Jesus the Foundation of and the Builder of the Church

Lest the reader be misled by the title reading into it what is not there the church
that is being talked about in this article may not be the one you are a member of so
proceed if at all with caution having been forewarned. You can judge for yourself
after reading. I begin with Jesus as the foundation of the church.

After Jesus' arrest he was brought before the Jewish council where he was asked,
"'Are you then the Son of God?' And he said to them, 'You rightly say that I am.'"
(Luke 22:70 NKJV) This fact, earlier confessed by Peter in Matt. 16 when he said,
"you are the Christ, the Son of the living God," (Matt. 16:16 NKJV) is the rock Jesus
built the church on (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) Catholic doctrine to the contrary
notwithstanding. No one can enter the church built by Jesus who does not believe
this foundational doctrine of the Christian faith.

Jesus is described by Peter as a living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and
precious (1 Peter 2:4). He goes on a couple of verses later to say, "it is also
contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame.'" (1 Peter 2:6 NKJV)
The chief cornerstone (a rock) is obviously a reference to a man? I ask the reader
to decide for himself whether this man Peter is describing (that if a man believes on
him he will not be put to shame) is meant by Peter to be a reference to himself or to
Jesus? The church cannot be built on both Jesus and Peter at the same time. Both
cannot be that rock upon which the church is built. Who did Peter consider to be
the chief cornerstone?

But let us compare 1 Peter 2:6 just quoted above with Isaiah 28:16 where God had
said hundreds of years before Peter's time, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a
foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever
believes will not act hastily." (NKJV) The stone God laid was Christ, not Peter. I am
satisfied this Old Testament passage is the passage Peter had reference to in 1
Peter 2:6 when he said "it is also contained in the Scripture." But what does it mean
when the text says "whoever believes will not act hastily"? Have you ever stood on
a chair or ladder, a rock or ledge that did not feel secure under your feet? We all
have. What did you do when it felt shaky? You acted hastily to remove yourself lest
you fall. The idea that both Isaiah and Peter present is that the rock God laid in
Christ is so solid and so secure under the feet of the true believer that there is no
insecurity. The rock you stand on when you stand on Christ is solid and secure, safe
and reliable, and will not fail you.

Very early in the history of the church when Peter and John were taken into custody
(a consequence of their teaching at the temple) and were placed before the Jewish
rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as the high priest and as many as were of his
family, Peter testified of Jesus saying, "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you
builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any
other." (Acts 4:11-12 NKJV) In verse 10 Peter names Jesus as being the one of
whom he speaks.

Paul said of Jesus, "No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:11 NKJV) The foundation of the faith, of the church,
the spiritual body of Christ, is Jesus – Jesus not as a man per se but as the Son of
God. In writing to the Ephesian brethren Paul says they were members of the
household of God (Eph. 2:19) "having been built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." (Eph. 2:20 NKJV)
One has his choice – he can either believe the Catholic Church in what it teaches as
Peter being the rock upon which the church is built or he can believe the Bible
which makes it plain that Jesus is that rock. What is impossible is to make a claim
to believe both since they directly contradict one another.

Yes, Peter is a stone in the church but so is every other Christian. Peter tells us so.
"You also, (he says speaking to Christians – DS) as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) The church is the spiritual body of Christ, a
spiritual building being built up. The church is Christ's body – "his body, which is
the church" (Col. 1:24 NKJV - see also Eph. 1:22-23 and Col. 1:18). "He is the Savior
of the body." (Eph. 5:23 NKJV) This is the body which he sanctified and cleansed
"with the washing of water by the word" (Eph. 5:26 NKJV), a reference to baptism all
denominations to the contrary notwithstanding, in order that "he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it
should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:27 NKJV)

Paul calls the church "God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9 NKJV) and says he laid the
foundation to that building. He did so by preaching Christ and him crucified. "We
preach Christ crucified, to the Jews stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:22-23 NKJV) If a man is going to be laid as a living stone
into this spiritual building called the church which Jesus has built and continues to
build by adding new stones onto it then he must be laid on top of this foundational
rock that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world as the lamb of
God to give his life as a sacrifice for all of mankind's sins in order to bring salvation
to all who will but believe and obey the gospel message.

What kind of building is the church? Paul describes it as "the temple of God" (1 Cor.
3:16 NKJV) and says that the Spirit of God dwells in it (1 Cor. 3:16) and says it is
"holy" (1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV). In Ephesians he describes it thus, "the whole building,
being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are
being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:21-22 NKJV)

Paul makes a statement in connection with the church being God's temple that
ought to frighten all those who think they are free to tinker around with doctrine
and practice in the church. He says, "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will
destroy him." (1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV) He says it is holy. One has to remember who built
the church. Jesus said, "I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) He did this by
his sacrifice on the cross making the church possible and then through the medium
of the Holy Spirit in the Spirit's teaching the word (the gospel) through the apostles
and New Testament prophets. Later the work of building continued as it does today
not by means of inspired men still living but of inspiration completed and placed in
the book we call the New Testament. The Holy Spirit continues the work of
preaching the gospel and building the church every time the word is read or
accurately conveyed in teaching and preaching.

The church was built by men and women and boys and girls of accountable age (old
enough to be responsible) hearing, believing, and obeying from the heart the gospel
of Christ. Every time such an individual obeyed the gospel another living stone was
added to the building of the church and such building continues today and will until
the end of time. Shortly after Pentecost the Bible says, "The Lord added to the
church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47 NKJV) Now note who was
adding to the church? It was the Lord; the Lord built the church and continues to
build it yet today in the manner just previously described.

But I want to go back to something mentioned earlier that needs more emphasis. I
speak specifically of the great danger inherit in defiling the church, the temple of
God, of which Paul says that the one who does so God will destroy (1 Cor. 3:17).
God (Jesus) built the first century New Testament church. Do we think we can do
better than he did? Men are trying continually to change the church from what it
was in the first century and modernize it. Do you really think that is wise? How do
you know as a mere man that the changes that seem good and right to you are fine
with God? Jesus is a perfect builder. Can you do better than he did without defiling
the church? Remember the penalty for being mistaken is not a slap on the wrist but
destruction.

We might respond and say well I have read the New Testament and I know not all of
the churches back then were what they ought to be. The church at Corinth had all
kinds of problems and then we can read about the 7 churches of Asia (Rev. 2 and 3)
of which most had one thing or another wrong with them, etc. Yes, that is right but
we also see in our reading they were rebuked for their error as well and told what to
do to get their house in order. In other words we were given a blueprint for what
the church ought to be. Who among us really believes that any of those
congregations could have continued in error forever without eternal consequences?
The rebuking was for the purpose of bringing about repentance and thus salvation.

Here is our problem today. We are not going to get a letter to our church directly
from the Lord or from an inspired apostle. When we start deviating from the
blueprint (New Testament teaching) deceiving ourselves that all is well in doing it
there is not going to be a rebuke directly from inspiration other than from the New
Testament itself. If we are deviating from it (the teachings of the New Testament)
we have already convinced ourselves it is okay and in one way or another have
justified ourselves in doing so. This makes it nearly impossible to repent –
impossible because we have convinced ourselves we are doing the right thing.

No religious group knowingly goes into error. God's people in the Old Testament
went into all kinds of sin and even into idolatry. When they were going down that
path did they go thinking I want to commit spiritual suicide and spent eternity in
hell? They did what they did because they had convinced themselves it was the
right thing to do and all of God's prophets could not keep them from it. They saw
their error as not being error but as being their salvation. They had gradually lost
their faith in God's word until there was no faith left in it at all save on the part of a
tiny remnant of believers.

How does one defile the temple of God, the church? I know of no other way other
than by departing from that which governs the church – the word of God. When a
group of people (a congregation or church) begins to practice things not found in
the New Testament, allows liberties God does not permit in his word, begins to
teach things contrary to the direct word of God that any man can read for himself,
adds to the worship things unheard of in the pages of the new covenant, tolerates
sin in the church winking at it or worse yet begins to call sin righteousness then I
would fear being a member of such a congregation. God doesn't just talk to be
talking or because he is bored. He said he would destroy him who defiled the
temple of God (1 Cor. 3:17) and I for one do not want to be in the vicinity when that
happens. Do you? Do you want it to be said that you for one went along with the
defiling even if you did not initiate it? Most people ought to get out of the church
they are in.

Yet, we have blinders on our eyes and cannot see it. We have hundreds and
hundreds of denominations all teaching and practicing different doctrines and yet
we say it is fine. Everybody is going to heaven. Yes, they teach differently over
there than what we do here but you know it just doesn't matter they will still be
saved in the end. Do we realize what we are saying? It doesn't matter! Truth
doesn't matter! God's word doesn't matter! Yes, I grow frustrated for where is the
reason and logic in such beliefs? If a college kid reasoned the way most religious
groups do they would last about one semester.

Christ built the church. He is the head of the church (Eph. 5:23). The church is to
be subject to Christ (Eph. 5:24). Those things being true then if I come into your
worship service and you are doing something I cannot find in the word of Christ (the
New Testament) I want to know why you are doing it and upon whose authority.
Don't tell me it does not matter for "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus." (Col. 3:17 NKJV) How do you do a thing in the name of the
Lord Jesus when the Lord Jesus has never said a word about the thing which you are
doing? Do you think you a mere man can take the authority upon yourself to
initiate things into the worship service unknown to the word of God? The sad truth
is yes most in Christendom believe that very thing. I will never understand how
they reason but this much I do know – the temple of God can be defiled.

In closing Jesus is the foundation of the church, the rock upon which the church was
and is built but it is his church, not mine, not yours. He built it and he built it the
way he wanted it and not the way you or I might think it should have been built or
the way we would perhaps like it to be. It is what it is. Our choice is to accept it as
it is and bring ourselves into subjection under his headship, or reject it outright as
does the atheist and those of other religions, or defile it as is my fear many have
done. The church belongs to Jesus. If we would remember that we would perhaps
quit trying to make it ours. We get to be a part of it, a living stone, but we do not
own it or rule it and we have no part in making rules for it unless we want to get
into the defiling business.