A couple years after 911 my wife Chris and I were in NYC on a Redeemer
Church recruiting trip considering planting a church in Manhattan. One of the areas we were asked to consider
was Battery Park City, located just west of Ground Zero. At the time of our visit the enormous cleanup
had been completed and the rebuilding and repairing of the subway station had begun. Today there are two reflection pools where
the twin towers stood, a museum and the recently completed Freedom Tower.
Building projects take considerable time. If you have ever been part of
a building project, you know exactly what I mean. The bigger the project, the more time it
takes. The Freedom Tower was officially
open just last November. Construction on
the famous Notre Dame Cathedral began in 1163 and completed in 1345, taking
only 182 years to build! Surprisingly,
at best estimates it took 7 years for Solomon’s Temple, and 13 years for his
palace. The temple of Paul’s day, Herod’s
Temple took 82 years to complete.
In Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul gives a picture of a spectacular building project
that has already taking longer to build than the aforementioned and is
incomplete. The big picture here is
that God is in the middle of a massive building project where He is building a
temple for Himself that is immensely more spectacular than Solomon’s’ Temple. It is a “holy temple” (2:21) where God
Himself lives. This temple is not
constructed from stone, wood or any man-made materials, but rather is
constructed with God’s people. It may seem somewhat of a bizarre concept at
first, however when comprehended will give a new perspective on our place and
calling in this life.
“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. In him you also are being built
together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Taking a closer look at this new temple we find that the
structural core itself is Jesus Christ.
In this passage Paul writes that Christ is the cornerstone. This was not
a novel idea to Paul, as Isaiah prophesied “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…” (Isaiah 28:16). The cornerstone placed at the corner of two
walls is an essential part of the foundation, and in fact the overall
structure. Christ holds the structure together – “in whom the whole structure, being joined together” (21 -NIV)
giving the building stability, direction and growth.
Built upon and around the foundation work of Christ is the message of
the apostles and prophets (2:20a). It
was their gospel proclamation that is foundational to the structure. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church. . .”
(Mt 16:18). And looking at the
building having been completed we read “And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Re 21:14).
With the Cornerstone and the foundation in place, Paul moves on to the
bricks or façade which are God’s people (2:19, 22). It is fascinating how in this chapter Paul
takes the Ephesian believer from being locked out of the temple to being an
essential part of its construction. Paul
gives them and us a new identity as he goes from “stranger” to “fellow
citizen with the saints”. From “alien”
to “members of the household of God”.
F.F. Bruce comments “The new
community, God’s fellowship of reconciliation, transcends all distinctions of
race, status, and sex”.
Being part of this new temple not only gives the Believer a new
identity, but a new calling. “And in him
you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his
Spirit” (22), or as the NIV puts it, “…
built together into a permanent dwelling place of God by the Spirit”. Note
Well the “you too” or “you also”. That remind the Gentiles once
again that they were included right alongside everyone else. Paul is giving a beautiful and comforting
picture that the Ephesian’s were now part of God’s earthly sanctuary, his
dwelling place or home. A place of
protection, intimacy and love. It is a very
large dwelling place where “there is not
Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossian 3:11). Peter describes it this
way: “As you come to him, a living stone
rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, your 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. 6 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.” (1
Peter 2:4-6)
As Paul wrote these words to the Ephesian believers, he knew the
splendor of Solomon’s Temple that had been destroyed long ago. The temple that then stood in Jerusalem was
called Herod’s temple and though a large complex, it was nothing in comparison
to Solomon’s Temple. From 1 Kings Chapter
6 and 7, we see that it was an elaborate and expensive building containing extensive
amounts of gold, silver, precious stone and rare wood. Once it was destroyed it could never be
rebuilt.
The Ephesians were not as aware of either Solomon’s or Herod’s temples,
but lived in the shadow temple of Artemis or Diana. It was a grand building and classified as one
of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. With
that image in mind, Paul tells them that they get to part of something more magnificent
then the temple of Artemis and more glorious – better than Solomon’s
Temple! The Believers then and now have
the privilege of being built up into the holy temple of God.
Christ is busy redeeming people from death to life. This is not simply
about race, it is about those who were Gentiles, uncircumcised, it is about
those who were at one time separated from God (12), it is all of us, with our
sin, brokenness, and pride….. “For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. . . ” (2:10).
Now that is good news!
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