As we are getting closer to enter into a building project of our own it is interesting to see the way in which Paul describes the true church, that body of believers that spans across the last 2,000 years. And the apostle Paul says clearly that God has a blueprint for the church that He has developed. This is the key idea of the section, verses 19-22. Here Paul notes that God is building us, the church, using His materials in His way to make us a holy temple (a beautiful structure) in Him. This brings us to the third wonder facet of the church. And here we see its edification that is the building of God.
III. The Church: Its Edification
(The Building of God)
Paul describes two parts of the church that are essential to its well-being. And he uses the analogy of a building to help us understand how God has put us together.
A. Our Foundation
The first part of the church that that is essential to its well-being is our foundation. The foundation is the most important part of the building. Without a proper foundation the building will crumble. On what is the church founded? On what does it stand? By what or whom does it depend for its welfare? Church councils? One infallible man? A set of traditions passed down? Perhaps, a group of secretive individuals in New York that prints out their instructions for the church every month? Or maybe an assembly of leaders housed in Salt Lake City? Paul says that the building up of the church, this people of God in this age, is based on an important foundation. And the church built upon any other foundation than that which Paul notes here will certainly crumble. He depicts this foundation as having two sections.
1. The Word of God – Apostles and Prophets
The section of the foundation upon which the church is built that Paul describes is found at the beginning of verse 20. Here Paul says, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” The foundation that Paul is describing here is the Word of God.
The apostles and New Testament prophets were building the foundation of the church through the revelation of the Word of God. This was their function in the early church. They were there to establish the basic teaching of what the church was and how it was to conduct itself as a body. And they did this by bringing the Word of God to the people of God in the church. These apostles and prophets established the church by the revelation of God that was spoken. And it was written down and passed along to the churches for their edification, for their building up. This first foundation of the church is the Word of God.
This is why I find it difficult to believe that people who want nothing to do with church are truly clinging to the faith of the apostles and prophets that is found in the Scripture. You’ve probably heard the excuses if people for not being involved in church.
Going to church doesn’t make me a Christian. True. But it does make you an obedient Christian.
There are too many hypocrites in church. OK, perhaps but one more won’t hurt.
I’m not getting fed. Often when Richard isn’t getting fed its because he isn’t opening his mouth not because there is not food.
I can worship God alone in my personal time in the Bible and prayer instead of in church. Yes you can. But the apostle John says that we are also to be in fellowship with one another if we are to have fellowship with the Father and the Son.
The irony is that people who would claim to be believers today without any desire for fellowship in the church would not have had the Word of God, the wouldn’t have had the revelation of the apostles and NT prophets if they had been in the early church because the Word of God that they claim to be reading (and obeying) was given to the churches. Leaf through your New Testament and look to whom these letters were written, the church in Corinth, the church in Philippi, the churches in Galatia, the church at Ephesus, the church at Colossae and to the leaders of the churches. Many times the apostles who wrote them said, “pass these letters on to the other churches.” And the prophets who spoke the Word of God were speaking in the churches. Look at 1 Corinthians 14.
And so those who claim to cling to the Word of God apart from fellowshipping in the local church are like people who live in a building that only consists of a foundation. Can you imagine living in the foundation of a building without any roof or protection from the elements? That is this individual.
So why does Paul see the apostolic and prophetic teaching as the bedrock of the church? In the Word of God we have all that we need for life and godliness. In the fellowship of the Word of God together, as iron sharpens iron, so we build up one another. We cannot have a church without the foundation stones of the Word of God. The church cannot be whatever we decide. And if we do not cling to the Word of God then what we have is not a church but a club. If we do not cling to the Word of God then what we have is deception and not salvation. As Paul notes in 1 Timothy 3:14-15, “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” Paul was writing this word to Timothy so he could teach others how to conduct themselves in the church.
And notice what Paul says here. The church, with the foundation of the apostles and prophets, is the pillar and support of the truth. As a church we ought to be lifting up and supporting what the truth is. We are not here to debate and discover the truth we are here to elucidate, or make clear, the truth. This is why we seek to look through the Scripture diligently. We don’t follow people’s systems but look to the Word of God. It was Charles Spurgeon who said, “We don’t look to the church fathers but to the church grandfathers.” Our source of authority doesn’t come from the second and third century leaders of the church, often called the church fathers, (though they may help us understand their culture) but we look to the church grandfathers. The church grandfathers those before the fathers, were the apostles and prophets who communicated the Scripture to the fathers. And if we start getting onto a tangent away from the Scripture then we, like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, have lost the ability to speak with authority. Our authority comes from the Word of God.
2. The Son of God – Jesus Christ
The second section of this foundation upon which the church is built is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. There is the Word of God and now at the end of verse 20, Paul says, “Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” The Word of God and the Son of God make up this foundation upon which the church is built.
Now Jesus has this special part in the foundation. He is called the cornerstone. Without Him the whole building and foundation crumbles. The building and foundation rests upon Him and not vice versa. If Christ does not command this central place then you no longer have a church. What someone may call A church may not be part of THE church. If Christ is not exalted in a church as the risen Lord of all then you do not have a church. We must make sure that our church is always a “Savior-sensitive” church. What Christ wants must be central and not what others want. Our consumer-focused culture says, “Have it your way.” But Christ calls to us to do it His way. Our church must be Christ centered not self-centered. As John the Baptist declared, He must increase and I must decrease. We are not here to seek to appeal to people’s appetites to get more people here. We are here to be obedient to Jesus Christ.
Do we lean on sound and lighting and technology to effect change in people rather than resting on our cornerstone? You can tell by your thoughts and actions. Are you thinking, if only we could change this about our church then we would see more people come to Christ then you are relying on something other than God. But if you are praying, “God prepare me to worship by your Spirit, prepare our church for an outpouring of your Spirit, prepare my pastor to preach with your power,” then you are putting your trust in the right place. And then God will do His work. And when God does His work nothing can stop it.
Let me describe what I mean by quoting from a newsletter from a friend. He said, “on my recent trip to Southeast Asia, I had the privilege of talking with believers who took part in a major evangelistic thrust. Two of those were evangelizing a previously unknown region. They approached an atheist village leader and requested permission to proclaim the gospel. His response was to point to a mountain near the village and say, ‘When you can move this mountain, then you can preach in my village.’ The two evangelists went home and prayed for two weeks. Then God sent an earthquake that literally tossed the mountain into the valley. So they went back to the village, confronted the shocked leader and proclaimed Jesus Christ to the people. God’s power was then demonstrated a second time in drawing the entire village to Himself through the preaching of the Gospel.
He went on to say, “if those two evangelists had been typical American evangelicals, they would have gone home and started a campaign to raise money in order to rent earth-moving machines. Then, assuming they could get access to the mountain, they would have spent months moving the dirt and rocks and trees into the valley. After the project was over, they would have walked up to the village leader and said, “There, we moved the mountain. Now you must let us preach the gospel.”
He closed his newsletter with, “It is not that we need to become weak. We already are. We are powerless and incapable. The problem is that we do not recognize this truth. We think that if we have the methods and techniques, the money and personnel, the buildings and the musicians, the enthusiasm and the promotion, the rhetoric and the oratory, we can do what needs to be done. Of course we pray that God would use these things, but it is these things on which we are really depending. And that is the reason we wonder why God doesn’t work as we read and hear that He can.”
We must go back to the cornerstone and rely on Him to change us and to rely on Him to work in us or we will go on in this mode where the spiritual reality of eternal life or death do not move us to compassion for those around us.
I would venture to say that some of you spend more hours watching sports or TV each week than you do praying that God would break into your life and allow you to present the Gospel to people. I would venture to say that some of you spend more time listening to talk radio each week than you do praying that God would work in your life to allow you to break the power of sin over you. And you are more concerned about seeing or hearing your show than that God should wrench you free from the sin that is affecting your life!
Is Jesus Christ the cornerstone of this church? Is He the cornerstone of your life? If you are not resting upon the Word of God and receiving life from the Son of God then you are not part of the church of God. You may have been baptized into a church. You may have filled out a membership card for A church, you could even be a pastor in A church and not be part of CHRIST’S church. Let me ask you a question from Paul’s words in verse 19. Are you a stranger to God or a fellow citizen with the saints and a part of God’s household? Is your life upon the bedrock of the Word of God and held together by the Son of God. If not He calls you to come to Him. “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
B. Our Structure
We have looked at the foundation of the church, now in verses 21-22 Paul draws our attention to the second part of this church building that is our structure. Not only does a properly constructed building need a foundation but it also needs the structure that rests upon it. And here Paul notes the structure of the building. Look at verses 21-22. “In whom (that is in Christ) the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” We can see two aspects of this structure in these verses.
1. We are a building project
The first aspect of this structure is that we are in a building project. Paul is not describing a physical building project but a spiritual one. God has been at work in building His church for the last 2,000 years. Talk about a long building project. What is this building? It is the people of God that have been saved throughout this church age. Why is God taking so long? God, by an act of His sovereign will, is designing what His church is going to look like throughout eternity. This building is continually being added to as more and more people come to know Christ as their Savior.
The verse says that it is being fitted together. Together we are being joined with one another in this building. We all have a close relationship together in Christ being part of the same building. Have you ever been traveling somewhere and having met another believer in Christ there was an almost immediate bond. This is because of your common union with Christ and close connection in the building, the church.
I didn’t realize how neatly and closely things have to fit together in a building until I started home repair projects in an old house. I have found it easier (and probably safer) to have someone else do it. But this is what God has been doing, all to His glory, in carefully fitting people who are of completely different makeup from all over the world into one glorious building that will bring Him praise.
God is fitting us together and causing this building throughout the ages to grow into a holy temple of the Lord. This holy temple is going to be complete at the end of time as the New Jerusalem. And somehow this New Jerusalem is inextricably linked to the church itself as if the city were the people. Look at John’s description of this holy temple in Revelation 21. There he portrays the city as a bride in the same way he describes the church in Revelation 19. In 21:2, John says, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle (residence) of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be among them.”
When the consummation of the ages has come, when the time of God’s conclusion of earth’s history has appeared God Himself will make us, the church, His holy dwelling place. This is what Paul is describing in this verse. We are “growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” So not only are we a building, but there is a living dynamic aspect to this process because we are also growing. We must never lose sight of the fact that God is continuing to work in us in a way that affects the very organism called the church. And although we are organized as a body we must understand that this is not simply an organization, like a corporation. But we are a living part of the body of Christ. And we must treat each other accordingly. When working in this church becomes a job for me and I think I am a CEO instead of a shepherd then it is not time for you to get a new executive. It is time that you speak to me about how I am treating my position. Too often however, people think a church is to be measured in the same way that a corporation is. How many employees do you have? Have you kept pace with an expanding consumer base? Have the receipts for the business continued to increase? And if the CEO doesn’t measure up, get rid of him and find another who will produce.
The focus of our growth ought to be what Paul outlines for us in this verse. What does real church growth look like? We are growing into a HOLY temple in the Lord.” The growing characteristic of our lives individually and as a church body needs to be holiness. We need to be growing into a holy people. Holiness means to be set apart. We need to be set apart from the world and its system and we need to be set apart unto God. This means that we need to be actively pursuing the likeness of Christ. But how are we to grow? How are we to grow into a HOLY temple in the Lord?
2. We are built up by His Spirit
Paul describes this in verse 22. This is the second aspect of our structure. We are built up by His Spirit. Look at verse 22. “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (or by the Spirit).” Paul is speaking of the agency of the Spirit of God. We are utterly dependent upon the Spirit of God to build us up in holiness. We are so completely dependent that apart from His work in us all our effort will come to nothing. If we are not daily, regularly seeking His direction and calling out to Him to change us then we will not grow.
But the truth of this verse is that if you have been made alive by God, if you have redeemed by the blood of Christ, if you have been brought near through the Gospel as Paul has discussed throughout chapter 2 then the work of this verse is true. You are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. The continuous idea of this verb tells us that we are continuing to be built together, in an ongoing and upward spiraling direction into a dwelling of God by the Spirit. If you have been made God’s child you will recognize more and more the work of the Spirit of God in your life. You will see, in an increasing fashion, not just how much He has been working in your life but also how much you need Him, just how much your life depends on Him. But if you have not really been brought near, if you have not received the peace that God promises through access to the Father, if you have deceived others into thinking that you have repented and trusted Christ alone for your salvation then you will not be built together into a dwelling of God. As Jesus described in the parable of the sower, only one of the four places upon which the seeds fell produced fruit. The others showed promise but did not come to fruition. The first was cast down but it was snatched away by Satan. The second began to sprout but it wilted at the first sign of persecution from others against the Word. The third group of seeds sprouted and grew but the thorns and weeds of worldly pleasure & care choked it out of existence. The last seeds endured and produced fruit.
If you have been placed in Christ you will persevere through the distress of satanic abduction, through the drought of antagonistic persecution, through the suffocation of relentless weed-like materialism and you will bear fruit for Christ. Paul says, “In Christ YOU ARE being built together into a dwelling of God by the Spirit.” The Spirit is responsible to build us up into a holy temple in the Lord and He will accomplish His work in His time.
We are God’s temple because He lives inside us. And He is the one responsible to build us up. So let us not grieve the Holy Spirit of God as individuals nor as a body. Let us continually look to His work in us as an evidence of the fact that we have been incorporated into the body of Christ. And before Him let us continually throw ourselves as we recognize that apart from Him we can do nothing but that in Him we can do all things. For the gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ’s church.
Just a couple of questions as we close. Have you set the Word of God and the Son of God as the foundation stone of your life? Have you repented of your self-reliance in your attempt to come to God by your own effort? Have you given Jesus Christ the first place as the cornerstone of your life? When Jesus was on earth he said concerning Himself, “Whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomever it falls it shall grind him to powder.” Whoever shall humble themselves and fall before the Savior shall be broken. The broken person can be healed before God. But whoever will not humble themselves and receive the Savior, the wrath of God will be poured out upon this person and he or she will be crushed to powder.
Here is a question for you who have placed your trust in Christ as your Savior. Are seeing yourself growing into a holy temple in the Lord? Are you allowing God to construct you into His image as part of the body of Christ? Are you allowing Him to fit you into His place in the building that will stand forever in heaven? Are you relying on the building material of God’s Spirit to do the construction or are you looking for scraps of woods and leftover nails to piece your life together into the image of Christ. Only the Spirit’s material will last into eternity. Trust Him.