Jesus: The Chief Cornerstone and The Way, The Truth, and The Life (Delivered May 3, 2026 at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church)

 

Response To The Word: Jesus - The Chief Cornerstone; The Way, The Truth, The Life (1 Peter 2, John 14)

Pray:Father open the eyes of our hearts so that we can understand your Word. Holy Spirit come! Amen

Would you Buy House with a bad foundation?  At some point in hopefully the next 5 years, we will be in a place to engage in the construction of new buildings on our property. We will first want to hire a geotechnical engineer who is the professional responsible for analyzing the ground, soil, and rock on a property before construction begins, and who will assess the physical and mechanical properties of the earth to determine if it can safely support a building's foundation. Before housing can be built similar analyses for any impurities in the foundation's cement that will eventually cause the cement to weaken must take place. Years ago a townhouse complex in DC began collapsing because it was on a sink hole, which was once a landfill that was now decomposing.    Thus, the critical need to determine what the building will be supported by. 

That brings us to our texts for this day. In this Eastertide we have seen Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, The Door, and we have seen Him as the Good Shepherd who protects the sheep. In today’s texts in Peter’s letter and the Gospel of John we are presented with matters related to building the Church and our relationship with Jesus. In Peter’s first letter he writes via the H.S. to those chosen or elect of God, metaphorically depicting Jesus as The Living Stone and Chief Cornerstone.  He is also portrayed in the Gospel of John as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. So we have this grand image of The Church and what relationship with Christ looks like, where Peter illustrates the building of the Church spiritually living stone by living stone: that is - us. The Church is not a physical brick and mortar structure – it is the people, those chosen of God, the communion of saints who Peter is likening to living stones being built into a spiritual house and holy priesthood – we are the living breathing organic Church whose calling is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. But what is the Church’s firm foundation?

Let us refer to scripture to determine the answer. If you have a Bible or a Bible app, turn with me to Ephesians 2. Paul is led to write about the relationship true followers have with Christ by being in Christ. In the latter half of verse 19, Paul writes about these Christ followers: READ THE BIBLE through 22. Ask the question: Paul also identifies Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In Him – in Jesus – the whole structure is joined together. Yet, upon what is the Church built according to verse 20? Apostles and Prophets And what does that mean? What it doesn’t mean – it does not mean that any apostle, nor any prophet, can claim to be the one upon whom the Church is built. No – the Holy Spirit through Paul is saying that the oracles God gave to the apostles and prophets by God, which they proclaimed, wrote, prayed is the foundation. What do we call those words today? 

 

Yes, the Bible, GOD’S WORD is THE sure foundation. Like a precious letter from a loved one; in it are the Triune God’s revelations of Himself, His will for us which is following Jesus as our only Way, the only Truth, and the source of all Life; Jesus prayed to God the Father in His high priestly prayer in John 17 to sanctify those who have been chosen to be in Christ with the truth, for His Word is truth. And still, as many as 50-65% of professing Christians do not believe Jesus to be The Only Way, and they reject the Bible as God’s infallible Truth.  Even now, some denominations carve out/ignore certain parts of the Bible so that what the Bible calls sin is now not sin, thus rejecting God’s standard of holiness. This is the fulfillment of the false teaching of carnal Christianity. No holiness, no moral standard, also means ignorance of who God the Savior is. They claim to be Christian, but their lifestyles and rejection of God’s Word prove to the opposite. One of the new sayings going around in church circles now is that all humans who were born were born children of God. That statement does not agree with scripture; we are called children of creation, children of nature, children of wrath. Becoming a child of God is not our decision or our birthright. In Acts 17 we read about Paul and Silas being sent away by the leaders of the church to Beroea. What do you think they did when they were out of harm's way? Did they go to the local pub and have a few snorts to 'chill'? NO! They went straight to a Jewish synagogue to worship and proclaim Christ. While doing so, some of the Beroeans who were listening took out their scrolls to fact check Paul's statements. Unfortunately, many professing Christians take things at face value - like the infamous, "God helps those who help themselves." Noooo! Dragging out the earlier metaphor, the did not check the roof and foundation to see if the house could stand up for a long while, so bought into a house with a failing foundation, where the walls are shifted off the damaged base, pulls away from the cornerstone; that house will eventually become a collapsed structure unless some very expensive repairs are done!

Go to the font where the experiment is. As I was studying this passage, I sought from God how I could make this lesson more visual – i.e., what happens when the foundation that faith or belief was built upon fails because it has impurities or other causes towards weakness, separates from the Chief Cornerstone. Let’s see. There are two structures here: one is built on "sugar sand" with sugar cubes representing what the foundation sits upon. The other is a structure that has a steel foundation, and is sitting on a rock. I am pouring water on both of the structures - let's see what happens.

Within moments the house structure on the sand begins to sink, while the structure with the foundation that sits on a rock is unmoved. Upon what kind of foundation are we individually building upon? Will it hold up? Will it connect us to the Chief Cornerstone which joins the whole structure together? Is our foundation set on stable bedrock? In Matt 7:24-25 Jesus says: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” The psalmist cries: “Truly God is my rock and my salvation, my fortress – I will never be shaken.” The Church and the ‘living stones’ that are its structure are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and set down on stable bedrock – that Rock is God. Is our faith tied to the firm foundation set on bedrock that is Christ? Bible scholars for centuries have debated that in Matthew 16, Jesus says that Peter is the Rock, the head of the Church. Unfortunately due to time constraints I would fully unpack this, but let me go to scripture again for us to briefly explain what Jesus is saying.

In Matthew 16, God reveals the truth of who Jesus is to Simon – that’s the name Peter was most commonly called. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One who was foretold by the prophets. In His response to Simon, Jesus says “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (also see 1 Corinthians 10:4 ) The context is about identifying who Jesus truly is. Peter receives the truth of Jesus' identity from the Father - that He is the Messiah, the Anointed One. Jesus continues based on that revelation that on that rock or petra I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Peter's name "Petros" translated means a small stone - something you can pick up in your hand and toss without effort. The word "petra" when translated refers to a humongous boulder, so large that it is immovable, cannot be shaken. That was not Peter. The "rock" or petra would not be overwhelmed or overcome by the gates of Hades. Most assuredly Peter was not the rock because he died. The petra upon which the church foundation sits and clings to is an eternal rock. That was not Peter; if it was Peter, he would be almost 2,000 years old. The Roman church doctrine teaches that Peter was the first pope, which is also problematic, as Peter died around 67-69 AD; the Roman Catholic Church was formalized nearly 11 centuries later. Peter was an undershepherd, as were the other apostles, all of whom died during the first century or within less than a handful of years into the second century. The only one who could be the Rock is Jesus as the Holy Spirit identifies in 1 Corinthians 10:4.  

Here is how we can know for our own individual assessment where we stand by discussing with God: Is God’s Word a sacred treasure in my life – more precious than gold? AMEN? Is it the foundation I acknowledge and believe it to be? Is it the basis for how I learn to approach God? Does it shape my worship? Does it inform my prayers? Can I claim as Paul does in Romans 1 and as Peter says in John 6 that God’s Word—His Gospel truth, is the power of God for salvation to those who have received faith from God, and the words therein words of eternal life? Do I really study the Bible regularly – which is different from reading a devotional – but rather like the example of the psalmist David who meditated on scripture day and night seeking God’s wisdom and understanding?  Jesus says very succinctly that if we love Him, if we are in Christ – in growing union with Christ – then we will obey His commandments. And what are His commandments? The Word of God. Last Sunday, during Bible study, Mercy quoted Hosea 4:6. which tells us that people perish - which means they are eternally dead - for lack of knowledge of God and His word.We cannot duck this responsibility - while a faith leader can provide some knowledge on God and His Word, it is our singular responsibility to learn, know, ingest and digest God's word, to know Him intimately, and to live like Christ. WHY would we want to neglect so great a salvation? The Bible is God’s means of grace for our salvation and sanctification. If we are neglecting it, then any faith structure we are attempting to build will suffer damage. If we do not get it repaired, if we do not commit to Jesus as Lord and fail to reconnect to the chief cornerstone, we will disconnect ourselves. So it comes down to relationship – which is more precious and more appealing to us – an eternal relationship with the bedrock, the Rock and the Chief Cornerstone, or striving to make a way in the world’s culture and becoming honored by people, and making God and His kingdom a 'something' that we will get around to? We are commanded to "Seek first the kingdom and its righteousness"- the righteousness that God has provided through Christ and sustains by His means of grace – His Word. Friends, God is calling you to seek Him, and He is looking for those who willingly worship Him in spirit and truth! Is that how He sees us?

(The experiment concluded as it should have because of the faulty foundation and base the one structure collapsed, while the other remained unchanged and unshaken.) 

Oh, by the way, does anyone know where our building's cornerstone is located? That is your challenge for this week! 

Let's conclude by singing the first verse again, of "How Firm A Foundation" and thanking God for His amazing grace of the Church.   

 

Born Again - Response to the Word (at St Christopher's Episcopal Church, Sunday, March 1, 2026)

 

(I ask for your grace in this delivery - it is a critical message that will exceed the recommended 15 minute time frame. The topic of being born again is essential to understanding your salvation. So here we go...)

Born Again – The Fundamental Doctrine in Salvation (John 3)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  

How many of us--who are not in the medical profession--have seen a child being birthed? It’s a moment of awe isn’t it? We know all about the process, but to see it happen, oh how miraculous! How emotional! Jesus uses that circumstance of a woman in labor allegorically in John 16 as he describes God’s work of salvation; remember, in the first century there was no such thing as epidurals – women gave birth in pain in vertical positions to allow gravity to assist in the birth. That is still a practice in some parts of the world.  Her pregnancy – while beautiful – is often uncomfortable when sitting or sleeping, limits a mother’s mobility and balance sometimes. Her body changes not just in shape but also in function. Every part of her body is impacted. So -- all throughout the pregnancy – from conception to full term, who physically has been doing the work of nourishing and caring for the child in the womb?

         Right – the mother! It is an act of love and sacrifice. And when her time has come to give birth, it is called labor for a reason! It is painful Mothers – AMEN? The mother groans, pushes, groans and moans, pushes, steadily and repeatedly, and the energy and effort become a difficult struggle, the pain heightens; both pregnancy and the immense strain and stress of childbirth happens and yet she cannot stop the process. She doesn’t stop. When the child finally enters the world, mom is so excited to see the precious babe that the struggle was worth it. She no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So how much effort did the baby have to put forward? Did he or she consciously say I want to get out of here – let me hurry up the process? Or just the opposite, I don’t want to leave this home, so I’m going to stay! No, the child does not control the birth process, does not aid in nor direct the process. The woman does all of the suffering, all of the anguish, all of the groaning and moaning and pushing, in order to birth her child. And then, when the child is birthed, it screams and is discombobulated, confused  because he or she is no longer in the comfortable home that was well furnished for them. All of the bright lights, the sounds, the different hands are so foreign to him or her and makes the crying sometimes more intense! But after a while, when hearing the mother’s voice and heartbeat the child begins the process of acclimating to its new life.
Similarly, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, also groaned, moaned,   list it   so that following His struggle, we too could be birthed.

Garden of Gethsemane the cup.  Jesus' sacrifice was greater than we can imagine. His horrific torture, then nailing Him to a cross was only part of the sacrifice. On that cross hung not just a person, but a bearer of EVERY SIN EVER DONE BY EVERY HUMAN AND WOULD BE DONE UNTIL THE SECOND COMING. The weight of all of those sins made Jesus grotesque to the Father. So much so that it shadowed --in Jesus' human experience--the presence of the Father. In Habakkuk 1:1-4, 13 the Spirit says that God cannot approve sin, He doesn't look upon it with approval. Perversion of justice, violence, etc. -  God is Holy, God is Righteous. The uncountable sins Jesus bore placed Him at odds with the Father; Jesus would cry out at His darkest hour, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?) No one else could effect the redemption required for our salvation. (Hebrews 9:11-15,18-22) In our Triune God’s divine plan of salvation, He alone does all of the work, He choreographs the timing and the circumstance. He determines the means of grace for our salvation: sola scriptura--Scripture alone (the Word of God with which we are sanctified and trained for eternal life); sola fide - justification, i.e., being declared righteous by God: that it is by Faith Alone that we are saved, and that is not of our own; and, sola gratia - by Grace Alone does God save us, not based on works or actions on our part.  We are incapable of adding anything to salvation. Jesus says that you are not a Christian unless you are born again, even if you choose to call yourself Christian. HARD SAYING. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus clearly says to all who profess to be a follower of Christ.

In our text, we are introduced to Nicodemus: he was an important guy. A Pharisee, and member of the authoritative Jewish body called The Sanhedrin. He doesn’t approach Jesus in the street in daylight hours, but makes his way in the dark of night to speak to Him. He gives Jesus accolades as he lets Jesus know that, "well, I am an important guy who holds you in respect and…” Jesus stops the flow of flattery; see, Jesus knew that Nicodemus wanted to know if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom at that time. He tells Nicodemus straight out: “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” And Jesus continues: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, who spent years ingesting the Mosaic law and the ‘add ons’ the Pharisees thought fit, was clueless. Jesus softens the delivery with an illustrative explanation - “Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’  The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” In other words, you cannot see the actual birth or regeneration, but you see the effects. 

So what does it mean to be born again? Let me tell you what it is not: it’s not being 'refreshed' as a Christian or 'revived' after a long absence from worship. Being born again is not an 'altar call'. It’s not the words/rituals by a religious leader. No. How many persons present know that they have been born again? How do you know? When I was 14, I was encouraged to get baptized – full immersion baptism. I had followed the rules of the denomination and they thought I was ready for this. But, it wasn’t until 45 years later, 45 long years – in God’s timing – that I was born again. Baptism did not effect my regeneration; no words spoken over me effected my regeneration. It was the work of God alone through His Holy Spirit that 'resurrected' me from spiritual death. It only happens once. How many times can you be born physically? 
     Following the saying that the Gospels proclaim Jesus, and the epistles explain Jesus, Paul by H.S. offers clarity in this act of regeneration or being born again.

[Read Ephesians 2 one through 10 to everyone and make comments as I do so.] If you have your Bible, turn with me so that you can make notes.  Reads vss 1-3. We were physically born spiritually dead in our trespasses and sin – King David recognized in Psalm 51 that he was a sinner in his mother’s womb – a baby, yet he like everyone before and after him born into this world he was born with the deadly sin passed on by Adam. We all were born spiritually dead,  separated from God - which was the initial consequence of Adam's and Eve's sin - spiritual death. We were born from our mother's womb spiritually dead; it wasn't discovered on any hospital equipment in the delivery room - it is a condition shared by every person born since the fall of Adam and Eve, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not – see God already has!  We had no interest in God in our spiritually dead estate, no interest in His word, no desire to know God, but rather live for ourselves – to satisfy our immoral desires. We were under the influence of the sinful world culture and power of the devil. God says that because of that we were to Him children of wrath! A few weeks ago we read in Corinthians that there were persons in that church who were spiritual, having been born again into Christ, and also those who had not been so, who were referred to as unspiritual. Yet here’s the best part of passage--verse 4. But. God. Turn to your neighbor and say But God.” Whenever you see text that says But God, you can expect God to be doing, saying or initiating something beyond our power. READ 4 ….And then we come to the clincher, verse 8. Some of you may know this verse by heart so feel free to speak it out loud. God The Holy Spirit tells us: …read 8;The Holy Spirit comes into us to make us alive spiritually and to give us the faith to accept Jesus as our Lord. We can't raise ourselves from the dead. Jesus did not say to Lazarus – could you at least open the door so that we can call you out of the tomb…Lazarus, first take off the cloths you’re wrapped in and when you’re ready say Amen.  No, no. Lazarus had no part in his resurrection. Was only when Christ brought him back to life, Lazarus was able to obey Jesus’ call to come out.  EXPLAIN SPIRITUALLY DEAD CANNOT HAVE FAITH.

We do not have the power. God does not send us a calendar appointment that says on March 3 be ready to be born again. You can’t get ready, YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY D-E-D – you don’t know when it will happen. And this is a very critical point because there are denominations that do not teach this important Bible doctrine, rooted in scripture, that comes directly from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And it's really important to understand that by grace you have been saved through faith that wasn't your own doing, because you did not have faith= you were dead. God had to put His Holy Spirit in us to make us alive to Him. ADAM AND EVE WHAT GOD SAID TO THEM. If you eat of this fruit….. and from the instant that they rebelled against God they became spiritually dead. They realized it, felt ashamed and hid from God. From that point in time until Jesus comes again, all people born are physically born spiritually dead. (Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit - He was the only fully human, fully God individual who was born spiritually alive!!) If we were not born again we’d still be children of Wrath deserving eternal death.  There was nothing we could do or say that would take us from spiritual death to spiritual life. Verse 10 says that in His act of regeneration, He has given us purpose - we’re created in Jesus for good works – that is, we have received special gifts—spiritual gifts and talents, so that we can be Jesus in this world, to tell out the gospel to others, to make disciples. Isn't it really important to understand Bible doctrine if we are going to make disciples of people? Amen?

And then we come to the next hard saying of Jesus to Nicodemus and to us all: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” For years, even centuries, theologians have shared varying interpretations of what the water could be.  3 prominent ones: Some say that it represents the water of baptism. BCP, Pastor Prince, me and others I’m sure, says that (1) baptism is an outward sign of the inward grace of God - it is a symbol of the internal work of regeneration and a public declaration that the person has received Christ as Lord.

(2) the amniotic fluid of the physical birth of a human. Premise—we’re born humans and based on that, we can be born again. (that may not hold since mammals with four legs also have wombs with babies in amniotic fluid)
(3) the water of God's Word. Next week our Gospel read is from John chapter 4, where we see Jesus seeking out Samaritan woman.Meets up with her at Jacob’s well, and He says – Give me a drink. She’s astounded -- you're a Jew, you're not supposed to be talking to me. And Jesus said, If you knew who was asking you, He would give you living water, and you will never thirst again. Jesus associates Himself with Living Water. Also in Eph 5, Paul is led by Spirit to write to the church about the spiritual life of the family. He describes the children, the wife, and then he talks about the husband. Husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loves His bride, the Church, that He laid down His life for her & who He sanctifies by cleansing her with the water of the word. Husband is to imitate that in his own family. Cleansed by the water of the word. Jesus, of course, is the word, and His words are backed with Holy Spirit and Divine power . Rom. 1:16 gospel of Christ power of salvation. He is the Way The Truth and the Life. Thus differing interpretations;

But the important take away here, brothers and sisters, is that regeneration is not an act of our own. It is impossible for us to achieve. These are hard sayings, one of the reasons being that different denominations have differing views on salvation, yet the clear truth can be found in scripture and if that truth is not taught then as someone told me recently, I’ve got so many other options to choose from to guess what it means!

After the instantaneous miracle of regeneration we enter into a new life in Christ, in union with Christ. Psalm 23, Matthew 7:14—paths of righteousness, narrow road. God provides what we need to live this new life. Like the baby who gets acclimated to his/her new life outside the womb and grows, gaining knowledge and skills, the Holy Spirit guides us, trains us in godliness, and nurtures us with scriptures in our spiritual growth. 

The born again experience is different for everyone: There may initially be joy. May be frustration at times - metaphorically it's like living in a certain house and certain neighborhood for years and suddenly finding yourself in a different kind of house and different kind of neigborhood. As time goes by, something inside you begins changing. You start wanting to know God. You start desiring to be in His word. You start the struggle of sanctification, about which Jesus prayed for us on his last night in his human journey that we would be sanctified by the truth. When we are born again, we become joined with Christ, that is, in union with Him.

As noted previously, it was 45 years between my baptism and my being born again. God never left me nor forsook me, even tho I was not the sterling character calendar girl for the cover of Spiritual Living Magazine. Because I wasn’t – I was still spiritually dead. yet He never left me nor forsook me, even when I was living in my trespasses and sins. And I am so grateful. It took me almost a year afterwards to begin to get grounded in the word and it was sometimes a confusing time because I had to shake off the false teaching that had been drilled into me.  And it may be true of others –a period of adjustment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we begin to engage in spiritual disciplines – God’s means of grace that He uses as instruments in our new life in Christ:  Bible study, (the Holy Spirit will help you understand those things that didn’t make sense before you were regenerated), the prayer relationship with the Father, and the Holy Spirit himself indwelling us. How many of us know this: that we serve a Triune God, and according to Jesus’ words in John 14, that the Father Son H.S. will come to us and live inside of us who are born again. And we will bear fruit worthy of the gift of new life in Christ.

       Friends, this is our Blessed Assurance. We are heirs of salvation because we have been made alive, regenerated, born again by the Holy Spirit, who even at this very moment is working a work in us!

 

Thank you for your gracious patience. This was not an easy topic that one skimps through, but it is a vital one. So thank you. Let us pray.