The Living Stone and Chosen People

(Isaiah 28:14–22, 1 Corinthians 3:10–15, Ephesians 2:19–22)

2 Rid yourselves, therefore, {of} all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow,[fn] 3 if indeed[fn] you have tasted that the Lord [is] good.

4 As you come to [Him], [the] living stone, rejected by men but chosen [and] precious in God’s sight, 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house,[fn] a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen [and] precious cornerstone; and the [one who] believes in Him will never be put to shame.”[fn]

7 To you who believe, then, [this stone] is precious. But [to those who] are disobedient,[fn] “[The] stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”[fn]

8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”[fn] [They] stumble [because] they disobey the word—and to [this] they were appointed.

9 But you [are] a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s own] possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once [you were] not a people, but now [you are] [the] people of God; [once you] had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[fn]

11 Beloved, I urge [you], as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from [the] desires of the flesh, which war against [your] soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see [your] good deeds [and] glorify God on [the] day He visits us.