9圣经中的石头主要是为着神的建造。当彼得第一次来到主面前，主把他的名字从西门改为矶法（约一42），说，“你是约翰的儿子西门，你要称为矶法（矶法翻出来，就是彼得）。”约在三年之后，主问祂的门徒说，“人说人子是谁？”（太十六13）彼得说，“你是基督，是活神的儿子。”主耶稣就对他说，“我还告诉你，你是彼得，我要把我的召会建造在这磐石上。”（16、18）主说这话是提醒彼得，三年前把他的名字从西门改为矶法的事。后来，彼得写第一封书信时说，你们“也就像活石，被建造成为属灵的殿〔直译，家〕”（彼前二5）。在这一节彼得提到石头和殿（家）。在林前三章，保罗有同样的观念，他告诉哥林多信徒说，他们是神的建筑（9）。在10节保罗告诉我们，要谨慎怎样建造。我们必须小心怎样建造，并用什么来建造，因为我们的工程要受到火的试验。我们若用金、银、宝石建造，我们的工程就存得住。所以我们看见，在三章，保罗也说到石头是为着神的建造。到了启示录，圣经的终结，我们看见一座用宝石建造的城。按照圣经的原则，城总是家（殿）的扩大。……在新耶路撒冷中没有殿，因为殿已经扩大成了一座城。那城是用宝石所建，扩大的家（殿）。圣经是何等的一贯！由圣经这些话我们看见，石头是建造神家（殿）的材料。 9In the Bible a stone is mainly for God’s building. When Peter first came to the Lord, the Lord changed his name from Simon to Cephas (John 1:42), saying, “You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).” The name Peter means “a stone.” Approximately three years later, the Lord questioned His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). After Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16), the Lord Jesus said to him, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church” (v. 18). In saying this, the Lord reminded Peter of what He had done three years ago in changing his name from Simon to Cephas. Later, in writing his first Epistle, Peter said, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house” (2:5). In this one verse Peter mentions both the stone and the house. In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul held a similar concept, telling the believers at Corinth that they were God’s building (v. 9). In 1 Corinthians 3:10 Paul tells us to take heed how we build. We must be careful of how and with what we build, for our work will be tested by fire. If we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, our work will remain. So we see that in 1 Corinthians 3 Paul also speaks of stone for God’s building. As we come to the book of Revelation, the ultimate end of the Bible, we see a city built up with precious stones. According to the principle of the Bible, a city is always the enlargement of a house…There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem, because the temple will have been enlarged into a city. That city will be an enlarged house built with precious stones. How consistent is the Bible! By all these portions of the Word, we see that stone is the material for the building of God’s house.