THE WONDERFUL AND PRECIOUS STONE IN SION

“Behold I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, 

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; 

he that believes in it shall not be ashamed” (Is. 28:16).

     This stone, as described, is .precious and wonderful for it is a prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, the most precious cornerstone of the Church. The Prophet speaks not of any ordinary stone but of the foundation stone which is the Lord himself. Daniel the Prophet says:  “You saw a stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it smote the image upon its feet of iron . . .”                                                                                                                                                                

     “The foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation” refers to Jesus Christ and He is the one and only rock and cornerstone  of the Church. It is Jesus Christ and not Peter contrary to what the popes of Rome claim, who invented false claims regarding the rock. For Scripture  adds: “He who believes in him shall not be ashamed.”  It is only in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we believe that we will never be ashamed for it is only Him in whom we believe in as the Godman and our eternal Savior and Redeemer. It is important to remember that the popes of Rome are extremely fraudulent, for they falsely claim that Peter is the rock upon which Christ’s Church is built, and that popes of Rome are Peter’s only successors. Then they foolishly proclaimed the popes to be infallible and unable to err!  But we see that Christ alone can be the  precious stone, and He is the main cornerstone of the Church.

     Christ is the precious cornerstone and foundation for He is the only Godman and the mightiest person who exists. He is precious and there can be no other like Him for He alone is the Savior. The second person of the Holy Trinity came down from heaven and became a man.  This wonderful and precious Stone introduced His Gospel to His disciples and through them it spread to the entire world.

     The Lord showed himself to be the most beautiful and wonderful of men, and He is the only sinless one. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and snatched the dead from the jaws of death. The paralytics were given all their functions by the Lord, rejoicing and giving thanks to the Almighty One.

     Christ appeared before us as a man but He is the almighty Logos of God, and the Lord of all creation; He is glorified, and will be glorified unto the ages of ages. We believe that Christ eternally comes forth, begotten, of the Father while always remaining within Him. Christ is God united with man and is one person having two natures, the divine from His Father and the human from His Mother, therefore He is the Godman. He is one and the same Christ, one person with two natures, unconfused, indivisible and inseparable.’

                                                                                                               Christ did the works of God, giving sight to the blind and bestowing life on the dead. He also did  the works of man for He suffered and was crucified dying on the Cross, showing Him to be one man, Then on the third day He arose in His glorious Resurrection, having destroyed the power of death by His death.                                            

                                                                                                                                                               

1. CONCERNING GOD

“I believe in one God the Father almighty, creator of 

heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.”

     The sacred Creed of the holy Orthodox Church is a wonderful foundation for all other knowledge concerning God, man and the world.  The Creed begins with: “I believe in one God the Father almighty . . .” This a prime dogma concerning our faith in the one triune God and Creator of everything.. We believe in one God who is self-existing, always exists, is holy just,  and knows everything. He knows himself and is all-wise, all-powerful, all good, perfect, self-sufficient. beautiful, in need of nothing, and He is the  Lord of everything.

     The human race usually believed in a god or gods, but then through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs, faith and knowledge of the one true God was more firmly established among these men and their descendants, who eventually received the divine law through Moses.  The firm idea of one God, His communication and divine law contradicts the erroneous idea of a plurality of gods.  The one God can be somewhat known by all that He teaches us through our intellects and consciences. 

     The name Father signifies the first person of the one  God.  The name Son signifies the second person of the one God. The name Holy Spirit signifies the third person of the same God. The Father is called Father because He begets the Son, the Son is called Son because he is begotten of the Father. The Spirit is called Spirit because he is breathed and moved by the Father and rests in the Son.  The Father Son and Holy Spirit are undivided and of the same essence. The Father is not begotten, is uncaused and without origin. The Son is begotten and the cause of his existence is the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds and comes forth from the Father, who is the Cause of His existence, but He does not also proceed and come forth from the Son as the heretical Papal  dogma proclaims and teaches.

     The mind and creation of the one God can be partly understood by His works.  He has done and continues to do these works in heaven and on earth all being for the  sake of man. The earthly population started with but one man and one woman, and today is populated with billions of people all who need food and water and air to survive, with thousands of other things, for every man needs food, water and air. Man needs the sun with its heat and light and other healthy benefits. He also needs rest from sleep and shelter against the elements. He needs to work for himself or someone else in order to obtain his required necessities. When he gets sick he eventually acquires from medical people the various remedies. Gravity keeps many things well balanced and in good order. As a race, mankind has been well provided for and is richly endowed with many things to keep it functioning. 

      These truths regarding the Holy Trinity are dogmas of the Church. So if anyone believes in one God but not in the Holy Trinity, he is in heresy and an atheist. In the beginning God created heaven and earth, and all things physical and spiritual and visible and indivisible .

     When we  examine man and the many requirements he needs to survive, we realize almighty God as the Creator has  provided for He has created all things. It also means that He has a distinct purpose and plan which He has made known to man. His all knowing mind is infinite and filled with beauty, and is perfect and beyond all possible description.

     Concerning the world:

     Man takes for granted the gifts of God , such as the rain,  dew, snow, the hail and frost, the oceans and lakes, the rivers and streams all are just a part of God’s immense creation and everything is self-replenishing and well systematized. Crowning all God’s creation is man whom He formed in His own image, and so some blessed men offer Him thanksgiving and greatly glorifies Him for His kindness and many benefactions upon him. Yet man cannot understand God for His mind is small and his limitations are extremely restricted. For he is  unable to understand and comprehend the many created things, and thus he cannot comprehend the uncreated.  But every man is capable of recognizing and glorifying Him for He is invisible to the eye but visible in spirit, yet if we men lived for a million years we would not understand His works and His extremely great love for mankind.