The Living Stone and Chosen People
Isaiah 28:14–22; 1 Corinthians 3:10–15; Ephesians 2:19–22
1Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,+ 2as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;+ 3if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious:+ 4unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious,+ 5ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.+ 6Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame.+ 7For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner;+ 8and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.+ 9But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:+ 10who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.+ 11Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;+ 12having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.+