Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro* -- Gene Cernan was the last of twelve very privileged men.

He was the last man to walk on the moon in December 1972.

But he was also the pivotal man on another space flight.

On June 4, 1966, Gene Cernan very nearly died in space performing the Americans second walk in space.

The American public never knew the danger, but flight directors at NASA headquarters that day feared the worst.

Cernan’s walk in space began fine, but as he got to the rear of the capsule and tried to unload a new device intended to propel spacewalkers trouble developed rapidly.

Because he had no footholds or handholds, every time he tried to turn a knob or pull a lever, all that happened in the vacuum of space was that he propelled himself in the opposite direction, then he would have to somehow re-orient himself and start all over with the same result.

Naturally, the harder he tried, the more he found himself literally going in circles.

Within a very short period of time his visor was completely fogged over from sweat, his heartbeat was soon way beyond acceptable levels and his oxygen was used up at twice the expected rate because of his extreme exertion; he was completely exhausted.

It became apparent that the activity had to be canceled, but Cernan arrived back at the capsule opening only to discover that his suit had expanded and it was only with extreme exertion that he and command pilot Stafford finally managed to pull him back in at the last possible moment before he was out of oxygen.

Gene Cernan escaped death only by the smallest of margins – all because of lack of proper foundational handholds and footholds on his space capsule to allow him to leverage himself in the weightlessness of space.

Proper foundations are critical in any endeavor and the church is no exception.

We started last week to look at Paul’s three pictures of the church given in Eph 2:19-22.

We found that he likened it to a country, emphasizing that all in the body of Christ are equally privilege.

Then he likened it to a family showing that all are equally accepted.

Today we begin a three-part look at the church as a temple or building showing that all are equally needed.

*III.

The Church is a Building (We are Needed)*

Now, this section ends with three wonderful verses that stress the final picture of the church – the church as a building with the emphasis being that we are needed, can be used, are important to God’s program.

Let’s read starting in verse 20: 20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21) in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22) In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Paul’s imagery is very likely driven by the fact that there was the magnificent temple to Diana that was resident in Ephesus with which his readers were thoroughly familiar.

He had also made reference in the verses just before this to imagery which called to mind the spectacular Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, so it was only natural that he would now look at this new entity, this new man, this church, that God was creating to say, it is also like a building, but it is a living building.

As opposed to the beauty but immaterial nature of these other temples, there is now something unique in the world.

We want to look at this section from a four-fold point of view.

To outfit us for the service God wants from us we will see that we have a foundation, a focus, a fit and a function.

Today we look at the foundation.

*A.

We have a foundation*

As we have seen, the cross of Christ had enabled in Ephesus the joining of ancient foes – Jews and Gentiles – into a new entity called the church.

To help us understand that new entity Paul says, “It’s like that great temple down the street, and as in any building, nothing is more fundamentally important than the foundation.”

According to verse 20, the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ.

That is one loaded little phrase.

Most of you will probably recognize that this is not the only place in Scripture where Paul talks about a foundation.

He is particularly clear in I Corinthians 3 and we need to turn there.

He says beginning in verse 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

11) For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

If you have been watching closely, you will notice that in Ephesians the foundation is comprised of the apostles and prophets while in Corinthians, the foundation is Christ.

How are we to reconcile this seeming contradiction?

Some have tried to reconcile these by suggesting that in both cases Christ is the foundation and that when Ephesians says that we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the meaning is that we are built on the foundation that was utilized by or laid by the apostles which is Jesus Christ.

This would correspond well with Paul’s comment in I Corinthians 3:10 that he laid a foundation.

However, this fails to explain all the facts, and I believe that there is a better explanation.

Please note first of all that in both passages, the picture of a building is being used as a metaphor to help us understand some greater reality.

Metaphors need not correspond exactly when used in different places in Scripture.

Paul may have altered the imagery to make different points, and that appears to be exactly what he did.

This is particularly evident in the fact that while Jesus Christ is clearly said to be the foundation in I Corinthians 3, he is equally clearly said to be the cornerstone in Ephesians 2. Now, I will grant you that the cornerstone is important as we will see, but it is not the whole foundation.

It is one major piece of the foundation.

So, it seems clear to me that Paul has taken a building as his main image in both passages, but has altered the elements to make certain points.

If we drill a little deeper, his purposes become even more evident.

In Ephesians 2, it is clear that his imagery of a building incorporates the whole church – all of us as individual parts forming a building or living temple, if you will.

In I Corinthians 3 he eventually gets to that point, but that is not his starting point.

Look again starting in verse 10: According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

11) For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Here, the foundation is not for a temple comprised of every believer, but instead the foundation referenced is for each individual’s life.

As believer’s we all have Jesus Christ as the foundation for our lives.

This is shown as he goes on beginning in verse 12: Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13) each one’s work (not our corporate work, but the work of each one of us individually) will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

14) If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

15) If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

So, up until this point in I Cor. 3, it has all been about the individual -- not about the collective body of Christ, but about each individual member.

But that all changes beginning in verse 16: 16) Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17) If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.

For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Beginning with verse 16, all of the “you’s” are plural (we can’t see this in the English text unless you have a footnote, but it is clear in the Greek).

So – in verses 10-15, Paul is saying, you (singular) must build wisely as an individual.

Choose for your life activities that are of eternal value, which will stand the judgment fire of God when He judges your works, your attitudes, you efforts, your individual contributions.

But why does he urge that?

Why because all of us taken together, “you” plural, form the temple of God, and that temple is to be holy.

Now we have reached a point similar to that which he will emphasize in Ephesians 2, but I hope this will help you understand how these two passages need to be reconciled.

Thus, the foundation for our personal lives as individual believers is Jesus Christ and none other.

And upon that foundation, we are to build works of faith, efforts governed by the guidance and help and with reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

That is the thrust of I Corinthians 3:10-15.

But the teaching of Ephesians 2:20-22 is that we believers collectively – the body of Christ taken as a whole – we all together form a building which is built upon a foundation comprised of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.

That is the imagery of Ephesians 2. We see this foundational nature of apostles and prophets in more detail in 4:11: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

Here we see a progression in leadership in the church from the original apostles and prophets, whose work ended as we will see in a few moments, to the evangelists, pastors (or shepherds) and teachers who continue active in the church today.

I would add one final note that supports the view that the foundation of the church actually consists of the apostles and prophets and that is found in Revelation 21 beginning in verse 10 where the Lord gives us through the apostle John, a glimpse of the future New Jerusalem: This is good.

Listen closely: 10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11) having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

12) It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13) on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

If the names of the apostles are inscribed for all time on the foundation of the New Jerusalem, it is hard not to imagine that they form the foundation for the church as well.

That’s Eph 2:20.

Now, we will come back in a moment to discuss the identity of the apostles and prophets, but first there are a couple of other things we need to understand now that we have a firm grasp on how the term foundation should be taken.

Let’s start at the beginning.

To get the context, look with me starting at verse 19: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

See the word “built” at the beginning of verse 20?

It is in the aorist tense in Greek – as used here, think of it as past tense.

It denotes an action done at a specific point in time as opposed to an ongoing or continuing development.

The tense indicates that the foundation is built once for all time and is one of several New Testament indications of the foundational, but not continual, nature of the apostolic and prophetic offices.

They did not, nor were they intended, to go on forever.

The second thing we should note is that the word “built” is in the passive voice and indicates in the words of one commentator, “we who are in one body are recipients of God’s action.”

In other words, what that word is telling us is that at a point in time, that is in the early days of the church, God built a foundation comprised of the apostles and prophets and began building on top of that foundation a building comprised of all believers.

The foundation came first, was finished, and represents a completed action.

However, notice the word “grows” in verse 21 and the words “being built” in verse 22.

Both of those are present tense words and indicate the ongoing nature of the building of the church once the foundation has been laid – a process that will continue through the church age until Christ comes again.

All of that is indicated in the grammar that Paul uses in this passage.

So – are you still with me?

Grammatically Paul has presented a crystal clear picture of a foundation being begun and completed, consisting of the apostles and prophets -- followed by a continuous, ongoing activity of building on top of the foundation with building blocks of individual believers.

Now the question is, who are the apostles and prophets?

Look at verse 20 again: built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

Note that a single article – which is the word “the” -- governs both the apostles and prophets.