This is Part 2 of our building series.
The New Testament gives us several pictures of how Jesus intended the church to look. There are several relational metaphors, including a body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Ephesians 5:22-23, Colossians 1:18, Ephesians 4:15), the family of God (1 Timothy 3:15, Ephesians 2:19, John 1:12, Galatians 4:6-7), the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:22-32, Revelation 21:9), and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9, Hebrew 10:19-21). The New Testament also uses agricultural pictures such as branches on a vine (John 15:5), and olive tree (Romans 11:17-24), and a field of crops (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).
Another metaphor that was used by both Peter and Paul was that of a building. For the next three weeks, we are going to look at the building metaphors in the New Testament as found in 1 Peter, Ephesians, and 1 Corinthians.
In each of these passages, followers of Christ are described simultaneously as God’s workmanship and his workmen, and we will explore in these passages what it means to be pliable in his hands and the role we can play in the construction of his Kingdom.
Last week, we examined 1 Peter 2:5. Today, we will focus on another building passage, Ephesians 2:19-22:
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
God’s Family (v. 19)
Sarah Owen provides us with background on the book of Ephesians in this previous post. The city of Ephesus was a bustling metropolitan and religious city that revolved around the Temple of Diana. In the early days of the Church, Jews who followed Jesus as their Messiah were in the majority. Then, primarily through the leadership of Paul, the Gospel spread throughout the Gentile world, and many Gentiles began to follow Christ, as well. This led to some bickering, as recorded in Acts 15 and Galatians 2. Paul states very clearly in this passage that Gentiles are full citizens of God’s family.
God’s House (v. 20a)
Paul also tells the Ephesians that they are a part of God’s house, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” to encourage them to be unified despite their differences. Not much has changed today– there are lots of different types of people in God’s house, but we are all part of God’s family. That means that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves and NCC. God is building us up into his Church by connecting us to Old Testament prophets, Peter, Paul, the early Church Fathers, the Reformers, and all kinds of people we might never imagine having much in common with. Because we are a part of God’s house, we are connected to people throughout the centuries and across denominational and theological differences.
The Cornerstone of God’s House (v. 20b)
The Cornerstone of God’s House is Jesus Christ. Today, cornerstones are largely ceremonial or symbolic, but in ancient architecture the cornerstone was critical to the structural integrity of the building. It was the first stone set in the foundation of a building, and all other stones were set in reference to the it, thus determining the position and direction of the structure.
The cornerstone of our faith is Jesus Christ. In Ephesians, Jesus was the one who connected the bickering Jews and Gentiles. Today, he is still the one who binds us together as one, and he sets the position and direction of our faith.
We will explore this idea more next week when we focus on 1 Corinthians.
God’s Temple (v. 21-22)
We are not just God’s house– we are his Temple. This metaphor would have resonated with both Jewish and Gentile readers. The Jews would have immediately thought of Herod’s temple, and the Ephesian Gentiles would have thought of the Temple of Diana. God is carefully joining us together so that we can be a Temple for him. As we connect with one another, we bring glory and worship to God. In this, Paul is echoing what Jesus said in John 15:35, “All men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We are not simply stones that are living and built up as individuals. We are built together by God. Paul set up this idea earlier in the chapter (”one people”- v. 14, “one person”- v. 15, “one body”- v. 16, led by the “same Spirit”- v. 19) and he concluded by saying that we are one dwelling for God. In the beginning, God dwelt with men by walking with them (Genesis 5:22, 6:9). Then, he dwelt with men in the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 40:34-38, 1 Kings 8:1-11). Now, God dwells with men within the Body of Christ (John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, and Ephesians 2:20-22). We are built together by God into his holy, living, and ongoing Temple in which he dwells with men and receives glory and praise throughout eternity.
I have spent a LOT of time recently studying the book of Ehpesians, and I think the message of “one body” is a key one in the book of Ephesians. Indeed, I believe it permiates the entire letter not only in direct statements as you highlighted above, but also indirectly in the general emphasis and even in the nature of the armor. I posted a short article on exactly this a while back. Here’s a link to it: http://movablenu.blogspot.com/2007/01/ephesians-message-of-ephesians.html
Andrew Sturt
February 7th, 2007