so precious to those who love and obey Him. What a great reward will be given to those who cleave to Christ through all of earth’s little while and find themselves triumphant when all of this earth passes away forever!

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

REFLECTIONS

Our chapel is in a quaint little suburb of Dallas known as Balch Springs. I am told that the town received its name because of the many underground springs that run through it. When we were preparing to build, one requirement was that the foundation plans had to be designed and stamped by a structural engineer.

Because of the possibility of underground springs, the engineer suggested that several 20-foot core samplings of the soil be taken and analyzed so that we could know what type of ground we were building on and what type of foundation was needed. It was an expensive process, but we were willing to take every precaution and spare no expense to have the assurance that the chapel was built on a solid foundation.

Christ is concerned about His church as well. He said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The most important part of any structure is not its beauty, but the integrity of its foundation. It must be engineered to support the weight and withstand all the elements that are sure to affect it.

Every day people are building their hopes and dreams on defective foundations and wondering why their lives are falling apart. What they’re building may initially appear beautiful, but it is not structurally sound and cannot withstand the forces of life.

We design and construct our own lives. We are not victims of our circumstances, quite often we engineer them. Our choices help create the environment of our circumstances. We make the choice of what we build and where we build it; whether upon Christ—the Word of God—or upon our own ideas and philosophies. We choose how we build and we choose what we accept or reject in the construction process.

We are building for eternity. May God help us to build wisely.

—Bro. Darrell Johnson