Spiritual housing and Body-building
Am I losing you?
On Monday we looked at Hebrews 3:4 – Just part of the passage Pastor Andrew shared with us last Sunday. The passage reads “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” (Heb. 3:4). We looked at the difference between a builder (one who assembles) and an architect (one who designs what is assembled). We saw how God (Christ) is both “Architect and Builder” (Heb. 11:10).
When it comes to constructing His Church we see that while the Lord sends us out to do His Will, the Church (total family of God, all believers through human history, Bride and Body of Christ) is not an edifice to contain God, but is made a living thing, a communion of saints, themselves being the construction components!
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Peter next cites the prophet Isaiah: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (1 Pet. 2:6; Isa. 28:16).
Christ the “Rock,” the foundation (Matt. 16:15-20), the “Living Cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:4), the ‘Head‘ and we the body, “living stones” (v.5). This “Church” is a fellowship, imperfect at present but still “under construction.” In eternity this construction will be perfect, “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:27).
Paul described this masterfully in his letter to the Ephesians:
“…you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph. 2:19-22)
A little later in this letter Paul also describes this using the analogy of the Body…
“Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Eph. 4:12-16).
Well, I’ve strayed far from the main thoughts of Pastor Andrew’s recent message, but such are the depths of exploring scripture! The Truth of God can never be exhausted.
Press on…
To hear Pastor Andrew’s complete message, go to the Lincoln Baptist Church website and look under ‘Sermons Online’ for the Jan. 26 message.
thebrokenrunner 
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