SOME ASPECTS OF THE CHURCH FROM ITS BEGINNING - THE CHURCH’S CONSTRUCTION - PART 6
THE CHURCH’S CONSTRUCTION
The Church is entirely a New Testament concept though as we saw, it is seen typically in the Old Testament. In this section I want to look at the formation of the Church, and its construction, and its continuance.
[A]. JESUS CHRIST THE CORNERSTONE – THE FIRST STEP
When Peter was speaking to the rulers and the elders in the face of persecution, this is recorded – {{Acts 4:11 “He is the STONE which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became THE VERY CORNER STONE”}} Peter did not mention any building or any other similar construction but he did name the Lord as the CORNERSTONE.
Peter was a rustic fisherman, not a man of great scholarship, but he had been with the Lord for three and a half years. Now he stands before the rulers and teachers of the nation boldly proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, with a scriptural understanding far greater than theirs. There is such snobbery in a number of churches where a man of quality is rejected for pastoral work on the grounds that he does not possess theological degrees. That must be condemned, as it is pride and elitism and snobbery. Some men like to parade around with their B.A, or D.Div or M.Theol or Ph.D and all the rest. Peter had none of those instituted degrees of men or any “paper” qualifications. He learned at the feet of the Master but for some churches, that would not be good enough. In some churches today Peter would not be given the time of day because “he has not had the education; nor has he been to a Theological Seminary”.
Praise God He uses the simple people, those who love Him and learn at His feet. That is why I appreciate the ordinary Christians who live in under resourced African places like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, etc. and in India, the Philippines and other places where Christians are accepted into ministry who have not been to bible colleges or Seminaries and all the rest. They learn from Jesus. That is the ONLY place of true learning.
I was so upset about the snobbery in some churches about the educational standing of pastors and others, and the rejection of godly persons not theologically trained, that I wrote a poem.
NOT IN DEGREES OR PEDIGREES BUT ON YOUR KNEES
The measure of a Christian, is not how much he knows,
But in the godly behaviour, his normal life shows.
Don’t talk to me about theological degrees,
Doctors of Divinity, or other pedigrees.
Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen unknown;
Just fishermen, a humble trade the world would disown,
But these four men with others, soon set the world ablaze,
And the world knew there was authority in their ways.
They had not theological degrees, but had more.
They trained under the Master, travelling shore to shore.
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Their power lay not in any academic mind,
But in the One who taught them, with whom they were aligned.
Theological qualifications count for nought,
UNLESS the person, at the feet of Jesus, was taught.
The secret is not in degrees of ability,
But in humble, spiritual viability.
The closer the walk with Jesus, the closer the gain;
Life in the Spirit, and faith, will godliness attain.
We must humble ourselves under the Lord’s mighty hand,
For that is God’s specified way to impact the land.
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Pride of achievement, and pride of place are traitorous;
To treat a church as “Sunday speeches” is treacherous.
God knows only humble servants, those who serve the Lord.
They are the ones who will know God’s well-deserved reward.
The ones who think they’re clever because they have degrees;
Ones who refuse to speak, unless they are paid their fees,
These all are charlatans, the false shepherds of God’s saints.
They are raping the heritage without due restraints.
It is not knowledge that counts, but time spent with the Lord.
It’s not academics, but with Jesus, in accord.
IT’S NOT DEGREES OR PEDIGREES, BUT IT’S ON YOUR KNEES,
FOR IT’S NOT MAN OR ITCHING EARS, BUT IT’S GOD YOU PLEASE!
R E Ferguson 16 January 2022
Peter stood there before the Council and delivered the word of God to them. These men supposedly had the training and all the “theological knowledge” and training, and certainly knew the source of Peter’s quote which is {{Psalm 118:22-24 “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’s doing. It is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”}} However they had no comprehension as to the proper meaning of that passage from Psalm 118 yet here is a mere fisherman expounding the Psalms. This is the work of the Holy Spirit for He is our teacher and no one else is more qualified. The Holy Spirit will open up the bible to the seeking, thirsting soul who wants to learn. Look to the Lord for enlightenment in the bible.
Cornerstones were fundamental in buildings in the ancient world. They set the alignment and the level and if the cornerstone was incorrect, then the whole building was not aligned correctly.
In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the first stone laid in the foundation of a building and its importance was both practical and irreplaceable. It was by the cornerstone that the whole building was oriented. The cornerstone was the stone that all other stones in the building was referenced to, and oriented toward. In other words, as the cornerstone was, so was the whole structure.
Wiemers describes the large cornerstone in the Temple ruins: [[A very large corner stone with margin and boss, located on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount. This southwest corner has some of the largest ashlar stones of the entire Temple Mount complex, measuring 39 feet 4 inches long by 7 feet 10 inches wide and 43 inches high. The large stone is called the master course stone and weighs about 80 tons. All these stones form a strong corner as they alternate back and forth as headers and stretchers all the way up. The larger stones helped stabilize the smaller stones stacked below. (Wiemers, Galyn. Jerusalem History, Archaeology and Apologetic Proof of Scripture. Waukee, Iowa, Last Hope Books and Publications, 2010, p. 105.)]]
Many years later Peter made reference to Jesus as the Cornerstone again. Remember it was to Peter the Lord spoke the words “Upon this Rock I will build My Church,” and Peter never forgot that incident. The Church is not built on Peter of course but the imagery remained with him. He wrote this – {{1Peter 2:6-8 This is contained in Scripture: “Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER STONE,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING and A ROCK OF OFFENCE,” for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”}}
Jesus came to His own people and His own people, Israel, in the main rejected Him. The people rejected Him because they were evil, and wickedness will not accept what is good. The rulers were even worse and were the agitators of the people who put Jesus to death. They were fools, blind workers of Satan. What they did not know was that through the death of the Lord of glory, salvation was going to be freely available to the whole world.
I am just selecting one verse from Ephesians and we return to that chapter later – {{Ephesians 2:20 “having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, CHRIST JESUS HIMSELF BEING THE CORNER STONE,”}}
In ancient times the cornerstone was the most important placement and was always put in place first. In these verses Christ is portrayed as the cornerstone in the image of a building which is the Church. He is the cornerstone of the Church. Man did not place Him there; they nailed Him to a cross. Jesus took His rightful position as the Head of the Church.
[B]. SETTING THE BUILDING’S FOUNDATION – THE SECOND STEP
Once the cornerstone is in place, the foundation then is laid. It must be square, critically so because all that which is above will suffer and become unstable. We look now at the wider passage in Ephesians – {{Ephesians 2:19-22 “Therefore then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, HAVING BEEN BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom 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 who are aliens and strangers, are no longer that are but we are fellow citizens in God’s building. It is fitted together properly and grows to be a holy temple in the Lord. You see, after the cornerstone, comes the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. These were very important men who had to build exactly in line with the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.
When a foundation is laid, you NEVER go to lay it again. Once it is in place that section of the work has been done. The apostles and prophets played a vital role in the early church to establish it and produce the scriptures. I am opposed to modern day apostles and prophets because they do not exist. The role of the Apostle and Prophet was to establish the Church’s foundation and once that was done, their work of ministry ended. The apostles and prophets were instrumental in not only establishing the foundation for God’s house, but also with giving us the scriptures. The last book was written about 96 AD and the prophets that existed then carried on into the second century until they finally went to be with the Lord. The foundation was complete. Their work had been done.
I don’t wish to offend anyone but the prophet’s role ended with the completion of the foundation. There are no modern day prophets and a lot of the things said by these people is just nonsense, not of the Spirit of God. Thus, the completion of the foundation saw the end of the ministry of apostles and prophets. There is a narrow sense in which some use "prophet" today. The prophet’s message was foretelling and forth telling. He spoke the great truths of God, and in a sense that continues today but the prediction in prophecy has ended.
3000 souls were saved on the Day of Pentecost, and since then souls have been added to the Church which is almost complete. When it is complete Jesus comes for the Church to take it home to glory.
[C]. WE ARE THE LIVING STONES RIGHT AT THE VERY TOP – THE THIRD STEP
We are at the top of this spiritual house because all the stones have been put in place in this “building” over all the centuries, and relatively speaking, only a few more need to be placed in before completion. We are living stones or if you like, living pebbles. Jesus is the Stone, the Rock. We are just tiny pebbles. This is what Peter wrote – {{1Peter 2:4-8 Coming to Him as to A LIVING STONE, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, AS LIVING STONES, are BEING BUILT UP AS A SPIRITUAL HOUSE for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. This is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER STONE, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.” The stone which the builders rejected, this became THE VERY CORNER STONE,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENCE,” for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed”}}
That is a very important passage because Peter links us with Christ in this spiritual house in which the Lord is the Cornerstone. We are not dead stones but living ones and even if/when we die we are still living stones, part of that beautiful Bride and of God’s household. The Lord is very precious to us because we have accepted Him, but for those who reject Him then He will be a rock of stumbling and offence. Do not take that lightly and if you are unsaved then turn to God for salvation for you do not want that Stone to fall on you and crush you for eternity.
Some people are indifferent to the claims of Christ but some are outright hostile. They persecute God’s children, and maybe even worse, be like the Australian Prime Minister who has given about 100 million dollars of taxpayers’ money to the Palestinian organisation for their fight against Israel and they are buying Iranian rockets that fall on Israel every day. Woe betide anyone person who lifts up his hand against God’s chosen earthly people. The mighty Rock of God will pulverise people like that Prime Minister. Do not take God lightly. He has a day of vengeance.
God has a certain height for His building. We must be at the very edge of that now and then the building is complete and the Lord returns for the Church as we covered earlier.
{{Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my ROCK and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”}}
Jesus is all the biblical goodness of rocks. What a strange thing to say but He is the cleft Rock from which water flowed for Israel in the wilderness. He is the stone the builders rejected. He is the shadow of a mighty rock in a weary land. He is the rock of stumbling and offence. He is the rock on which the church is built; my high Rock of assurance; the Rock of Israel and so many more. Take time to read the Psalms.
Praise God for His perfect building, the CHURCH, His spiritual house. Come, Lord Jesus to take your Bride to heaven!
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
