The Building Plan: Foundation

Jonathan Hayashi

Battle and Build • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

Ephesians 2:19–22

Foundation

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Unless the Lord Builds the House

Psalm 127:1 NASB95

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

God Is Building The House

3 Areas:

Beth - House: Physical Family

Beth - Temple/Church: Local Spiritual Family

Beth - Palace/State: Corporate Heavenly Kingdom

CONTEXT

While Psalm 127 and even the Promise to Abraham we looked at last week is specifically about the Jews, we know the blessing to Abraham were more than just physical and are extended to all nations (Gentiles) through Jesus Christ.

Here in Ephesians we have Paul explicitly directing his teaching to the Gentiles and the Gentile church.

His emphasis in the first part of Ephesians is that the Jews received the Gospel first, but then as Gentiles heard and believed in the Gospel, they too gain the spiritual blessings given to the Jews.

In chapter 2 Paul teaches that Jewish believers and Gentile believers have now joined together to form a new body, a new man, a new reality.

In our text this morning, we see a very similar word grouping as we did in Psalm 127. Please turn to Ephesians 2:14-22 and let’s stand as I read God’s Word this morning.

READ TEXT

Point out household, temple, and citizens

Gods’ plan of building a family hasn’t changed. It’s just being realized in a new way for this season of history and includes both Jews and Gentiles.

We commonly call this new season the Church Age inaugurated on the day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

This defining point of the Church Age is the work of the Holy Spirit within God’s people since ultimately the family He is building is a spiritual family.

Spiritual Rest

Spiritual Walk

Spiritual Fruit

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Work

Spiritual Rewards

Paul begins to emphasize the corporate and universal nature of the body of Christ and begins to use some important metaphors and analogies.

What we’ll see today are 3 Metaphors fleshed out in 4 terms.

The Three Metaphors

The first is a family

The second is a building

The third is an organism/body

The Four Terms

Family

Foundation

Formation

Function

The Four Terms as drawn from vss. 19-22 is what I will focus on this morning.

EXPOUND TEXT

FAMILY (vs. 19)

What we were: strangers and aliens (orphans) (vs 19). Paul earlier in 1:5 and elsewhere uses the term “adopted” to demonstrate our condition as orphans.

Romans 8:14–16 NASB95

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

getting kicked out of the Garden made us orphans, aliens and strangers to God.

strangers - xenos - (xenophobia) - foreign, not of one’s family. (A friend although a stranger?) Not belonging to the Christian community

aliens - paroikos - a sojourner, one who dwells in a foreign country, a temporary dweller not having a settled habitation in the place where he currently resides.

Apart from God we are orphans hoping to find a family to love us. Acceptance

Apart from God we are we are on the outside, unsettled and trying to find a place to call home. Belonging.

Apart from God we are meaningless wanderers wondering what our purpose is. Value and Purpose

We see this in general, whether people admit it or not. People are longing for belonging, longing for a home, for a family, for purpose, for protection.

Gangs...

Article on the non’s and atheist churches.

But once you come to Jesus Christ you become fellow citizens with the saints (holy ones) - a place to belong

Of God’s Kingdom - citizen

Spiritual Rest:

No more wandering and wondering if you’ll make it.

No more trying to earn God’s favor.

You’ve made it through the Gate into the Kingdom.

Protection, Provision, Blessing

Of God’s Priesthood - saints

Spiritual Purpose.

holy one

set apart

sanctified

spiritual gifts, work

Of God’s Household - oikeios: Family

Spiritual Belonging

spiritual fruit

spiritual reward

FOUNDATION (vs. 20)

God’s Household is built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, JC as the chief cornerstone. (vs 20)

The Scriptures alone are the foundation of our beliefs as Christians. I stand on the Word of God as recorded in the Bible.

Martin Luther

First Take:

Prophets - OT - prophesied the coming Kingdom of God and the Messiah, the Suffering Servant and Victorious King

Apostles - NT - We see the beginning of its fulfillment through Jesus’ Spirit filled life, death and resurrection. The Apostles preached its present reality and the future fulfillment of the rest.

2 Peter 3:2 NASB95

that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

Obviously then we see why Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, because all of history is HIS story. It’s the redemptive story of God towards His people. Jesus is the red thread that is woven throughout the Scriptures.

Luke 24:25–27 NASB95

And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

We begin with the recognition that Genesis provides the foundation. The rest of the Bible is built on that foundation. In other words, Genesis lays the foundation for the history of God’s redemption of the world.

Tremper Longman III

Second Take:

Paul follows the statement of Apostles and Prophets in chapter 2 with this statement in chapter 3.

Ephesians 3:4–6 NASB95

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into 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 the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

Second Take:

NT Prophets

Acts 11:27; 21:10 - Agabus

Acts 13:1; 15:32;

Acts 21:9 (Prophetesses);

I Cor 14

I Thess 5:20 - Do not despise prophetic utterances.

1 Timothy 4:14 NIV84

Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Office vs. Ministry

Position vs. Spiritual Gift

Inspiration vs. Illumination

Predicting vs. Proclaiming

Purpose of NT Apostles and Prophets

Direct Authority from God to declare His Word and write Scripture

2 Peter 3:15–16 NASB95

and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

There does not appear to be a continuity of the Office as nowhere in the NT is the church instructed to ordain apostles or prophets.

So it would appear that once the Bible was established, the office of Apostle and Prophet waned away.

The apostles at that time first preached the Gospel but later, by the will of God, they delivered it to us in the Scriptures, that it might be the foundation and pillar of our faith.

Irenaeus; Jerome

Apostle’s ongoing gift: Apostle literally means sent one. Missionary

Prophets ongoing gift: Preaching, that is proclaiming the written Word of God.

Will discuss further in upcoming sermon on spiritual gifts and equipping the church

The Cornerstone

The importance of the cornerstone.

if not set plumb, level, and square your foundation will not be right.

Jesus is the only cornerstone that is plumb, level, and square.

An OT Messianic metaphor

God’s stability, strength, and perseverance is often visualized in “Rock” as a title.

The metaphor of Jesus as a stone is found in

a rejected stone - Ps 118.22;

a building stone - Ps 118.22; Is 28.16;

a stone to stumble over - Is 8.14-15

Jesus used these passages to describe Himself (Matt. 21.42; Mark 12.10; Luke 20.17)

We also see Peter use these passages (I Peter 2.6-8)

FORMATION

In Christ the whole building is

being fitted together by God

The various parts of the building are skillfully fitted to each other, not haphazardly thrown together.

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 NASB95

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

The Holy Spirit gives us the gift.

Jesus assigns to us our ministry.

But God the Father brings about the effect.

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NASB95

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

Our gifts given to us are for the purpose of the common good of the body and the Holy Spirit gives it to us according to His will.

1 Corinthians 12:7, 11 (NASB95)

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

We will come back to this in an upcoming sermon, But God has brought you here to Lighthouse Fellowship for a reason.

growing (continues to grow)

Growing - Greek word used is for something that is living and growing because it has the element of life in it.

It is not just advancement, which a non-living entity can do.

1 Peter 2:4–5 NASB95

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We have living stones here with the same idea.

the Greek word for living is zao which is being alive and living life as a human.

A mixed metaphor being used to hint towards the Body of Christ analogy.

As opposed to stagnant.

We are blessed to be a blessing.

We are gifted to serve.

We learn so we can share what we have learned.

Which leads us to our last “F” word

FUNCTION

Being Built Together

Ephesians 4:15–16 NASB95

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Our function as a church is to grow in our love for Christ, our knowledge of Christ, and our service to Christ.

Our function as a church is to use the gifts that God has given us to grow the body.

Our function as a church is the build each other up in love.

Sometimes that means speaking the truth in love in a challenging but constructive way.

Sometimes that means keeping one another accountable.

But either way, it’s all supposed to be intended for the betterment of the body.

And no one is excluded from that role. You all have an integral part to play.

To Be A Dwelling Place of God

Ezekiel 48:35 NASB95

“The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The Lord is there.’ ”

Jehovah Shammah

Revelation 21:3 NASB95

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Although this is foreshadowed of the New Heaven and New Earth, Paul applies this term in the present.

Our function is the create a place where God dwells among us. Where we can say, “God is here!”

Filled with the Holy Spirit

This brings back tabernacle and fist temple imagery of the Shekinah glory of God.

The Holy Spirit dwells within us individually and corporately

1 Peter 2:4–5 NASB95

spiritual house

holy priesthood - saints from earlier.

Offer Spiritual Sacrifices

Our Final Function?

spiritual sacrifices

spiritual gifts and ministry

spiritual work