Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (2009)

Solidly Built by the True Cornerstone Rev. Toby O. Byrd

Eph. 2:11-22 (ESV)

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—[12] remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15] by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16] and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. [17] And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. [18] For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. [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, [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.

Divisions among men of the world are common, but not God pleasing. Ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, the power of sin, which separated man from God, has also been at work separating man from man. Man is separated along racial lines, he is separated by manmade social barriers, he is separated by economics, and he is separated by religion, just to name a few.

Recalling that first Pentecost Sunday, we can see this separation at work with the unfriendly critics of the apostles. When Peter and the others started speaking to the crowd in foreign languages, the crowd asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?” (Acts 2:7 ESV) Those poor Galileans they never knew anything, they’re nothing more than poor fishermen and uneducated peasants. How, they wondered, could these simple men have gained such knowledge and seemingly spiritual power? Manmade social barriers were at work closing the ears of those to whom the apostles were addressing.

Yet, what the crowds did not know was that our Lord Jesus had trained these simple Galileans in the way of salvation. He had proven to them, through His resurrection, that He was indeed whom they confessed and who He said He was, the Son of the living God. Moreover, He had kept His promise to send them the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, to sanctify them in all power of grace and truth so they could proclaim the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins in His name. Thus, St. Paul, in today’s Epistle to the church at Ephesus gives us and the crowd in Jerusalem the answer to their question. He writes, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (v. 22). Thus, the separation of Gentiles from Jews and believers from non-believers is overcome by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who sends the Holy Spirit to build His church.

Regardless of how hard man tries, the combined powers of his intellect cannot discover a substitute for the Holy Spirit. Beautiful cathedrals and highly trained choirs invoke emotions and attract many to their splendor. So, too, well dressed preachers, with the power of eloquent speech, charismatic charm, and the skill of persuasion fill the halls of worship centers with mesmerized followers. Yet, all these worldly things at their very best cannot transport one single soul from spiritual death to eternal life; from the slavery of sin to the freedom that comes from being a child of God. It is still as true today as when it was first written, “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3 ESV); for “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14 ESV). Thus only the Holy Spirit can build “a dwelling place for God” (v. 22).

God, the divine Builder, carefully selected the foundation on which His holy temple and saints are built. Nothing is more solid than this foundation for it must endure even after heaven and earth have passed away. It must have everlasting qualities and never ending strength because it will last for eternity.

St. Paul refers to this foundation as being built on the qualities of the prophets and the apostles. However, we are not to interpret St. Paul’s comment here that any one of the prophets or the apostles is a basis for our faith. For it was St. Paul who wrote, “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11 ESV). No, what St. Paul is referring to is the teaching of the prophets and the apostles, which is the based on the inerrant, revealed Word of God; Holy Scripture. The prophets pointed men to Christ by speaking of His coming and the apostles pointed men to Christ by proclaiming the truth of salvation that the Christ had come and willing died on the cross so that all men could be saved. In both cases, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is the focus of their preaching; He is the cornerstone which pulls their teaching together.

Our Lord Jesus is the cornerstone that joins the two great doctrines of Holy Scripture, Law and Gospel, into one un-denying truth, that God is love and He wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Our Lord, Jesus is the One who appeased God’s wrath and fulfilled His promise of salvation given to Adam and Eve in the garden and foretold by the prophets. He is the One who has fulfilled the truths of God and has become an unmovable foundation on which our lives and the church are built. St. Peter summed it up beautifully when he told the council in Jerusalem, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12 ESV).

The entire church is built on Him alone, and a foundation other than this cannot be laid. Our Lord, Jesus Christ is the Savior revealed in the saving revelation of the inspired Word of Holy Scripture. Through His perfect obedience and His sacrificial suffering and death, Jesus became the Foundation upon which the Holy Spirit builds the church.

Nothing less will satisfy the righteous demands of God, who said, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 ESV) and “Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them” (Deut. 27:26 ESV). All human attempts to provide another foundation end in failure and tragedy. When the inspired apostle wrote this letter, the temple of Diana, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, dominated the city of Ephesus. It was regarded by many as the answer to man’s needs for this life and that which was to come. Centuries later, however, the remains of the temple are relegated to one reconstructed column out of the original 106 and a few foundation stones sunk in a swamp.

This typifies the experience of many who would rest their hopes upon the foundation of their own righteousness. It collapses and falls apart when an awkward conscience haunts and taunts them. Moreover, it will fail them completely on that day when all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, who in His Word has given us a preview of His verdict in such statements as, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV) and “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Eccles. 7:20 ESV).

However, in striking contrast note the lyrics of the song of the one whose hope is built on nothing less than the foundation that God Himself has laid:

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress;

Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift up my head.

Here is a foundation upon which we may firmly rest our whole spiritual life, our faith, our love, our peace, our service to God and man, and our hope of eternal life. Here is a spiritual security which enables us to share the confidence of St. Paul: “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Tim. 1:12 ESV). “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV). The power of sin to separate man from God has been overcome.

In the temple which God builds there is a Cornerstone which determines the lines of the structure. This is Jesus Christ. Who else could serve in this capacity? All other so-called founders of religion bear in their character and life the stigma of sin and there examples point only toward hell. In Jesus, however, we see the image of God as it once radiated from man in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. In Him we see the spiritual and moral idea toward which God would have the believer move. Here, in the life of Jesus, is perfect love reaching out to God with all the heart, with all the soul, with all the strength, and with all the mind. Here, also, is perfect love toward man; it is the Golden Rule in action.

God alone selects the materials to be laid on the foundation from the quarry of nature. He selects you and me to be the building blocks for His temple. Finding us rough and unsuited for His purpose, He hews and shapes us to meet His building needs. The tool He uses to accomplish this task are His tools of Law and Gospel. As our Lord remolds our lives through the Law, deep sorrow for our sin sets in breaking down the barriers between Him and us. Then, when we are on the verge of total despair, He reshapes us through the Gospel giving us over to a joyous faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Then a refining process begins and continues throughout our life as the Holy Spirit does His work of helping us to grow in the faith. This is the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification. St. Paul expresses that process in these words, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philip. 3:12 ESV).

Thus, from the quarry of nature, the Holy Spirit shaped and built the temple with such heroes of faith as Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Isaiah, Mary, Paul, Peter, John, Lydia, Eunice, Lois, Stephen, and many others whose names are recorded in the Book of Life. Moreover, into this illustrious company of hero’s the Holy Spirit has placed you and me. What an undeserved honor! Moreover, as we are selected and shaped by the Holy Spirit, we are not just aimlessly thrown upon a heap. Rather, we are fitly laid upon the One true foundation, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; there we are intimately connected with one another to form one, grand and glorious temple of God. This truth brings joy to the hearts of all who are deeply concerned about the many divisions which separate those who call themselves Christians.

This tragic disunity comes about because the power of sin leads men into manmade separations. Rather than conform to the Will of God and be laid upon the One true foundation, Jesus Christ, sin leads men to prefer to build foundations from their glory. Rather than place our Lord Jesus at the center of their faith, they displace Him with works righteousness, a righteousness that crumples to dust in the temple of God.

However, within the true temple of God there is a unity which centers only in Jesus, the God-Man, the only Savior of the world, and Him alone. This is truly reassuring and bolsters our faith when a materialistic atheism and a secular-socialist society and government focus on determining the patterns of our national lives, seeking to destroy that for which the Son of God suffered and died on Calvary’s cross, the Church! Moreover, we do not despair because we all know the day will come when we shall see the true, divine temple of God, which He built in the grandeur of His love and wisdom. On that day, we shall stand in front of our Lord Jesus and rejoice as we take our rightful place among the saints who have gone before us, becoming an eternal resident of the one true church, united in saving faith and love of the Lord. Amen.

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.