The Church that Jesus Built
Text: Ephesians 2:19-22
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
Once upon a time the Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding through a canyon when suddenly they were surrounded on all sides by Indian warriors. Tonto looked to the Lone Ranger and asked, “What we do, Kimosabe?” The Lone Ranger pulls his trusty horse Silver to the east to find a hidden passage, but this passage is also blocked by more Apaches in war paint. Again Tonto asks, “What we do Kimosabe?” They try to go south but again more warriors, then North and again their path is blocked by Indians. At last the Lone Ranger looks at Tonto and asks, “What are we going to do?” Tonto answers, “What do you mean ‘WE’ paleface?”
I think that often times we like to think that we can set aside our difference without any problem, and that we are colorblind and the poster boy for tolerance, but in reality, that’s not reality. What I mean is that far too often, what separates us from one another is as simple as the color of our skin, where we live, what we drive, the clothes we wear, where we work, and we can all find ourselves making distinctions between people. But in Christ it shouldn’t be that way. In Christ we have a common ground that transcends race, social status, and backgrounds.
In our text Paul begins by drawing an important conclusion to what he’s already said. He reminds us what we were before God’s grace saved us. When we see that word, “therefore” we know that he’s tying what he’s about to say to what he’s already said. So Paul is saying here, because of all the things I’ve already said previously – “therefore” we are no longer strangers and foreigners, but instead we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. Strangers is the Greek word xenoi, it’s where we get our word xenophobia. Xenophobia is the intense dislike and fear of people from other countries. In the Greek, these xenoi or strangers were people who had no rights because they were outsiders. So Paul is telling us that we are no longer foreign outsiders when it comes to God. Jesus has done away with all of that, we are now citizens of His kingdom. We are no longer outcast foreigners; we are now part of the family.
That’s what Paul means when he says we are now of the household of God. It also means that other Christians are now our brothers and sisters. The problem is that often we want to be an ‘only child’ in the household of God.
Look at verses 20 and 21 (read). Paul then goes on to tell us, that not only are we citizens of Christ’s kingdom, and not only are we a part of the family of God, we are also tells us that this household that we are part of is built upon the apostles and prophets, and that Jesus Himself is the chief cornerstone.
The apostles were those who saw the risen Christ; they were able to perform miracles, and they had a unique position in the Church. They were the disciples, minus Judas and plus Paul. And when we read that they were part of the foundation, we see that this building is built on the teachings of the apostles, the prophets who proclaimed the Word of God, and that Jesus Christ is the piece that holds it all together and is the foundational piece upon which it all rests. And when we have this, and all of those who are in Christ… Paul says that we are being made into a “holy temple” IN THE LORD.
Now we need to be clear that the apostles and prophets are not themselves part of the foundation of the church. It is their teachings which are the foundation. When Peter said, “Thou art the Christ; the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus answered and said, “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus was saying that He would build His church on the confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Christ. In the literal Greek language Jesus said, “You are blessed Simon, son of Jonah, because you did not come up with this on your own, or using your own intellect, but My Father has revealed this to you. And I say to you that you are Petros, a little rock, and on this Petra, on this big rock (ie the confession), I will build my Church, and nothing, including the powers of hell and Satan, will stop the Gospel message from going forth.”
Christianity is a ‘revealed religion.’ We mean that two ways. First of all it means that we base our beliefs on what God has revealed about Himself in His Word. Think about that, without the Bible how many of us would know that the death of one Man in Palestine 2000 years ago was the source of eternal salvation. It also means that we are unable to come to faith in Christ, unless God reveals Him to us. That’s why Jesus said to Peter, “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven has.”
So the foundation of the Church is the Word of God given to us through holy men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word is centrally focused on God’s means of salvation for lost mankind, namely His Son Jesus Christ.
You see; all of the Bible points to Jesus, the cornerstone of our faith.
In ancient times (and I say ancient times because today’s building and builders are often seriously lacking), when a building would be erected, the workers dug down into the ground by first laying the cornerstone, usually this was the largest and most crucial part of the building. The cornerstone which formed the base for Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem was the size of a railroad car and weighed 570 tons. The cornerstone would become the rule or the standard by which all the rest of the walls would be constructed. If the stone was true, the building would be square. If it was plumb, the walls would rise straight. The cornerstone was both the strength and direction of the building. In Isaiah 28:16 God said, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not be dismayed.”
What our text is telling us, is that everyone who is in Christ are being formed into one spiritual dwelling place, and it is Jesus Christ who is uniting us.
Why is it that I can come here and feel connected to all of you, even though I’m not originally from Ft. Supply, even though I’m not from a farming or ranching background, and yet some of my own family members who are not believers don’t want to be around me or associate with me? Why is it that we could go to a church in Dallas Texas, or Atlanta Georgia, or London England, or Sydney Australia and have a connection with those people, but we might drive to Woodward and meet someone who isn’t a believer and they look at you like you’re form another planet? It’s our connection with other believers through Christ.
Look at verse 21 again (Read). See it says that in Christ we are being joined together, but it also says we are growing… So Jesus is not only the basis of our lives, He is also the means of our growth. As we are united to Him we are united to each other and only then can real growth occur.
Without Christ we would be nothing but rocks scattered about on the ground.
Now I’ve heard people say to me, “I don’t need to go to church, I can worship God in my own way, whenever I feel like it, by myself.” And I suppose you could, but it makes me wonder why a person who loves the God doesn’t want to be around God’s family. And also our text tells us that we are being fitted together to make a holy temple. We might not see how each one of us fits into God’s wonderful plan, but if we are absent then the rest of us are missing a piece, so to speak.
Look at the last part of our text there… We are becoming a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and as a corporate whole, the Bible tells us that we are like a temple. So the Christian faith is a corporate, connected faith. When we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ, the Bible tells us in 1st Corinthians 12:13 that we have been baptized into the Body of Christ, and throughout the New Testament the Body of Christ refers to the church.
So if one of our brothers or sisters is absent, then there is in a sense, a hole in the wall. The building won’t fall, but there might be a draft, or a leak, because someone is not filling the role to which God has called them to.
Let me stop using allegorical language and say it as plainly as I can. If you are a Christian, then you need to be around others of like minded faith, whether its in this building, in a home, or some other place of meeting; because this building isn’t the church, this building is where the church has agreed to meet. So what I’m saying is that the Church is the people of God who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and we have agreed to meet in this building. And so the question we should ask ourselves is, “How joined to the Body of Christ am I?”
Are you functionally connected?
Is there someone you are accountable to?
You see that’s part of the problem; we don’t like to be held accountable. Part of the reason for that is because we have some in the church who will not restore a brother or sister who has fallen into sin with a spirit of love and compassion, but instead would rather judge them and point a finger, but another part of it is because we don’t want our sins to be brought to the light, because we enjoy them too much.
So I’m going to close with this: Are you one that is quick to judge your brother or sister in Christ? Or do you realize that you too are a sinner who has been saved by God’s grace and experienced His mercy, and are therefore able to extend mercy to your brother or sister? Do you recognize the beam in your own eye before you attempt to pull the splinter out of your brother or sisters eye?
That’s how we should be, we should all realize that none of us deserve to be a part of the family of God, and if not for grace, none of us would be.
It is very hard to serve God apart from His holy temple, His Body.
Are you like Tonto?
CLOSING AND INVITAITON
