In this message we come to the last portion of chapter two, verses Eph. 2:20-22. Here we have the revelation of the building in two aspects, the universal aspect and the local aspect. Universally the church is uniquely one, and the church in a particular locality is locally one. In verse 21 we see the universal aspect of the church: “All the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” Then in verse 22 we have the local aspect: “You also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” Therefore, the holy temple refers to the universal aspect, and the dwelling place of God, to the local aspect.
As the Body of Christ, the church has been regenerated, and as the house of God, the church is being built. Apparently, growth and building are separate things. Actually, the building of the house is the growth of the Body. If the Body does not grow, the house cannot be built.
In considering the church as God’s building, we need to pay special attention to the foundation. Verse 20 says, “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” Many Christians have difficulty understanding what the foundation is in this verse. First Corinthians 3:11 says, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Christ is the only foundation. Nevertheless, Ephesians 2:20 speaks of the foundation of the apostles and prophets. This does not mean, however, that the apostles and prophets themselves are the foundation. In contrast to Revelation 21 where the foundations are the very persons of the apostles, the foundation here is not the apostles and prophets themselves. Since the mystery of Christ has been revealed to the apostles (Eph. 3:4-5), the revelation they received is considered the foundation upon which the church is built. This corresponds to the rock in Matthew 16:18, which is not only Christ Himself but also the revelation concerning Christ, upon which Christ will build His church. Therefore, the foundation of the apostles and prophets is the revelation they received regarding Christ and the church for the building of the church. The church is built upon this revelation. This is the meaning of the foundation in Ephesians 2:20.
Upon what are we in the Lord’s recovery building the church? To say that we are building upon Christ is too vague and indefinite. We need to build the church upon the revelation received by the apostles and prophets. The so-called churches established according to nationalities are not built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Some so-called churches even exclude members of particular racial or ethnic groups. Surely those congregations are not built upon the foundation spoken of in 2:20. The Roman Catholic Church and all the denominations claim that their foundation is Christ. However, none of these groups declares that their foundation is the foundation of the apostles and prophets. For example, the Presbyterian denomination is built upon the concept of presbytery. The apostles and prophets, however, never received a revelation that the presbytery should be the foundation of the church. The Methodist Church is built upon the principles of John Wesley, and the Catholic Church is built upon the concept of hierarchy. If the revelation given to the apostles and prophets were applied to the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church would collapse. The charismatic churches are built upon the foundation of certain charismatic gifts and experiences. In contrast to all these so-called churches, we in the Lord’s recovery must be able to strongly affirm that the churches in the recovery are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. This means that the churches in the Lord’s recovery are built according to the revelation received by the apostles and prophets. This revelation embraces believers of all races and nationalities; it includes those who speak in tongues and those who do not. If you have the vision of the proper foundation of the church, you will realize that only the churches in the Lord’s recovery, not the Catholic Church, the denominations, nor the independent groups, are built upon the proper foundation.
Verse 20 reveals that in God’s building Christ is the cornerstone. Here Christ is referred to, not as the foundation (Isa. 28:16), but as the cornerstone, because the main concern here is not the foundation but the cornerstone that joins together the two main walls: the wall of the Jewish believers and the wall of the Gentile believers.
When the Jewish builders rejected Christ, they rejected Him as the cornerstone (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7), which joins the Gentiles to them for the building of God’s house.
In Matthew 21 the Lord Jesus indicated, in a figurative way, that the Pharisees would reject Him. Verse 42 says, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” By this word the Lord revealed that after His resurrection He would become the cornerstone to join the Jews and the Gentiles. Referring to Christ, Peter said to the religionists in Acts 4:11 and 12, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Peter’s word shows that salvation implies building. God’s intention in saving us is not to bring us into the heavens; rather, it is to join us to the Jews so that He may have His building. Many unbelieving Jews despise the Lord Jesus because they do not want to be joined to the Gentiles. As long as a Jew does not believe in Christ, he may be separated from the Gentiles. But as soon as such a Jew believes in Him, he is joined by Christ, the cornerstone, to the Gentile believers. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we have been saved in order to be joined together in Christ for God’s building.
Verse 21 says, “In Whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” Here we see that in Christ, who is the cornerstone, all the building, including both Jewish and Gentile believers, is fitted together and is growing into a holy temple.
Since the building is a living one (1 Pet. 2:5), it is growing. It grows into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the growth in life of the believers. Today the church is growing. However, it is not growing in our natural life, but in the divine life, the spiritual life.
Verse 21 also says that all the building is fitted together. The word “fitted” means being made suitable for the condition and situation of the building.
As verse 21 points out, all the building is growing into a holy temple. The Greek word rendered “temple” means the sanctuary, the inner part of the whole temple. It is in the Lord that the building is growing into a holy temple. This means that the entire building of God’s house as His sanctuary is in Christ the Lord.
At this point I would like to ask you a question: Has the temple of God in the universe been completed? The fact that the temple is still growing indicates that, from our point of view at least, the temple of God is not complete. Verse 21 does not say that all the building has grown into a holy temple; it says that all the building is growing into a holy temple.
The phrase “all the building” refers to the universal church. If you consider the past nineteen centuries of church history, you may find it difficult to see the growth of the building. But do not be disappointed. The purpose of God cannot be thwarted. The universal building is still growing. In Matthew 16 the Lord Jesus prophesied that He would build His church. The building in Matthew 16:18 is the very building in Ephesians 2:21. Although the growth of the building is slow and hardly noticeable, it is nonetheless taking place.
Verse 22 says, “In Whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” The word “you” here, which refers to the local saints, indicates that the building in verse 21 is universal and the building in verse 22 is local. In this verse Paul was saying that the local saints, the saints in Ephesus, were being built together in Christ into a dwelling place of God. Therefore, in these verses Paul covered both the universal aspect and the local aspect of the church. All the building is growing — this refers to the universal aspect. The believers in a particular locality are being built together — this is the local aspect.
Why does Paul use the term “holy temple” in referring to the universal aspect and the term “dwelling place of God” when speaking of the local aspect? What is the difference, if any, between the holy temple and the dwelling place of God? Apart from the universal temple, there is not another temple called the local temple. The temple and the dwelling place refer to two aspects of the same thing. Do not consider the temple a dwelling place. The temple is the place in which God’s people contact God, worship Him, and hear His oracle. The dwelling place is a place of rest. God rests in His dwelling place. However, the temple and the dwelling place are not two distinct places. Rather, they are two aspects, two functions or usages, of the same building. The church is the place where God’s people contact God, worship Him, and receive His word, and it is also the place of God’s rest.
All the local churches are part of the universal church, not something in addition to it or apart from it. All the local churches added together equal the universal church. This means that apart from the local churches there is no universal church. Hence, the building of the local church is the building of the universal church. All the local churches have just one building. The church in Anaheim does not have one building; the church in Chicago, another; and the church in New York, still another. However, our natural concept of the building is that there is a different building in each locality. In this universe there is just one building with a universal aspect and a local aspect. No matter how many churches there may be on earth, there is still just one building with these two aspects.
Verse 22 says that we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. The spirit here refers to the believers’ human spirit indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is the Dweller, not the dwelling place. The dwelling place is in the believers’ spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in our spirit. Therefore, the dwelling place of God is in our spirit.
Verse 21 says that the holy temple is in the Lord, and verse 22, that the dwelling place of God is in spirit. This indicates that the Lord is one with our spirit and that our spirit is one with the Lord. To be in our spirit actually is to be in the Lord. Also, to be in the Lord is to be in the spirit. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). We simply cannot separate our spirit from the Lord. Therefore, our spirit is the place where the building of the church is. The building is not in our mind, emotion, soul, or heart. It is absolutely a matter in our spirit.
If we wish to understand such matters as the foundation of the apostles and prophets and the difference between the holy temple and the dwelling place of God, we need to have a sober mind as we study the Bible. The Bible is the most logical of books. Our God is not foolish, and He never speaks nonsense. He is very logical, and everything in His Word is logical. Hence, we should not have an undisciplined mentality as we study the Bible. On the contrary, in reading the Bible we must exercise our sober mind to ask the proper questions. Then the light will shine. This is a basic principle in understanding the Word of God. May we all, especially the young brothers and sisters, learn to study the Bible in this way.
