“Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

elect

Jesus is essential to the Father’s eternal plan. God chose Jesus out because no other could save man; no one else could do it. God chose him, and he is dear to God. God’s whole plan revolves around him. Billions of years ago, the Father knew every failure or problem that every man, woman, and child would ever face. He put into place a plan that would meet every need. The starting point was to elect the Son and take him to the cross.

“Elect” takes us to eternity past. It always refers to God’s divine design for creation. God’s eternal plan excludes human merit. God always provides in his grace. Under grace, God gets the credit.

It is God’s approval that is the critical issue, not man’s. What a contrast! He was not dear to Israel, but he was precious to God.

precious

Our response to the elect Lord Jesus is to hold him as precious. “Precious” means valuable. “Precious” is something that we hold in honor. Believers should hold him as highly valued or most valuable. Do we treasure Jesus in our lives?

Maudlin, sentimental people ruin this word “precious” for us. “Precious” does not mean to slobber. All of us do a certain amount of this. This word means to hold in the highest value.

Thirty years after the ascension, Christ is more precious to Peter than ever.

PRINCIPLE:

God wants us to occupy our minds with the person of Christ through the Word of God.

APPLICATION:

We are in a dangerous period of church history where Christians fail to recognize that knowledge of the value of Jesus Christ comes from the Word. Jesus does not want maudlin sentimentality; he wants true love.