As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans 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. For in Scripture it says:

            “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
                  a chosen and precious cornerstone,
            and the one who trusts in him
                  will never be put to shame.”

      Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

            “The stone the builders rejected
                  has become the cornerstone,”

      and,

            “A stone that causes people to stumble
                  and a rock that makes them fall.”

      They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

      So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

            “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
                  a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
            the one who relies on it
                  will never be stricken with panic.

      Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.