We believers in Christ were created of clay, but at regeneration we received the seed of the divine life, which by its growing in us, transforms us into living stones; we are living stones by Christ through the process of transformation to be suitable for God’s building, the church.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as the seed of life to bring God’s life into us. Grow in us a little more today. Grow unto maturity. May Your life grow in us and spread in our entire being. We come to You, a living stone, to become living stones just like You. Amen, Lord, make us living stones through the process of transformation so that we may be suitable for the building up of the church as the house of God! Grow in us and transform us for God’s building today! Amen!
This week we come to two wonderful symbols in the Bible – we believers in Christ are living stones and sheep. On the one hand, we are living stones; on the other hand, we are sheep.
The stones are strong but the sheep are weak. We are both strong and weak, and we need to be weak and also be strong.
These two symbols are very precious and very important, and they are mentioned repeatedly throughout the Bible.
Living stones and sheep indicate both the personal experience of Christ and the corporate building up of the church, for the stones are being transformed and built up, and the sheep are shepherded by the Lord both individually and corporately as God’s flock.
May we open to the Lord and be unveiled to see more concerning what we are according to His word.
May we allow the Lord to shine on us and show us that we are both living stones and sheep.
In particular, as living stones, we want to see what does it mean to be a living stone, how can we become living stones, how Christ infuses us with Himself to be the stone nature in our being, how He works in us and shines within us to make us stones for God’s building, and how we are becoming the Lord’s overcoming saints to be part of the corporate smiting stone coming to end human government and bring in God’s kingdom.
As sheep, we are under the Lord’s organic shepherding; He cares for us and supplies richly, He rules over us and also shepherds us, and He protects us from anything of the enemy.
May the Lord open His word to us so that we may see what does it mean for us to be living stones for God’s building and sheep in the flock of God.
We Believers in Christ are Symbolised by Living Stones for God’s Building, His Spiritual House
The believers in Christ are symbolised by living stones, those who are transformed wth Christ’s stone nature to be God’s spiritual house (see 1 Pet. 2:4-5). The significance of stones or the living stones is transformation and also building.
Stones signify a transformed man, not a natural man; as transformed men, we are living stones for God’s building, the church.
If we take a look at the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we see a rich revelation of the matter of stones symbolising the people of God.
We can take a moment to see the line of revelation in the Bible concerning stone. From Genesis all the way to Revelation, the stone plays a crucial role in God’s eternal purpose.
Stones are first mentioned in Genesis 2, in the garden of Eden, where we see the tree of life and a river, and there is mention of gold, bdellium, and onyx stones.
Later in Genesis 28, when Jacob was running from his brother Esau, while taking a rest in the wilderness, he took a piece of stone to be his pillow. He rested on the stone; we don’t know how one can rest on a stone, but that’s what Jacob did.
God spoke to him during that night, and he realised something; he then turned over the stone to make it a pillar, and poured oil on it, calling it Bethel, the house of God.
In Exodus, while the children of Israel were travelling in the wilderness, there was a cleft rock that followed them; this rock flowed out water to quench the thirst of the travelling people of God.
In Exodus 28 we see how the high priest had an ephod, which he had to wear, and on the shoulder plates there were onyx stones, and on the breastplate had twelve stones.
The high priest was carrying quite a lot of stones in his ministry; these stones signified the people of God, and they were borne into the presence of God.
In the prophets, Isaiah and Zechariah, they both prophesied concerning the coming Christ as the stone, the tested stone, the cornerstone, the foundation stone, even the top stone.
In Daniel we see the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, where a stone cut without hands came and struck the image, the whole of the human government, and it collapsed; the stone then became a great mountain.
In the New Testament, we see how the Lord called Peter, who was called Simon, and Christ gave him a new name: Peter, Cephas, that is, a stone.
Later, when the Lord brought His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, He asked them, Who do men say that I am? Peter responded, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then the Lord told him, You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.
Here we see that Christ is the rock and Peter is a stone built on the rock. Peter was so impressed with this that he called the Lord a living stone, and we are living stones.
We believers in Christ are living stones together with Christ as the living stone. We are the building material for God’s house, the spiritual house.
If we go to the end of the Bible, in Revelation, we see that the overcomers in the church in Pergamos are promised by the Lord to be given a piece of white stone, upon which will be inscribed the Lord’s new name.
In chapter 4 of Revelation we se the One sitting on the throne who had the appearance like a jasper stone.
Then, at the end of the Bible, we see the New Jerusalem have a wall of jasper stone and the foundation of different precious stones.
The New Jerusalem is a city of precious stones. How important the matter of stone is! Throughout the Bible, God desires and He must have stones – living stones, precious stones. We need to be transformed to be part of God’s building as living stones.
Lord Jesus, unveil us to see how much You need living stones, precious stones. We open to You. We come to You as we are, and we want to be transformed from clay into living stones. Oh Lord, gain us as the material You need for Your building! Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ are living stones, for we come to the Lord as the living stone and we are made into living stones. Amen, Lord, keep growing in us. Transform us more today. Transform our clay nature into the stone nature. Make us a living stone even as You are a living stone. We give ourselves to You today for Your building. Save us from being untransformed. Save us from remaining clay, not suitable for Your building. Oh Lord Jesus, thank You for regenerating us with Your life; we now open to be transformed with Your stone nature until we become living stones built up together into the church, God’s spiritual house! Praise the Lord, our destiny is to become the New Jerusalem, a city constituted with stones which shines forth God’s glory radiantly and corporately! Amen!
We Believers in Christ become Living Stones through Regeneration and Transformation as we Come to the Lord as a Living Stone
On the one hand, it is wonderful to see the line of the stone in God’s word, and we definitely need to be impressed with God’s need to obtain not only men of clay who worship God but living stones who are transformed by God for His building.
On the other hand, we believers in Christ need to realise that we are living stones, like Christ, through regeneration and transformation! Amen!
We were created of clay (Rom. 9:21), but at regeneration we received the seed of life (1 Pet. 1:23-24), which by its growing in us, transforms us into living stones.
Living stones are not some special persons who are so mature and spiritual; living stones are actually transformed sinners.
When the Lord Jesus called Peter, He said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter [meaning ‘a stone’]) – see John 1:42.
When we think of a stone, we think of something solid; in the Bible, a stone denotes a work of transformation to bring forth material for God’s building (1 Cor. 3:12).
We believers in Christ are born of God with His life and nature, and we are being transformed into living precious stones for the building up of the church as the house of God (Matt. 16:18).
Thank the Lord that we all, though we were created as men of clay, received the divine life into us, and this life is growing, spreading, and transforming us to make us living stones.
What God desires is not merely some clay men who look good and behave well; He doesn’t even want just a pile of stones that are transformed.
God desires to have a house that is built up with living stones, the believers in Christ who experienced regeneration and transformation.
Clay is soft, even muddy; it can be washed with water and it can be moved or molded as needed. This is how we were. But we are now becoming stone-men, those who are being transformed into living stones for God’s building!
Transformation is not merely an outward change; it is a metabolic process. Transformation takes place through the impartation of the divine life into us, into every part of our inner being, to add the element of God in us.
We as vessels of clay become living stones through the process of transformation. Just as the Lord called Simon, Peter, showing that He will make him a living stone, so He calls us, living stones.
As we just come to Him, a living stone, we are being transformed to be living stones just like Him.
May we not look at ourselves to see how much we are a living stone; may we keep coming to the Lord throughout the day, even moment by moment, to enjoy Him and to allow Him to transform us.
As we come to the Lord in His word with a prayerful attitude, His word operates in us to renew our mind. Then, throughout the day His word will speak to us from within to adjust us, correct us, convict us, and instruct us, and as we heed God’s word, we are inwardly changed.
The word of God contains His element, which is being added to us little by little, day by day.
The Lord Jesus is the rock on which the church is built, and we are the many living stones who are built together to be the church as the house of God. A good example of transformation by the adition of the stone element is petrified wood.
In Arizona there is a place called, the Petrified Forest, where you see many pieces of wood that have now become stone.
They were wood, but after passing through millions of years under the flow of water, the stone mineral was deposited onto the pieces of wood and the wooden element was removed, until they became petrified.
You look at those pieces of wood, and they look like wood, but they became stone, for the stone element replaced the wood element. They were soft pieces of wood, but now they are weighty pieces of stone.
We need the Lord’s addition of His element to our being until we are transformed into living stones. We cannot change ourselves. We can only be changed in our very nature to be transformed by the growth in life.
Our growth in life is for our transformation so that we can be fit for God’s building. As we remain in the flow of life, enjoying the Lord by drinking Him and eating Him, it is still us who live, but the element of Christ is slowly replacing our natural element.
Christ’s stone element replaces our natural element to make us living stones, even as He is a living stone.
Thank the Lord that we can be daily in the process of transformation for us to become living stones for God’s building, thus fulfilling God’s desire to obtain a corporate expression of Himself on earth! Amen!
Lord Jesus, we love You and we come to You, a living stone, so that we may also become a living stone for God’s building! Amen, Lord, we believe what You said in Your word that You will make us living stones! We cannot change ourselves, Lord, no matter how we want; we cannot transform ourselves, but we come to You to be transformed! Amen, may we grow in life day by day until we are transformed into living stones! Praise the Lord, Christ as the seed of life came into us at the time of our regeneration and now He is growing in us! Hallelujah, the growth of Christ in us is causing us to become living stones for God’s building! Amen, Lord, transform us more today. Transform us into Your image. Add more of Your divine element to us. Renew us in our mind. Subdue our will. Cause our emotions to be balanced, one with Your emotions. Amen, Lord, gain us as living stones for Your building! Gain what You are after in us. Keep us in the process of transformation until we are transformed and built up as living stones in the church as the house of God! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee on this topic, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 108, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Believers (1) (2026 July Semi-Annual Training), week 5, “Living Stones and Sheep” – day 1.
- Hymns on this topic:
– The chief Cornerstone Thou art, Lord, / Jewish builders did despise; / God by resurrection placed Thee, / Thou art precious in His eyes. / Through Thee we receive salvation, / And, together built by Thee, / Jews and Gentiles are Thy dwelling, / One new man, in harmony. (Hymns #834 stanza 1)
– ’Tis for the city man is wrought upon, / Therefore regenerated and transformed / To purest gold, to pearls and precious stones, / As Christ’s own Body, to Himself conformed. (Hymns #975 stanza 7)
– Though of clay Thou madest us, / Thou wouldst have us be transformed; / With Thy life as purest gold, / Unto precious stones conformed. / We shall, through Thy building work, / Then become Thy loving Bride, / In one Body joined to Thee, / That Thy heart be satisfied. (Hymns #839 stanza 2)
