And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner Stone. Ephesians 2:20
The big truck snorted and rumbled as its load of fresh concrete mix began to rattle and flow down the chute into the forms that had been built into the side of the hill. I had joined my friends to watch this important moment in the construction of their new home: the pouring of the footing course. Much preparation had gone into the surveying and staking of the forms, and the testing of the ground to determine the stability of that hillside. Getting that footing course right was critical to the entire project. Any problem at this stage would have a great impact on the entire house. It was the one part of the house that nobody would ever see again once the construction began in earnest. But the evidence of a good footing course would exist as long as the house would stand. And it is still standing, some 50 years later, as solid as ever. God’s great building, composed of all those who He has brought into His salvation, is also standing firm today because of the excellent footing course that was laid many years ago.
How were the apostles and prophets able to lay such a good foundation? To begin, they took the chief corner Stone as their orientation. The prophets built their part of the foundation by foretelling everything in terms of God’s plan for the ages, all in relation to the corner Stone. The apostles built their part of the foundation by taking what they had learned directly from the Lord Jesus, and placing it into the context of what the prophets had written. All fitted perfectly together, because the corner Stone was the same. And of course, both prophets and apostles were writing and teaching under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is true of the God’s universal building project. And it is just as true for God’s local representation of that project.
There are places that claim to be local representations of God’s great building. But do their claims stand up to the test in our text? Are their doctrines and practices based on the footing course of the truth laid down by the apostles and prophets? Is everything they do endorsed and supported by what holy men of God were inspired to write and teach? It does not matter how large the organization, how popular the leaders, or how appealing the message. Anything that does not agree with what God’s Word says does not have Jesus Christ as its chief corner Stone.
We have a good foundation. All of it is based on the Scriptures and the Christ of Whom they speak. -Jim MacIntosh