Here we have the true confession. Here lies the solid foundation of the whole edifice of the Church of God and all true practical Christianity--"Christ the Son of the _living_ God." No more dim shadows--no more powerless forms--no more lifeless ordinances--all must be permeated by this new, this divine, this heavenly life which has come into this world, and is communicated to all who believe in the name of the Son of God. "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I _will build_ My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Now, it is evidently to this magnificent passage that the apostle Peter refers in the second chapter of his first epistle, when he says, "To whom coming, as unto a _living_ stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as _living_ stones (the same words), are built up," etc. All who believe in Jesus are partakers of His risen, victorious, _rock_ life. The life of Christ, the Son of the living God, flows through all His members, and through each in particular. Thus we have the _living_ God, the _living_ Stone, the _living_ stones. It is all life together--life flowing down from a living source, through a living channel, and imparting itself to all believers, thus making them living stones. Now, this life having been tried and tested, in every possible way, and having come forth victorious, can never again be called to pass through any process of trial, testing, or judgment whatsoever. It has passed through death and judgment. It has gone down under all the waves and billows of divine wrath, and come forth at the other side in resurrection, in divine glory and power--a life victorious, heavenly, and divine, beyond the reach of all the powers of darkness. There is no power of earth or hell, men or devils, that can possibly touch the life which is possessed by the very smallest and most insignificant stone in Christ's assembly. All believers are built upon the living Stone, Christ; and are thus constituted living stones. He makes them like Himself in every respect, save of course, in His incommunicable deity. Is He a living Stone? They are living stones. Is He a precious Stone? They are precious stones. Is He a rejected Stone? They are rejected stones--rejected, disallowed of men. They are, in every respect, identified with Him. Ineffable privilege! Here, then, we repeat, is the solid foundation of the Christian priesthood--the priesthood of all believers. Before any one can offer up a spiritual sacrifice, he must come to Christ, in simple faith, and be built on Him as the foundation of the whole spiritual building. "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture (Isa. xxviii. 16), Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded."