It is, remember, the Church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth. The answer is simple: “Somebody has been building churches when they had no right to do so!” Many religious organizations owe their existence to common men and women, not to the Son of God. 1Co 3:11 Other foundation can no man lay, etc. However, that is not all that the New Testament says about the church’s foundation. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God … With so many different churches existing in the world today, with conflicting doctrines, you may be wondering why it’s important that Jesus Christ should be the builder and foundation of the church. We can apply this idea to the church. In Isaiah’s prophecy, chapter 28 and verse 16 it reads, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundatiou a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” In Matt. Christ told His disciples, “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak” (12:49). 15:14, 17). And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. A common belief of millions of professing Christians is that Peter was designated by Jesus to be the foundation or head of the church. Read completely out of context, the verse could be taken that way: “If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). A new figure, the third here introduced to denote the change - that of a temple, of which Christians are stones. Since the foundation of the church is already built, there are no apostles in that sense today. In a sense, Peter was the rock “foundation” of the church. I’ve often taught on this subject—the foundation of the church—in my years of ministry. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. The future of the church was established on the mission statement in Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . God laid the foundation by them; but Christ himself is the chief corner - stone of the foundation. The word translated" foundations" is a rare one, only occurring here and in Isaiah 19:10.The meaning of "foundations," first given to it by Aquila, is now generally adopted. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. The church in Antioch sent a collection to the poor in Jerusalem (Acts 11:29,30), and later we find Paul taking up another collection for them (2 Corinthians 8,9). In Psalm 11:3, David asks the question, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” David draws on an analogy in the physical realm to depict a particular spiritual concern that he had. The glorious, unshakable, objective foundation of your being a Christian is that God chose you to be one. Berean Study Bible It is clear from the text that Christ planned to build His church upon the truth of Peter’s confession: “Thou art the Christ; the Son of the living God.”. But this cannot be true for several reasons. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. By submitting to the Apostolic tradition. For Christ who is its builder, head and foundation shall live forever. shall be the church at rest! The Greek word “apostolos” simply means “sent one.” Although there was no visible damage of any significance, a later inspection revealed that the foundation of the church had shifted to such a degree that they had to close the church and rebuild the sanctuary because it was no longer safe. Paul wanted them to refocus on the foundation that had been laid for the church, and then to build a ministry that was consistent with that foundation. The … 21:42 Jesus applies this prophecy to Himself: “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the … Ezra 3:11 - And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because [he is] good, for his mercy [endureth] for ever toward Israel. However, in reality it was unfit for use, and it had to be demolished and rebuilt upon a sure foundation. That foundation is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The foundation, Paul tells us, consists of the prophets and the Apostles (Eph. Later in Matt 16:18 Jesus declared to build His church. 1Co 3:11 Other foundation can no man lay, etc. People's Bible Notes for Ephesians 2:20. And in the final analysis, to reject the authority of Jesus is to reject the authority of God. The mission, passion and purpose of Ligonier Ministries is to proclaim the holiness of God In Revelation 21, we read of the magnificent vision of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city that comes down from above. The other popular interpretation of the rock is that Jesus was referring not to Peter, but to Peter’s confession of faith in verse 16: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” The church must disciple the nations. The apostle Paul also writes in Eph. In Matt 14:10 John the Baptist was beheaded. In this verse there are three words to which we should give careful heed:- As it advances, it teaches the nations how to live. No. Matt. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul tells us, “I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received,” and he uses the term paradosis, which is the Greek term we translate as “tradition.” Paradosis literally means “a giving over, a transfer,” and that’s what the New Testament is. If the church belongs to Christ, then why do we have so many different religious bodies in the world? Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). We must begin with the word of God in order to get a sense of the kind of entity she is, and from there we can decide on the kind of tasks she ought to be engaged in. What we have here in the concept of Apostolic authority is of vital importance to the Christian faith. If the foundation of the church is shaken, can the church survive? If the failure of a building’s physical foundation spells the end for the entire building, the failure of God’s people to maintain the foundation of truth means disaster for their spiritual health and well-being. Donate Now. If John the Baptist was dead when Jesus made this statement, then John the Baptist could not have built the church. Such designation is not a denominational name nor the only exclusive name by which the Bible refers to the church. What evidence is there for the resurrection of Jesus? Because of this, great honor is paid to Peter to this day by these same professed believers. - Being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. 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