The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

Christ by the apostles (II Corinthians 11:2) and should grow closer to Christ during the
“engagement period” of this present age. Unfortunately, the history of the professing church suggests
she has been as unfaithful to her Groom as Israel was to her Husband.
THE CORNERSTONE AND FOUNDATION OF THE BUILDING
Jesus is called “a stone” or “rock” in three different senses in the Scripture. To Israel He
is a “stumbling” stone or “a rock of offence” (Isaiah 8:14,15; Romans 9:32,33; I Corinthians
1:23; I Peter 2:8). To the world He is the smiting stone, which will destroy the antichrist
kingdoms of the world (Daniel 2:34). But to the church, “the stone which the builders disallowed,
the same is made the head of the corner” (I Peter 2:7). Jesus is the cornerstone of the
church, which He is presently building.
Some of the significance of this title has been lost to the average Christian today because
of changes in architectural design in the centuries since this title was first applied to Christ. The
Greek word lithos was used of ordinary field stones that were found on the ground. It was
common in the construction of first-century buildings to lean the building into itself. This meant
that one part of the structure would have a greater amount of pressure on it than the rest of the
structure. Over the years, the materials used in this area would wear faster. To compensate for
this, builders sought for a hard field stone upon which the structure would rest. It became known
as the cornerstone and was the one part of the building on which the rest of the structure
depended absolutely.
When the apostles called Jesus “the cornerstone,” they were not thinking of the
decorative marble slab affixed to a completed building but, rather, to the foundational rock upon
which the building would depend for its stability and strength. In the “temple of God,” the
church, Jesus is the “head of the corner,” which gives both strength and stability to the spiritual
temple of believers who are also likened to the stones with which the rest of building is
constructed (I Peter 2:5).
THE TRUE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
In the Old Testament, God often used the image of a vine or vineyard to describe the
nation Israel (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15; 19:10; Hosea 10:1), but
always the image was that of an unkempt vineyard which had gone wild. Jesus called Himself, in
contrast, the true vine and identified His disciples as the branches of that vine (John 15:1-8). This
is perhaps the most intimate of images used in Scripture to describe the oneness of Christ and
believers. Jesus is not the stem from which the branches grow but the vine, which is the total life
of the branches. The image of a vine is better suited than that of a tree, for the vine and branches
grow into one another so that it is difficult to distinguish the vine from the branches. That ought
also to be true of the relationship of the believer to His Lord.
This title, “the Vine,” is the seventh of the Jehovistic titles of Jesus in the Gospel of John,
and further aspects of this title are discussed elsewhere in this book. The practical application of
this title to the church relates to our oneness with Christ, the nature of spiritual growth, our
responsibility to bear fruit consistently, and the need for occasional pruning.