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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Security in Christ

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John MacArthur

“This is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed'” (1 Pet. 2:6).

First Peter 2:6 is a paraphrase of Isaiah 28:16, which says, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.'” Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah–the coming Christ of God. Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, applied Isaiah’s prophecy to Jesus.

In Isaiah’s prophecy, “Zion” refers to Jerusalem, which stands atop Mount Zion. Mount Zion is sometimes used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the New Covenant of grace, whereas Mount Sinai represents the Old Covenant of law. Isaiah was saying that God would establish the Messiah as the cornerstone of His New Covenant Temple, the church.

The analogy of believers as stones and Christ as the cornerstone would have great meaning for the Jewish people. When the Temple in Jerusalem was built, the stones used in its construction were selected, cut, and shaped in the stone quarry according to precise plans (1 Kings 6:7). Only then were they taken to the building site and set into place. The most important stone was the cornerstone, to which the various angles of the building had to conform.

God used a similar process to build His New Covenant Temple. Its stones (individual believers) are elect and shaped by the Holy Spirit to fit into God’s master plan for the church. Jesus Himself is the precious cornerstone, specially chosen and prepared by the Father to be the standard to which all others conform. He is the fulfillment of all Messianic promises, and the One in whom you can trust without fear of disappointment. That means you are secure in Him!

Live today in the confidence that Christ cannot fail. He will always accomplish His purposes.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Praise God for keeping His promises and for giving you security in Christ.

For Further Study:

Read Galatians 4:21-31.

Who was the bondwoman and what did she represent?

To whom did Paul liken believers?

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Greg Laurie – The Name above All Names

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Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. —Revelation 14:1

My mother, who was married and divorced seven times, allowed me to choose my last name.

“Pick your name,” she said to me one day. “Who do you want to be?”

I thought about it for a while, and then I chose the name Laurie. It belonged to Oscar Felix Laurie, one of the men whom my mom had married. He was the only father who treated me like a father ought to treat a son. Although he was not my biological father, in every way he behaved like a father toward me, and I loved him and respected him. So I chose his name because it was the name above all the other names.

Revelation 14:1 speaks of believers during the Tribulation who have the mark of God the Father and not the Antichrist: “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

The Lamb is Jesus, and His Father’s name is written on the believers’ foreheads.

Philippians 2:9–10 tells us, “Therefore, God elevated [Jesus] to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. . . .”

Just as I was able to choose who my father was by taking his name, you, too, can choose your father: You can be of your father the devil (see John 8:44), or you can be a worshipper of your heavenly Father.

If you are smart, you will choose the name above all names, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what these believers in Revelation 14 have done. And that is what we ought to do as well.