The concept of the cornerstone is rich with significance in both architectural and theological contexts, particularly in the Bible. In ancient construction, the cornerstone was essential for establishing the integrity and alignment of a structure. It served as a reference point for all other measurements and placements, ensuring that everything was built correctly. In the New Testament, we can also read that Jesus was referred to as a cornerstone, as Paul said,
19. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20. built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21. in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In this passage, Paul says that Christ is the chief cornerstone and the foundation of the members of the Church of Christ. He alone joins the entire building of the Church to become a Holy temple. However, in the Old Testament God is establish as the cornerstone that will bring salvation to Israel.
- Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2. Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3. Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4. Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5. Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. 6. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7. The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. 10. All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! 11. They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! 12. They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! 13. I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. 14. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, 16. the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” 17. I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. 18. The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 20. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25. Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27. The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
The Psalmist is praising Yahweh saying that God is the cornerstone that was rejected by Israel and gives Him praise for sending salvation anyways. The cornerstone holds a profound significance in biblical architecture, particularly in relation to Solomon's Temple. Constructed during King Solomon’s reign, this temple was designed as a dwelling place for the LORD, symbolizing His presence among the Israelites and serving as a pivotal point in their worship and identity (1 Kings 6:37; 1 Kings 7:9). Scripture records the solemnities with a sanctifying ceremony (Ezra 3:10-11; Haggai 2:15,Haggai 18-23; Zechariah 3:9; Zechariah 4:9-10; Zechariah 8:9).
- Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion...10. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11. so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12. Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14. Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15. And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16. ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ ... 20. Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21. And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.” 22. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23. and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ... 27. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28. Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29. that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
While it is hard to verify, there is a rabbinic story about the temple that Solomon built (Wikipedia-contributors2024-lv, PriestapUnknown-cc,Unknown2015-cw, Unknown2017-zk, BlogwenUnknown-ud):
According to Jewish tradition, the stone specifically designed to be the cornerstone for Solomon’s temple was created and sent to the worksite at what is now the Temple Mount during the early days of construction about 970 B.C (1 Kings 5:17). The story goes that builders kept stumbling into an odd-shaped stone as they worked on less essential portions of the project. The contractor, thinking the quarry had made a mistake, had the stone thrown away. The stone was moved to the Kidron Valley. Sometime later, the contractor sent to the quarry asking for the chief cornerstone. The quarry sent back a message saying it had already been delivered. When the contractor argued that he had never received the stone, someone reminded him of the oddly shaped stone, the one that did not seem to fit his plans, that he had rejected. Sure enough, that was the stone that would support the whole building. When the time came to lay the rejected cornerstone, it had to be “resurrected” from the brush in the Kidron Valley to anchor the great temple. All the people from King Solomon on down to the lowliest slave recognized what the Lord had done! The builders meant well, but they had their own ideas on how the Temple was to be built. After they acknowledged their mistake, the temple was completed and there was great joy at the dedication (2 Chronicles 7:1-5).
To further establish the truth that Jesus is the cornerstone, we can look to the prophetic words of Isaiah. Though His prophet, God asserts that He has already laid a cornerstone in Zion, that will serve as Justice and Righteousness.
16. therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ 17. And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
God uses Zechariah to further talk about this cornerstone:
8. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”
Jesus claims to be the Vine and the Branch of Jeremiah 23:5,Isaiah 11:1-2 in
Revelation 22:16 . In Revelation Jesus is also revealed have the same traits of seven eyes:
6. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
In the writings of Peter, he makes the parallel that Christ is cornerstone chosen by God to secure a promise and that those who trust Christ will never be put to shame.
4. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5. you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8. and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
Jesus himself says that He is this cornerstone (Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11) when He talks His parables about the vineyard.
42. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
The concept of the cornerstone, serves as a subtle point in understanding the identity of Jesus Christ as God, particularly in relation to the temple as the dwelling place of God's presence. In the Old Testament the temple is constructed as a sacred space for God's presence, foundational to Israel's worship and identity. God Himself is called the cornerstone that is rejected by builders for this temple, something Christ claims for himself. This idea is illustrated in the rabbinic tradition surrounding the construction of Solomon’s temple, where the builders initially rejected an oddly shaped stone that later proved to be the chief cornerstone, essential for the temple's integrity. Prophetic texts, such as Isaiah 28:16, present a cornerstone associated with justice and righteousness, anticipated as the messianic figure who would restore Israel and dwell among His people.
Transitioning to the New Testament, Jesus not only claims the role of the cornerstone but also embodies its attributes. He claims to the "Branch", "Vine" and "Stone" in Jeremiah 23:5 and Isaiah 11:1.Revelation 5:6 describes Him as a Lamb with seven eyes, paralleling Zechariah's vision of a stone with seven eyes. Jesus is explicitly identified as the cornerstone in passages such as Ephesians 2:19-21, where He becomes the foundation of the Church, which is seen as a spiritual temple where God's presence dwells. Peter reinforces this in 1 Peter 2:4-8, depicting Jesus as a "living stone" crucial for the spiritual structure of believers. This imagery indicates that Christ, as the cornerstone, is foundational to the spiritual house of God's people—His temple. Since the cornerstone is essential for the temple, which symbolizes God's dwelling, and both God and Jesus are identified as the cornerstone, it follows that Jesus is indeed the same God who resided in the temple. Thus, if Jesus is the cornerstone of the spiritual temple—the Church—He must also be understood as God Himself.