And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Believers are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone and the only true foundation strong enough to bear the whole world. Together they form a spiritual temple that grows fitly framed in Christ into a holy dwelling place for God through the Spirit. Those once strangers and foreigners are made nigh by Christ's blood to be fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, because he broke down the middle wall of partition to reconcile Jews and Gentiles to God. That building stands in unity, peace and love, with varied gifts joined symmetrically and every person filling an essential appointed place rather than building separately or exalting self. Its apostolic and prophetic foundation is the Bible and the Bible alone, and to build on Christ the cornerstone is to trust and obey him, forsaking self-righteousness and letting God as Master Builder hew, polish and fit each living stone for its exact place.
Foundation and Cornerstone Identity
God's people are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. Through Christ true believers are built together so that they are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, with access to the Father by one Spirit. In him they are joined and fitted together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
As a building has different materials each united together, so it is with the church, where Christ is the foundation and cornerstone who unites all the parts. Every consecrated person has his appointed place in the building connected with others to make a perfect whole, but he is not the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. United together in peace the members make a complete whole, and the symmetry designed by the Master Builder requires that every part fill its appointed place with self and selfish customs, habits, and thoughts overcome.
Christ himself is also the sure, living, only true foundation and chief cornerstone, and the whole weight of the temple rests upon him as a temple rests upon its foundation. The church is built upon him, not upon Peter or any other created being, and its power lies in each member's individual dependence upon Christ in unity with one another. The foundation is broad enough for all and strong enough to bear the whole world, so that Jews and Gentiles alike may build upon Christ through faith in his atoning sacrifice and be rooted and established in him. He is the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord, and Gentiles coming from far off help in that building as valuable stones brought out of the Gentile quarry and laid upon Christ the living stone to become living stones themselves.
Christ laid the foundation and the apostles built the church upon it by bringing people from both Jewish and Gentile communities into the building. The apostles were set apart to learn from Jesus, witness his works, and continue his work after his death, and Christ appointed them to lay the foundation of the church through the ministry of his word. Those who succeeded them were charged with passing on the gospel from generation to generation.
Christ holds the building together as it grows, for he has been the uniting stone and chief cornerstone in all ages. In him all superiority is invested, and believers stand united under his banner and supreme authority as King of kings and Lord of lords, without political prejudice, national antipathy, or sectarian feeling. Therefore no one man is to hold himself as authority or be placed as supreme over institution, church, school, or sanitarium, nor is one man's judgment and experience to be exalted as supreme, but those who bear responsibilities are to blend, consult together, and grow together from individual minds seeking divine wisdom. The building requires different kinds of people and work each with a place assigned by God, so believers are to serve together rather than separately or compete to be first, because every person's work is essential.
Church as Temple Dwelling
Ephesians 2:20 teaches that God's people are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone, and joined together in him they grow into a holy temple in the Lord made a dwelling place for God through the Spirit. The church is a spiritual temple and spiritual house built through the ages according to God's pattern, fitly framed and joined and fitted together in Christ. Its growth into that holy temple requires the cooperation of divine power and human effort.
By his sacrifice and mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of that temple, as the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord. That temple of the Lord is the church of God, the true Christian church built as a temple upon Christ as chief cornerstone and foundation stone with the foundation laid through the apostles and prophets. Gentiles coming from far off help in that building, no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, and Paul worked as a skillful architect in the Gentile quarry to bring out valuable stones, meaning Gentile believers laid upon Christ and brought into contact with him as the living stone who themselves become living stones fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple, built together for a habitation of God.
The members of this building are likened to materials such as gold, silver, and precious stones. As a building has different materials each united together, so it is with the church, where Christ is the foundation and cornerstone who unites all the parts, and every consecrated person has his place connected with others to make a perfect and complete whole, yet no one is himself the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. There are large timbers that support the building and other material fully as essential that the larger timbers must not ignore, teaching that believers must be so united in peace as to be fitted to fill the places designed for them by the great Master Artist and grow into a holy temple, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. The symmetry of the building cannot be as the Master Builder designs unless every part fills its appointed place, and self with selfish customs, habits, and thoughts that wrestle for mastery must be overcome.
The temple is holy because God's Spirit dwells in it, and the church of Christ is built for a habitation of God through the Spirit. When the human heart is cleansed from all moral impurity the Saviour dwells there by faith, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the man a temple for the Holy Spirit. This means each person's body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, owned by God and bought by Christ through the sacrifice of his precious life and blood, so believers are not their own and are not to be servants of men but to glorify God in body and spirit. It shows the high value God placed on man made in his image with noble intellectual and moral powers, proved when Christ clothed his divinity with humanity with the fullness of the Godhead bodily, humbled himself to death on the cross, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, and paid the ransom price where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Christ dwelling in hearts by faith means contemplating Christ, beholding Christ, and cherishing him as best and honored Friend so as not to grieve him, and faith in this truth does not rest on feeling and must not stagger when Satan casts his hellish shadow across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse the light from Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, but must stand in truth and cleave through that shadow rather than bury experience in the darkness of doubt. If rooted and grounded in love, believers can comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height and know the love of God and of Christ which passes knowledge.
Reconciled Household Membership
Those made near by Christ's blood are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Through Christ both have access by one Spirit to the Father, and being built together upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone they are fitly framed together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. This building together makes them a habitation of God through the Spirit, showing what believers may become in striving to fulfill God's purpose for them. That assurance is given to the tempted soul as reason to draw near to God. It is an instructive lesson for those not working in harmony, calling them to cease division and to stand together in unity as one building under Christ.
Christ is peace and has broken down the middle wall of partition between those afar off and those nigh, making both one and preaching peace so both have access by one Spirit to the Father. He abolished the enmity expressed in ordinances, ending the sacrificial ceremonies that prefigured his death when type met antitype. He is the foundation of that sacrificial system, and through his death Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God and made fellow citizens in his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with himself as chief cornerstone.
Those who were dead in trespasses and sins and walked according to the course of the world have been quickened together with Christ and saved by grace through faith as God's gift and workmanship created unto good works. They are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of light, called away from the disloyalty of the world as Christ's purchased heritage to build up character in obedience to his word as laborers together with God. Each person's body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, owned by God and bought by Christ through the sacrifice of his precious life and blood, so believers are not their own and are not to be servants of men but to glorify God in body and spirit. This shows the high value God placed on man made in his image with noble intellectual and moral powers, proved when Christ clothed his divinity with humanity with the fullness of the Godhead bodily, humbled himself to death on the cross, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, and paid the ransom price where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Every soul thus quickened from death shares Christ's work to bear the burden for souls and make personal effort in Jesus' name to bring others to knowledge of the truth.
Belonging to God's household and growing into his holy temple built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone is a privilege, and each believer is to be a living stone reflecting light received from Christ the chief cornerstone and Sun of Righteousness. All enrolled as citizens of the heavenly country must have behavior such as the gospel of Christ can approve, conform to the Lord's requirements and not disgrace their citizenship. They are to live separate from the world in cheerful service, and it is their privilege to claim the rights and privileges of subjects of the kingdom of heaven, made a holy temple in the Lord and a habitation of God through the Spirit with access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Unity in Diversity
Ephesians 2:20 teaches that those made near by blood are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as chief cornerstone, fitly framed together in him to grow into a holy temple in the Lord as a dwelling for God through the Spirit. That framing means division and dissension must cease, and those not working in harmony must stand together in unity as one building under Christ. Unity and love among God's people with peace established on the foundation laid in Christ are wrought by the Holy Spirit and give cause for thankfulness to the Father. That unity comes in answer to earnest prayer and living faith, replacing dissension with peace in Christ.
Christ unites believers into one balanced building, and no feature of the truth is to be hidden or treated as unimportant. God forms the building symmetrically through variety of gifts, combining varied gifts, talents, dispositions, plans and ideas while different workers fill different positions. The different parts of the work are brought together piece by piece like the different parts of a building to make a complete whole, not all the same nor made by the same process nor carried forward in exactly the same way. The building requires different kinds of people and work, each with a place assigned by God, because every person's work is essential to the united dwelling God is building.
Every consecrated person has his place in the building connected with others to make the church a perfect whole, yet no human is the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. As a building has different materials united together, so the church has large supporting timbers and other material fully as essential that the larger timbers must not ignore, and symmetry as the Master Builder designs is impossible unless every part fills its appointed place in peace. Believers are therefore to serve and build together rather than separately, not competing to be first or treating others' work as less essential, since neglecting any part prevents the whole from being complete. No one man is to hold himself as authority or be placed as supreme authority over institution, church, school, or sanitarium, and no one man's ideas, plans, judgment and experience are to have controlling power or become the criterion for all workers. Ministers and physicians and all bearing responsibilities are to blend, consult together, study the Word prayerfully from individual mind seeking divine wisdom, keep Christ as the one character of authority in whom all superiority is invested, go two and two, and carry the work forward by united counsel instead of standing apart with their own ways.
God's spiritual temple is made of living stones gathered from every nation, background, kind of people and social class, quarried from the world by the truth. The Lord of the temple, who is its builder and maker, hews, squares, polishes, shapes and fits each one for a place, as stones were prepared and fitted before construction, until when complete it will be perfect in every part. No person or nation is perfect, so all must learn from one another and be united in judgment and purpose. Christ is the one foundation for people of every nationality, and their unity in him on the one foundation is displayed as they share one purpose. That union between members and their leader is like a temple and its foundation, with the whole weight of the temple resting on the foundation without which it could not stand, so the power of the church lies in each member's individual dependence on Christ, who is the only true foundation, joined with unity toward one another as fellow citizens and workmanship created unto good works.
Doctrinal Authority Foundation
The foundation of the apostles and prophets is the Bible and the Bible alone, God's Word laid by them with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone, and Christian doctrine must rest on the authority of Scripture rather than on human theories, traditions, or claims. Christ is the foundation and center of the plan of salvation, and preaching this foundation draws people away from trust in human authority and self-righteousness to faith in Christ. Stepping onto that platform means counting the cost to accept unpopular truth, including standing in defense of God's holy law given in Eden when the world was created and proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in awful grandeur from Mount Sinai. Those who love the truth remain firm and decided on that foundation and refuse to leave it for the traditions of the fathers, the bold assertions of erring men, or the word of a man who carries slander and is at enmity with God's law.
A teaching that makes void God's law is not founded on that apostolic and prophetic teaching and does not have Christ as its cornerstone. God's ten precepts are His great moral standard and the foundation of the faith of prophets and apostles, and the commandments are not left for man to trim down to suit ideas or convenience. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the great test question and the separating line to distinguish the loyal and true, him that serves God from him that serves Him not. Precious promises belong to those who keep His Sabbath from polluting it, with God's infinite wisdom and power and love and the heavenly host engaged on their behalf.
The righteous stand on this sure foundation of the prophets and apostles with Christ as the chief cornerstone, and Luther's firmness in defending truth was standing on it, unmoved by hostility and ready to suffer or die in its service. His opposition to church institutions rested on this foundation, for he answered appeals to custom, tradition, and papal authority with the Bible, and his enemies could find no argument against him in God's word. The truths God has committed to men through His ministers and prophets and apostles, contained in the Book that is the foundation of all true knowledge, are the most essential education and must be made paramount in life. Every faculty and attribute endowed by the Creator is to be employed for His glory, and every advance in knowledge or culture of the intellect should be a step toward the assimilation of the human to the divine. To treat worldly education as essential is a great mistake that leaves the mind swayed by human and erring opinions, and those who seek what the world esteems are led farther and farther from the principles of truth until they become educated worldlings, paying the price of parting with the Holy Spirit by choosing what the world calls knowledge in place of prophetic and apostolic truth. Christ is the foundation of faith and the cornerstone of the building of truth, and His trial, resurrection, and ascension impressed this truth on the disciples and strengthened them to face opposition after He left them.
Rejected Cornerstone and Salvation
The builders who set the stone at naught are the authorities of the Jewish church, who should have perceived the value of Christ as the foundation-stone and head of the corner but rejected Him. Peter boldly avowed this before the priests and elders when questioned by what power the impotent man was healed, declaring that his strength came from Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Christ is the church's foundation stone and chief cornerstone whom those leaders failed to recognize, yet who became the cornerstone.
The foundation of salvation was laid through Christ's sacrifice in leaving the royal courts and becoming poor so that people might share in salvation. Sharing in the salvation purchased by His sacrifice means following His example of self-denial and self-sacrifice. His unselfish life marked by humility and sacrifice is the pattern for His followers, and such self-denial and sacrifice are essential to discipleship. The plan of salvation rests on Christ as chief cornerstone and the foundation on which believers must build, and following Him means sharing His spirit.
Christ Himself as chief cornerstone was laid upon the rock of Calvary when He gave His life for sinners. By His death He opened a fountain in which all may wash their robes of character and make them white, providing justification and sanctification and completeness in Him. Though He died on the cross He rose from the tomb as the resurrection and the life and the author and finisher of faith, making His followers joint heirs with Him of His glory to go forth in His name bringing many souls to a knowledge of the truth.
Building on Christ as the sure foundation means trusting and obeying Him. Coming to Him and falling on this stone and being broken means giving up self-righteousness, coming humbly, repenting, and believing in His forgiving love. Those joined to Christ become living stones, while effort to improve apart from living connection to Him cannot make anyone a living stone or save them. Eternal safety depends on being connected to Christ, because only His life enables people to withstand temptation, and those not firmly joined to Him will fall when trials come, like a structure unable to withstand rain, storm, and flood. Christians must look carefully to see that they are building on the true foundation and are really connecting with Christ the Cornerstone, instead of losing interest in the study of God's Word and weakening the mind with storybooks. Connection with Christ gives refuge from temptation and from fatigue and weariness, while without it constant taxation and overwrought feelings rob God of the service due Him and leave the mind open to Satan's suggestions in a perverted light, so the tempter must be shut out and self must be distrusted.
Shaping Living Stones
Joined to Christ the living stone, believers themselves become living stones in God's temple, fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple and habitation of God through the Spirit. Gentiles coming from far off are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, brought out as valuable stones from the Gentile quarry to be laid upon Christ the chief cornerstone and foundation stone. Christ is the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord, the only sure foundation on which Jews and Gentiles alike may build through faith in His atoning sacrifice. Each follower, whether great or small and whether polished or unhewn, has an assigned place in the spiritual building and is to give light there, reflecting light received from Christ the chief cornerstone and Sun of Righteousness. Truth separates God's people from the world, and God prepares and polishes each one to fill an exact place as the temple is completed, showing readiness for a home in God's kingdom.
The living stones are quarried from the world by the truth, gathered from every nation, background, and social class. God Himself is the builder and maker of the temple and the Master Builder who hews, squares, polishes, and fits each stone for its exact place, as stones for the temple were prepared and fitted before construction. When complete the temple will be perfect in every part under His guiding hand with a grand purpose running from first to last. No person or nation is perfect, so all must learn from one another and become united in judgment and purpose, that their unity in Christ the one foundation may be displayed as the harmony of the spiritual temple.
God's people are taken from the world and shaped by tests and trials for their place in His heavenly temple, and even while still rough and being formed they are precious to God. The trials are in skilled hands and serve to perfect each soul, not to destroy it. Every stroke of the chisel and blow of the hammer cuts away defects to make each stone fit, including workers brought in for establishing the cause in places such as Europe. Those who will not bear God's proving but meet this shaping with anger and resistance are laid aside as unfit, and other material is brought in to be tested in the same way. Though every fragment broken away is regretted and mourned and looks as if the loss will ruin the building, the removal of these elements of weakness makes the building stronger, and the work goes steadily forward.
Living stones under God's control receive light from Christ and shine and bear fruit to the glory of God, and God can work with them and cooperate with them. Stones that are not under God's control take up room in the building but emit no light and bear no fruit, and God cannot cooperate with them. Every Christian is either under Christ's rule doing positive good as a savor of life unto life, or under the control of the enemy doing incalculable harm as a savor of death unto death.
As living stones believers are to be active, useful members of the church where they are, serving others with their abilities. Those who fail to serve in their home churches will not become a help simply by moving to a larger church. They may instead hinder its work.
Building Character and Mission
Just as the ancient temple rose from sound materials shaped with exact workmanship, so character and the church must be built with care, admitting nothing worthless and no careless or indifferent work, for the manner of building decides what the structure will be and that structure will be tested. The members are like carefully fitted parts who must employ their God-given mental and physical powers in right relation to one another to form a complete whole that reflects the wisdom and character of its Designer, while God supplies the abilities and each person cultivates mind and forms character into the likeness of God. Character itself is power and an influence that wins friends, and all its phases must be guarded with constant watchfulness, courtesy, kindness, patience, meekness, gentleness, forbearance and love, representing Christ rather than showing sharpness, hardness, criticism, exacting harshness, overbearing rashness and impetuousness. Building on the foundation therefore demands care in words and in dealing with the mistakes of others, since no amount of preaching alone can create character.
Jesus Christ the crucified One is the only sure foundation and chief cornerstone, and no building can be reared in strength and symmetry unless He is laid aright as the foundation of personal character. Youth who would lay up a good foundation against the time to come must build upon Him, with entire reliance upon God, seeking a character that gives a correct influence to the world and learning like Daniel to improve talents as the Lord expects from every soul. Making Christ the crucified One the foundation of students' characters would strengthen them and elevate the character of educational institutions.
The foundation of righteous character is laid by training children for God from babyhood, so that when that early foundation is laid their lives grow into beautiful temples for the Lord in manhood and womanhood. Building up the church likewise requires a solid foundation laid upon gospel plans, which means starting mission work in right lines, sowing the seed and then gathering the harvest. It means establishing centers for missionary effort that serve as an example for other cities and as a training school for workers, with workers united harmoniously in full sympathy and putting on Christ Jesus instead of making an idol of self. It means selecting helpers who can carry the work forward solidly and thoroughly, educating those who have embraced the truth for the full reception of Bible truth, and laboring for the conversion of the whole being, body, soul, and spirit.
To stand on the foundation of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone secures advantages, for it dedicates the place of work to God for His sacred work. Every worker must bear this continually in mind and in attitude, in spirit, and in influence make the place what it should be, in every respect a place that recommends religion to others as the workers represent Christ. Christ's church on earth is established by God and is to be respected, so believers should not separate themselves from the church or its appointed ministry, and those receiving instruction should be taught to serve in connection with the church.
Believers are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as chief cornerstone, built together as the church for a habitation of God through the Spirit, and through Christ and the one Spirit they have access to the Father as fellow members of God's household. Faith in this household and temple truth does not rest on feeling and must not stagger when Satan casts his hellish shadow across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse the light from Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, but must stand in truth and cleave through that shadow rather than bury experience in the darkness of doubt. Those rooted and grounded in love can comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height and know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and when the human heart is cleansed from all moral impurity the Saviour dwells there, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the person a temple for the Holy Spirit. This assurance belongs to the tempted soul as a reason to draw near to God, anchored in trust in Jesus Christ and in the Word of God.
As a building joins different materials into one, so the church of God unites its members, with Christ as foundation and cornerstone uniting all parts, and every consecrated person has a place connected with others to make a perfect whole, though no human is head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. Self with selfish customs, habits, and thoughts wrestles for mastery and must be overcome and die through the working of the Holy Spirit's power, for the symmetry of the building cannot be as the Master Builder designs unless every part fills its appointed place. United together in peace the members make a complete whole and grow into a holy temple in the Lord, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit, a representation in which large supporting timbers and other material fully as essential must not be ignored by the larger timbers, teaching that believers must be so united as to be fitted to fill the places designed for them by the great Master Artist. Those who were afar off and those who were nigh are made both one in Christ, who is peace and has broken down the middle wall of partition and preached peace, giving both access by one Spirit unto the Father, so they are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God growing into a holy temple in the Lord. Every soul thus quickened from death in trespasses and sins shares the same work of Christ to bear the burden for souls and make personal effort in the name of Jesus to bring others to a knowledge of the truth.
Believers are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone and the only true foundation strong enough to bear the whole world. Together they form a spiritual temple that grows fitly framed in Christ into a holy dwelling place for God through the Spirit. Those once strangers and foreigners are made nigh by Christ's blood to be fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, because he broke down the middle wall of partition to reconcile Jews and Gentiles to God. That building stands in unity, peace and love, with varied gifts joined symmetrically and every person filling an essential appointed place rather than building separately or exalting self. Its apostolic and prophetic foundation is the Bible and the Bible alone, and to build on Christ the cornerstone is to trust and obey him, forsaking self-righteousness and letting God as Master Builder hew, polish and fit each living stone for its exact place.
Foundation and Cornerstone Identity
God's people are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. Through Christ true believers are built together so that they are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, with access to the Father by one Spirit. In him they are joined and fitted together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
As a building has different materials each united together, so it is with the church, where Christ is the foundation and cornerstone who unites all the parts. Every consecrated person has his appointed place in the building connected with others to make a perfect whole, but he is not the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. United together in peace the members make a complete whole, and the symmetry designed by the Master Builder requires that every part fill its appointed place with self and selfish customs, habits, and thoughts overcome.
Christ himself is also the sure, living, only true foundation and chief cornerstone, and the whole weight of the temple rests upon him as a temple rests upon its foundation. The church is built upon him, not upon Peter or any other created being, and its power lies in each member's individual dependence upon Christ in unity with one another. The foundation is broad enough for all and strong enough to bear the whole world, so that Jews and Gentiles alike may build upon Christ through faith in his atoning sacrifice and be rooted and established in him. He is the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord, and Gentiles coming from far off help in that building as valuable stones brought out of the Gentile quarry and laid upon Christ the living stone to become living stones themselves.
Christ laid the foundation and the apostles built the church upon it by bringing people from both Jewish and Gentile communities into the building. The apostles were set apart to learn from Jesus, witness his works, and continue his work after his death, and Christ appointed them to lay the foundation of the church through the ministry of his word. Those who succeeded them were charged with passing on the gospel from generation to generation.
Christ holds the building together as it grows, for he has been the uniting stone and chief cornerstone in all ages. In him all superiority is invested, and believers stand united under his banner and supreme authority as King of kings and Lord of lords, without political prejudice, national antipathy, or sectarian feeling. Therefore no one man is to hold himself as authority or be placed as supreme over institution, church, school, or sanitarium, nor is one man's judgment and experience to be exalted as supreme, but those who bear responsibilities are to blend, consult together, and grow together from individual minds seeking divine wisdom. The building requires different kinds of people and work each with a place assigned by God, so believers are to serve together rather than separately or compete to be first, because every person's work is essential.
Church as Temple Dwelling
Ephesians 2:20 teaches that God's people are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone, and joined together in him they grow into a holy temple in the Lord made a dwelling place for God through the Spirit. The church is a spiritual temple and spiritual house built through the ages according to God's pattern, fitly framed and joined and fitted together in Christ. Its growth into that holy temple requires the cooperation of divine power and human effort.
By his sacrifice and mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of that temple, as the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord. That temple of the Lord is the church of God, the true Christian church built as a temple upon Christ as chief cornerstone and foundation stone with the foundation laid through the apostles and prophets. Gentiles coming from far off help in that building, no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, and Paul worked as a skillful architect in the Gentile quarry to bring out valuable stones, meaning Gentile believers laid upon Christ and brought into contact with him as the living stone who themselves become living stones fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple, built together for a habitation of God.
The members of this building are likened to materials such as gold, silver, and precious stones. As a building has different materials each united together, so it is with the church, where Christ is the foundation and cornerstone who unites all the parts, and every consecrated person has his place connected with others to make a perfect and complete whole, yet no one is himself the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. There are large timbers that support the building and other material fully as essential that the larger timbers must not ignore, teaching that believers must be so united in peace as to be fitted to fill the places designed for them by the great Master Artist and grow into a holy temple, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. The symmetry of the building cannot be as the Master Builder designs unless every part fills its appointed place, and self with selfish customs, habits, and thoughts that wrestle for mastery must be overcome.
The temple is holy because God's Spirit dwells in it, and the church of Christ is built for a habitation of God through the Spirit. When the human heart is cleansed from all moral impurity the Saviour dwells there by faith, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the man a temple for the Holy Spirit. This means each person's body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, owned by God and bought by Christ through the sacrifice of his precious life and blood, so believers are not their own and are not to be servants of men but to glorify God in body and spirit. It shows the high value God placed on man made in his image with noble intellectual and moral powers, proved when Christ clothed his divinity with humanity with the fullness of the Godhead bodily, humbled himself to death on the cross, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, and paid the ransom price where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Christ dwelling in hearts by faith means contemplating Christ, beholding Christ, and cherishing him as best and honored Friend so as not to grieve him, and faith in this truth does not rest on feeling and must not stagger when Satan casts his hellish shadow across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse the light from Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, but must stand in truth and cleave through that shadow rather than bury experience in the darkness of doubt. If rooted and grounded in love, believers can comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height and know the love of God and of Christ which passes knowledge.
Reconciled Household Membership
Those made near by Christ's blood are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Through Christ both have access by one Spirit to the Father, and being built together upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone they are fitly framed together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. This building together makes them a habitation of God through the Spirit, showing what believers may become in striving to fulfill God's purpose for them. That assurance is given to the tempted soul as reason to draw near to God. It is an instructive lesson for those not working in harmony, calling them to cease division and to stand together in unity as one building under Christ.
Christ is peace and has broken down the middle wall of partition between those afar off and those nigh, making both one and preaching peace so both have access by one Spirit to the Father. He abolished the enmity expressed in ordinances, ending the sacrificial ceremonies that prefigured his death when type met antitype. He is the foundation of that sacrificial system, and through his death Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God and made fellow citizens in his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with himself as chief cornerstone.
Those who were dead in trespasses and sins and walked according to the course of the world have been quickened together with Christ and saved by grace through faith as God's gift and workmanship created unto good works. They are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of light, called away from the disloyalty of the world as Christ's purchased heritage to build up character in obedience to his word as laborers together with God. Each person's body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, owned by God and bought by Christ through the sacrifice of his precious life and blood, so believers are not their own and are not to be servants of men but to glorify God in body and spirit. This shows the high value God placed on man made in his image with noble intellectual and moral powers, proved when Christ clothed his divinity with humanity with the fullness of the Godhead bodily, humbled himself to death on the cross, bore individual sins and carried sorrows, and paid the ransom price where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Every soul thus quickened from death shares Christ's work to bear the burden for souls and make personal effort in Jesus' name to bring others to knowledge of the truth.
Belonging to God's household and growing into his holy temple built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone is a privilege, and each believer is to be a living stone reflecting light received from Christ the chief cornerstone and Sun of Righteousness. All enrolled as citizens of the heavenly country must have behavior such as the gospel of Christ can approve, conform to the Lord's requirements and not disgrace their citizenship. They are to live separate from the world in cheerful service, and it is their privilege to claim the rights and privileges of subjects of the kingdom of heaven, made a holy temple in the Lord and a habitation of God through the Spirit with access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Unity in Diversity
Ephesians 2:20 teaches that those made near by blood are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ himself as chief cornerstone, fitly framed together in him to grow into a holy temple in the Lord as a dwelling for God through the Spirit. That framing means division and dissension must cease, and those not working in harmony must stand together in unity as one building under Christ. Unity and love among God's people with peace established on the foundation laid in Christ are wrought by the Holy Spirit and give cause for thankfulness to the Father. That unity comes in answer to earnest prayer and living faith, replacing dissension with peace in Christ.
Christ unites believers into one balanced building, and no feature of the truth is to be hidden or treated as unimportant. God forms the building symmetrically through variety of gifts, combining varied gifts, talents, dispositions, plans and ideas while different workers fill different positions. The different parts of the work are brought together piece by piece like the different parts of a building to make a complete whole, not all the same nor made by the same process nor carried forward in exactly the same way. The building requires different kinds of people and work, each with a place assigned by God, because every person's work is essential to the united dwelling God is building.
Every consecrated person has his place in the building connected with others to make the church a perfect whole, yet no human is the head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. As a building has different materials united together, so the church has large supporting timbers and other material fully as essential that the larger timbers must not ignore, and symmetry as the Master Builder designs is impossible unless every part fills its appointed place in peace. Believers are therefore to serve and build together rather than separately, not competing to be first or treating others' work as less essential, since neglecting any part prevents the whole from being complete. No one man is to hold himself as authority or be placed as supreme authority over institution, church, school, or sanitarium, and no one man's ideas, plans, judgment and experience are to have controlling power or become the criterion for all workers. Ministers and physicians and all bearing responsibilities are to blend, consult together, study the Word prayerfully from individual mind seeking divine wisdom, keep Christ as the one character of authority in whom all superiority is invested, go two and two, and carry the work forward by united counsel instead of standing apart with their own ways.
God's spiritual temple is made of living stones gathered from every nation, background, kind of people and social class, quarried from the world by the truth. The Lord of the temple, who is its builder and maker, hews, squares, polishes, shapes and fits each one for a place, as stones were prepared and fitted before construction, until when complete it will be perfect in every part. No person or nation is perfect, so all must learn from one another and be united in judgment and purpose. Christ is the one foundation for people of every nationality, and their unity in him on the one foundation is displayed as they share one purpose. That union between members and their leader is like a temple and its foundation, with the whole weight of the temple resting on the foundation without which it could not stand, so the power of the church lies in each member's individual dependence on Christ, who is the only true foundation, joined with unity toward one another as fellow citizens and workmanship created unto good works.
Doctrinal Authority Foundation
The foundation of the apostles and prophets is the Bible and the Bible alone, God's Word laid by them with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone, and Christian doctrine must rest on the authority of Scripture rather than on human theories, traditions, or claims. Christ is the foundation and center of the plan of salvation, and preaching this foundation draws people away from trust in human authority and self-righteousness to faith in Christ. Stepping onto that platform means counting the cost to accept unpopular truth, including standing in defense of God's holy law given in Eden when the world was created and proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in awful grandeur from Mount Sinai. Those who love the truth remain firm and decided on that foundation and refuse to leave it for the traditions of the fathers, the bold assertions of erring men, or the word of a man who carries slander and is at enmity with God's law.
A teaching that makes void God's law is not founded on that apostolic and prophetic teaching and does not have Christ as its cornerstone. God's ten precepts are His great moral standard and the foundation of the faith of prophets and apostles, and the commandments are not left for man to trim down to suit ideas or convenience. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the great test question and the separating line to distinguish the loyal and true, him that serves God from him that serves Him not. Precious promises belong to those who keep His Sabbath from polluting it, with God's infinite wisdom and power and love and the heavenly host engaged on their behalf.
The righteous stand on this sure foundation of the prophets and apostles with Christ as the chief cornerstone, and Luther's firmness in defending truth was standing on it, unmoved by hostility and ready to suffer or die in its service. His opposition to church institutions rested on this foundation, for he answered appeals to custom, tradition, and papal authority with the Bible, and his enemies could find no argument against him in God's word. The truths God has committed to men through His ministers and prophets and apostles, contained in the Book that is the foundation of all true knowledge, are the most essential education and must be made paramount in life. Every faculty and attribute endowed by the Creator is to be employed for His glory, and every advance in knowledge or culture of the intellect should be a step toward the assimilation of the human to the divine. To treat worldly education as essential is a great mistake that leaves the mind swayed by human and erring opinions, and those who seek what the world esteems are led farther and farther from the principles of truth until they become educated worldlings, paying the price of parting with the Holy Spirit by choosing what the world calls knowledge in place of prophetic and apostolic truth. Christ is the foundation of faith and the cornerstone of the building of truth, and His trial, resurrection, and ascension impressed this truth on the disciples and strengthened them to face opposition after He left them.
Rejected Cornerstone and Salvation
The builders who set the stone at naught are the authorities of the Jewish church, who should have perceived the value of Christ as the foundation-stone and head of the corner but rejected Him. Peter boldly avowed this before the priests and elders when questioned by what power the impotent man was healed, declaring that his strength came from Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Christ is the church's foundation stone and chief cornerstone whom those leaders failed to recognize, yet who became the cornerstone.
The foundation of salvation was laid through Christ's sacrifice in leaving the royal courts and becoming poor so that people might share in salvation. Sharing in the salvation purchased by His sacrifice means following His example of self-denial and self-sacrifice. His unselfish life marked by humility and sacrifice is the pattern for His followers, and such self-denial and sacrifice are essential to discipleship. The plan of salvation rests on Christ as chief cornerstone and the foundation on which believers must build, and following Him means sharing His spirit.
Christ Himself as chief cornerstone was laid upon the rock of Calvary when He gave His life for sinners. By His death He opened a fountain in which all may wash their robes of character and make them white, providing justification and sanctification and completeness in Him. Though He died on the cross He rose from the tomb as the resurrection and the life and the author and finisher of faith, making His followers joint heirs with Him of His glory to go forth in His name bringing many souls to a knowledge of the truth.
Building on Christ as the sure foundation means trusting and obeying Him. Coming to Him and falling on this stone and being broken means giving up self-righteousness, coming humbly, repenting, and believing in His forgiving love. Those joined to Christ become living stones, while effort to improve apart from living connection to Him cannot make anyone a living stone or save them. Eternal safety depends on being connected to Christ, because only His life enables people to withstand temptation, and those not firmly joined to Him will fall when trials come, like a structure unable to withstand rain, storm, and flood. Christians must look carefully to see that they are building on the true foundation and are really connecting with Christ the Cornerstone, instead of losing interest in the study of God's Word and weakening the mind with storybooks. Connection with Christ gives refuge from temptation and from fatigue and weariness, while without it constant taxation and overwrought feelings rob God of the service due Him and leave the mind open to Satan's suggestions in a perverted light, so the tempter must be shut out and self must be distrusted.
Shaping Living Stones
Joined to Christ the living stone, believers themselves become living stones in God's temple, fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple and habitation of God through the Spirit. Gentiles coming from far off are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, brought out as valuable stones from the Gentile quarry to be laid upon Christ the chief cornerstone and foundation stone. Christ is the Branch who builds the temple of the Lord, the only sure foundation on which Jews and Gentiles alike may build through faith in His atoning sacrifice. Each follower, whether great or small and whether polished or unhewn, has an assigned place in the spiritual building and is to give light there, reflecting light received from Christ the chief cornerstone and Sun of Righteousness. Truth separates God's people from the world, and God prepares and polishes each one to fill an exact place as the temple is completed, showing readiness for a home in God's kingdom.
The living stones are quarried from the world by the truth, gathered from every nation, background, and social class. God Himself is the builder and maker of the temple and the Master Builder who hews, squares, polishes, and fits each stone for its exact place, as stones for the temple were prepared and fitted before construction. When complete the temple will be perfect in every part under His guiding hand with a grand purpose running from first to last. No person or nation is perfect, so all must learn from one another and become united in judgment and purpose, that their unity in Christ the one foundation may be displayed as the harmony of the spiritual temple.
God's people are taken from the world and shaped by tests and trials for their place in His heavenly temple, and even while still rough and being formed they are precious to God. The trials are in skilled hands and serve to perfect each soul, not to destroy it. Every stroke of the chisel and blow of the hammer cuts away defects to make each stone fit, including workers brought in for establishing the cause in places such as Europe. Those who will not bear God's proving but meet this shaping with anger and resistance are laid aside as unfit, and other material is brought in to be tested in the same way. Though every fragment broken away is regretted and mourned and looks as if the loss will ruin the building, the removal of these elements of weakness makes the building stronger, and the work goes steadily forward.
Living stones under God's control receive light from Christ and shine and bear fruit to the glory of God, and God can work with them and cooperate with them. Stones that are not under God's control take up room in the building but emit no light and bear no fruit, and God cannot cooperate with them. Every Christian is either under Christ's rule doing positive good as a savor of life unto life, or under the control of the enemy doing incalculable harm as a savor of death unto death.
As living stones believers are to be active, useful members of the church where they are, serving others with their abilities. Those who fail to serve in their home churches will not become a help simply by moving to a larger church. They may instead hinder its work.
Building Character and Mission
Just as the ancient temple rose from sound materials shaped with exact workmanship, so character and the church must be built with care, admitting nothing worthless and no careless or indifferent work, for the manner of building decides what the structure will be and that structure will be tested. The members are like carefully fitted parts who must employ their God-given mental and physical powers in right relation to one another to form a complete whole that reflects the wisdom and character of its Designer, while God supplies the abilities and each person cultivates mind and forms character into the likeness of God. Character itself is power and an influence that wins friends, and all its phases must be guarded with constant watchfulness, courtesy, kindness, patience, meekness, gentleness, forbearance and love, representing Christ rather than showing sharpness, hardness, criticism, exacting harshness, overbearing rashness and impetuousness. Building on the foundation therefore demands care in words and in dealing with the mistakes of others, since no amount of preaching alone can create character.
Jesus Christ the crucified One is the only sure foundation and chief cornerstone, and no building can be reared in strength and symmetry unless He is laid aright as the foundation of personal character. Youth who would lay up a good foundation against the time to come must build upon Him, with entire reliance upon God, seeking a character that gives a correct influence to the world and learning like Daniel to improve talents as the Lord expects from every soul. Making Christ the crucified One the foundation of students' characters would strengthen them and elevate the character of educational institutions.
The foundation of righteous character is laid by training children for God from babyhood, so that when that early foundation is laid their lives grow into beautiful temples for the Lord in manhood and womanhood. Building up the church likewise requires a solid foundation laid upon gospel plans, which means starting mission work in right lines, sowing the seed and then gathering the harvest. It means establishing centers for missionary effort that serve as an example for other cities and as a training school for workers, with workers united harmoniously in full sympathy and putting on Christ Jesus instead of making an idol of self. It means selecting helpers who can carry the work forward solidly and thoroughly, educating those who have embraced the truth for the full reception of Bible truth, and laboring for the conversion of the whole being, body, soul, and spirit.
To stand on the foundation of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone secures advantages, for it dedicates the place of work to God for His sacred work. Every worker must bear this continually in mind and in attitude, in spirit, and in influence make the place what it should be, in every respect a place that recommends religion to others as the workers represent Christ. Christ's church on earth is established by God and is to be respected, so believers should not separate themselves from the church or its appointed ministry, and those receiving instruction should be taught to serve in connection with the church.
Believers are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as chief cornerstone, built together as the church for a habitation of God through the Spirit, and through Christ and the one Spirit they have access to the Father as fellow members of God's household. Faith in this household and temple truth does not rest on feeling and must not stagger when Satan casts his hellish shadow across the pathway to obstruct faith and eclipse the light from Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, but must stand in truth and cleave through that shadow rather than bury experience in the darkness of doubt. Those rooted and grounded in love can comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height and know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and when the human heart is cleansed from all moral impurity the Saviour dwells there, ennobling and sanctifying the whole nature and making the person a temple for the Holy Spirit. This assurance belongs to the tempted soul as a reason to draw near to God, anchored in trust in Jesus Christ and in the Word of God.
As a building joins different materials into one, so the church of God unites its members, with Christ as foundation and cornerstone uniting all parts, and every consecrated person has a place connected with others to make a perfect whole, though no human is head or foundation, for Christ is to be all and in all. Self with selfish customs, habits, and thoughts wrestles for mastery and must be overcome and die through the working of the Holy Spirit's power, for the symmetry of the building cannot be as the Master Builder designs unless every part fills its appointed place. United together in peace the members make a complete whole and grow into a holy temple in the Lord, built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit, a representation in which large supporting timbers and other material fully as essential must not be ignored by the larger timbers, teaching that believers must be so united as to be fitted to fill the places designed for them by the great Master Artist. Those who were afar off and those who were nigh are made both one in Christ, who is peace and has broken down the middle wall of partition and preached peace, giving both access by one Spirit unto the Father, so they are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God growing into a holy temple in the Lord. Every soul thus quickened from death in trespasses and sins shares the same work of Christ to bear the burden for souls and make personal effort in the name of Jesus to bring others to a knowledge of the truth.