Why is Jesus Called the Cornerstone? - Acts 4:11-12

Act 4:11  This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 

Act 4:12  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 

Let’s say you lived in ancient times and you wanted to construct a building. You wanted to make something lasting, that would stand the test of time, and remain sturdy in even the toughest conditions. What material would you choose? Remember, this is before the days of iron and steel. If you are like most ancient architects, you are probably going to pick stone.

Ok, so you’ve selected your material and you’re ready to build. It’s time to lay the first stone. But wait, you need to be really careful, because the first stone is critical. You need to make sure the first stone is level, because if its not, the stones laid after it won’t be either, and your building will end up crooked. You also need to ensure the sides of your first stone line up with the intended direction of your building. If you want your building to face north, but your first stone is crooked, your building might end up facing slightly northeast.

A building’s first stone was so critical, that over time, it acquired its own title, the “cornerstone.” Ancient architects spent more time on the cornerstone than any other stone in the structure. Its measurements were the basis for the rest of the building. If the stone was wrong, the building could be ruined. But if the stone was right, it provided a guide for structural integrity and for the longevity of the building.

The prophets in the Old Testament foretold of a building project God would undertake (Isaiah 26:16-17). God Himself would lay a cornerstone on which He would build a spiritual house. As we read about the life of Jesus in the gospels, we learn He was the intended cornerstone. He was the foundation on which everything God was doing was to be based (1 Peter 2:4,6). Everything was to be aligned according to Jesus.

God’s spiritual house, the place where He dwells, is in His Church, within His disciples. This is the picture the Bible gives us. Paul tells the disciples at Corinth they are the temple where God’s Spirit dwells. In Peter’s first letter, he tells the disciples they are each stones which are being built up into a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4).

Any person who aligns their life to the cornerstone of Jesus will be a part of an eternally enduring structure, one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44). But those who reject the cornerstone, and refuse to build their lives in alignment to it, their fate is going to be to crumble like all the other manmade structures (Matthew 21:44).

So, lets build our lives on the only thing that’s going to last… Jesus.

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18-22).