Ⅱ
As believers in Christ and as members of the Body of Christ, we are “being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone”—v. 20:
A
Since the mystery of Christ, the church, has been revealed to the apostles, the revelation that they received is considered the foundation upon which the church is built—3:4-5; 2:20:
１
This corresponds to the rock in Matthew 16:18, which is not only Christ Himself but also the revelation concerning Christ, on which He will build His church.
２
We need to build the church upon the apostles and prophets—Eph. 2:20.
B
In Ephesians 2:20 Christ is referred to as the cornerstone:
１
Christ as the cornerstone joins together the Jewish believers and Gentile believers into a holy temple in the Lord—Psa. 118:22-26; Eph. 2:20-22.
２
Christ, the cornerstone, is for the building up of the church in the New Testament age—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:5:
ａ
For the building up of the church as the temple of God, we need to experience Christ as the cornerstone—vv. 6-7.
ｂ
In Christ as the cornerstone, all the building is growing into a holy temple in the Lord—Eph. 2:20-22.
３
In God’s New Testament economy Christ as the cornerstone, in His saving us (Acts 4:10-12), first makes us living stones for the building up of God’s spiritual house (Matt. 16:18; John 1:42; 1 Pet. 2:4-7) and then, in the process of His transforming us (Rom. 12:2a; 2 Cor. 3:18), builds us up into a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:19-22) so that He may carry out God’s eternal economy for God’s good pleasure (1:9; 3:9-11).
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 2:20 Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.3:4-5 ...The mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.
In considering the church as God’s building, we need to pay special attention to the foundation... Many Christians have difficulty understanding what the foundation is in Ephesians 2:20... Christ is the only foundation [1 Cor. 3:11]. Nevertheless, Ephesians 2:20 speaks of the foundation of the apostles and prophets... In contrast to Revelation 21 where the foundations are the very persons of the apostles, the foundation here is not the apostles and prophets themselves. Since the mystery of Christ has been revealed to the apostles (Eph. 3:4-5), the revelation they received is considered the foundation upon which the church is built. This corresponds to the rock in Matthew 16:18, which is not only Christ Himself but also the revelation concerning Christ, upon which Christ will build His church. Therefore, the foundation of the apostles and prophets is the revelation they received regarding Christ and the church for the building of the church. The church is built upon this revelation. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 233-234)
Today’s Reading
We need to build the church upon the revelation received by the apostles and prophets. The so-called churches established according to nationalities are not built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Some so-called churches even exclude members of particular racial or ethnic groups. Surely those congregations are not built upon the foundation spoken of in Ephesians 2:20... The Presbyterian denomination is built upon the concept of presbytery. The apostles and prophets, however, never received a revelation that the presbytery should be the foundation of the church. The Methodist Church is built upon the principles of John Wesley, and the Catholic Church is built upon the concept of hierarchy... The charismatic churches are built upon the foundation of certain charismatic gifts and experiences. In contrast to all these so-called churches, we in the Lord’s recovery must be able to strongly affirm that the churches in the recovery are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. This means that the churches in the Lord’s recovery are built according to the revelation received by the apostles and prophets. This revelation embraces believers of all races and nationalities; it includes those who speak in tongues and those who do not. If you have the vision of the proper foundation of the church, you will realize that only the churches in the Lord’s recovery, not the Catholic Church, the denominations, or the independent groups, are built upon the proper foundation.Ephesians 2:20 reveals that in God’s building Christ is the cornerstone. Here Christ is referred to, not as the foundation (Isa. 28:16), but as the cornerstone, because the main concern here is not the foundation but the cornerstone that joins together the two main walls: the wall of the Jewish believers and the wall of the Gentile believers. When the Jewish builders rejected Christ, they rejected Him as the cornerstone (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7), which joins the Gentiles to them for the building of God’s house.
[In Matthew 21:42] the Lord revealed that after His resurrection He would become the cornerstone to join the Jews and the Gentiles... Peter’s word [in Acts 4:11 and 12] shows that salvation implies building. God’s intention in saving us is not to bring us into the heavens; rather, it is to join us to the Jews so that He may have His building.. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we have been saved in order to be joined together in Christ for God’s building. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 234-236)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “The Building Up of the Body of Christ,” ch. 3; CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” lsn. 5