I.　Christ is not only the Lamb for redemption; He is also thestone for God's building—Psa. 118:22-26; Isa. 28:16; John1:29; Acts 4:10-12.

II.　In the Bible Christ is revealed as at least nine kinds ofstones:

A.　He is the eternal rock (Isa. 26:4; Matt. 16:18), the foundationstone (Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11), the living stone (1 Pet. 2:4), thecornerstone (Psa. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6; Acts 4:11; Eph.2:20), the precious stone (Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:4, 6-7), the topstone(Zech. 4:7), the cleft rock (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4), thecrushing stone (Dan. 2:34-35; Matt. 21:44b), and the stone ofstumbling (Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33).

B.　We need to experience Christ as a stone in all positive aspects;if we experience Him in these aspects, we will have a completebuilding—a building that is actually Christ Himself—1 Pet. 2:4-5, 7.

III.　In Psalm 118:22-26 Christ is revealed as the cornerstone:

A.　"The stone which the builders rejected / Has become the headof the corner," the chief cornerstone—v. 22; Matt. 21:42:

1.　This stone is Christ, who is for God's building—Isa. 28:16;Zech. 3:9.

2.　The builders are the Jewish leaders, who should have beenworking on God's building—Matt. 21:42.

3.　When the Jewish builders rejected Christ, they rejectedHim as the cornerstone, the One who would join the Gentilesto them into a holy temple in the Lord—Eph. 2:20-22.

4.　In Ephesians 2:20 we see Christ as the cornerstone thatjoins together the two walls, one wall being the Jewishbelievers, and the other, the Gentile believers.

5.　Christ as the cornerstone is for the building up of the churchin the New Testament age—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet.2:5:

a.　For the building up of the church as the temple of God,we need to experience Christ as the cornerstone—vv. 6-7.

b.　To God, Christ as the cornerstone is precious, and to usHe is the preciousness—Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet.2:4, 6-7.

c.　In Christ, the cornerstone, all the building, includingboth the Jewish and the Gentile believers, is growinginto a holy temple in the Lord—Eph. 2:20-22.

B.　"This is the day that Jehovah has made; / Let us exult andrejoice in it"—Psa. 118:24:

1.　This day is the day of Christ's resurrection; on the day ofHis resurrection the Lord Jesus was made the cornerstoneby God—Acts 4:10-12.

2.　Christ was chosen by God in eternity past to be the cornerstonefor God's spiritual building—1 Pet. 1:20; 2:4.

3.　However, the Jewish leaders as the builders rejected Christto the uttermost, to such an extent that they put Him onthe cross—Matt. 21:38-42a.

4.　God chose Christ as the cornerstone a second time inChrist's resurrection, thereby confirming His initial choosingof Christ in eternity past—Acts 4:10-12.

5.　After God resurrected Christ, God uplifted Him to theheavens in His ascension—Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9:

a.　Christ's ascension to Zion in the heavens was a furtherconfirmation that God had chosen Him to be the cornerstone—Rev. 14:1; Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6.

b.　Both Christ's resurrection and ascension prove and confirm that He is the head of the corner for God's building—Acts 2:24, 32, 36.

C.　As the all-inclusive stone, Christ is the centrality of God's movefor the building up of His eternal habitation—Matt. 21:42, 44;Zech. 3:9; 4:7; cf. Rev. 5:6; Acts 4:10-12; Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:20-22;1 Pet. 2:4-8; Dan. 2:34-35; Rev. 21:11; cf. 4:3:

1.　Everything Christ is, everything He has done, and everythingHe is doing are due to the fact that He is the cornerstone—Eph. 2:20; 4:15-16.

2.　It is by His being the cornerstone that He could die for us,that we could be crucified with Him, made alive with Him,resurrected with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenlies,and that He could save us, transform us into preciousstones, and build us together to be God's habitation, God'sunique temple in the universe—Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:5-6, 20-22.

D.　In God's New Testament economy Christ as the cornerstone,in His saving us (Acts 4:10-12), first makes us living stonesfor the building up of God's spiritual house (Matt. 16:18; John1:42; 1 Pet. 2:4-7) and then, in the process of His transformingus (Rom. 12:2a; 2 Cor. 3:18), builds us up into a dwelling placeof God (Eph. 2:19-22) so that He may carry out God's eternaleconomy for God's good pleasure (1:9; 3:9-11).

E.　Prosperity in Psalm 118:25 typifies not material prosperitybut the heavenly, spiritual, and divine blessings given to us bythe Triune God, as described in Ephesians 1:3-14, which cometo us by Christ's being the cornerstone.

IV.　The whole book of Matthew is for the purpose that Christwould be the cornerstone for the building up of God'shouse—21:42; 1:21, 23; 2:2, 23; 3:17; 4:16; 12:6, 41-42; 16:16, 18,27-28; 17:1-2, 5; 25:6:

A.　The Lord Jesus came not merely to be the Redeemer but to bethe cornerstone for God's building—1:21; 21:42.

B.　The Lord said that He would build His church, but the religiousones rejected Him as the cornerstone for God's building,and thus they could not be a part of the building of God—16:18; 21:42.

C.　As revealed in the Gospel of Matthew, the Father's will is tobuild up the church with Christ as the rock and the cornerstone—6:10; 7:21; 12:50:

1.　The desire of God's heart is to have a dwelling place onearth constituted with Christ and according to Christ—Eph. 1:5, 9; 2:20-22.

2.　The Lord's word about "a city situated upon a mountain"indicates that God's intention is the building—Matt. 5:14:

a.　This shining light is not an individual believer; the lightis a corporate city built up as one entity to shine overthe people surrounding it—Rev. 21:23-24a.

b.　In order to be a shining city, we must keep the onenessand be built up as the church, the Body of Christ, inChrist as the cornerstone—Matt. 16:18; 21:42; Eph. 4:1-6;5:8-9.

V.　"Blessed is He who comes in the name of Jehovah; / We blessyou from the house of Jehovah"—Psa. 118:26:

A.　The first time that Christ came in the name of Jehovah is mentionedin Matthew; however, He was rejected by the Jewishbuilders—21:5-11, 42.

B.　When the Lord Jesus comes the second time, the Jews willagain welcome Him warmly with these words; this is the timewhen all the remnant of Israel will turn and believe in Himand be saved—23:39; Rom. 11:23, 26; Zech. 12:10.