The other two important corner stones of Christianity are:-

3.   Jesus Christ our Sanctification

Jesus Christ is the corner stone of our sanctification as a result of his resurrection from the dead, and his appointment as high Priest who lives for ever and has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Such a High Priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, and set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Both righteousness and holiness (sanctification) is a state which has been conferred upon believers because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Hence we are admonished to “Put on the new man, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph.4:24).

As living stones we are integrated into the cornerstone of holiness by “God the Father who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him.” This spiritual state has to be perfected by cleansing ones self from every defilement of body and spirit, and making holiness perfect in the fear of God.

This necessitates our separation from everything that defiles as we have been instructed saying; “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For, we are the temple of the living God.

As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2Cor.6:14-18).

Christ the cornerstone of our sanctification has called his people out of the world, and prayed to the Father on their behalf saying; “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world anymore than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (Jn.17:14-19).

It is also by the authority of Christ our sanctification that Paul issued a letter to the church saying; “I have written to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler, with such a man do not even eat.”

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you” (1Cor.5:9-13).

A messenger of Christ our sanctification has issued a warning saying; “Come out of her, my people so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues” (Rev.18:4).

4.   Jesus Christ our Redemption

Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our redemption because only in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins. God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Redemption is not a one time process as it is commonly believed, it is an ongoing process. The one time process of redemption is, once and for all there is now an offering that can present the worshiper holy, perfect, and blameless in the presence of God.

It is made absolutely clear that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, and no one can say that I have no sin, or have not sinned. Therefore, “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
But, if any body does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

It is the blood of Christ that (not purified as in the past, but as an ongoing process) purifies us from all sins.
It is stated quite categorically that the life of the flesh is in the blood: and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

Therefore, the cup of the New Covenant which was instituted on the night before Jesus Christ was led to be crucified and became effective after his death, was part and parcel of the plan of the mystery hidden in ages in God.

According to the scriptures, a testament is in force only when some body has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. Therefore the cup of the new covenant of Christ’s blood became effective after his death and that was all part of God’s redemption plan for man.

The corner stone of our spiritual structure therefore is, Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, his death and resurrection, and his appointment as the eternal High Priest, and his flesh and blood as the food for God’s offering as the redemption price for our sins. For thus it is written; “God is the source of our life in Jesus Christ, whom he made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (1Cor.1:30-31).

It is the lack of, and improper discernment of the body and blood of Jesus Christ that is the cause of the believer’s weakness, sickness and premature death. We should therefore learn how to build our spiritual house on the chief corner stone, in view of God’s mercy, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices (as priests), holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual act of worship.

Priests must be holy to their God, and must not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings made to the Lord by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy. Priests are holy to their God and should be regarded as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy – I who make you holy” (Lev.21:6-7).

Our admonition is to; “Come to him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
People stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for.

“But you (the believer), are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God; once we had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy” (1Pet.2:5, 9).

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, who chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has given us in the one he loves, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment” (Eph.1:3-10).

I think the time has reached its fulfillment. Therefore as obedient children, let us not conform ourselves to the evil desires we had when we lived in ignorance, but just as he who called us is holy, so let us be holy in all we do; for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph