One Building in Christ: The Structure

The Apostle Paul paints a third picture in Ephesians 2:19-22. Not only are true believers “fellowcitizens with the saints” and “of the household of God,” but they are also parts of one building (vs. 20-22). Here is a truly amazing analogy. We clearly see three very foundational concepts, the first of which is The Structure, which in turn has three parts.

First, Christ is the corner stone, a term rooted in ancient architecture. The Greek here (akrogoniaios) is a compound word made up of akron (“top” or “tip”) and gonia (“an angle or corner”). The literal idea of this word then is, as one commentator puts it, “At the tip of the angle” and refers to “the stone set at the corner of a wall so that its outer angle becomes important.” It was this stone, then, that became the basis for every measurement in the building. It governed every line and angle. It provided no more support to the structure than any other stone; rather its entire value lay in its outer angle.

This is the picture Paul is giving of Christ. In all respects He was the perfect corner stone, strong, perfect in character, and exact in measurement. We, therefore, are to conform to Him in every de­tail, for as we’ll see later, we too are part of the building. What if we do not conform to the corner stone? What if we are not measured according to that standard? What if our placement is not according to that absolute? In answer to that, just think of how noticeable peeling paint is on a house or how an improperly laid brick or stone sticks out. Any such flaw either weakens, or at the very least, disfigures the build­ing. Likewise, we are to conform to Christ lest we weaken or disfigure the building.

Second, the apostles and prophets are part of the foundation. An “Apostle” was one who was personally commissioned by the Lord Jesus and saw Him in His resurrection body. A “Prophet” (as the Greek prophētēs clearly indicates) is one who speaks immediately of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s point, then, is that the apostles and prophets laid the foundation of the Church. A building is only as good as its foundation. It must be horizontally level, vertically plumb, and made of the best materials. This foundation is absolutely essential. A builder can erect the most beautiful edifice in the world, but if it is not a good foundation, it will eventually crumble. That is why God used the apostles and prophets; they were the only adequate foundation.

But what was the foundation that they laid? The answer is most important in light of our day. One expositor rightly answers this question by writing: “Since both the apostles and prophets had a teaching role, the foundation is teaching. Thus the foundation of the new temple is God’s Word, especially the New Testament Scriptures. The Church stands or falls in its regard for the New Testament Scriptures. If we tamper with the foundation, the temple will crumble. That is why Paul ordered Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2).” How imperative it is that we understand that Truth! God used these men to build a foundation based on doctrine. If we alter that foundation, if we tamper with it, we will destroy the structure.

Third, individual believers are the remaining parts of the structure. This is a marvelous picture! Verse 19 speaks of individual believers; verse 20 then says that these are built upon the foundation. I Corinthians 12 describes the Church as one Body which is made up of many members. When we consider the individual cells that make up a physical body, we soon realize that there are countless millions of members in the body. So, whether we speak of an arm, a leg, an eye, a finger, “a little toe of the body,” as someone wrote to me once in reference to his position, or just one cell, it matters not because each is equally important, and none is useful by itself.

Likewise, the Church is one Building with countless pieces and parts. Dear Christian, you are useful to the building. Perhaps you are a 4x8 sheet of plywood flooring, a 2x4 stud in a wall, a shingle on the roof, or simply a small finishing nail in a piece baseboard. No matter what piece each of us is, we each have a purpose, a meaning, and a responsibility. The human tendency is to think that a beautiful bay window is more important than a single nail used in the window casing. And we do the same in the church, thinking one member is more important than another. But this is prideful and humanistic. Every part of the building is there for the benefit of the whole. Yes, that bay window is beautiful, but it is there only to compliment the building, and without the window casing and the nails that hold it in, that window would topple out and disfigure the whole structure. Likewise, no Christian is more important than another because each one edifies the whole.