Let us return to 1 Peter 2:5:
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We thank the Lord that, once again, we can gather together before Him. The theme of this conference is the living stones, the spiritual house, and the holy priesthood.
We know that this is God’s will for us. He wants every one of us to be a living stone, and He wants all these living stones to be built into a spiritual house. He also wants us, as living stones, to serve Him as priests in that spiritual house.
These three matters cannot be separated. We cannot merely be living stones without being built into a spiritual house, nor can there be a spiritual house without the priesthood. For God’s will to be accomplished in us, there must be the living stones, the spiritual house, and the holy priesthood.
In these meetings, I will share concerning the living stones. Others will share concerning the spiritual house and the priesthood.
There are four matters concerning the living stones:
Tonight, we will consider the first matter: the transformation from dust to stone.
Let us read several passages together.
Genesis 2:7:
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
1 Corinthians 15:47-49:
The first man is of the earth, earthy:
the second man is of heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy:
and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Matthew 16:17-18:
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build My church;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Let us bow our heads and pray.
Lord, we praise and thank You that You allow us to gather before You. We thank You for Your Word. We look to Your Holy Spirit to make Your Word living to us. May Your Word become life and spirit to us. We give You all the praise and glory. In the Lord Jesus’ name, amen.
In the beginning, when God created man, He used the dust of the ground to form man’s body. Our physical body was made from the dust of the earth. The elements in our body are of the same kind as the elements in the dust of the ground.
After God had formed man from the dust of the ground, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Then man became a living soul with a spirit.
From the creation of man, we can see three aspects of man: body, soul, and spirit. First, our body was formed from the dust of the ground. Second, our spirit came from the breath of God. When God breathed the breath of life into man, man received a spirit.
When the breath of God entered into man’s physical life, it produced the soul of man. The Bible tells us that man became a living soul.
Our body, being created from the dust of the ground, enables us to communicate with men and with the things of this world. Our spirit, deriving from the breath of God, enables us to communicate with the Spirit of God. Our soul represents the personality of man, enabling us to have personal thought, feeling, and will.
When man was created, he was the masterpiece of God. Yet the most honorable part of man is not his body. Certainly, our body can be used by God. We may use our body to serve God, and God’s glory may be manifested through our body. But the most honorable part of man is not his body.
We have a soul, and this enables us to be living persons. We have thought, mind, and emotion. Many animals also have souls; they are alive and may have some thought, instinct, and emotion. When you see a dog or a cat, you can observe something of this.
Yet man’s mind, will, and emotions are far richer than those of animals. Our thoughts are much richer, and our emotions may be expressed more fully. Nevertheless, the most honorable part of man is not his soul.
Our soul can be used by God—to express God’s love, to understand God’s will, and to choose God’s way—but the most precious part of man is his spirit. God is Spirit. When God created us, He also gave us a spirit so that we might communicate with Him, be joined to Him, and allow Him to live in us and be glorified through us.
God desires that our spirit should govern our whole being. Our spirit should communicate with God and receive His will. God fellowships His will to our spirit; then our soul, like a faithful steward, receives that will and directs our body to carry out God’s purpose. The body is like a servant, carrying out the will of God.
What is meant by dust? In the Bible, dust has several meanings. Let us consider some of them.
First, dust may refer to a great multitude or abundance. For example, Genesis 13:16 records God’s promise to Abraham:
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth:
so that if a man can number the dust of the earth,
then shall thy seed also be numbered.
The dust of the earth is innumerable. Who can count all the dust upon the earth? It is an impossible task.
Numbers 23:10 says:
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the fourth part of Israel?
As the people of Israel increased and multiplied, it became impossible to count them. This is the first meaning of dust in the Bible: multitude.
The second meaning of dust is smallness. Isaiah 40:15 says:
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket,
and are accounted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
There may be many people in this world, but before God they are like dust on the scales. They are many, yet they are small.
The third meaning of dust is lowliness. Lamentations 3:29 says:
Let him put his mouth in the dust,
if so be there may be hope.
Isaiah 47:1 says:
Come down, and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon.
Whenever the Bible speaks of dust in this way, it refers to something lowly.
Fourthly, dust may refer to insignificance. Psalm 103:14 says:
For He knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.
This enables us to see that we are truly insignificant and lowly before the Lord.
The fifth meaning of dust refers to death. Job 7:21 says:
And why dost Thou not pardon my transgression,
and take away mine iniquity?
For now shall I lie down in the dust;
and Thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.
When the Bible speaks of dust in this way, it refers to death. We were created from dust, and one day we shall return to dust.
The sixth meaning of dust is mourning. In Joshua 7:6, Joshua and the elders of Israel put dust upon their heads as an expression of mourning.
The seventh meaning is repentance. Job 42:6 says:
Wherefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.
Thus, the Bible shows us these various meanings of dust. We must remember that we were formed from dust. There may be many of us, but we are small, lowly, and insignificant. We were created from dust, and we shall return to dust.
Very often, we forget that we were created from dust. We become proud. But we ought to remember that we are dust.
Because we were created from dust, we have the nature of dust. First Corinthians 15 tells us that the first man was of the earth, earthy. The first man was Adam, and he was derived from the earth. Therefore, he was an earthly man.
Everyone who is of Adam is also derived from the ground and has an earthly nature. What does this mean? It means that, as earthly men, we are mindful of earthly things. We tend to seek after earthly things and are unable to seek heavenly things. We are limited by this earth.
This is the condition of the people of this world. They do not seek heavenly or spiritual things; they are mindful of earthly things because they belong to this earth.
As natural men, we are bound and without hope. Since man sinned, he has had to sweat in order to obtain food; and because he is dust, he shall return to dust.
Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us:
And you did He make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the powers of the air,
of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh,
doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Before we believed in the Lord, we were just like the people of this world. We were earthly, dead in trespasses and sins, following the course of this world and under the control of the ruler of the kingdom of the air. We followed the desires of the flesh and of the mind. By nature, we were children of wrath.
James 3:15 tells us that wisdom which is earthly is also sensual and devilish. If we are earthly, we are fleshly; and if we are fleshly, we belong to the devil. This is the original condition of man.
But we praise and thank God that He has prepared such a wonderful salvation. What is the gospel? The gospel is that we, who are earthly men, may be transformed into stones. The dust may be transformed into stones.
Consider the story of Peter, for Peter represents every one of us. Peter was the son of Jonah, and his original name was Simon. The name Simon means “hearing,” and Jonah means “dove.” The dove represents the Holy Spirit. It was a good name: one who could hear the voice of God.
Yet Peter’s natural character did not fully correspond to his name. Naturally speaking, Peter was not a bad man. He was straightforward and quick to speak. Whatever he thought, he said. There was no deceit in him. He seemed very brave; yet at other times he was very fearful. He changed quickly and was unstable.
This was Simon. But when his brother Andrew brought him to the Lord, as recorded in John 1, the Lord Jesus looked upon him. In the original language, it means that the Lord fixed His eyes upon him and examined him from top to bottom, even to his inward being.
Peter, who was usually quick to speak, became silent under the Lord’s gaze. The Lord said, “Thou art Simon the son of John: thou shalt be called Cephas,” which is, by interpretation, Peter. Cephas is Aramaic, and Peter is Greek. Both mean a stone.
The Lord gave Peter a prophecy: “One day you shall be changed into Peter. You shall become a stone.”
Later, in Matthew 16, the Lord asked His disciples who people said that He was. Some said John the Baptist; others said Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
Then the Lord asked, “But who say ye that I am?” Peter answered:
Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
The Lord Jesus replied:
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but My Father who is in heaven.
The Lord then said, “Thou art Peter.” How was Simon changed into Peter? It was because he received revelation. God opened his heart so that he could know the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that Jesus is the Christ, the One sent by God, and that He is the Son of God.
Because of this revelation, God performed a transforming work in Peter. He was transformed into a stone. The Lord also said that He would build His church upon the rock, and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it.
Brothers and sisters, how are we changed from dust to stone? It is by heavenly revelation. When we come to confess that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, we are transformed from earthly men into heavenly men.
What is the meaning of stone in the Bible? The word stone also has several meanings.
First, stone refers to the work of God. When men built the tower of Babel, they made bricks from clay and built with them. Bricks are the work of men, but stones are the work of God. Man cannot create stones; God alone creates them.
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone cut out without hands. It struck the image upon its feet and broke it to pieces. Then the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
A stone is not made by man’s hands; it is the work of God. We are stones today not because we can make ourselves into stones. We are Christians because of God’s grace. We have been born again by the work of God.
Secondly, stone refers to strength and stability. Men are easily moved and changed. We are easily influenced by our circumstances. But God gives us the nature of stone so that we may be strong and stable, able to stand against temptation and stand in the Word of God.
In the Bible, God is called the Rock. Deuteronomy 32:4 says:
The Rock, His work is perfect;
for all His ways are justice:
a God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and right is He.
There are many passages in Scripture that refer to God as the Rock. David, through many experiences, came to know God as his Rock.
The Bible also tells us that the Lord Jesus is the Rock. Isaiah 28:16 says:
Therefore thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation:
he that believeth shall not be in haste.
The Lord is the Rock, and today we also become stones. This means that we may share in the nature of God. As He is holy, we may share His holiness. As He is righteous, we may share His righteousness. As He is faithful, we may share His faithfulness.
There is another meaning of stone in the Bible: stone is related to testimony. In Genesis 28, Jacob received a vision from God and heard God’s promise. When he awoke, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” He took the stone upon which he had rested his head, set it up as a pillar, and declared that it would be God’s house.
In 1 Samuel 7:12, after God gave Samuel victory over the Philistines, Samuel took a stone and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” The stone was a testimony that God had been with them.
Thus, in the Bible, stone has these various meanings. We praise and thank the Lord that today we have become stones. We may share the nature of God and bear testimony concerning Him.
Yet there is a problem. This transformation from dust to stone is indeed a wonderful thing, but it is not yet complete.
On the one hand, we have received the life and nature of stone. On the other hand, we still carry the nature of dust. To be transformed from dust to stone does not mean that the dust immediately disappears. If that were so, it would be very glorious indeed. But although there is transformation, we still carry something of the dust nature.
Therefore, as Christians, we experience a battle. According to the nature of stone within us, we want to please God. Yet the nature of dust still draws us toward earthly things. There is a continual conflict between the earthly and the heavenly.
The earthly nature often tries to overcome the heavenly nature. Therefore, after we are saved, we need to express the nature of stone, and we need to forsake the earthly nature.
Paul uses an illustration in 2 Corinthians 4. He says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
There are two things here: the vessel and the treasure. The earthen vessel represents you and me. We often think of ourselves as though we were alabaster vessels—noble, glorious, and beautiful. But the Bible says that we are earthen vessels.
An earthen vessel is lowly. Such vessels are found everywhere. There is nothing in us of which to be proud. We are ordinary and easily broken.
But when we believe in the Lord, God puts His treasure into this earthen vessel. No one in this world would normally put treasure into an earthen vessel. If you possessed a treasure, you would put it in something precious, perhaps a golden box. But God does something that no man would do.
God puts this treasure into us. The treasure is His beloved Son, His only begotten Son. Today, God has put His Son into us.
Why has God put this treasure into an earthen vessel? It is not merely to hide the treasure within us, just as the evil servant hid his talent in the earth. That is not God’s purpose.
God has put His treasure into us so that His nature and glory may be manifested through the earthen vessel. The power is not from us; it is from God.
For the treasure to shine through the vessel, the earthen vessel must have cracks. It must be broken. If the earthen vessel is not broken, the treasure cannot manifest its glory.
Therefore, God often uses circumstances to break the earthen vessel so that the life of Christ may be manifested through us. Yet we often protect ourselves. We are unwilling for the vessel to be broken.
When we refuse to be broken, the love of Christ cannot flow out from us. We may possess the treasure, but we may not live in the reality of that treasure.
Brothers and sisters, the work of the cross is necessary so that the earthen vessel may be broken. Then that which is earthly may be dealt with, and that which is heavenly—Christ Himself—may be manifested.
Let us consider another illustration. In the wilderness, Moses saw a bush burning with fire. Thorns represent the curse, because after man fell, God declared that the ground would bring forth thorns.
A dry thorn bush burns quickly and disappears. But on that day, Moses saw a miracle: the bush burned, yet it was not consumed.
Why was it not consumed? Because God was in the bush. Brothers and sisters, although there may be fire burning upon us, we will not be consumed. Rather, we may continue to endure, and the glorious God may be manifested through us.
This is the meaning of being transformed from dust to stone. Outwardly, we may still carry something of the dust nature, but inwardly we already possess the nature of stone. The nature of stone will progressively manifest its glory, while the nature of dust is gradually put away.
One day, even this body of dust will be changed, and we shall put on a spiritual body. At that time, we shall no longer be bound by the nature of dust.
Brothers and sisters, this is the gospel of Christ. We praise and thank the Lord for His mercy toward us.
Lord God, we truly praise and thank You. We are dust, and we shall surely return to dust. Yet we thank You because You have done this wonderful work in us. You have given Yourself to us and put Your life into us, so that we may possess the heavenly life and heavenly nature.
Though we live on earth, we may manifest Your glory. We pray that the nature of dust within us may decrease, and that the heavenly nature may increase in us, so that You may receive praise and glory.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.