Ephesians 2:20 - 22 "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
There is no question that the Lord is talking about
the local New Testament church here. In verse 19 the Lord said, “Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the
saints, and of the household of God;” The “corner stone” is a large
stone firmly at each corner and Jesus Christ is the “chief corner stone”
He is named as such because the whole building rests on Him. Brother Oscar Mink,
once Pastor of our church and now with the Lord said, “Christ Is The
Cornerstone. A Corner Stone Is the Stone Placed In The Corner, Or Angles Of The
Foundation Or Sub-Structure Where Two Sides Meet, And By Which They Are Held
Together. The "Chief Cornerstone" Is the One, If Removed The Whole
Building Would Collapse.” When God says,
“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” God is
speaking of the gospel message of salvation and biblical truth, but the
foundation of the church is Jesus Christ because He is the “chief corner
stone” of both the church and the truth of the bible. Jesus said in Matthew
16:18 “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.”
That “rock” Jesus was talking about was not Peter because he was a (Petros - a piece of rock) the rock (petra - a mass of
a rock) is Jesus Christ. The foundation of everything is laid on Jesus Christ
because without Him is all comes tumbling down. God said in 1
Corinthians 3:11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.” It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about the
church or the gospel or biblical truth, Jesus is the foundation of it all, and
if it is not built on Him then it is built on sand. Matthew 7:26 - 27 "And
every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be
likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: (27) And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." So, we must ask why
did God say “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets”
Because as Brother Mink said in his study of Ephesians “We Are Not To
Understand By These Words That "The Apostles And Prophets" Are A Part
Of The Actual Foundation Of Salvation From Sin, Rather That They Were Apart
From Christ, The Original Messengers Of The Truth That Salvation”. The Actual
foundation of all of it was Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are speaking
about the word, the gospel, or the church, Jesus Christ is the foundation and
these Apostles and Prophets are the foundation laid on top of Jesus, this is
why He is the Chief Cornerstone. However, since these men of old laid the
foundation of truth the building continues to be built, “In whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:” Verse
21. We are framed together on the same foundation as the Apostles and Prophets
who are all built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. This is true if you are
talking about the word of God, the family of God, or the Lord’s churches, we
are “all the building fitly framed together” as God has so chosen. And
it is because of this foundation, the Apostles and Prophets, and everyone since
until today and even into tomorrow, we “are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit.” That is “For
the indwelling, or the dwelling-place, of God.” Each individual believer,
as well as each individual local church, all built on the foundation of Jesus
Christ and the Apostles and Prophets for the purpose to be the “dwelling-place,
of God.” Built by the Holy Spirit.
