Jesus was precious to belivers

JESUS WAS PRECIOUSTO BELIVERS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“Unto you thereforewhich believeHe is precious.”1
Peter 2:7.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Two Versions
1 Peter2:7
A. Maclaren
The Authorized Version's rendering of these words has been felt by many
devout souls to contain a truth which their deepestexperience joyfully
confirmed. The true meaning is no less greatand beautiful. Literally, they
read, "Unto you who believe is [or, 'belongs']the preciousness."What
preciousness?The definite article points us back to the attribute of the
"Cornerstone"in the previous verse. It is "elect, precious."Peter's thought,
then, is that all in Christ which makes him precious belongs or passes onto us
by faith. That is a profound thought put in very simple and homely words.
Faith makes us owners of all Christ's infinite worth.
I. THE TRANSFERENCETO US OF THE PRECIOUSNESSOF THE
FOUNDATION'. There are two possible meanings of this phrase, and
probably both are included in the apostle's thought. It may either be that the

qualities which make Christ precious pass over to us and become our qualities
and character, orthat the qualities which make Christ precious become
available for our benefit. The first of these thoughts is in accordance withthe
immediate context, for we find the same idea expressedin severalaspects in
ver. 5, where the living Stone is saidto make those who come to him also
living stones, and Christians are represented as being like their Lord, living
temples, consecratedpriests, and acceptable sacrifices. The idea that vital
union with Christ brings about a communication of qualities from him to his
followers, as if the virtue of the Foundation rose through all the building, is
surely taught in a hundred places in Scripture, and is the very climax of the
gospel. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. He that is grafted into the
true Olive Tree partakes ofits root and fatness. We share our Lord's life; and
his charactershallgrowingly become ours. Whatevermakes him precious in
the sight of God we may partake of, and so be acceptedin the Beloved, and be
found in him, not having our own righteousness, but clothed with his. We may
hope for progressive assimilationto his character, which will not cease till
entire conformity has been realized, and we have absorbedall the
preciousness ofhis infinitely worthy and spotlesslypure nature. Waterstands
at the same level in two communicating vessels, andif our hearts are open to
the influx of Christ's life, the flow will not cease till all his is ours, and his
fullness has filled our emptiness. Looking at the other aspectofthe thought, it
implies that the preciousness ofthe Foundation is available for us rather than
communicated to us. The "therefore" ofour text suggests thatit is
substantially equivalent in meaning to the closing words of the previous verse,
"He that believeth on him shall not be confounded." So that part of the
meaning, at all events, is the security of building on that Foundation. The
preciousness ofa foundation is its solidity and power to bear the
superincumbent pressure without yielding. That steadfastcapacityto sustain
all our weight if we build ourselves on him is available to behestand bless us.
Therefore we need not fearthat our Foundation will settle or give. We need
not fearto pile upon it all the pressure of our cares and sorrows,orto rear on
it a fabric of our hopes and security, it will stand. Those who have reared their
lives on other foundations will stand aghastwhenthey feel them crumbling
awayin some hour of supreme need. They will have to flee with the haste of
despair from the falling ruins. But if we have built on Christ, we shall have no

need for haste, and no pale confusion need ever blanch our cheeks. The
steadfastness ofthe Foundation will avail to make us builded upon it steadfast
too, and, if we believe, all its preciousness willbe ours and for us.
II. HOW THIS PRECIOUSNESS BECOMES OURS. The order of the
sentence in the original puts emphasis on "who believe." The purpose of the
clause is to mark the persons to whom alone the preciousness belongs, in
sharp and solemn contrastwith another class, to whom none of the saving, but
only the destructive, powers which lie in the Foundation pass over. The worth
of Christ is ours on one condition, but that condition is inexorable; faith,
simple trust, which takes him for what he is and rests the whole being on
Jesus as incarnate Son of God, Sacrifice for my sin as for all men's, Inspirer of
all my goodness,Pattern, Friend, my Life, my All in all, - is the simple, sole,
and indispensable condition of receiving his blessings and being enriched by
his preciousness. There is nothing arbitrary in such a condition. It arises
necessarilyfrom the very nature of the case. How canChrist's sacrifice benefit
me if I do not believe in it? What possible connectioncan be established
betweenhim and me, exceptthrough my trust in him? Faith is but stretching
out the hard to grasp his extended hand. How can he hold me up, or give me
the blessings ofwhich his hands are full, if mine hang listless by my side, or
are resolutelyclenchedbehind my back? Faith is the opening of the heart for
the inflow of his gifts. How can the sunshine enter the house if doors are
barred and windows shuttered? Faith is but the channel through which his
grace pours. How can it enter if there be no channel? Faith is the sole
condition. Let us learn, then, how much and how little it takes to put us in
possessionof the preciousness ofChrist. How much? Nothing less than the
surrender of our hearts to him in entire self-distrust and abasement, and in
absolute reliance on his all-sufficiency for our every need. How little? No
external connectionwith Churches or Church ordinances;no efforts of ours
after self-improvement nor fragmentary and partial goodness;but simply
trust in the Christ whom the gospelreveals. Thatfaith must be a continually
active faith. It is "you who believe," not "you who believed," to whom the
preciousness belongs.The transference is continual if the faith be continual.
Every interruption of the latter causesa cessationin the former, and is
marked by breaks like those on a telegraphic ribbon where the contactwas

suspended. Builders put a film of pitch betweenthe foundations and the upper
courses to keepthe damp from rising. How often Christians put a film of
impenetrable unbelief betweenChrist and themselves, so that his grace cannot
rise in their hearts!
III. THE GRIM ALTERNATIVE. If the condition of possessionbe as the
apostle declares it, then the absence ofthe condition means non-possession.
The freeness and. simplicity of the gospelof salvationby faith has necessarily
a dark under side, and the more clearly and joyfully the one is preachedthe
more clearly and solemnly should the other be. Therefore Peter's message
would not be complete without the awful "but" which follows. Christ is
something to every man to whom he is preached, and does something to him.
Mark how significantly the following clause varies the statementof the
condition, substituting "disobedient" as the antithesis of "believing," thereby
teaching us that unbelief is disobedience, being an act of the rebel will, and
that disobedience is unbelief. But observe, too, that while faith is the condition
of all receptionof Christ's blessings, unbelief does not so isolate from him as
that he is nothing to the man. Unbelief, like some malignant alchemy, perverts
all Christ's preciousness to harm and loss, as some plants elaborate poisonin
their tissues from sunshine and sweetdews. One thing or other that great
Savior must be to us all. We cannot stand wholly unaffectedby him. We
cannot make ourselves as if we had never heard of him. There is a solemn
alternative offeredto eachof us - "either... or." Either our life is being
receivedor being rejected - our death. There will come to us from him either
the gracious influences which save, or the terrible ones which destroy. He is
either the merciful Fire which cleanses andtransforms, or the awful Fire
which consumes. Faith builds on him as the Foundation, and is secure.
Unbelief pulls down that Rock of offence on its own head, and is ground to
powder by the fall. - A.M.

Biblical Illustrator
Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.
1 Peter2:7, 8
Jesus precious to true believers
W. Notcutt.
I. THE PERSONS, TOGETHERWITHTHEIR FAITH, TO WHOM JESUS
IS PRECIOUS.
1. The grace of faith, which renders Jesus precious to the soul, is not the faith
of assent, or such a faith by which men credit the testimony of Jesus through
the gospel.
2. It is not only a believing of Christ, but a believing in Christ — the soul's
receiving of, and resting upon Him alone for righteousness, pardon, and
salvation.
3. That faith works by love (Galatians 5:6).(1) This faith is ever attended with
an affectionate desire of the company of Jesus Christ (Song of Solomon 4:6;
Psalm4:6; Job 23:3; Isaiah 26:8).(2)With delightful thoughts of Him (Psalm
139:17).(3)With cheerful service to Him (Psalm 119:4, 5).(4)Such as believe
in and love the Lord Jesus in sincerity, are tender of His name and honour.(5)
They are afraid to offend Him.(6) True faith in Christ, and sincere love to

Him, are ever attended with the soul's longing to be more and more like Him
— in humility, in patience, in service, in resignation, and in holiness.
(a)It is such a faith as is the act of a living soul; for these believers, to whom
Christ is precious, are said to be "new born."
(b)Those to whom Jesus is precious are such as have "tastedof His grace."
(c)They are described by their living by faith on Christ — "to whom coming."
II. UPON WHAT ACCOUNT IS JESUS PRECIOUS TO THEM THAT
BELIEVE? I answer, in general, that it is from His suitableness to them, their
relation to Him, and the benefits they receive from Him. But, more
particularly —
1. Jesus is precious to believers, in the constitution of His person, which is very
wonderful.
2. On accountof His excellentqualifications and rich anointing for His work,
as Mediator betweenGod and men.
3. On accountof the discharge of His offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, in
order to the salvationof His people.
4. On accountof the relations that He stands in to them that believe. He is
their Head of influence, and they are members of His spiritual Body. He is
their Shepherd. He is their best Friend — loving, tender, compassionate,
sincere, sympathising, and constant. He is their greatPhysicianand Healer.
5. On accountof the display of His transcendentlove and riches of His grace
in order to their salvation.
6. He is most precious to believers, as whatsoevermakes anyof the creatures
lovely, desirable, and precious one to another, is originally in Him; it is in
them as a cistern, but in Christ as an inexhaustible fountain.(1) Is beauty one
ground of the creature's delighting in eachother? The Lord Jesus excels them
all (Psalm 45:2).(2) Does wisdomrecommend any creature to the affectionof
another? The Lord Jesus is the Wisdom of God. He not only governs the
world in wisdom, but as a Prophet He teaches mento know God and Himself,

which is eternallife.(3) Does usefulness in any creature bespeak the affections
and esteemof others? Jesus Christis more than all the creatures put together;
He is all things to His people — their light, their life, their food, their strength,
their clothing and ornament, their riches and honour, their guide and leader,
their healer, their advocate and intercessor, andall in all.(4) Does a meek and
quiet spirit, attended with patience and humility, commonly win the esteemof
fellow creatures? Jesus Christexcels them all in these most desirable
endowments;He is a perfect pattern of humility and meeknessfor all His
disciples.(5)Does faithfulness to any trust win the love and esteemofone to
another? This is eminently found in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:2).(6) Does
sincere and ardent love in anyone call for the love and esteemof Others? The
Lord Jesus excels them all; no creature can possibly love another at such a
rate as He has done; His love is strong as death, many waters cannotquench
it. And it is as free as it is great and uncommon.
III. HOW DO BELIEVERS SHOW THAT CHRIST IS PRECIOUS TO
THEM?
1. By choosing Him for their own, and careful endeavour to clearup their
interest in Him.
2. By their frequent and delightful thoughts of Him (Psalm 139:17).
3. By earnest desires of His presence, communion with Him (Job 23:3; Psalm
42:1, 2).
4. They yield to Him the seatand habitation of their very hearts (Ephesians
3:17).
5. By making use of Him, for all the ends that God the Father has appointed
Him.
6. By their sincere love to Him.(1) They love to think of Him, and their love
inclines them to think and speak honourably of Him.(2) They love His image
whereverthey can perceive it (Psalm 16:3).(3)They love His Word (Job 23:12;
Romans 7:22).(4) They highly esteemHis ordinances, and the places and
means where they may enjoy Him.(5) They are careful to keepHis
commandments (John 14:21).(6)They desire to be more and more like Him

(Romans 8:29).(7) They rejoice in Him, and all He is made of God to them
(Philippians 3:3).
(W. Notcutt.)
Christ precious to believers
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. First, this is a positive fact, that UNTO BELIEVERS JESUS CHRIST IS
PRECIOUS. In Himself He is of inestimable preciousness,forHe is very God
of very God. He is, moreover, perfect man without sin. The precious gopher
woodof His humanity is overlaid with the pure gold of His Divinity. He is a
mine of jewels and a mountain of gems. He is altogetherlovely, but, alas!this
blind world seethnot His beauty.
II. WHY IS CHRIST PRECIOUS TO THE BELIEVER?
1. Jesus Christis precious to the believer because He is intrinsically precious.
But here let me take you through an exercise in grammar; here is an
adjective, let us go through it.(1) Is He not goodpositively? Electionis a good
thing; but we are electin Christ Jesus. Adoption is a goodthing; but we are
adopted in Christ Jesus and made joint heirs with Him. Pardonis a good
thing; but we are pardoned through the precious blood of Jesus. And if all
these be good, surely He must be goodin whom, and by whom, and to whom,
and through whom are all these precious things.(2) But Christ is good
comparatively. Bring anything and compare with Him. One of the brightest
jewels we can have is liberty. If I be not free, let me die. Ay, but put liberty
side by side with Christ, and I would wearthe fetter for Christ and rejoice in
the chain. Besides liberty, what a precious thing is life! "Skinfor skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life." But let a true Christian once have
the choice betweenlife and Christ — "No," says he, "I can die, but I cannot
deny."(3) And then to go higher still — Christ is goodsuperlatively. The
superlative of all things is heaven, and if it could be possible to put Christ in
competition with heaven, the Christian would not stop a moment in his choice;
he would soonerbe on earth with Christ than be in heaven without Him.

2. Still, to answerthis question again:Why is Christ precious to the believer
more than to any other man? Why, it is the believer's want that makes Christ
precious to him! The worldling does not care for Christ, because he has never
hungered and thirsted after Him; but the Christian is athirst for Christ, his
heart and his flesh pant after God. This is the one thing needful for me, and if
I have it not, this thirst must destroy me. Mark, too, that the believer may be
found in many aspects, andyou will always find that his needs will endear
Christ to him.
3. Look at the believer, not only in his wants, but in his highest earthly state.
The believer is a man that was once blind and now sees. And what a precious
thing is light to a man that sees!If I, as a believer, have an eye, how much I
need the stun to shine! And when Christ gives sight to the blind He makes His
people a seeing people. It is then that they find what a precious thing is the
sight, and how pleasanta thing it is for a man to behold the sun. From the
very fact that the Christian is a quickenedman, he values the robe of
righteousness thatis put about him. The very newborn powers of the
Christian would be very channels for misery if it were not for Christ. But,
believer, how precious is Christ to thee in the hour of conviction of sin, when
He says, "Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee." How precious to
thee in the hour of sickness, whenHe comes to thee and says, "Iwill make all
thy bed in thy sickness." How precious to thee in the hour of trial, when He
says, "All things work togetherfor thy good." How precious when friends are
buried, for He says, "I am the resurrectionand the life." How precious in thy
grey old age, "Evenin old age I am with thee, and to hoary hairs will I carry
you." How precious in the lone chamber of death, for "I will fearno evil,
Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me." But, last of all, how
precious will Christ be when we see Him as He is! All we know of Christ here
is as nothing compared with what we shall know hereafter.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
C. H. Spurgeon.

I. WHAT CHRIST IS TO HIS PEOPLE. The RevisedVersionreads the text,
"Foryou therefore which believe is the preciousness." His very selfis
preciousness itself. He is the essence, the substance, the sum of all
preciousness.Manythings are more or less precious;but the Lord Jesus is
preciousness itself, outsoaring alldegrees ofcomparison.
1. How do believers show that Christ is thus precious to them?(1) They do so
by trusting everything to Him. Every believer stays his hope solelyupon the
work of Jesus. Our implicit faith in Him proves our high estimate of Him.(2)
To believers the Lord Jesus is evidently very precious, because they would
give up all that they have soonerthan lose Him. Tens of thousands have
renounced property, liberty, and life soonerthan deny Christ.(3) Saints also
find their all in Him. He is not one delight, but all manner of delights to them,
All that they can want, or wish, or conceive, they find in Him.(4) So precious is
Jesus to believers, that they cannot speak wellenough of Him. Could you, at
your very best, exalt the Lord Jesus so gloriouslyas to satisfyyourself?(5)
Saints show that in their estimationChrist is precious, for they can never do
enough for Him. It is not all talk; they are glad also to labour for Him who
died for them. Though they grow weary in His work, they never grow weary
of it.(6) Saints show how precious Christ is to them, in that He is their heaven.
Have you never heard them when dying, talk about their joy in the prospect of
being with Christ?(7) If you are not satisfiedwith these proofs that Christ is
precious to believers, I would invite you to add another yourself. Let every one
of us do something fresh by which to prove the believer's love to Christ. Let us
invent a new love token. Let us sing unto the Lord a new song. Let not this
cold world dare to doubt that unto believers Christ is precious; let us force the
scoffers to believe that we are in earnest.
2. In thinking Christ to be precious, the saints are forming a just estimate of
Him. "He is precious." Fora thing to be rightly calledprecious, it should have
three qualities: it should be rare, it should have an intrinsic value of its own,
and it should possess usefuland important properties. All these three things
meet in our adorable Lord, and make Him precious to discerning minds.
3. The saints form their estimate of Him upon Scriptural principles. "Unto
you therefore which believe He is precious." We have a "therefore" for our

valuation of Christ; we have calculated, and have reasonon our side, though
we count Him to be the chief among ten thousand, and altogetherlovely.(1)
Our Lord Jesus is very precious to us as "a living stone." As a foundation He
is firm as a stone; but in addition, He has life, and this life He communicates,
so that we also become living stones, and are joined to Him in living, loving,
lasting union. A stone alive, and imparting life to other stones which are built
upon it, is indeed a precious thing in a spiritual house which is to be inhabited
of God. This gives a characterto the whole structure.(2) Our Lord is all the
more precious to us because He was "disallowedindeed of men." Neveris
Christ dearerto the believer than when he sees Him to be despisedand
rejectedof men.(3) He becomes inconceivablyprecious to us when we view
Him as "chosenofGod." Upon whom else could the Divine electionhave
fallen? But He saith, "I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted
one chosenout of the people." The choice of Jehovahmust be divinely wise.(4)
Note well that the apostle calls Him "precious," thatis, precious to God. We
feel abundantly justified in our high esteemofour Lord, since He is so dear to
the Father.(5)Moreover, we prize our Lord Jesus as our foundation. Jehovah
saith, "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone." Whata privilege to have a
foundation of the Lord's own laying! It is and must be the best, the most
abiding, the most precious foundation.
II. WHAT IT IS IN THE SAINTS WHICH MAKES THEM PRIZE CHRIST
AT THIS RATE. It is their faith. "Unto you therefore which believe He is
precious." Faithcalls Him precious, when others esteemHim "a rootout of a
dry ground."
1. To faith the promises concerning Christ are made. The Bible never expects
that without faith men will glorify Christ.
2. It is by faith that the value of Christ is perceived. You cannotsee Christ by
mere reason, for the natural man is blind to the things of the Spirit.
3. By faith the Lord Jesus is appropriated. In possessionlies much of
preciousness.Faithis the hand that grasps Him, the mouth that feeds upon
Him, and therefore by faith He is precious.

4. By faith the Lord Jesus is more and more tasted and proved, and becomes
more and more precious. To us our Lord is as gold tried in the fire. Our
knowledge is neither theoreticalnor traditional; we have seenHim ourselves,
and He is precious to us.
5. Our sense ofChrist's preciousness is a proof of our possessing the faith of
God's elect; and this ought to be a greatcomfort to any of you who are in the
habit of looking within.
6. Christ becomes growinglyprecious to us as our faith grows. If thou
doubtest Christ, He has gone down fifty per cent. in thine esteem. Every time
you give wayto scepticismand critical questioning you lose a sip of sweetness.
In proportion as yea believe with a faith which is childlike, clear, simple,
strong, unbroken, in that proportion will Christ be dearerand dearer to you.
III. WHAT BELIEVERS RECEIVE FROM HIM. Take the exact translation,
"Unto you that believe He is honour."
1. Honour! Can honour everbelong to a sinner like me? Worthless, base, only
fit to be castaway, canI have honour? The Lord changes the rank when He
forgives the sin. Thou art dishonourable no longerif thou believestin Jesus.
Thou art honourable before God now that He has become thy salvation.
2. It is a high honour to be associatedwith the Lord Jesus.
3. It is a greathonour to be built on Him as a sure foundation. A minister once
said to me, "It must be very easyfor you to preach." I said, "Do you think so?
I do not look at it as a light affair." "Yes," he said; "it is easy, because you
hold a fixed and definite setof truths, upon which you dwell from year to
year." I did not see how this made it easyto preach, but I did see how it made
my heart easy, and I said, "Yes, that is true. I keepto one fixed line of truth."
"Thatis not my case,"saidhe; "I revise my creedfrom week to week. It is
with me constant change and progress." Idid not say much, but I thought the
more. If the foundation is constantlybeing altered, the building will be rather
shaky.
4. It is an honour to believe the doctrines taught by Christ and His apostles. It
is an honour to be on the same lines of truth as the Holy Ghost.

5. It is an honour to do as Christ bade us in His precepts. Holiness is the truest
royalty.
6. It will be our greathonour to see our Lord glorified.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Practicaltrust in Christ the highesthonour
D. Thomas, D. D.
Unto you therefore who believe is the honour."
I. Practicaltrust in Christ gives man the NOBLEST CHARACTER. Whatis
true nobility or honour? Disinterestedlove is the spring and essence ofa noble
character, this is the soul of the hero. Where it is not, though a man be sage,
statesman, poet, king, he is contemptible. How does a man getthis? By
practically trusting in Christ — in no other way.
II. Practicaltrust in Christ gives man the HIGHEST FELLOWSHIPS. But
into what societydoes practicaltrust in Christ introduce them? First, into the
societyof sainted sages — the greatand goodmen of all lands and times.
Secondly, into the societyof holy angels — the firstborn of the Eternal.
Thirdly, Into the societyof the great GodHimself.
III. Practicaltrust in Christ gives man the SUBLIMEST POSSESSIONS.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
The honour of believing in Christ
A. F. Joscelyne, B. A.
Many will doubtless feel some regret at the loss in the RevisedNew Testament
of the familiar words, "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious." The
marginal reading of the RevisedVersion is even preferable to that of our text,
"Foryou therefore which believe is the honour." Men objectto be told that

they must believe in order to know the truth, the power, the value of
Christianity.
1. Faith is the condition of all knowledge.The student of natural science
believes that there are hidden secrets ofnature, laws unknown as yet, which
will be revealedto patient investigation. Becausehe believes this, he
laboriously toils and patiently waits.
2. Faith is the condition of all enterprise. It is because men believe, not merely
in the possibility, but in the probability of the successofan undertaking that
they are willing to engage in it, and even to incur toil and risk.
3. Nay, more, faith is the condition of existence. We eatbecause we believe
that food is necessaryand will nourish us. We rest at home or walk abroad
because we believe in the stability of nature's laws and the goodwillof our
fellow men.
4. Faith, which is the condition of everything else, itselfrests on conditions,
and compliance with those conditions involves the believer in much "honour."
It depends on knowledge,onexperience, i.e., on evidence.
5. Nordoes faith rest on evidence simply, but on an emotion, on the feeling
which the evidence excites, and on the will which is thereby awakenedand
influenced.
6. What, then, is the faith in Christ which is the condition of this honour?
What do we believe about Jesus Christ? What are we called upon to believe,
and on what evidence?(1)Ascending from the lowerto the higher, we believe
first in Jesus Christ as the ideal man.(a) Faith in the perfect humanity of
Christ brings with it the assuranceofimmortal life and of undying
sympathy.(b) And as we think of Him living still, we feel assuredof His
sympathy with us. For His perfectionwas not something inherent in Himself,
something necessaryand unavoidable, but a perfection attained through
conflict and suffering.(2)From the belief in the perfect humanity of Jesus
Christ we rise to a higher faith in His Divinity, His Deity. Forwe find that He
stands alone in His sinlessness,in His perfection. This is, I believe, the real
genesis andgrowth of true faith in Christ. It is through His humanity that we

rise to the conceptionof His Deity. "The person of Christ is the perennial
glory and strength of Christianity."(3) The faith attained through looking at
Christ, meditating on Christ, reasoning aboutChrist, is developedand
perfectedby experience. Experience is the testof faith, of its value or
worthlessness. The strongestfaith, that which cannot be shaken, is that which
rests on personal experience. Unto you that believe is the honour. What
honour?
I. IT IS THE HONOUR OF BUILDING ON A FOUNDATION WHICH CAN
NEVER GIVE WAY. It is the safety of having an unfailing refuge in which to
hide. We have an experience of which nothing can rob us, and a hope that
maketh not ashamed, which will never disappoint, as the anchor of our soul.
"Unto you that believe is the honour."
II. MAN'S HIGHEST HONOUR IS TO RENDER HOMAGE TO PERFECT
LOVE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THE TRUEST HOMAGE IMITATES
THAT BEFOREWHICH IT BOWS IN REVERENCE. Dishonouring Christ,
men dishonour themselves. Manymay admire a .picture which only one could
paint, and the consciousnessofinability would prevent them from attempting
to emulate the artist whose work fills them with delight and wonder. But if the
artist were to offer to enable us to do what he had done, and assure us of his
powerto do so by the example and experience of numbers who had been
taught by him, should we Hot gladly acceptsuchan offer? Such an offer
Christ makes to every one. He sets before us in His life a purity, a nobility, a
righteousness whichwe cannot attain by ourselves, but which He can and will
help us to attain.
III. THE HONOUR IS THAT OF TESTIFYING TO THE POWER AND
GRACE OF THIS SAVIOUR AND FRIEND OF MAN, THE HONOUR OF
MAKING HIM KNOWN TO OTHERS. We canonly do this as we believe in
Him ourselves, and our life must prove our faith.
(A. F. Joscelyne, B. A.)
Christ is our honour

Philip Henry.
The doctrine from these words is this, that Jesus Christ is an honour to all
believers.
1. He is the author of honour to them.
2. He is, and ought to be, the objectof honour from them. He honours them,
and they do and should honour Him.
I. HOW IS THE LORD JESUS THE AUTHOR OF HONOUR TO ALL
TRUE RELIEVERS? We use to say concerning the king, that he is the
fountain of honour, that is, all his subjects that are men of honour derive their
honour from him. Others give them honour, but it is he that makes them
honourable. Now King Jesus is He, and He alone, that is the fountain of
honour to all true believers.
1. He hath Himself an honourable esteemof them. They are persons of
honour, even the meanestof them, in His account(Isaiah 43:4).
2. His will is that every one else should be in this like Himself, in having an
honourable esteemof them. As when the king bestows a degree ofhonour
upon a person, makes him a knight, or a lord, or an earl, he expects others so
to regard him; so it is here (Esther 6:3, 6, 7). How much soeverthey may be
despisedby others, they are the excellentof the earth in His eye because they
are so in Christ's eye (Psalm16:2).
3. He hath done that for them which in the accountof men may and doth
deserve that honour. What is it that tie hath done for them that may be the
ground of men's honouring them?(1) One ground of honouring men is upon
the accountof their personalexcellencesandendowments; some are
honourable for their learning and knowledge in arts and sciences;some for
their, wisdom and prudence in the managementof secularaffairs; in the field,
as soldiers;in the senate, as counsellors.Now if so, the people fearing God
deserve honour indeed, for they have better knowledge thanothers. They
from the leasteven to the greatestknow God. And whence have they that
knowledge but from Christ, who gives them an understanding? (1 John 5:20)
They have wisdom also, anothersort of wisdom — wisdom from above in soul

affairs.(2)Upon the accountof their greatusefulness in their particular places
and stations;in court or camp, for peace or war. By their prayers, fetching
down mercies, keeping off judgments, as Moses.Bytheir pattern, they are the
lights of the world.(3) Upon the accountof their honourable relations wherein
they stand. He that is himself in honour reflects honour upon all that are
related to him. Now what are the relations of true believers? They are all the
children of God, and how but by faith in Jesus Christ? (Galatians 3:16; John
1:12) And is not that a high honour? To be a servant, even the meanest, to
men of honour, carries honour in it (Psalm 116:16). Nay, they are His friends,
admitted to His secrets, acquaintedwith His counsels (John15:15). As Hushai
was a friend to David (2 Samuel 15:37). Zabud to Solomon(1 Kings 4:5).(4)
Some are honourable on accountof their honourable hopes. Young heirs are
honoured for their inheritance sake, thoughas yet under age.(5)Some are
honourable on accountof their honourable offices and employments
(Revelation1:5) — kings and priests, so He makes them.(6) Others are
honourable on accountof their honourable name (James 2:7). The word
Christian is from Christ; all this honour have all His saints (Psalm149:9).
II. WHAT KIND OF HONOUR IS IT THAT TRUE BELIEVERS HAVE
FROM JESUS CHRIST? It hath these properties.
1. It is real honour. Other honours are but a shadow, a dream, a fancy. This
hath substance in it (Proverbs 8:21).
2. It is righteous honour. Other honours which the honourable men of the
earth have are oftentimes unrighteous — unjustly given, and unjustly taken.
3. It is heavenly honour. Other honours are from below, this is from above;
other honours are upon earthly accounts, this upon heavenly. The birth of a
believer is heavenly, his endowments heavenly.
4. It is harmless honour. Other honours often hurt those that have them, puff
them up with pride, as Haman, but so doth not this.
5. It is unsought honour. What endeavours are there to obtain other honours,
what struggling, what bribing and waiting!
6. It is unfading honour. It is honour that lasts, it is everlasting.

III. WHAT MAY WE LEARN FROM THIS SUBJECT?
1. We learn what to think of the greatand glorious majesty of heaven and
earth. His name, and His Son's name, is certainly upon this accountto be
adored by us and by all His creatures, angelsand men. For what? ForHis
infinite love and free grace in condescending in this manner to a remnant of
Adam's seed, so as to put all this honour upon them.
2. We learn what to think of those who are not believers;all the ignorant,
careless, unregenerategeneration:certainly they have no part nor lot in this
matter. They are none of those that God will honour.
3. We learn what is the true way to true honour. It is in our nature to desire it.
But the misery is, we mistake our end, and consequentlyour way. We take
those things to be wealth and pleasure and honour that are not so, and that
not to be so which is so, and we pursue accordingly.
4. We learn what is our duty towards those to whom Christ is an honour.
Certainly it is our duty to see them truly honourable, and to love and honour
them accordingly(2 Kings 20:12, 13).
5. We learn what is their duty to whom Christ is an honour. To make it their
business to honour Him all they can. Why is He to be honoured? He is worthy
that it should be so. It is the Father's will it should be so (John 5:22, 23;
Colossians 1:18, 19). It will be our own benefit and comfort, living and dying.
We shall be no losers, but gainers by it. Wherein are we to honour Him? In
general — let Him be precious to you. Have high and honourable thoughts of
Him. Speak high and honourable things concerning Him, as Paul did. Do
nothing to displease and dishonour Him, but everything contrary (Philippians
1:2).
(Philip Henry.)
The preciousnessofChrist
J. M. Buckley, D. D.

1. He is precious as a Redeemerfrom sin. The believer appreciates salvation,
because he knows what it is to be lost.
2. He is precious as a manifestationof God.
3. Look at His mission. He enters into my sin and poverty to pity and to aid.
4. He is the central glory of heaven. Human loves are not extinguished, but
they will be subordinated to Him.
(J. M. Buckley, D. D.)
H. M. Villiers, M. A.
I. IN WHAT THIS PRECIOUSNESSCONSISTS.
1. I would mention, first, the difficulty of securing the possessionofthe
Saviour. He is freely offered "without money and without price." Yet "all
men have not faith." The reasonis, that there are difficulties in the way of
their believing, which is one cause why we may saythat Christ is precious.
2. There are few who possessthis invaluable gift; not, indeed, that there is not
in Christ a sufficiencyfor all, but Christ can only be receivedin one way — by
faith. You may try to discoverthe Saviour by your works, but you cannotfind
Him.
3. There is a greatdemand for the Saviour; not, indeed, amongstthe worldly,
the frivolous, the luxurious and selfish, the sensualand profane. But the
demand is amongstthose who are convincedof their sin.
4. There are advantages accruing to the possessor, whichcan leave no doubt
of the preciousnessofChrist. His blood is precious;His intercessionis
precious;His righteousness, His Word, His doctrine.
II. WHO EXPERIENCE THIS PRECIOUSNESS?Goldis valueless to the
infant. Pearls are as nothing to swine. And, alas!the precious blood of Jesus is
to many as an unholy thing.

1. To the openly profane, Christ is as nothing.
2. The men of the world cansee nothing in Christ in which they should
rejoice;but they do see their lusts forbidden, and their lives condemned (Titus
2:11, 12).
3. The luxurious experience no comfort in Christ. He who had "not where to
lay His head" is a continual reproof to them.
4. Noris Christ more precious to the formalist (Romans 10:3, 4).
5. It is to the believer, and to the believer alone, that Christ is precious. It is
the believerwho has felt the burden of sin. He can say, "Thanks be unto God
for His unspeakable gift."(1)Meditate on His name — Jesus, SaviourI How
much does that word convey to a believer's heart!(2) Considerhow precious
to us is the sympathy of Jesus (Proverbs 18:24;John 13:1).(3) Call to mind the
powerand strength of our Redeemer. We know that we are surrounded by
enemies, that we are subject to misrepresentations, to persecutions for
righteousness'sake. ButJesus, the mighty God, is on our side, and we become
"more than conquerors through Him who loved us."(4) Again, behold the
righteousness ofJesus.
(H. M. Villiers, M. A.)
Christ precious to the believer
D. Dickson, D. D.
I. CHRIST IS PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS ON ACCOUNT OF WHAT HE
IS IN HIMSELF.
II. CHRIST IS PRECIOUS TO THEM WHO BELIEVE ON ACCOUNT OF
WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR THEM.
III. CHRIST IS PRECIOUS UNTO THEM WHO BELIEVE, ON ACCOUNT
OF WHAT HE HAS DONE IN THEM.

IV. CHRIST IS PRECIOUS UNTO THEM WHO BELIEVE, ON ACCOUNT
OF WHAT HE IS STILL DOING BOTH FOR THEM AND IN THEM.
V. CHRIST IS PRECIOUS TO THEM THAT BELIEVE, ON ACCOUNT OF
WHAT HE HAS PROMISEDAND PLEDGED HIMSELF TO DO FOR
THEM HEREAFTER.
(D. Dickson, D. D.)
Christ precious to them that believe
W. McCulloch.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THEM THAT BELIEVE.
1. This is the peculiar privilege of those who are Christians indeed, whereby
they are distinguished from others. "All men have not faith" (2 Thessalonians
3:2). Many there are who impose upon themselves, and vainly suppose that
they believe, because they entertain some speculative opinions about religion.
2. Those who believe possess notonly a peculiar but an important privilege.
Faith is everywhere representedin the Word of God as a Divine and powerful
principle, which is of unspeakable moment to the eternalinterest of men.
3. Those who believe are endowedwith a useful principle. True saving faith in
Jesus Christ is not a dormant disposition, but a vigorous and active grace,
attended with the happiest effects. It unites to Jesus Christ. It purifies the
heart from the love and power of sin. It is the source of all holy obedience to
God; it workethby love, and is fruitful in all good works.
II. THE DISTINGUISHING EVIDENCE WHICH IS PECULIAR TO YOU
THAT BELIEVE.
(W. McCulloch.)
The Christ of experience

H. Allon, D. D.
This is a recognitionof the practicalreligious value of the Christ — of what
He is to those who have put Him to experimental tests. All the qualities that
constitute preciousness are in Him, in a degree of excellence that imagination
cannot overcolour, that even love cannotexaggerate.
1. In respectof rarity, He is the only Saviour of men; the "one Mediator
betweenGod and man"; the only hope of sinful souls.
2. In respectof beauty, He is the perfection of all moral excellence.
3. In characterHe is ideally good, pure, devout, benevolent, loving.
4. His work, as the Redeemerof men, realises our very loftiestconceptions —
first, of moral philosophy; next, of spiritual holiness;next, of self-sacrificing
love.
5. In respectof serviceableness, ofpersonalbeneficialrelations to men, as
their Redeemerfrom sin, His preciousness transcends allour words or
thoughts.(1) We might apply a comparative test, and put the preciousnessof
Christ into comparisonwith all other possessions of our human life. How does
our practicaljudgment estimate Him? Or we might subject Him to a
comparative estimate with other goodmen; His characterwith that of all
other saints; His teaching with that of all other prophets; His redeeming work
with all other schemes forhuman improvement. How instinctively we give
Him the transcendency!(2)Our estimates are largely influenced by the
judgments of others. Let us think, then, of the estimate put upon Christ's
characterand work by other moral beings. Is it not significant of His
excellence thatHe attracts the most readily and attaches the most profoundly
the holiestand noblest natures?(3)The conclusive appeal, however, is to the
conscious experienceofour own religious souls:"If so be we have tastedthat
the Lord is gracious."This is the ground upon which myriads of religious
men, men whose knowledge is limited, whose theologyis confused, whose
reasonis easilybaffled, who are able neither to defend their Christianity, nor
theoreticallyto understand it, justly trust in Him. They have personallycome
to Christ; He has consciouslyquickenedthe life and the love of their souls;

they "know that they have passedfrom death unto life," that "whereasonce
they were blind, now they see."His Divine presence witnessesin their souls. In
some mystic wayHe is their daily Saviour, and Sanctifier, and Comforter.
I. Is not Christ precious to us WHEN WE GROPE AND STUMBLE AT THE
MYSTERYOF GOD, when we feel that "the gods of the heathen are no
gods"? Whenwe cannotby any searching of our own find out God; when a
thousand possibilities of ignorance and superstition torment us with vague
and nameless fears;what a marvellous revelation of light and powerof
assurance it is when Jesus Christ puts before us His greatteaching of God;
when, with the strong confidence, and in the quiet ways of perfect knowledge,
He tells us of the Father! Upon the conceptions ofGod which Jesus Christhas
taught us our religious life rests. These ideas are the practicalinspirations of
what we are and do. In the sore feeling of our rebelliousness and guilt we go to
Him, as the prodigal to his father, to ask the generous forgivenessofHis
fatherly love. In the helplessness ofour need we castourselves upon the care
of Him who clothes the lily and feeds the raven. Whether true or not, this
conceptionof God is the greatest, the most inspiring, the most satisfying
thought ever presentedto men; the highest, purest, most endearing that the
world has known.
II. How precious the Christ is WHEN THE SENSE OF SIN IS QUICKENED
within us, when we awakento the grave culpability of its guilt, when we
realise its essentialantagonismto the Divine holiness, its transgressionof
God's inviolable law, the imperative necessityof its dread penalty of death!
The moral sense, the conscience within me, that which makes me a moral
being, demands atonement for sin as much as my safety does. Mere securityis
no moral satisfactionto a righteous being. I could not be happy in the
salvationof Christ if I were savedas a man is savedwho breaks prison, or to
whom the prison doors are illicitly opened; if I were savedat the costof a
single righteous principle. How unspeakablyprecious, then, the Christ when
He is "setforth as a propitiation for sin," "who Himself bare our sin in His
own body on the tree." "He loved me, and gave Himself for me." True or not
true, it is, to saythe least, a theory of forgiveness, the most perfect and
satisfactoryto all the feelings of our moral nature.

III. How precious again is the Christ IN OUR STRUGGLE WITH
PRACTICAL EVIL, as we fight with lusts, resisttemptation, overcome
worldliness, subdue selfishness, ormourn over failures and falls! How
assuring and helpful His perfect life, His promised grace, His ready and
tender sympathy! But for Him we should have despairedin our degradation
and helplessness. Againwe say, this conceptionof Him, true or not, is
practically the greatestmoral force that we feel. Therefore He is precious to
us, because He enables the moral redemption of our soul.
IV. How precious the Christ is IN TIMES OF GREAT SORROW;when we
stand by open graves, and "refuse to be comforted because those whomwe
love are not"! How He comes to us, as He came "from beyond Jordan to
Bethany"! How He talks with us about "the resurrectionand the life"! How
He weeps with us in the silence of ineffable sympathy!
V. And how precious He is IN OUR OWN MORTAL CONFLICT;when "the
shadow fearedof man" falls upon ourselves;when "heartand flesh fail";
when human love falls awayfrom us, and we hear its receding voices as we go
forward alone into the dark valley! "Into His hands we commit our spirit";
"His rod and staff comfort us"; His hand clasps ours; He leads us through the
darkness into the eternallight and life.
(H. Allon, D. D.)
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THAT JESUS CHRIST IS NOW PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS. Notice
attentively how personallyprecious Jesus is. There are two persons in the text:
"Unto you that believe He is precious." You are a real person, and you feel
that you are such. You have realisedyourself; you are quite clearabout your
own existence;now in the same way strive to realise the other Person. "Unto
you that believe He is precious." You believe in Him, He loves you; you love
Him in return, and He sheds abroad in your heart a sense of His love. Notice,
too, that while the text gleams with this vividness of personality, to which the

most of professors are blind, it is weightedwith a most solid positiveness:
"Unto you that believe He is precious." It does not speak as though He might
be or might not be; but "He is precious." If the new life be in thee, thou art as
sure to love the Saviouras fish love the stream, or the birds the air, or as
brave men love liberty, or as all men love their lives. Tolerate no
peradventures here. Mark, further, the absoluteness ofthe text, "Unto you
that believe He is precious. It is not written how precious. The text does not
attempt by any form of computation to measure the price which the
regenerate soulsets upon her Lord. The thought which I desire to bring out
into fullest relief is this, that Jesus Christis continually precious to His people.
Unto you that believe, though you have believed to the saving of your soul, He
is still precious;for your guilt will return upon your conscience, andyou will
yet sin, being still in the body, and thus unto you experimentally the cleansing
atonement is as precious as when you first relied upon its expiating power.
Nay, Jesus is more precious to you now, for you know your own needs more
fully, have proved more often the adaptation of His saving grace, and have
receiveda thousand more gifts at His blessedhands.
II. LET US THINK HOW CHRIST IS TODAY PRECIOUS TO YOU. To
many of you there is as much in Christ undiscoveredas you have already
enjoyed. As surely as your faith grasps more, and becomes more capacious
and appropriating, Christ will grow in preciousnessto you. Ask, then, for
more faith.
III. BECAUSE JESUS IS PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS HE
EFFICACIOUSLYOPERATES UPON THEM. The preciousness ofChrist is,
as it were, the leverage ofChrist lifting up His saints to holiness. Let me show
you this.
1. The man who trusts Christ values Christ; that which I value I hold fast;
hence our valuing Christ helps us to abide steadfastin times of temptation.
2. Notice further: this valuing of Christ helps the believer to make sacrifices.
Sacrifice making constitutes a large part of any high character. He who never
makes a sacrifice in his religion may shrewdly suspectthat it is not worth
more than his own practicalvaluation of it.

3. Moreover, this valuing of Christ makes us jealous againstsin. He who loves
the Redeemerbestpurifies himself most, even as his Lord is pure.
4. High valuing of Christ helps the Christian in the selectionof his associates
in life. If I hold my Divine Lord to be precious, how can I have fellowshipwith
those who do not esteemHim? You will not find a man of refined habits and
cultured spirits happy amongstthe lowestand most illiterate. Birds of a
feather flock together. Workers andtraders unite in companies according to
their occupations. Lovers of Christ rejoice in lovers of Christ, and they delight
to meet together; for they can talk to eachother of things in which they are
agreed.
IV. CHRIST BEING THUS PRECIOUS, HIS PRECIOUSNESS BECOMES
THE TEST OF OUR CHRISTIANITY.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The precious Saviour
W. C. Burns.
There are very few people who would not agree with the apostle when he says
that Christ is precious to believers. But when one comes a little closer, and
asks professing people why He is precious to them, and in what degree, the
answers to this question are vague. It is not of Christ Himself that most
professors willspeak. Some will say they need His righteousness, others that
they hope in His death; but ah! the genuine child of God alone cansay, from
the very bottom of his heart, "To me Christ is precious." Christ's
righteousness cannotbe separatedfrom Himself, and nothing but faith in a
living, reigning Jesus will save the soul. But now, to apply the subject more
directly, we shall briefly notice a few characteristicsin believers themselves
which seemto show that to them Christ is precious.
1. Innumerable marks might be given, but here is a distinguishing one —
Christ is the object nearestto a believer's heart. He dwells in the soul, nearer

than any creature more closelyentwined round the heart strings than aught
beside.
2. The secondmark of the believer's value for the Lord Jesus is, that he puts
no societyin comparisonwith His presence;no other company has such
powerto refreshand comfort and purify the soul.
3. The third proof of the estimationin which Christ is held by His people is
that, for His sake, andfor the love they bear Him, they give up all known sins.
4. The fourth proof that we shall now mention is that where Jesus is precious
His ordinances are highly prized — we shall value His Word, alone and in the
family, as well as in the house of God. And so also with His house, His table,
His Sabbath.
5. Again, God's people are precious to the believer.
6. Another mark that Christ is precious to believers is that they are longing
for His secondcoming. The way to heaven is to be in Christ; and heaven is to
be with Christ.
(W. C. Burns.)
Christ precious to all true believers
S. Davies, M. A.
"To you therefore which believe, He is precious." The illative particle
"therefore" shows this passageas an inference from what went before; and
the reasoning seems to be this: "This stone is precious to God, therefore it is
precious to you that believe. You have the same estimate Of Jesus Christ
which God the Fatherhas; and for that very reasonHe is precious to you,
because He is precious to Him."
1. He is precious to all the angels ofheaven. Angels saw, believed, and loved
him in the various stages ofHis life, from His birth to His return to His native
heaven. Oh, could we see what is doing in heavenat this instant, how would it
surprise, astonish, and confound us! Do you think the name of Jesus is of as

little importance there as in our world? Do you think there is one lukewarm
or disaffectedheart there among ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands? Oh no! there His love is the ruling passionof every
heart and the favourite theme of every song.
2. He is infinitely precious to His Father, who thoroughly knows Him, and is
an infallible judge of real worth (Isaiah 42:1). And shall not the love of the
omniscient God have weightwith believers to believe Him too? And now what
think you of Christ? Will you not think of Him as believers do? If so, He will
be precious to your hearts above all things for the future. Oh precious Jesus!
are matters come to that pass in our world that creatures bought with Thy
blood, creatures that owe all their hopes to Thee, should stand in need of
persuasionto love Thee? What horrors attend the thought!(1) None but
believers have eyes to see the glory of Christ. The godof this world, the prince
of darkness, has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lestthe light of
the glorious gospelofChrist should shine into them.(2) None but believers are
properly sensible of their need of Christ. They are deeply sensible of their
ignorance and the disorder of their understanding, and therefore they are
sensible of their want of both the external and internal instructions of this
Divine Prophet, but as to others they are puffed up with intellectual pride, and
apprehend themselves in very little need of religious instructions, and
therefore they think but very slightly of Him.(3) None but believers have
known by experience how precious tie is. They, and only they, can reflect
upon the glorious views of Him, which themselves have had, to captivate their
hearts forever to Him.
(S. Davies, M. A.)
Christ more than precious
Memoir of Bishop Simpson.
"When askedby a member of his family as to his hope he answered:'I am a
sinner saved by grace,'and added, 'Jesus! — Oh, to be like Him!' At another
time he said: 'To you that believe He is precious.'Then with strongervoice he

broke forth into holy rapture and exclaimed: 'Precious, precious, more than
precious!' The writer of this notice, highly honoured with the friendship of the
family, saw Mrs. Simpson a few minutes after the bishop had spokenthese
words, While her heart was breaking, she murmured amid her sobs,
'Precious, precious, more than precious!' She might well say: 'No one knew
him as we did at home. He was so goodand kind. We thought he would be
spared to us a little longer.' Then she turned againto his comforting words
about his Lord: 'Precious, precious, more than precious.'They sound as a
refrain after his 'Psalm of life.'"
(Memoir of Bishop Simpson.)
Where Christ is valued He will be made known
If He is precious to you, you cannot help speaking aboutHim. We remember,
in a house which we used to visit, an ornament under a glass shade which
delighted the children. It was a gilt casket, witha cameo on the top, and inside
a nugget of gold, the ore in its rough state. It had been brought from
Australia, and was kept lockedup and rarely seen. No one was the richer for
that gold. There are many savedones now who have the priceless nugget, the
living Christ, whom they would not part with for worlds; but He is bidden in
the deep recessoftheir soul, and no one is the richer. You must breathe out
and pass on that name of Jesus;there is in it a living power, more than that of
the philosopher's stone, of turning all into gold.
I like what was saidby a child in the Sunday school, whenthe teachersaid,
"You have been reading that Christ is precious;what does that mean?" The
children were silent for a little while, but at lastone boy replied, "Fathersaid
the other day that mother was precious, for 'whatever should we do without
her!'" This is a capitalexplanation of the word. You and I can truly say of the
Lord Jesus Christ that He is precious to us, for what should we do, what could
we do without Him?

Them which be disobedient
Disobedience the converse offaith
W Arn.
is eminently worthy of notice that over against"believe" in ver. 6 stands, not
its exactcorrelative "unbelieving," but "disobedient." They who receive
Christ believe:you would expectto read conversely, they who reject Him are
unbelieving; but instead, you read that they are disobedient. People raise a
greatdebate upon the question whether a man is responsible for his belief,
and whether he can be condemned for not believing. Quietly this debate is all
quashed here by the representationthat unbelief is disobedience. Unbelief is
indeed the root, but the outgrowth is disobedience.
(W Arn.)
The stone which the builders disallowed
Christ rejectedby the Jews
John Rogers.
1. To show that God had purposed the salvationof His Church and building
of His kingdom by a waythat the wise men of the world never dreamed of.
2. That their malice might appearto their punishment, and God's powerin
resisting them.
3. To show that greatmen are not always the greatestmaintainers of the
truth, but often greatenemies and hindrances thereto.Uses:
1. This serves to teachus not to stand upon greatmen's opinion, approving
and disallowing upon their testimony or example.
2. To magnify the powerand wisdom of God, that hath used to build His
kingdom, not only without the help, but againstthe will of great men.

(John Rogers.)
The stone which the builders disallowed
John Thomas M. A.
I. A GREAT OPPORTUNITYMISSED. Who are the builders? All the sons
and daughters of men. But there are blind builders that rejectthe "chief
cornerstone."Theycannot perceive the glory of the largestand divinest truth.
The causes ofthis blindness are manifold worldliness, prejudice, and
intellectual pride. The immediate cause is evera superficial spirituality,
howeverit may be produced.
II. TRUE GREATNESS IGNOREDAND NEGLECTED.The neglect
suffered by the prophet in his own age is proverbial. He lets in the glory from
the eternalinto this half-blind world until it becomes a pain, and he is accused
of being the enemy of his generation. We pride ourselves that such a history is
a thing of the past, that we enlightened ones honour our prophets. It is for a
future generationto discoverwhether we have done so. "Demos" is
emphatically the builder today. Is the democracylaying the foundations of its
temple on the "cornerstone" ofDivine and eternal truth? But there is ever
greatdanger that "the spirit of the age" may ignore the divinest messagethat
is delivered to it.
III. THE CERTAIN SUPREMACYOF TRUTH. The divinest truth must
ultimately become the "chiefstone of the corner." False prejudices are
powerful, and may seemfor a time all supreme. Truth is God, and God is
truth. The eternalenergies have the world in their grip, and "He must reign
forever and ever."
IV. THE WORDS FIND THEIR IDEAL FULFILMENT IN JESUS CHRIST.
Unspeakablymagnificent was the opportunity lost by the Jewishnation. God
guard us from similar blindness! May the Christ be apprehended by us in all
the fulness of His glory, so that we may not be ashamed when He appears to
reign.

(John Thomas M. A.)
A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence
Jesus, the stumbling stone of unbelievers
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THE RESULT OF THE UNBELIEF, AND THE OPPOSITIONOF MEN,
UPON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
1. First came the Jew. He had the pride of race to maintain. Were not the Jews
the chosenpeople of God? Jesus comes preaching the gospelto every creature,
He sends His disciples evento the Gentiles: therefore the Jews will not have
Him. But the opposition of His countrymen did not defeatthe cause ofChrist;
if rejectedin Palestine, His word was receivedin Greece, ittriumphed in
Rome, it passedonward to Spain, it found a dwelling place in Britain, and at
this day it lights up the face of the earth.
2. Next arose philosophy to be the gospel's foe. But though it made terrible
inroads for a while on the Church of God, in the form of gnostic heresy, did it
really impede the chariotwheels of Christ? The stone from the sling of Christ
has smitten the heathen philosophy in the forehead, while the Son of David
goes forth conquering and to conquer.
3. After those days there came againstthe Church of God the determined
opposition of the secularpower. All that cruelty could do was done; but what
was the result? The more the Christians were oppressed, the more they
multiplied; the scattering of the coals increasedthe conflagration.
4. Since that period the Church has been attackedin various modes. The
Arian heresy assaultedthe deity of Christ, but the Church of God delivered
herself from the accursedthing, as Paul shook the viper into the fire. Be of
goodcourage, forbrighter days are on the way. There shall come yet greater
awakenings, the Lord, the avengerof His Church, shall yet arise, and the
stone which the builders disallowed, the same shall be the head stone of the
corner.

II. THE CONSEQUENCEOF THIS OPPOSITIONTO THE OPPOSERS.
1. When men stumble at the plan of salvationby Christ's sacrificialwork,
what is it that they stumble at?(1)Some stumble at the person of Christ.
Jesus, they will admit, was a goodman, but they cannotacceptHim as co-
equal and co-eternalwith the Father.(2)Some stumble at His work. Many
cannot see how Jesus Christ is become the propitiation for human guilt.(3)
Some stumble at Christ's teaching; and what is it they stumble at in that?
Sometimes it is because it is too holy: "Christ is too puritanical, He cuts off
our pleasures."But He denies us no pleasure which is not sinful, He multiplies
our joys; the things which He denies to us are only joyous in appearance,
while His commands are real bliss. We have found some objectto the
teachings of Christ because they are too humbling. He destroys self-
confidence, and He presents salvationto none but those who are lost. "This
lays us too low," saithone. Still I have knownothers objectthat the gospelis
too mysterious, they cannot understand it, they say. While again, from the
other corner of the compass, Ihave heard the objection that it is too plain. Do
not cavil at it. What if there be mysteries in it? Canst thou expectto
comprehend all that God knoweth? Be thou teachable as a child, and the
gospelwill be sweetto thee.(4)We have known some who have stumbled at
Christ on accountof His people, and truly they have some excuse. Theyhave
said, "Look atChrist's followers, see their imperfections and hypocrisies."
But wherefore judge a masterby his servants?
2. What does the stumbling at Christ costthe ungodly? I answer, it costs them
a greatdeal.(1)Those who make Him a rock of stumbling are greatlosers by
it in this life. What angerit costs ungodly men to oppose Christ! Some of them
cannot let Him alone, they will rage and fume. Concerning Jesus it is true that
you must either love or hate Him, He cannot long be indifferent to you, and
hence come inward conflicts to opposers.(2)Ah, what it costs some men when
they come to die! If you oppose Him you will be the losers, He will not. Your
opposition is utterly futile; like a snake biting a file, you will only break your
own teeth.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Dangerous to stumble
J. Trapp.
A bridge is made to give us a safe passageovera dangerous river; but he who
stumbleth on the bridge is in danger to fall into the river.
(J. Trapp.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(7) He is precious.—Rather, Unto you therefore, the believers, belongs the
honour. So said in reference to His being called “a stone elect, honoured,”
takenin conjunction with “shallnot be ashamed.” Boththe Hebrew and the
Greek word rendered “precious” may with equal propriety be translated
“honoured,” and this contrasts better with the “shame” just spokenof. Thus
Dr. Lightfoot takes it. The argument is this: “Godhas selectedJesus for
specialhonour, and has promised that all who trust in Him, instead of
scorning Him like the Jewishrulers, shall have no cause to blush. Now you do
trust in Him, therefore to you belongs the promise, and the honour bestowed
by God on Him reflects on you. You, like Him, are made parts of the divine
imperishable architecture.”
Unto them which be disobedient.—The better reading is, Unto them which
disbelieve; the other word being an importation from 1Peter2:8. The true
reading better preserves the contrastwith “you that believe.”
The stone which the builders disallowed.—Weshould perhaps have rather
expectedthe sentence to run more like this: “To you which believe belongs the
honour, but to those who disbelieve belongs the shame from which you are

secured.” But instead, the Apostle stops short, and inserts (by a quotation) the
historicalfact which brought the shame, viz., the disappointment of their own
design, and the glorious completionof that which they opposed. The words
which follow are quoted directly from the LXX., and properly representthe
Hebrew. Almost all the best modern critics consider the Psalm from which
this verse is cited to be a late Psalm, written subsequent to the return from
Babylon, in which case it is most probable that the composerwas directly
thinking of the prophecy of Isaiahabove quoted. The Messianic interpretation
of the Psalmwould be no novelty to the Hebrews who receivedthis Epistle
(see Matthew 21:9), though probably they had not perceived it in its fulness.
In its first applicationthe passageseems to mean as follows:The speakeris
Israel, takenas a single person. He has been a despisedcaptive. The great
builders of the world—the Babylonian and Persianempires—hadrecognised
no greatness in him, and had no intention of advancing him; they were
engagedin aggrandisementof selfalone. Yet, after all, Israelis firmly planted
once more in Sion, to be the first stone of a new structure, a new empire. Thus
this interpretation at once suggeststhe admission of the Gentiles, humanity at
large, into the architecture. Israelis the corner-stone, but corner-stonesare
not laid to be left unbuilt upon. In the fulfilment Christ takes the place of
Israel, as is the case with Isaiah53. The builders are the rulers of the Jews. In
Acts 4:11 our author had calledthe Sanhedrin to their face, “youbuilders.”
They, like the kings of Babylon, had been intent on building a fabric of their
own, and had despisedJesus, yet, without any intention of so doing, had been
the means of advancing Him (Acts 4:27-28). He had been made the basis of a
new spiritual structure, in which faith, not fleshly lineage, was the cement and
bond; and the believing Israelites, united to Him in both ways, sharedthe
honour of being corner-stone. A further point is given to the quotation if we
suppose, with Hengstenberg, Delitzsch, and others, that the remembrance of
Isaiah’s prophecy of the “corner-stone”was suggestedto the original Psalmist
by the works of the SecondTemple, then begun, advancing, or fresh
completed. It will then fit in more perfectly with the description of the
“spiritual house.” Leighton well points out how sore a trial it was to the faith
of JewishChristians to see that their own chosenpeople, even the most
learned of them, rejectedChrist, and adds, “That they may know this makes
nothing againstHim, nor ought to invalidate their faith at all, but rather

testifies with Christ, and so serves to confirm them in believing, the Apostle
makes use of those propheticalscriptures that foretell the unbelief and
contempt with which the most would entertain Christ.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
2:1-10 Evil-speaking is a sign of malice and guile in the heart; and hinders our
profiting by the word of God. A new life needs suitable food. Infants desire
milk, and make the best endeavours for it which they are able to do; such
must be a Christian's desires after the word of God. Our Lord Jesus Christis
very merciful to us miserable sinners; and he has a fulness of grace. Buteven
the bestof God's servants, in this life, have only a taste of the consolationsof
God. Christ is called a Stone, to teachhis servants that he is their protection
and security, the foundation on which they are built. He is precious in the
excellence ofhis nature, the dignity of his office, and the glory of his services.
All true believers are a holy priesthood; sacredto God, serviceable to others,
endowedwith heavenly gifts and graces. Butthe most spiritual sacrificesof
the bestin prayer and praise are not acceptable,exceptthrough Jesus Christ.
Christ is the chief Corner-stone, that unites the whole number of believers
into one everlasting temple, and bears the weight of the whole fabric. Elected,
or chosen, for a foundation that is everlasting. Precious beyondcompare, by
all that can give worth. To be built on Christ means, to believe in him; but in
this many deceive themselves, they considernot what it is, nor the necessityof
it, to partake of the salvationhe has wrought. Though the frame of the world
were falling to pieces, that man who is built on this foundation may hearit
without fear. He shall not be confounded. The believing soul makes haste to
Christ, but it never finds cause to hastenfrom him. All true Christians are a
chosengeneration;they make one family, a people distinct from the world: of
another spirit, principle, and practice;which they could never be, if they were
not chosenin Christ to be such, and sanctifiedby his Spirit. Their first state is
a state of gross darkness, but they are calledout of darkness into a state of
joy, pleasure, and prosperity; that they should show forth the praises of the
Lord by their professionofhis truth, and their goodconduct. How vast their
obligations to Him who has made them his people, and has shown mercy to

them! To be without this mercy is a woful state, though a man have all
worldly enjoyments. And there is nothing that so kindly works repentance, as
right thoughts of the mercy and love of God. Let us not dare to abuse and
affront the free grace ofGod, if we mean to be saved by it; but let all who
would be found among those who obtain mercy, walk as his people.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Unto you therefore which believe - Christians are often called simply
"believers," becausefaith in the Saviour is one of the prominent
characteristicsby which they are distinguished from their fellow-men. It
sufficiently describes any man, to saythat he is a believer in the Lord Jesus.
He is precious - Margin, "an honor." That is, according to the margin, it is an
honor to believe on him, and should be so regarded. This is true, but it is very
doubtful whether this is the idea of Peter. The Greek is ἡ τιμὴ hē timē;
literally, "esteem, honor, respect, reverence;" then "value or price." The noun
is probably used in the place of the adjective, in the sense ofhonorable,
valued, precious; and it is not incorrectly rendered in the text, "he is
precious." The connectiondemands this interpretation. The apostle was not
showing that it was an honor to believe on Christ, but was stating the estimate
which was put on him by those who believe, as contrastedwith the view taken
of him by the world. The truth which is taught is, that while the Lord Jesus is
rejectedby the greatmass of people, he is regardedby all Christians as of
inestimable value:
I. Of the factthere can be no doubt. Somehow, Christians perceive a value in
him which is seenin nothing else. This is evinced:
(a) in their avowedestimate of him as their best friend;
(b) in their being willing so far to honor him as to commit to him the keeping
of their souls, resting the whole question of their salvationupon him alone;
(c) in their readiness to keephis commands, and to serve him, while the mass
of people disobey him; and,
(d) in their being willing to die for him.

II. The reasons whyhe is so precious to them are such as these:
(1) They are brought into a condition where they canappreciate his worth. To
see the value of food, we must be hungry; of clothing, we must be exposedto
the winter's blast; of home, we must be wanderers without a dwelling-place;
of medicine, we must be sick;of competence, we must be poor. So, to see the
value of the Saviour, we must see that we are poor, helpless, dying sinners;
that the soul is of inestimable worth; that we have no merit of our own; and
that unless someone interpose, we must perish. Everyone who becomes a true
Christian is brought to this condition; and in this state he can appreciate the
worth of the Saviour. In this respectthe condition of Christians is unlike that
of the rest of mankind - for they are in no better state to appreciate the worth
of the Saviour, than the man in health is to appreciate the value of the healing
art, or than he who has never had a want unsupplied, the kindness of one who
comes to us with an abundant supply of food.
(2) the Lord Jesus is in factof more value to them than any other benefactor.
We have had benefactors who have done us good, but none who have done us
such goodas he has. We have had parents, teachers, kind friends, who have
provided for us, taught us, relieved us; but all that they have done for us is
slight, comparedwith what he has done. The fruit of their kindness, for the
most part, pertains to the present world; and they have not laid down their
lives for us. What he has done pertains to our welfare to all eternity; it is the
fruit of the sacrifice ofhis ownlife. How precious should the name and
memory of one be who has laid down his own life to save us!
(3) we owe all our hopes of heaven to him; and in proportion to the value of
such a hope, he is precious to us. We have no hope of salvationbut in him.
Take that away- blot out the name and the work of the Redeemer- and we
see no way in which we could be saved; we have no prospectof being saved.
As our hope of heaven, therefore, is valuable to us; as it supports us in trial; as
it comforts us in the hour of death, so is the Saviour precious:and the
estimate which we form of him is in proportion to the value of such a hope.
(4) there is an intrinsic value and excellencyin the characterofChrist, apart
from his relationto us, which makes him precious to those who canappreciate

his worth. In his character, abstractedlyconsidered, there was more to
attract, to interest, to love, than in that of any other one who ever lived in our
world. There was more purity, more benevolence, more that was greatin
trying circumstances, more that was generous and self-denying, more that
resembled God, than in any other one who ever appearedon earth. In the
moral firmament, the characterof Christ sustains a pre-eminence above all
others who have lived, as great as the glory of the sun is superior to the feeble
lights, though so numerous, which glimmer at midnight. With such views of
him, it is not to be wonderedat that, howeverhe may be estimatedby the
world, "to them who believe, he is precious."
But unto them which be disobedient - Literally, "unwilling to be persuaded,"
(ἀπειθὴς apeithēs)that is, those who refused to believe; who were obstinate or
contumacious, Luke 1:17; Romans 1:30. The meaning is, that to them he is
made a stone againstwhich they impinge, and ruin themselves. See the notes
at 1 Peter2:8.
The stone which the builders disallowed - Which they rejected, or refused to
make a cornerstone. The allusion here, by the word "builders," is primarily to
the Jews, representedas raising a temple of salvation, or building with
reference to eternallife. They refusedto lay this stone, which God had
appointed, as the foundation of their hopes, but preferred some other
foundation. See this passageexplainedin the Matthew 21:42 note; Acts 4:11
note; and Romans 9:33 note.
continued...
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
7. Application of the Scripture just quoted first to the believer, then to the
unbeliever. On the opposite effects ofthe same Gospelon different classes,
compare Joh 9:39; 2Co 2:15, 16.
precious—Greek, "THE preciousness" (1Pe 2:6). To you believers belongs the
preciousness ofChrist just mentioned.
disobedient—to the faith, and so disobedient in practice.

the stone which … head of … corner—(Ps 118:22). Thosewho rejectedthe
STONE were allthe while in spite of themselves unconsciouslycontributing to
its becoming Head of the corner. The same magnet has two poles, the one
repulsive, the other attractive;so the Gospelhas opposite effects onbelievers
and unbelievers respectively.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Precious;the margin reads it, according to the Greek, anhonour; either the
abstractis put for the concrete, anhonour, for honourable, or precious, ( as
the text hath it), and then the sense is plain, that Christ, as he is precious in
himself, and to his Father, so he is to them that believe. Or, honour may be
put for the cause ofhonour, and when it is opposedto shame and confusion
before mentioned, and the sense is: Ye that believe, shall be so far from being
ashamed, or having your faith frustrated, that ye shall be honoured, and
savedby Christ. And this agreeswellwith what follows in this and 1 Peter2:8.
Disobedient;unbelievers, who were disobedient to the greatcommand of the
gospelconcerning faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The builders; the high priests, scribes, Pharisees, andrulers of the Jews,
whose duty it was to build up the church, as having not only the name, but the
powerthen residing in them.
Disallowed;rejectedhim, and would not acknowledgehim for the promised
Messiah, andthe greatfoundation upon which the church of God was to be
built.
The same is made the head of the corner:

Question. How is Christ to be made the Head of the corner to them that reject
him?
Answer. Either:
1. Something is here to be understood, viz. this is said, or spoken, which
follows, the stone which the builders, &c.:q.d. They despisedhim, but God
hath honoured him; they would allow him no place in the building, but God
hath given him the best, made him the Head-stone of the corner. Or:
2. Christ may be said to be made to the disobedient, in spite of their rejecting
and opposing him, the Head of the corner; i.e. a King and a Judge to restrain
and curb them in, seeing they would not be ruled by him.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Unto you therefore which believe,.... And such are not all they that cansay
their creed, or give their assentto the articles of it; nor all that believe a divine
revelation, and that the Scriptures are the word of God, and give credit to all
that is containedin the sacredoracles;or who believe the whole Gospel, and
all the truths of it; as that there is one God; that there are three persons in the
Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit; that Christ is the Son of God, and truly
God; that he is the MediatorbetweenGod and man; that he is the Messiah, is
become incarnate, has obeyed, suffered, and died for men, and is the Saviour
of them: that he rose again, ascendedto heaven, is setdown at the right hand
of God, intercedes for his people, and will come a secondtime to judge the
world in righteousness;togetherwith all other truths which arise from,
depend upon, and are connectedwith these; nor all that saythey believe, or
profess to do so; but such who have seenthemselves lost and undone by sin,
their need of a Saviour, and Christ as the only one; who have seenthe Son, the
beauty of his person, the fulness of his grace, andthe necessityand
suitableness ofsalvation by him; who have beheld him as able to save them, as

every way proper for them, and desirable by them, for faith is a sight of
Christ; who also come to him under the drawings of efficacious grace, as
perishing sinners, encouragedby his invitations and declarations, and venture
on him; who likewise lay hold upon him, as their Saviour, and will have no
other; give up themselves to him, and commit their all into his hands; who
rely and staythemselves upon him, trust him with all they have, and for all
they want, expecting grace and glory from him; who live upon him, and walk
on in him, go on believing in him, till they receive the end of their faith, the
salvationof their souls. Now to these, in proof of what is assertedin the above
passageout of Isaiah, Christ is
precious;he is so in all his names and titles, as Immanuel, God with us, and
that clusterof them in Isaiah9:6 and particularly his name Jesus, a Saviour,
which is as ointment poured forth, and draws the love of believers to him; and
so he is in both his natures, divine and human; the perfections of deity in him,
his being in the form of God, and equal to him, the brightness of his Father's
glory, and the express image of his person, render him very amiable in the
view of believers; who rightly conclude from hence, that all he has done, and
does, must answerthe purposes for which they are designed;and his having a
perfect human nature, like to theirs, excepting sin, in which he wrought
salvationfor them on earth, and is now glorified in heaven, makes him a
delightful object to them: he is also precious to them in all his offices;in his
priestly office, his blood is precious, as it must needs be, since by it they are
purchased and redeemed; they are justified and sanctified by it; through it
they have the forgiveness of sin, and boldness to enter into the holiest of all:
his righteousnessis precious to them, it being the best robe, the wedding
garment, fine linen, cleanand white, every way suitable to them, and
answerable to the demands of the law; is pure, perfect, and everlasting;that
by which they are justified from all things, and which will answerfor them in
a time to come, and entitles them to eternallife. His sacrifice is precious, of a
sweetsmelling savour to them, as well as to God; by which their sins are fully
expiated, put, and takenaway; full satisfactionbeing made for them, and they
themselves thereby perfectedfor ever. And so he is in his prophetic office. His
word is precious, and all the truths of the Gospel, which are comparable to
gold, silver, and precious stones;the promises of it are exceeding greatand

precious, being suited to the cases ofall believers:and he is also precious in
his kingly office;his commands are not grievous;his yoke is easy, and burden
light; believers love his commandments above gold, yea; above fine gold, and
esteemhis precepts concerning all things to be right, and delight in his ways
and ordinances:moreover, he is precious to them in all his relations, as he is
the head of eminence and influence, their kind and loving husband, their
everlasting Father, their affectionate brother, and faithful friend; his whole
person, in every view, is precious to them that believe; the church of Christ,
the members of his body, the sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, in these is
all the delight of saints;everything that is in Christ, that is of him, or belongs
to him, is precious to such souls:some read the words, "to you therefore that
believe, he is honour"; as the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions;
and so the word is rendered in Romans 13:7, he is both an honour to them,
that they are related to him; and he is honoured by them, by believing in him,
and obeying him; and he is the cause ofall their true honour, both in this and
the other world. The Syriac version renders it, "to therefore is this honour
given"; namely, that such a stone is laid, and that they were built upon it, and
should not be confounded or ashamed, either here or hereafter; connecting
the words with the preceding. The Septuagint use the word the apostle here
does, in Isaiah11:10 where it is prophesied of the Messiah, thathis rest shall
be glorious; they render it "honour", or "precious".The Jewishwriters have
adopted the word into their language, anduse it for profit and gain (w); in
which sense it is applicable to Christ, who is gain to believers, both in life and
in death; they being blessedwith all spiritual blessings in him, and he being all
in all to them: and also they use it, as denoting the intrinsic price and value of
anything (x), and which is a right sense ofthe word; and to believers the price
of wisdom, or Christ, is far above rubies, and all the things that can be
desired; to them he is precious as a stone, as a foundation and cornerstone,
and more precious than the most precious stones orthings in nature; this he is
to them that believe: next follows, in this and the other verse, the accountof
what he is to them that believe not:
but unto them which be disobedient; who are not persuadable, unbelieving,
and are children of disobedience;who neither obey God and his righteous law,
nor Christ and his Gospel:

the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the
corner; reference is manifestly had to Psalm118:22 which is a passage that
clearly belongs to the Messiah, and which is suggestedby Christ himself; see
Gill on Matthew 21:42; and is by our apostle, in Acts 4:11 applied unto him:
by the builders are meant the rulers of the Jews, both civil and ecclesiastical,
and especiallythe latter, the Scribes, Pharisees, andchief priests;who set up
for builders of the church of God, but were miserable ones;they built
themselves, and taught others to build, on the observance ofthe ceremonial
law, and the traditions of the elders; on their carnal privileges, and moral
righteousness;and these disallowedof Christ in the building, rejectedhim as
the Messiah, refusedhim as the Saviour and Redeemer, and set him at
nought, had him in the utmost derision, and reckonedhim as a worm, and no
man; but, to their greatmortification, he is not only laid and retained as the
foundation and cornerstone, but made the head of the building, and is exalted
at God's right hand above angels and men; he is the head of the body, the
church; he is higher than the kings of the earth, and angels are subject to him,
(w) Targum in Esther3.8. & v. 13. & vii. 4. (x) Targum Hierosol. in Genesis
21.33. TargumJon. in Genesis 23.15. Targumin Proverbs 31.10. Bereshit
Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 2. 3. & sect. 11. fol. 9. 3.
Geneva Study Bible
{7} Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the
head of the corner,
(7) By setting the most blessedcondition of the believers and triumphs over
the other: and also prevents an offence which arises here, that none do more
resistthis doctrine of the gospel, than they who are chiefestamong the people
of God. In the time that Peter wrote these things, they were the priests, elders
and scribes. Therefore he answers first of all, that there is no reasonwhy any
man should be astonishedby their stubbornness, as though it were a strange
matter, seeing as we have been foretold so long before, that it should so come
to pass:and moreover, that it pleasedGod to create and make certain for this
same purpose, that the Son of God might be glorified in their just

condemnation. Thirdly, that the glory of Christ is hereby set forth greatly,
whereas nonethelessChrist remains the sure head of his Church, and they
that are offended by him, castdown and overthrow themselves, and not
Christ. Fourthly, although they are createdfor this end and purpose, yet their
fall and destruction is not to be attributed to God, but to their own obstinate
stubbornness, which comes betweenGod's decree, andthe executionof it, or
their condemnation, and is the true and proper cause of their destruction.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
1 Peter2:7. ὑμῖν οὖν ἡ τιμὴ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν] Conclusion, with special
reference to the readers, ὑμῖν, drawn from 1 Peter2:6 (οὖν), and in the first
instance from the secondhalf of the O. T. quotation, for τοῖς πιστεύουσιν
evidently stands relatedto ὁ πιστεύων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, hence the definite article. On
the position of τοῖς πιστ., cf. Winer, p. 511 [E. T. 687];only, with Winer, it
must not be interpreted: “as believers, i.e. if ye are believers,” but: “ye who
are believers.”
From the fact that ἡ τιμή echoes ἔντιμον, it must not be concluded that ἡ τιμή
here is the worth which the stone possesses,and that the meaning is: “the
worth which the stone has, it has for you who believe” (Wiesinger). The clause
would then have read perhaps: ὑμῖν οὖν ὁ λίθος ἐστι ἡ τιμή, or the like. ἡ τιμή
stands rather in antithesis to καταισχυνθῆναι, andtakes up positively what
had been expressednegativelyin the verse immediately preceding. Gerhard:
vobis, qui per fidem tanquam lapides vivi super eum aedificamini, est honor
coramDeo (so, too, de Wette-Brückner, Weiss,Schott);ὑμῖν, sc. ἐστι: “yours
therefore is the honour;” the article is not without significance here;the
honour, namely, which in that word is awardedto believers (Steiger).
τοῖς πιστεύουσιν] an explanatory adjunct placed by way of emphasis at the
end.

ἀπειθοῦσι [ἀπιστοῦσιν]δέ] antithesis to τοῖς πιστεύουσιν; ἀπειθεῖν denotes not
only the simple not believing, but the resistance againstbelief;thus also
ἀπιστοῦσινhere, if it be the true reading. Bengelwrongly explains the dative
by: quod attinet; it is the dat. incommodi (Steiger, de Wette, etc.). The words:
λίθος (λίθον) … γωνίας, are borrowed literally from Psalm118:22, afterthe
LXX. What is fatal for unbelievers in the fact that the stone is become the
corner-stone (κεφ. γων. equals λιθ. ἀκρογ.) is statedin the following words,
which are takenfrom Isaiah 8:14 : ‫אְל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ן‬‫גֶנ‬ ֶ‫ֶל‬ ‫ְל‬‫צ‬ְ‫ר‬ ‫מ‬ְ‫כ‬ ְ‫ׁש‬ ֶ‫]121[.ל‬In a manner
similar though not quite identical, these passages ofthe O. T. are woven
togetherby Paul in Romans 9:33. The words do not denote the subjective
conduct of the unbelievers (according to Luther, the occasionofstumbling or
offence which they find in the preaching of the cross), but the objective
destruction which they bring upon themselves by their unbelief (Steiger, de
Wette-Brückner, Wiesinger, Schott, Fronmüller); cf. Luke 20:17-18, where
the corner-stone is also characterizedas a stone of destruction for unbelievers.
It is therefore without any foundation that Hofmann asserts “the thought that,
to the disobedient, Christ is become the corner-stone seems impossible,” if
ἀπειθοῦσινbe takenas the dat. incommodi. So that it is in no waynecessaryto
accepta construction so uncommon as that adopted by Hofmann, who
considers the two clauses:ὑμῖν … οἰκοδομοῦντες to be, with an omitted ὤν, in
apposition to the following οὗτος, looking onἡ τιμή as a kind of personal
designationof the stone, and separating the three following expressions:εἰς
κεφ. γων., λιθ. προκόμμ., andπέτρα σκανδ. in such a way as to refer the first
to believers and the other two to unbelievers, although no such division is
anywhere hinted at.
[121]Schott rightly observes that κεφαλὴ γωνίας, as the corner-stone, must
not be understood, with Gerhard and Steiger, as one on which one stumbles
and falls. This is not contained in the idea, corner-stone, in itself.
Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Peter2:7 f. The secondquotation is connectedwith the first by means of the
parenthetic interpretation: The “precious”-nessofthe stone is for you who
believe but for the unbelievers it is … “a stone of stumbling”. It is a
stereotypedconflation of Psalm118:22 and Isaiah8:14, which are so firmly
cementedtogetherthat the whole is cited here where only the latter part is in
point. The same idea of the two-fold aspectofChrist occurs in St. Paul more
than once;e.g., Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling-block … but to you who
believe … 1 Corinthians 1:23. The problem involved is discussedby Origen
who adduces the different effects ofthe sun’s light.—ἡ τιμή, the τιμή involved
in the use of the adjective ἔντιμον., or rather Heb. ‫הנקי‬ underlying it. The play
on the peculiar sense thus required does not exclude the ordinary meaning
honour (for which cf. 1 Peter1:7; Romans 2:10).—λίθος ὃν … γωνίας = Ps. l.c.
(LXX)—the prophetic statementin scriptural phrase of the fact of their
unbelief. The idea may be that the raising of the stone to be head of the corner
makes it a stumbling-block but in any case λίθος … σκανδάλου is needed to
explain this.—λίθος προσκόμματος κ. π. σκ. from Isaiah8:14; LXX
paraphrases the original, which St. Peter’s manual preserves, reading καὶ οὐχ
ὡς λίθῳ προσκόμματι συναντήσεσθε οὐδὲ ὡς πετρας πτώματι (common
confusionof construct, with Gen.).—οἱ … ἀπειθοῦντες, descriptionof the
unbelieving in terms of the last quotation, who stumble at the word being
disobedient. τῷ λόγῳ is probably to be takenwith πρ. or both πρ. and ἀ. in
spite of the stone being identified with the Lord. Stumbling at the word is an
expressionused by Jesus (Mark 4:17, διὰ τὸν λόγον σκανδαλίζονται;Matthew
15:12, ἀκούσαντες τὸνλόγονἐσκανδαλίσθησαν;John 6:60, τοῦτο—ὁλόγος
οὗτος—ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει). Forἀ. cf. 1 Peter4:17, τῶν ἀπειθούντωντῷ τοῦ
θεοῦ εὐαγγελίῳ.—εἰς ὃ καὶ ἐτέθησαν, whereunto also (actually) they were
appointed. ἐτέθησαν comes from τίθημι (6); stone and stumbler alike were
appointed by God to fulfil their functions in His Purpose. For the sake of the
unlearned he only implies and does not assertin so many words that God
appointed them to stumble and disobey; but his view is that of St. Paul (see
Romans 9, 11, especiallyRomans 9:17;Romans 9:22); cf. Luke 2:34. Didymus
distinguishes betweentheir voluntary unbelief and their appointed fall. If any
are tempted to adopt such ingenious evasions ofthe plain sense it is well to
recallthe words of Origen: “If in the reading of scripture you stumble at what
is really a noble thought, the stone of stumbling and rock of offence, blame

yourself. You must not despair of this stone … containing hidden thoughts so
that the saying may come to pass, And the believer shall not be shamed.
Believe first of all and you will find beneath this reputed stumbling-block
much holy profit (in Jeremiah44 (51):22, Hom. xxxix. = Philocalia x.).
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
7. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious] More accurately, Unto you
therefore that believe there is the honour. The last words stand in direct
connexion with the “shall not be ashamed” of the previous verse, and are not a
predicate asserting what Christ is, but declare that honour, not shame, is the
portion of those who believe on Him.
but unto them which be disobedient] The Greek word, like the English,
expresses something more than the mere absence ofbelief and implies a
deliberate resistance. To suchas these, St Peter says, combining Isaiah8:14-15
with the other passagesin which the symbolism of the stone was prominent,
much in the same way as St Paul combines them in Romans 9:33, the very
corner-stone itselfbecame “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence.” Here
againhis language is an echo of our Lord’s (Matthew 21:44).
Bengel's Gnomen
1 Peter2:7. Ἡ τιμὴ, the preciousnessorprice) Supply ἐστὶν, exists, is well
known; that is, He is precious towards (in the estimation of) you.Ἡ, that,
refers to precious, 1 Peter2:6, note. The abstract, preciousnessorprice,
expresses the view in which the faithful regard Christ.—λίθον—γωνίας,a
stone—ofthe corner) See Matthew 21:42, note. Peterhad quoted the same
saying, Acts 4:11; and in this place he quotes it most appropriately. Λίθον,
κ.τ.λ. The Syriac translator, or Greek copyist, before him, passing from λίθον
to λίθος, omitted the intermediate words, as sometimes happens. But these
plainly belong to the subject. Peter quotes three sayings in 1 Peter 2:6-7 : the
first from Isaiah, the secondfrom the Psalms, the third againfrom Isaiah. He
makes allusionto the third in 1 Peter2:8; but he alluded to the secondand the
first in 1 Peter2:4, eventhen revolving them both in his mind. Therefore the

words, ἀποδεδοκιμασμένον, rejected, andἀπεδοκίμασαν, theyrejected, in 1
Peter2:4; 1 Peter2:7, have reference to eachother. The dative, ἀπειθοῦσι, to
them that are disobedient, as just before ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν, to you that
believe, accords with the Hebrew prefix ‫,ל‬ with this meaning, as relates to
those that believe not; and the remaining part of this verse coheres with this
dative, and the construction is easy:ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴνγωνίας καὶ λίθος
προσκόμματος, κ.τ.λ., was made the head of the corner and a stone of
stumbling, etc.; the conjoining of the two sayings (Dicta) softening the
disparity of the accusative andthe nominative case, εἰς κεφαλὴν—λίθος. The
saying of the Psalm has a twofold agreementwith this. For 1st, They who
ἀπεδοκίμασαν, rejectedthe stone, were truly ἀπειθοῦντες, disobedient. 2d,
The same persons, while they rejectedthe stone, were unconsciously
contributing to its becoming κεφαλὴ γωνίας, the head of the corner; nor can
they now prevent this, howevermuch they may be grieved[lit. snarl at it], and
they shall experience, to their greatmisery, that He is the head of the corner:
Matthew 21:44.—κεφαλὴν, the head) Christ is the head of the corner,
especiallywith reference to believers, who are built upon Him; yet unbelievers
experience this in another way.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 7. - Unto you therefore which believe he is precious; rather, unto you
therefore which believe is the honor. The apostle applies the last clause ofthe
prophecy to his readers:they believe, they are built up by faith upon the chief
Cornerstone;therefore the honor implied in the words of the prophet, "He
that believeth on him shall not be confounded" is theirs. There may also be in
the word τιμή, honor, an echo of the ἔντιμος ("precious," literally, "held in
honor") of ver. 6; and thus the further meaning may be implied, "The worth
which the stone has it has for you who believe" (Wiesinger, quoted by
Huther). But the first explanation is nearer to the Greek. But unto them which
be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the
Head of the corner; rather, as in the RevisedVersion, for such as disbelieve.
St. Peterrepeats the words of the hundred and eighteenthpsalm, quoted by
our Lord in Matthew 21:42, and by himself in Acts 4:11. The builders, the
priests and teachers of the JewishChurch, rejectedthe living Stone; but it
became, and indeed through that rejection, the Head of the corner. "He

Jesus was precious to belivers

Jesus was precious to belivers

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à Jesus was precious to belivers

Similaire à Jesus was precious to belivers (20)

Plus de GLENN PEASE

Plus de GLENN PEASE (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Jesus was precious to belivers