Verses: Ephesians 2:19-22
So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.
Main idea: If our shared foundation is Christ, we should think more carefully about how we treat those who are also part of God’s dwelling.
As a homeowner, seeing a crack running through your brick wall can send shivers down your spine. That crack often indicates some deeper foundation issues that could require expensive repairs.
But could you imagine if those cracks were emerging because the bricks were actively fighting and pushing away from each other? While that may be absurd and impossible in your home, it is all too common in the place God has chosen to live.
The Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Trinity, dwells inside every follower of Christ. In John 14:17, Jesus tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit is coming and “He remains with you and will be in you.” In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul explains how our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Your bodily acts should reflect that the Holy Spirit resides in your body.
But as we think about God dwelling in us individually, we should also keep in mind that God dwells in us corporately. The church is described as the body of Christ. This is more than just a metaphor to give us a picture of God working through us. In a very real sense, God has taken up residence in the church.
In Ephesians 2, Paul details how God has saved us by grace through faith. This salvation, which cannot come from our works, unites people who have every reason to remain separate. To picture our unity, Paul uses construction imagery. Christ is the cornerstone and we are being built into a holy temple.
What we may miss in reading that passage is the plural “you.” This is why I appreciate the “Y’all Version” Bible that translates plural second-person pronouns into “y’all.” See how the passage reads now:
So, then, y’all are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him y’all are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22, CSB (Y’all version), emphasis added
With the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Jesus as the cornerstone, God is building us into a temple in which His Spirit can dwell. He is fitting each of us, as individual bricks, together to form the perfect dwelling for Him. God’s house is you, me, and every other follower of Christ. That should give us a new perspective on church fights and squabbles between believers.
Either we are misrepresenting Christ as our foundation when we consistently fight with the bricks around us, or we are demonstrating that we are choosing a different foundation for our lives.
The y'all Bible is a thing?!?!?!? GAME CHANGER