The Temple of God (Eph. 2:19-22)

Introduction

· Please turn with me to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians.

· You’ve heard of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Those were two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Another of those wonders was the Temple of Artemis. You can see an artist’s rendition of it up on the screen. This building included a terrace that was more than 400’ long, with 127 marble columns that each stood 60’ high. Around the perimeter were was a grand staircase of marble on all sides. And the center featured a large statue of Artemis, the Greek Goddess of hunting. The temple was four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens, and all agree, it was a wonder to behold. The poet Antipater said, “Apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on anything so grand.” The Temple of Artemis was located in the city of Ephesus, and no doubt every one of the original readers of this letter had seen it. But Paul says there was another temple being built there – the church of Jesus Christ. This temple may not have looked as impressive on the outside -- but it was of far greater value, and was the dwelling place of the one true God.

· It’s been a couple months since we were in Ephesians, so let me quickly get you back up to speed. After an opening greeting, Paul launches into of the longest sentences in the entire Greek Bible, that catalogs the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:3–4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He then prays for the church to have wisdom, and to see things as they truly are. Ephesians 1:18–19 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might. In ch. 2, he describes the divine reversal that has taken place, taking us from eternal damnation to eternal life. Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins Ephesians 2:4–5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—In the last half of ch. 2, he proves that God brought both Jew and Gentile together to create one new people, the church, as the temple of the living God.

· This chapter gives guidance on how to overcome a spirit of partiality in the church and to heal broken relationships. In fact, in our last time together, I shared THREE STEPS ON THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION: 1) Remember where you came from (think back to where you were before Christ saved you and develop a spirit of gratitude). 2) Realize who makes peace possible (center your attention not on yourself, and your personal grievances, but on Jesus Christ), and 3) Rejoice at what God is building. It is this last point that I’d like to explore with you today.

· Read vv. 11-22

· This passage describes the church from God’s perspective. It may be extra difficult for us to grasp, or to visibly see what God is building right now, especially during COVID, but we must never lose sight of our spiritual identity. If you are a Christian, then you are part of something bigger than yourself. You have been saved into a community of faith, where God desires to dwell and to fit us for heaven.

· The church is nothing less than the temple of God, and Paul describes four features of this temple: The materials, the foundation, the cornerstone, and the blueprint. Let’s look at these one at a time.

The Materials

· When Paul talks about a temple, he is not referring to a physical temple, but a spiritual one. As a church, what is most important is not the physical structure we worship in, but the building we are becoming. The materials of this great temple are the people themselves. Read v. 22.

· What’s most surprising is that both Jews and Gentiles are part of this new spiritual temple. In the OT, only Jews were allowed to enter the sacred precinct of the temple. We would not expect that Gentiles would have any place whatsoever in this temple. They were considered unclean, defiled, barbaric. They were outsiders, foreigners (see 2:12).

· There was a court around the perimeter of the temple where Gentiles were allowed to go and pay homage to the Lord, but they could venture no closer, lest they defile the temple.

· At the end of World War II, Germany was split into two halves – West Germany and East Germany. West Germany enjoyed democracy and freedom, while East Germany became communist under the Soviet Union. The capital city of Berlin was even split into two halves, West Berlin and East Berlin. Imagine living in East Berlin, right next to the Berlin Wall. You knew that on the other side of that wall was freedom. But there was no way to get to it. You were trapped in communism, on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain.

· That’s sort of what it was like to be a Gentile. Gentiles could not even enter the temple. They could not mingle with Jews. Yet now things have changed. Gentiles can not only enter the temple. That would be shocking enough. Gentiles are now part of the temple! Because of Christ, there is no longer a distinction. Gentiles are co-equal with Jews! You might be Jew. You might be Gentile. It doesn’t matter any more. Read v. 19.

· There is no hierarchy in the kingdom of God. No second class citizens. It doesn’t matter what your education or ethnicity is, if you have trusted in Christ, you are now one of the building blocks in God’s church. You are to join with God’s people to become the dwelling place of God and are to put his glory on display. What a privilege!

· >>You and I are the building blocks of God’s temple. Now we need to learn what we are to be built upon. This brings us to our second point, the foundation…

The Foundation

· V. 20 this temple, you and I, are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”

· What is the purpose of a foundation? It is to give a building stability. Boys and girls, I’ve notice you sometimes play over by the shed by the fenced in picnic area. Next time you’re over there, look down under the building, and you’ll notice some gray bricks. Those blocks provide a stable foundation. Instead of just plopping the shed on top of the dirt and sand, the builders first measured out and put bricks in the corners to bear the weight of the building and to make sure it doesn’t tilt or slide. If even a small shed needs a foundation, imagine how much a large building like your house, or this sanctuary!

· The apostles were special messengers called by Jesus Christ. In order to be an apostle, three things were necessary -- you had to have spent time with Jesus on earth (Ac. 1:9), you had to be an eyewitness to his resurrection (Ac. 1:22), and you had to be specially commissioned by Jesus to be an apostle (Mt. 10:1-4). The apostles were given power to perform signs and wonders as a messenger of the Lord. Only Twelve men met this criteria, but several years later, Jesus added one more. A thirteenth apostle, Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul, would be saved by Jesus on the Road to Damascus, and called as the thirteenth apostle.

· 1 Corinthians 15:8–9 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

· Most of the NT was written by these thirteen men. In addition, God gifted other early Christians known as prophets and prophetesses. The books of Luke and Mark for example, as well as James and Jude, were written not by apostles, but by men who were closely associated with the apostles, and who were led by the Holy Spirt to give new revelation.

· Sometimes, we refer to the OT writers as the prophets, and NT writers as the apostles. But here, Paul is probably referring to “apostles and prophets” who were all alive since the coming of Jesus Christ, as those who have given the full revelation of Jesus Christ. In ch. 3:5, he speaks of the mystery of Christ, “which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

· Once a foundation has been laid, and building on the walls and rooftop commences, do you go back and tamper with the foundation again? No, the foundation is complete. In a similar way, once the NT had been finished, no additional revelation would be given. We are not to crave dreams, or visions, or a voice from God.

· The Book of Revelation even concludes with a warning. Revelation 22:18–19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

· This is a fitting end not only to the Book of Revelation, but to this entire book we call the Bible. In the final verses of the Bible, God says do not add or take anything away, and the canon is closed. There is no 67th book of the Bible waiting to be discovered or written. God has given us all we need for life and godliness.

· Do you realize this doctrine immediately rules out all the cults and religious who claim to receive a fresh word of revelation from an angel or a prophet? From Muhammad to Joseph Smith to Mary Baker Eddy to many charismatics who claim to hear a word from the Lord -- anyone who says that God has spoken to them and given them some fresh new revelation fail to understand that the foundation is laid. We don’t need more prophecy. We need more biblical literacy. We don’t need a new message. We only need to know better the message that has already been given.

· >>Well, we’ve looked at the Materials, and at the Foundation, let’s look thirdly now at the cornerstone.

The Cornerstone

· Read v. 20.

· The cornerstone was often the first brick laid and a large one that determines where the rest of the foundation will be laid. It is set at the corner, creating both a north-south line and east-west line, and gives a fixed point of stability that all else will be built upon.

· The picture of a cornerstone was used a number of times in the Bible to refer to the Messiah. It speaks of his central and exalted position.

· In Isaiah 28:16 …the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable (CSB).

· In Psalm 118:22–23 we are told The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

· Jesus of course quotes this passage in Mt. 21:42 to explain why he was rejected by the Jewish leaders. Although the Jews should have been first to recognize Jesus as Messiah, and celebrate him as their rock, they rejected the cornerstone and instead allowed him to become a stone of stumbling. But Paul says that he is in fact the cornerstone.

· Is your life in total disarray right now? Are being tossed by the storms of life, back and forth, tilting this way and that, with no stable surface to stand on? You need to build your life on Jesus, the Solid Rock. Cling to him. Surrender to him and fix your hope on his promises, not on the fickle and empty promises of this world.

· Oh church, let’s make sure Jesus always remains our chief cornerstone. The pastor is not the cornerstone of the church. Our buildings and programs are not the cornerstone of the church. Christ is the cornerstone of the church. May we preach the message of Christ and him crucified. May we live with the love of Christ. May we serve with the humility of Christ. May we counsel with the words of Christ. In all things, may we live up to our name, “Crosssview Bible Church,” and be a cross-centered, Christ-centered church.

· >>Now, with Christ as our cornerstone, the apostles and prophets as our foundation, and one another as building blocks, there is only one question left. What is God building?

The Blueprint

· We’ve seen it already, but we will look at it one more time together as we close. Read v. 21. The church is growing into a holy temple.

· He will revisit this theme in ch. 4, saying we are like a body, that is growing up to “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children….to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

· Note this is in the present tense. We are still a work in progress. Sometimes you walk into a building like a store or a restaurant, and you see certain areas that are taped off with plastic sheets. “Pardon our dust.” That would be a fitting description for church ministry!

· A man was driving with a friend through an area that was undergoing road construction. At the end of the zone, after the last orange cone, a sign read, “Construction Ended. Thank you for your patience.” The man said to his friend, “I think that sign would make a fitting epitaph for my life.”

Conclusion

· Yes, this could be said of each of us individually, and all of us corporately. “Construction Ended. Thank you for your patience.” Christ will build his church, and it is a work in progress. Yield to the hands of the master builder. Let him chisel and shape you and fit you in as part of his temple, and live your life in such a way that all could say, “God dwells in this place!”