Ephesians 2:20-23 - Chief Cornerstone
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Anonymous User
Ephesians 2:20-23 - Chief Cornerstone February 09, 2008 08:40AM |
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“You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord]. In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:20-23
When Jesus saw that merchants were using the temple to sell their wares, He proceeded to overturn the tables and drive them out, the Jews questioned His authority and power, asking what gave Him the right to do so. His response is found in John 2:19, “Jesus answered them, Destroy (undo) this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The Jews must have thought He was crazy for they knew that the temple in which they stood took forty-six years to be built and here He is claiming to rebuild it in three days! Surely He must have appeared as a mad man to them! They did not know of what Jesus was speaking: “But He had spoken of the temple which was His body. When therefore He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this. And so they believed and trusted and relied on the Scripture and the word (message) Jesus had spoken” (John 2:21-11).
Now, Beloved, we live after the fact of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Even before Jesus’ life upon the earth the prophets told of His coming. David wrote about Him in Psalms 118:22-23, 26, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is from The Lord and is His doing; it is marvelous in our eyes…Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship.” John the Baptist made ready the way of the Lord as have many since his time, preparing our hearts so the Jesus could enter in. The apostles saw Jesus fulfill the words in John 2:19 and shared this truth with others, themselves being part of His body and involved in the building up of that Body for His glory with Christ Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. We are a part of the continual rising up, the growth of the Holy Temple of God.
In a building construction a cornerstone is “a stone uniting two walls at the corner of a building” (Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary). Jesus is the rock of our foundation, uniting heaven and earth, Father God the Creator to His people. Without Jesus there is no firm foundation. With Christ Jesus we can be connect to God in Heaven and through Jesus God can touch the hearts of His people here on earth and God can dwell in them and with them as He always desired from the beginning. We who believe in and are built upon the Chief Cornerstone are the living temple of God built not by hands but by the Spirit of God with Christ Jesus as the foundation and we the living stones joined together by His blood being the mortar that binds us, a structure that cannot be moved, so sure if our foundation in Him, glory to God!
Remember the story of “The Three Little Pigs“, who built their houses, one of straw, one of sticks and one of bricks? Today many people go throughout their lives looking for their fortunes building their house of straw which is easily blown away. Others build their hopes, their very lives with sticks, thinking how foolish are those who build their “homes” with straw, yet they find how easily this, too, comes crashing down on them when some pressure is applied. Then there are those who build not like others, building with bricks, a firm foundation, recognizing a need for a cornerstone to hold up that which is being built. It is only those who build like this that will survive the storms of life, the pressures and attack of the enemy. What kind of a house are you building in your life? Are you building it straw or sticks, things that will not last and will easily come down? Or are you building it upon Christ Jesus, our firm foundation, the Chief Cornerstone of God’s holy temple? There are wolves waiting outside our door. Without Jesus we will become their supper.
Father, we thank You for Your Son Christ Jesus, He Who is the Chief Cornerstone. We desire to be the living stones that build Your temple and we need Your Son to hold us up. Without Him we are lost, without Him we build our lives on that which is unstable, weak to withstand the attacks of this world. Help us to submit to Your Spirit that we might fit together as one body joined together with Christ as our Head, our foundation, to Your glory and honor, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and amen.
When Jesus saw that merchants were using the temple to sell their wares, He proceeded to overturn the tables and drive them out, the Jews questioned His authority and power, asking what gave Him the right to do so. His response is found in John 2:19, “Jesus answered them, Destroy (undo) this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The Jews must have thought He was crazy for they knew that the temple in which they stood took forty-six years to be built and here He is claiming to rebuild it in three days! Surely He must have appeared as a mad man to them! They did not know of what Jesus was speaking: “But He had spoken of the temple which was His body. When therefore He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this. And so they believed and trusted and relied on the Scripture and the word (message) Jesus had spoken” (John 2:21-11).
Now, Beloved, we live after the fact of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Even before Jesus’ life upon the earth the prophets told of His coming. David wrote about Him in Psalms 118:22-23, 26, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is from The Lord and is His doing; it is marvelous in our eyes…Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship.” John the Baptist made ready the way of the Lord as have many since his time, preparing our hearts so the Jesus could enter in. The apostles saw Jesus fulfill the words in John 2:19 and shared this truth with others, themselves being part of His body and involved in the building up of that Body for His glory with Christ Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. We are a part of the continual rising up, the growth of the Holy Temple of God.
In a building construction a cornerstone is “a stone uniting two walls at the corner of a building” (Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary). Jesus is the rock of our foundation, uniting heaven and earth, Father God the Creator to His people. Without Jesus there is no firm foundation. With Christ Jesus we can be connect to God in Heaven and through Jesus God can touch the hearts of His people here on earth and God can dwell in them and with them as He always desired from the beginning. We who believe in and are built upon the Chief Cornerstone are the living temple of God built not by hands but by the Spirit of God with Christ Jesus as the foundation and we the living stones joined together by His blood being the mortar that binds us, a structure that cannot be moved, so sure if our foundation in Him, glory to God!
Remember the story of “The Three Little Pigs“, who built their houses, one of straw, one of sticks and one of bricks? Today many people go throughout their lives looking for their fortunes building their house of straw which is easily blown away. Others build their hopes, their very lives with sticks, thinking how foolish are those who build their “homes” with straw, yet they find how easily this, too, comes crashing down on them when some pressure is applied. Then there are those who build not like others, building with bricks, a firm foundation, recognizing a need for a cornerstone to hold up that which is being built. It is only those who build like this that will survive the storms of life, the pressures and attack of the enemy. What kind of a house are you building in your life? Are you building it straw or sticks, things that will not last and will easily come down? Or are you building it upon Christ Jesus, our firm foundation, the Chief Cornerstone of God’s holy temple? There are wolves waiting outside our door. Without Jesus we will become their supper.
Father, we thank You for Your Son Christ Jesus, He Who is the Chief Cornerstone. We desire to be the living stones that build Your temple and we need Your Son to hold us up. Without Him we are lost, without Him we build our lives on that which is unstable, weak to withstand the attacks of this world. Help us to submit to Your Spirit that we might fit together as one body joined together with Christ as our Head, our foundation, to Your glory and honor, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and amen.
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