God loves to build places where He can come and dwell with you.
He first built a universe, with a planet, upon which He could put a garden – all so He could dwell in fellowship with our parents in the cool of the afternoon.
Adam and Eve’s sin separated the human race from fellowship with God, so He established altars upon which sacrifice could be made that would restore access and allow Him to dwell with us.
As time went on God localized these altars to a moveable Tabernacle in the wilderness and then a permanent Temple in Jerusalem.
The Temple was destroyed by Titus and the Roman Legions in 70AD. From that time until today, there has been no Temple at Jerusalem – but God has been building and dwelling in a “temple” on the earth.
He has been dwelling in the hearts of those who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation; all believers both individually and corporately are God’s temple on the earth.
Our text describes this temple, especially in verses nineteen through twenty-two where you see the words “built,” “foundation,” “cornerstone,” “building,” and “temple.”
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints…
“Saints,” in this verse, refers to the Jews. The verses that precede these, and give them their context, are about God making Jews and Gentiles one in Him during this dispensation.
Saints, remember, means set apart. Previously the Jews had been set apart by God as His chosen nation. Now Gentiles are “fellow citizens” together with Jews in the church.
If you are a Christian your citizenship is in Heaven with all the saints of the Church Age. You have an earthly ethnicity, and that’s OK… You have an earthly nationality, and that’s OK… But you are first and foremost a citizen of Heaven with all other New Testament saints; and your new citizenship supersedes all ethnic and national distinctions.
You are closer than fellow citizens; you are members in a single, unified “household.”
Ephesians 2:19 …and members of the household of God,
The picture here is of a family. Christians are to live with one another as one extended family. That person next to you, if both of you are believers, is your brother or sister.
As fellow citizens, and as family, we live together with God as His “temple” on the earth. The temple is spiritual; but Paul likens its construction to that of a physical building.
Ephesians 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
The “apostles and prophets” is a reference to the men in the first century who were specially called and commissioned to reveal the truth about God and Jesus Christ. Their instruction, and especially the New Testament Scriptures, is the “foundation” upon which the temple is built.
Jesus Christ is the “chief cornerstone.” There are three senses in which Jesus can be understood as the cornerstone:
We generally think of the cornerstone as one that lies at a lower front corner of a building. The rest of the structure seems to rest upon and depend upon its placement. Also, since it joins two walls together, there may be some suggestion of the union of Jews and Gentiles in Jesus in the Church Age.
Some Bible scholars believe the cornerstone is the keystone of an arch. The keystone occupies the highest place in the arch and provides the support for all the other stones. Thus is Jesus preeminent in the building.
A third possibility is the capstone of a pyramid. It occupies the highest place and is of a unique size and shape from all the other stones.
Ephesians 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
This temple “grows.” It grows because it consists of living stones.
The apostle Peter wrote, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…” (First Peter 2:5).
When you get saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within you. You individually are a temple within which God Himself resides. But you are also a single, living stone that is part of a vast temple God is building that includes every believer in the Church Age.
“Being fitted together” goes with what Paul says next,
Ephesians 2:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Paul says “you also,” and that is important. In verse twenty-one he mentioned “the whole building,” God’s Church from the Day of Pentecost forward, including all the believers of this age from everywhere, whether on earth or in heaven.
“You also” is a smaller group – his immediate audience, and each immediate audience through the centuries.
He’s talking about a local fellowship of believers – like Calvary Chapel of Hanford. We are a “you also,” with the same foundation to build upon as every other “you also.”
The local fellowship is being “fitted together” and is being “built together.”
“Fitted together” is a compound word meaning picked-out and close-jointed.
“Built together” means to construct out of varied materials.
God picks-out and joins closely together living stones from a variety of backgrounds in order to provide Himself a “dwelling place” on the earth in each unique local fellowship.
As we celebrate thirty years as a “you also” fellowship, we’re not looking back; we’re getting ready to go forward.
We go forward from the solid foundation first laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being our cornerstone.
The anniversary video, and the gracious comments on it, show how God established us. It shows our origins as a church built upon the foundation of Jesus; and us building upon that, using precious materials.
Calvary Hanford is “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit,” raised-up by Him, to His glory. At age 30, we wanted to be sure everyone knew how we were founded on Jesus, by Jesus.