Building Project

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

The Bible contains many pictures of Christian life. Ephesians 2 describes our participation in a building project. We are like building blocks in the temple of God. We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Jesus is the chief cornerstone. Of course, it’s not an ordinary building. It is a holy temple built for a holy God. There is one feature of the building project that is easy to overlook. The building grows. Not only is it a reminder that the building blocks are human beings. It is also a reminder that the temple of God is a picture of community. We grow together in community. Growth in community may rub against our tendency to celebrate individuality and “self-help”. The building project that Paul described was no less radical in his time. During the first century it was difficult for many to grasp how Jews and Gentiles could be built together into the temple of God. The beauty of community is conveyed through the strong contrast in language. Consider the loneliness and isolation of living as a “stranger” and “foreigner” compared with the warmth and connectedness of being a “fellow citizen with the saints and members of the household of God”. In Christ, we have a place of belonging where we grow together.