"Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.'” ~ 1 Peter 2:6
Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 2 where the Apostle Peter is training us on how to maintain a consistent walk with the Lord in the context of intense persecution.
Today's verse is a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 and it begins with the word "therefore." We know that proper interpretation is to figure out why there is a therefore at this point in the passage. In our last study you will remember that Peter likened believers in the Lord Jesus to "living stones" who have the ability to yield the characteristics of the "living stone" who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. By virtue of the fact that believers in Christ are each a "living stone," we now have the where with all to yield the characteristics of God through our yielded lives. The key to it all is discovered in the words of the Lord Jesus, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
The Greek word translated "behold" in today's verse suggests that if we do not clearly see Him, we will miss the real purpose of our everyday lives amidst our many trials and sufferings. The first century believers to whom Peter wrote this letter were going through intense pressure and persecution from those who knew not God. In reality, through the pressure Peter's audience was being granted the ability to see and know more vividly through the trials. Accentuated in this verse is the very true idea of the fact that it is through our pain that we are enabled to really see what is really real.
But, the precedent to "beholding" is not pain, it is the brokenness that our pain grants us only if we embrace God through the pain. It is our brokenness that ushers us to the monumental decision to give up on the self life and to choose to be defined by God as we obey His word. For some, brokenness is a reminder of their imperfection while to others it is a heartbreak. It is always some form of weakness which prompts the response that leads us to repentance and to say "yes" to God.
The chief cornerstone is the stone on which the corner of the building rests. This stone is always is a large and solid stone. This cornerstone, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ who is central to all reality. And, He was positioned by God with the greatest of skill. He is the life we referenced in our last study. He is the strength of our lives only when we allow Him to be such.
"Beholding" the Lord Jesus is more than recognizing that He is alive. In fact, it is more than taking note that He is involved in our daily lives. This word "behold" is employed some 1298 times throughout the Bible. To "behold" means to see, to view, to face, to observe fully, to gaze upon with attention and earnestness, to survey with accuracy, to understand earnest spiritual contemplation, to look at purposely.
This admonition "to behold" Him is the primary means by which God enables us to rid ourselves of the self life. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
When Moses met with the Lord face-to-face and he emerged with his face glowing which frighten the Israelites. Therefore, after meeting with the Lord, Moses would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not see the glory of the Lord in the glow of his face. Until we get to the place of beholding the Lord for ourselves, we all live behind a veil of unbelief. Apart from the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in our souls, we cannot behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. But when the veil of unbelief was removed by the Spirit, we were enabled to gaze upon and behold the glory of the Lord.
The result of beholding the glory of the Lord is that we become progressively more and more like Him. We become what we behold. When we behold ourselves, we find ourselves miserable. When we recognize our deep need to behold Him, we will embrace the renewal of our minds that the Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans. In fact, in Romans 12:2 we read, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." As we renew our minds by learning to behold the Lord of love, kindness, endurance, patience, and grace, we will know the joy of forgetting ourselves and we will find ourselves becoming more like the One who truly loves us. We become what we behold. And, when we behold Him for who He is, we "will by no means be put to shame."
The key to all of this is that we are beholding and believing. Our problem is there are many things in a given day to cause us not to behold and believe. From God's slowness to deliver us out of our trials, to our struggle of understanding what the Lord is trying to accomplish in our lives through our trials, we struggle with beholding and believing.
The Greek word that Peter used here in today's verse for believes means to think He is true, to be persuaded of, to give credit to, to place confidence in. This type of belief is a moment by moment proposition; it is an experiential type of a word. In order to get to this place, we must be willing to embrace the means by which He grants us this experience with Him. The inevitable trials of life potentially give the deepest part of our beings eyes to behold Him as He is. Most are not that willing for it is dis-easing. This is why many have no idea what is really means to believe.
The phrase "and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame" is better translated, "and he who believes on Him, he shall be satisfied." To "be satisfied" is a state of being, not a result of getting what we want. The key idea is discovering the One who is true to His promises. The Lord Jesus Christ is this steady and dependable stone of Zion. Figuratively, Zion represents the New Covenant of grace. The Apostle Peter chose the word "Zion" because in so doing, he emphases the New Covenant.
This Cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in every way. He is becoming progressively our confidence because as we behold Him and we are defined by Him, we discover that He will never forsake us and we will forever be satisfied and completed by Him. In everyday practical terms this means we will not be in a hurry to run away from Him out of fear because He is dependable, consistent and strong.
