In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the first stone laid, and it had to be the most perfectly cut stone and the strongest stone. Because, you see, what the cornerstone is, the house is. If the dimensions of the cornerstone are off, the house is off. If the cornerstone is true, the house is true. If the cornerstone crumbles in any way, the entire house will be compromised or lost.
All of this is the background to when Peter says this about Jesus: “Come to him, to that living Capstone which is the Cornerstone, rejected by men but chosen by God, for it is written, ‘Whoever trusts in him will never be put to shame.’”
This metaphor of the cornerstone tells us 1) Jesus is to be our life’s foundation, 2) Jesus is our federal head, and 3) Jesus is to be the love of our life.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 12, 1993. Series: Splendor in the Furnace: 1 Peter, Part 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-8.
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Released on 6 Mar 2026