Let us return to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, verses 17 and 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 also turn to 1 Peter 2:4-5.
Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious,
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 all know the theme of this conference: the living stone, the spiritual house, and the holy priesthood.
Before God, we have become living stones. As living stones, we are being built up by God into a spiritual house. In that spiritual house, led by the Holy Spirit, we are to serve as a holy priesthood.
As believers, we need to remember these two points. According to ourselves, we are but dust. We have nothing of which to be proud. Eternally, we need to bow before our God and worship Him.
Yet we praise and thank God, because we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.
This morning, we want to share concerning the matter of the living stone. In Matthew 16, Peter recognized the Lord Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of the living God. The Lord then said to Peter, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”
The Lord was using a play on words. The Greek word Petros, translated “Peter,” means a small stone. But the word translated “rock” is petra, meaning a great and massive rock.
There is a tremendous difference in size between a small stone and a great rock. There is also a difference in their use. The rock is the foundation, while the smaller stones are used for building the house.
You cannot rest the foundation upon a small stone, nor can you build the great rock upon a little stone. The rock is the foundation, and the many stones are built upon that rock.
In the history of Christianity, there has been a great misunderstanding of this passage. Many have thought that Peter himself was the rock upon which the church was built. They have therefore considered Peter to be the first pope.
But that is clearly a mistake. In Matthew 16, after the Lord said, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church,” He went on to tell His disciples that He must suffer, die, and rise again.
Peter immediately rebuked the Lord and said, in effect, “This shall never happen unto Thee. Thou must spare Thyself.” The Lord turned and said to Peter, “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” Peter himself was not the rock.
As we come before the Lord, we are like living stones, being built together into a spiritual house. The Lord Himself is the great rock, and every one of us is built upon this foundation.
There is only one foundation. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:11:
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
There is only one foundation, only one church, and only one house: the household of God.
In 1 Peter 2, we see that the Lord Himself is the living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious. God has made Him the chief cornerstone of the building.
As we come unto the Lord, we also are like living stones, built together into a spiritual house.
The word used for “stone” in 1 Peter is different from the word used concerning Peter in Matthew 16. It refers to a building stone. It is used both of the Lord and of us.
This emphasizes nature and value. We have received the same life as the Lord; therefore, we have a corresponding nature. He is living, and so are we. He is precious before God, though rejected by men. In the same way, we may be rejected by men, but we are precious before the Lord.
Regardless of nature or value, we are similar to our Lord because we have received His life. Therefore, as we come to the Lord, we too are living stones.
The emphasis is on the word living. Ordinary stones are dead, but the Lord Himself is a living stone, and we have become living stones. The emphasis is upon life.
Before God, we are people with life because our Lord is the Lord of life. In the Greek language, there are three different words used for life. If we understand these words, we can understand the Word of God more clearly.
The first word is zoe. It refers to the principle of life, the highest life, the life of God Himself. This life is uncreated. It is the original and eternal life of God.
Let us turn to John 5:26.
For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so gave He to the Son also to have life in Himself.
The Father has life in Himself because God has existed eternally in Himself. This life is uncreated. In the same way, the Father granted the Son to have life in Himself.
When our Lord came into this world, this uncreated life was in Him. John 1:4 tells us:
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Our Lord brought the uncreated life of God into this world.
In 1 John 1:1-2, the apostle John wrote:
That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life
(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us).
This life was from the beginning, but it has now been manifested to us. It could be seen with human eyes, heard with human ears, and handled with human hands. This eternal life has been manifested and given to us.
We are familiar with John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
All who believe in the Son of God receive this life, zoe, the uncreated life of God. This life is eternal; it is also powerful, holy, and righteous. We praise and thank God that we have obtained His life.
The second word is psyche. This word refers to our soul life. When God created man, man became a living soul.
This life is not the uncreated life of God. It is the created life that enables us to live upon this earth.
In Luke 12:22-23, the Lord said:
Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment.
The word “life” here is psyche. It refers to the created life, the natural and soulish life by which we eat, drink, clothe ourselves, and live in this world.
In Luke 9:24, the Lord said:
For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.
Again, the word “life” refers to the soul life. If we love our soul life, we will lose it. But if we are willing to lose our soul life for the sake of the gospel and for the Lord, we will gain true life.
The third Greek word is bios, from which we derive the word “biology.” It refers to the course, manner, and means of earthly living.
In 1 Peter 4:2-3, we read:
That ye no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
The word refers to the time of life we spend upon this earth—the days of our earthly lifetime.
In 1 Timothy 2:2, Paul exhorts us to pray:
For kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity.
Here, the word refers to the manner of life—how we pass the time that God has given us.
In Mark 12:44, the Lord spoke of the poor widow:
For all they did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Here, the word refers to the means of life, the resources by which one lives.
These three aspects all concern our living. But today we especially want to consider zoe and psyche. They are entirely different. Zoe is the uncreated life of God; psyche is the created soul life of man.
We want to see the relationship between these two lives. Since we are living souls, we need to know by which life we are living.
Let us return to the beginning, to the creation of man.
When God created man, He created him in His own image. He formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Then the earthly man became a living soul.
This living soul represents our individual selves. How do I know that I am myself? I have my own thoughts, emotions, and will. My thoughts, emotions, and will differ from yours. This is my own personality.
We are all human beings because we are souls. We express ourselves through our emotions, wills, and thoughts. This is the soul life God gave us when He created us.
After God created man, He placed him in the garden of Eden. There were many fruit trees in the garden, and man could eat of them to sustain his bodily life.
In the midst of the garden was the tree of life. Beside it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The tree of life signified something beyond created life. Its fruit represented the uncreated life of God. God placed His life before man so that man might receive it.
When man ate of the fruit of the tree of life, he would receive the uncreated life of God. This is wonderful. How could God’s uncreated life be given to man? It was through the tree of life.
God created man in His own image because He desired to give His life to man. He desired that man should not merely remain a created being, but should receive His life and be united with Him in life.
Human beings are the masterpiece of God’s creation, but God was not satisfied that man should remain merely a creature. God desired to dwell in man, to be man’s life, and to glorify His name through man.
God told Adam that he could eat freely from every tree in the garden, including the tree of life. But there was one tree of which he must not eat: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the day that he ate of it, he would surely die.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not a bad tree. Knowledge itself is not evil. To discern good and evil is valuable. Logic and knowledge have their place.
But God placed before Adam a choice: Would he choose the life of God, or would he choose independence and the development of his own soul life?
God gave man free will because He respects man’s personality. God never forces us. If there is free will, then there must be the freedom to choose.
God was saying, in effect, “I have placed life before you, and beside it I have placed the highest knowledge. You may choose the best or the second best. Will you choose My life and live by My life, or will you choose independence and develop your own soul life?”
If man chose life, he would live a life dependent upon God, united with God, and filled with the highest life. But if he chose the tree of knowledge, he would declare independence from God. He would develop himself, live for himself, and live unto himself.
This choice was not given only in the garden of Eden. Throughout every generation, the same choice is given: Will you choose the life of God and live dependent upon Him, fulfilling the purpose for which God created you? Or will you deny the life of God, develop your own soul life, and become independent?
If we choose independence, we make ourselves god, and that choice brings death.
Unfortunately, our first parents, Adam and Eve, were tempted by Satan. Instead of receiving the uncreated life of God, they partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Their eyes were opened. They could discern good and evil, but immediately they knew that they were naked. They felt shame, hid themselves from God, and covered themselves with fig leaves.
The fig leaves could not cover them before God. The knowledge they gained condemned them, and it brought them unto death.
The soul life of man has been poisoned by sin. Ezekiel 18:4 tells us:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
God drove Adam out of the garden of Eden. This meant that man had been separated from the Lord of life. On the day Adam ate the fruit, his spirit was separated from God.
His body remained alive, his soul remained active, and he could work, marry, and have children. Yet his relationship with God had been broken.
This is the condition of fallen man today. A man’s body may be strong, and his soul may be alert. He may study and acquire great knowledge. But when the matter of God is raised, he begins to question, because his spirit is separated from God.
One day, his body also returns to the dust. This is fallen man.
This is why we preach the gospel. About two thousand years ago, God sent His only begotten Son into this world to become man.
The Bible tells us that, when the fullness of time came, He was born of a woman and born under the law, that we might be delivered from the curse of the law.
Our Lord Jesus Himself is God, and God became flesh. This is a tremendous miracle and a tremendous grace. The boundless God became man and accepted human limitation.
Our Lord was born of a virgin and conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was not born of Adam. Those born of Adam inherit Adam’s life, and within our soul life is the nature of sin.
But our Lord was born of the Holy Spirit. Though He was like us in many ways, and though He had a true human life, there was no sinful nature in Him. He was not descended from Adam.
Our Lord was a perfect man. He was similar to you and me, with one essential difference: in Him there was no sin.
Not only was His human life sinless, but within Him was also the life of God. He was God dwelling among us—Emmanuel, God with us.
In order to deliver us and give us the opportunity to receive the life of God, He sent His Son into the world.
Why was it necessary for Him to become man? Because if He had not become man, He could not represent us or substitute for us. We are sinful people, and sinful people must die. We needed a sinless man to take our place.
Though He was man, He was also God.
One day, He was nailed to the cross. Why was it necessary for Him to be crucified? Because He bore our sins upon Himself.
His precious blood redeemed us before God. The life of the flesh is in the blood. Leviticus 17:11 tells us:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.
The Lord Jesus gave His sinless life in place of our sinful life. Therefore, His precious blood can cleanse all our sins.
Not only did He shed His blood upon the cross, but a soldier pierced His side. From His side came forth blood and water. John saw it and testified that what he had seen was true.
The blood is for the redemption of our sins. The water signifies the life of God. Through His death, He released His life so that we might receive His life.
In John 12:24, the Lord said:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.
The Lord was referring to Himself. He was the one grain of wheat that came down from heaven to earth.
If He had returned to heaven without dying, there would have been only one grain of wheat in the universe. But He fell into the ground and died. Through His death, He released the life of God and bore many grains.
Because we believe in Him, we have obtained His life.
The Lord also said that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have no life in ourselves. To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive Him by faith. When we believe in Him, our sins are forgiven and we receive the life of God.
The cross is a tree. Many crosses made by men are polished and decorated with gold or silver. But in the Bible, the cross is called a tree. It was a rough instrument upon which criminals were crucified.
Peter tells us that the Lord was hanged on the tree, bearing our sins.
Brothers and sisters, the tree of life in the garden of Eden was planted on Calvary. All those who believe in Him receive that life.
God has given us another opportunity. What our first parents lost, we receive through faith in Christ.
We are living stones. Within us is the uncreated life of God. We have received a holy and righteous life. We have the Lord’s life within us.
The Lord says, “From now on, you shall live according to this life.” Life is for living. What value is life if it is not lived?
Many people think of eternal life as though it were an insurance policy which cannot be used during one’s earthly life, but only after death. They think that once they die, then they will go to heaven and use eternal life.
But this is not so. God has given eternal life to us today.
What is eternal life? It is the uncreated life of God, the life manifested in the Lord Jesus, and the life given to us through faith.
God says that we should no longer live the life we lived before. We are to live by this new life.
In 1970, I went to Peru in South America. I worked for three weeks with an evangelist couple who loved the Lord deeply. They labored among the native people, travelling along the Amazon River and preaching the gospel. They also ministered in villages and in the mountains of Peru.
They had preached for many years and had brought many people to salvation. One day, they heard of a Christian family in Peru and went to visit them. That family happened to be friends of mine. They had very good fellowship together.
Through that fellowship, the evangelist’s eyes were opened. He realized that he had believed eternal life was only for going to heaven after death. He had never understood that the life of the Lord was for us today.
We can enjoy this life today. We can live by this life today. The life of the Lord within us is for us to live by today.
From the day we receive Christ, we no longer need to live our own life. We are to live by this new life. Only in this way can we live unto God and live the Christian life.
Our old self, our fleshly life, has been crucified with Christ. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, He not only bore away our sins; He also crucified our old self. His death became our death.
Romans 6:11 tells us:
Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, this is the ground upon which we stand today. There is no need for us to live the fallen soul life any longer.
If we continue to live by the old soul life, there is no way we can please God. We will fall into sin. But the Bible tells us that there is no need, because the Lord has died. In Christ, we died with Him. The Lord has risen, and through faith we are alive with Him.
The One who lives in us today is no longer ourselves, but Christ. We now live in the flesh by depending upon His life.
We can stand firmly upon this ground and say, “Thank You, Lord. I praise and thank You. I have been crucified with You, and now it is no longer I who live.”
In this way, we can daily live unto God. This is the Christian life. This is the meaning of being a living stone.
For this reason, every morning when you wake up, you may say to the Lord, “Your love has touched my heart. I am willing to offer my whole self to You as a living sacrifice.”
You may pray, “I am willing for You to take my whole being and use me today. I do not want to live for myself. I will not live according to myself, but I want to live for You. May Your will be accomplished, and may You be glorified.”
This is daily consecration to the Lord. In this way, we continue to live unto God.
What is the gospel? The gospel is that the Lord has already died for you; therefore, you do not need to die. The Christian who dies is only sleeping, because he will be resurrected.
Man is afraid of death, but we do not need to fear death because the Lord has died for us.
But that is only half of the gospel. The other half of the gospel is this: Are we afraid to live?
Living is not easy, especially if we try to please the Lord by our own strength. We may try our best to keep the commandments, yet continue to fail. Are you afraid of living?
Do not fear to live. There is no need for you to live by yourself. He lives for you. What a glorious thing this is.
The salvation God has prepared for us is a perfect salvation, so that the eternal will of God may be accomplished.
Lord, we praise and thank You. We were people dead in sins and transgressions, yet we have come before You. You have given us Your life.
From now on, we no longer need to live the life that we had before. We can live according to the life You have given us.
As You lived in this world, may You live in us in a similar way, that God the Father may be glorified.
We pray and thank You. Hear our prayer. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.