Be The Church - Week 2
- Jan 22, 2024
- 5 min read
INTRODUCTION :
As we begin a new year and anticipate all the new things He will do in our midst, we wanted to take a look at what it means to Be The Church
As humans, our identity is important to us, we have an innate desire to understand who we are. When we identify ourselves as the Church, the people of God, we want to have confidence in what that means. Looking at a dictionary definition of church is enough to reveal that it is a religious concept. Common definitions refer to a building where Christians gather or to the worldwide body of Christians, but those definitions do not even scratch the surface of what it means to be the Church.
The Apostle Paul used multiple images throughout his letters to help the first Christians better understand who they were as believers in Jesus Christ and what it meant for them to be the Church. Throughout his letters, Paul describes the Church as a bride, a body, a family, a house, and a living temple. Each of these images helps us better understand and unpack the complexity of our identity.
By studying Paul’s images and descriptions of the Church, we continue to gain wisdom about our purpose, our role, how we should interact, and what our relationship is to each other and to God.
Last week we discussed the imagery of both The Body of Christ and The Bride of Christ. This week we will take a look at the imagery of building a house or a temple and how Christ is The Cornerstone and we are the Living Stones.
Christ The Cornerstone -
Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone was the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice.
The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon. He is foundational. Once the cornerstone was set, it became the basis for determining every measurement in the remaining construction; everything was aligned to it. As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment. We could stop right there but let's see how the Bible ties this together.
The book of Isaiah has many references to the Messiah to come. In several places the Messiah is referred to as “the cornerstone,” such as in this prophecy: Isaiah 28:16 says… “therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid, as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’” . In context, God speaks to the scoffers and boasters of Judah, and He promises to send the cornerstone—His precious Son—who will provide the firm foundation for their lives.
Fast forward into the New Testament, the metaphors are continued. The apostle Paul desires for the Ephesian Christians to know Christ better: Pauls writes in Ephesians 2:19– 21…“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”.
There is no longer a distinction between Jew/Gentile, we are now a part of God’s household.
Built on the foundation of the Word (teaching of the apostles and prophets)
Built on Jesus as the cornerstone and joined/fitted together, we are a Holy temple, a dwelling place for God.
THEN…., in 1 Peter 2:6, what Isaiah said centuries before is affirmed in exactly the same words. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Peter says that Jesus, as our cornerstone, is “chosen by God and precious to him”. The Cornerstone is also trustworthy and reliable, and “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame”.
We Are The Living Stones -
We just looked at 1 Pet 2:6 but let’s back up now to vs 4 and 5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The living stones (us) are described as chosen and precious.
As living stones, we are being built into a spiritual house to be a Holy priesthood.
In 1 Cor 12:18 it says But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
As the Master Builder, God places His living stones just where He wants us to be.
Peter goes on to describe the function of the living stones: to “declare the praises” of Him who called us out of the darkness of sin into the light of life and glory (1 Peter 2:9). This is the “job description” of a living stone: a speaker of praise, a declarer of truth and love and light.
CONCLUSION:
Here is an excerpt from an RC Sproul devotion on “What is the Church?”
Paul continues the building metaphor in Ephesians 2:20b: “Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” Christ is the cornerstone, the point that holds the foundation together. Take out the cornerstone, and everything falls apart. “In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21–22). The church is a new temple built in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ. Obviously, Paul isn’t saying the church is a building made out of mortar and brick, but that we are the stones, the living stones, as 1 Peter 2:5 tells us. Each believer is part of this church just as each stone is part of a building. The church, the new temple, is still under construction. Every day, new stones are added. This new temple will not be finished until Jesus returns to consummate His kingdom. Christ is still building His church, not by adding cement but by adding people who are the stones that hold together in Him.”
Next week we will wrap up our Be The Church study by looking at what it means to be the Family of God as well as celebrate communion.
DISCUSSION:
Each week, our goal is to bring biblical truth to you guys and help illuminate what it means. The Word is always the foundation. Our short discussion time is really just an opportunity to start thinking about how to apply the truths to our lives.
Why is the Cornerstone so important in building/construction?
Why is it important for Christ to be the Cornerstone?
Did you notice in the 1 Peter verses that Jesus is referred to as chosen and precious to God and we, the living stones are also called chosen and precious. What do you think about that? How does it make you feel?
“Christ is still building His church, not by adding cement but by adding people who are the stones that hold together in Him.” Do you agree with this? What is our role in this?