This transcript was generated automatically and may contain minor errors.

Thank you for being with us this morning. Thank you for your part in worship this morning. Appreciate Kyle's leading the songs that he has and the way that he has Reagan's remarks about the Lord's supper. And all of us joining our voices together and being of one mind as we worship God this morning. We've been talking this year particularly about the subject built on the foundation.

We've used Ephesians two and verse 20 through 21 as our basis for this thought. I want you, if you would, to turn and look at Ephesians two and verses twenty and twenty one. Paul writes saying, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. We have tried to emphasize in the first part of our lesson, Jesus is the foundation. He is called the chief cornerstone.

But it's important that we realize that when he is called the chief cornerstone, he is also the foundation. This passage in Ephesians references the book of Isaiah and the twenty eighth chapter. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to look over to the book of Isaiah. And I want you to look at that passage and look at it very closely. And I think you can see that he is talking about Jesus as the foundation and that he calls that foundation the chief cornerstone.

Isaiah the twenty eighth chapter in verse 16. He says, therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a stone or foundation. Notice I'm going to lay a stone. That stone will be the foundation. And he said a tried stone, a precious cornerstone.

He hasn't changed his thought. That stone that he is laying as a foundation is the tried stone. It is the precious cornerstone, and it is a sure foundation. Jesus is the foundation that Paul's talking about. He not only says that, but if you notice, he talks about we're built the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

I think sometimes, especially in our day and age, we think of the cornerstone as a stone sitting in the corner and the foundation as being the perimeter of the building. And sometimes I think people read this passage and they think he's talking about two different things. He's talking about the apostles as the foundation and Jesus as the chief cornerstone. But again, I would remind you that as you look back to the book of Isaiah, that he speaks of those things as the same thing. I lay in Zion a foundation, a chief cornerstone.

When he talks about he's going to build it upon the foundation of the... Built on the foundation of the apostles, he is not calling the apostles the foundation, but rather he's emphasizing that they are the ones that are preaching Jesus as the foundation and that they are preaching him as the chief cornerstone. I want you to look if you would to the book of first Corinthians in the third chapter, and I think Paul just emphasizes this for us, that Jesus is not the cornerstone and the apostles being the foundation, but rather Christ is the foundation, the chief cornerstones. And the apostles laid that foundation by preaching Jesus. Listen to Paul in the book of first Corinthians in the third chapter and beginning in verse 10.

According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation. Paul's an apostle, but he doesn't say I am the foundation. He said, I laid the foundation and another builds on it, but let each one take heed how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. So not only does he say, I lay the foundation which is Christ Jesus, he says, no other foundation can be laid.

And it's this foundation that we build on. And so we need to know and understand that he's saying Jesus is the foundation and that the apostles laid the foundation by preaching Jesus as Lord and Christ. As we think about where we are, we've talked in the... This year. The first three months or four months, we talked about the foundation or the chief cornerstone and how that that was Christ.

And then we've talked about the apostles laying the foundation using Ephesians as our guide and as our text. The question now comes to mind, what's being built on that foundation? Christ is the foundation. The apostles have laid that foundation. So what's going to be built on that foundation of Jesus Christ?

And may I suggest to you the answer is God's holy temple or the church. Go back if you would to the book of Ephesians, and this time look to the third chapter, and let's read verses ten and eleven, particularly in this reading. He says, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So now he tells us that he builds on this temple, the church. And our text makes that clear, I think.

If you think about text that we've been reading in Ephesians the second chapter and even now as we proceed and look at chapter three and verse 10, Look if you would first to the book of Ephesians in the second chapter in verse 19. And just notice that he talks about the church and the temple. He says, now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostle and prophet Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. And he says in whom all the building fitly frames together, listen, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. So he talks about building on that foundation, and he says we do that, And what we have is an holy temple unto the Lord.

And then go back to the book of Ephesians in the third chapter and notice that he talks about the church to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. So you have Paul talking about laying Jesus as the foundation and that the apostles are the one that has been laying that foundation by preaching Jesus. And now he tells us that what's built on that foundation is the holy temple, which is also the church of the living God. And notice that he says it's a part of the eternal purpose and plan. There are those who think that God came to build his kingdom, but men rejected him.

And so he established the church instead because of the rejection. But this passage says the church is a part of God's equal purpose and plan. He calls it the same thing as he does the holy Temple, and he emphasizes that it's built on this foundation that Jesus is the Christ, the son of living God. I wanna suggest to you that not only does our text in Ephesians tell us that, we have other passages that tell us that Jesus built the church on the foundation that he's the Christ, the son of living God. Look if you would to the book of Matthew in the sixteenth chapter, and we'll look particularly at verse 18 in a minute.

But just so that you'll have the context of that, Jesus is with his apostles and have gone to Caesarea Philippi. And in verse 13, he asked this question, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? And so they answered him, some say you're John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. So he shows and tells us people had various opinions as to who Jesus was. But Jesus then asked them saying, but who do you say that I am?

He's with the apostles. He's close to the apostles. They've been with him in and out there today, and he says, who do you say that I am? And most of us know that it's Peter that stands up and speaks and says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

So Peter, when he asked, who am... Jesus asked, who am I? He answers by saying, you are Lord in Christ. You're the son of God. He knows who he is.

And then listen to Jesus in verse 18. And I also say to you that you're Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Notice he said upon this rock, this foundation, I'm going to build my church. Now some people think that he's talking about Peter because he just said, thou art Peter, and the word Peter comes from a Greek word, a feminine Greek word that means rock. But when he says, and upon this rock, I will build my church, he uses a little different word, a masculine Greek word that means rock.

And there's differences of opinion about that. Some will look at the word Peter and say, it's a rock and not one that's easily moved, but it can be moved. But when he says, but thou art the rock, he uses petros, a masculine, and they will say, that is not the same word as petra or petra, but this is a huge mass or cliff of rock, something that cannot be moved. I could illustrate it, I think, by saying, think about the tomb and the words are not used in describing the tomb in the scriptures, but I think it works as to what that's saying. That Peter, you're a rock.

You're like the rock that is put over the hole in the in the tomb of Jesus. It's not easy to move. It can be moved, and it is moved sometimes, but it's not easy to move. But Jesus would be the cleft of the rock, the cliff that they've carved out and now putting the body in, which no person could move, not by hand. It would take some mighty force to change that.

And Jesus is just trying to show the difference. Peter, you're you're valuable, but you're not the Christ. And you're not what we're building on. We're building on Christ, the solid rock. The foundation is Christ.

I said that's what some people think. I will admit that some think that you just have a feminine and a masculine, but even that shows that when he says, thou art Peter, and that's a feminine word, and I will build my church on the rock, that's a masculine. That shows it's not the same thought that he has. He's calling Peter a rock, a substantial rock. It's not easily moved or...

But can be moved. But the church is built on Christ, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and that's a cliff of rock. Look if you would to another passage. Look if you would to the book of first Corinthians in the third chapter again, where we were talking and reading a moment ago about Paul talking about the foundation. But listen to Paul as he reads beginning in verse nine of chapter three, first Corinthians.

For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field or God's building. According to the grace of God, which was given to me, a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds on it. Notice what he's saying. I laid the foundation. That's the apostles laying the foundation.

And notice he says, I build on that foundation, that rock that is Jesus Christ. That's what we're building on. That's what the church is built on. And so over and over in the scripture, in our text, and in other passages, we see this concept that we've been trying to get across this year, that Jesus is our foundation, and we're building on that foundation. And the church is built on that foundation.

Now I want to suggest to you that we don't just have to look at passages that tell us that, that we can actually see that happening in the scriptures. Look, if you would, to the book of Acts and the second chapter for a moment. And I know it's familiar to all of us. We're not spending a lot of time on it. We know that Jesus has ascended into heaven.

He's told his apostles to wait in Jerusalem that the spirit had come upon them. And in Acts two, the apostles were in Jerusalem together and the spirit comes upon them. And if you look at verse 14 in particularly, it says, but Peter standing up with the 11 raised his voice, said to them, men of Judea and all that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known unto you and heed my words. So you have Peter and the apostles, and what are they gonna do? They're going to preach at this time.

And what they're going to preach is Jesus as Lord and Christ. Look if you would at verse 14. All of the apostles were apparently doing this, but Peter's sermon was recorded. But Peter, standing up with the 11, raised his voice and said to them, men of Judea and all that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words. For these are not drunk as you suppose, but since it is the third hour of the day, but this is that that was spoken by the prophet Joel.

And so he begins to speak. This is Peter. He's an apostle, and he's speaking on this occasion. And notice if you would in verse 36 that he is laying that foundation that Jesus is the Christ. He speaks a lot of words about Christ, but here's the summary of it in verse 36.

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. And keep in mind, our text said Jesus is the foundation, and that the apostles are gonna lay that foundation. Well, here's Peter, and he's preaching. And what is he preaching? He's preaching that Jesus is Lord and Christ.

He is laying that foundation. And what happens? Well, you look at verse 47, and he tells us that as many as heard the gospel and obeyed it, they were added to the church. And so what you have now is what we've been saying. Here is Jesus, the foundation.

He is being preached as the foundation by the apostles, and what comes or is built upon that is the church. He's preached Jesus as Lord and Christ, and then he said as many as believed were and obeyed were added to the church daily such as should be saved. You see what the church is there? It's the saved, and you see that it built upon the truth that Jesus is Lord in Christ preached by the apostles. So let's look for a moment at this idea of the church and talk about what this is, what it means to us.

It's important because it's built on Jesus. It's laid by the apostles. And one of the very first things that we can see is that it's the saved. Acts two and verse 30... 47 talks about that the Lord added to the church daily such as shouldn't be saved in this passage.

Any person that is saved is added to the church. Now notice they're added. Who's doing the adding? Well, it's the Lord that does the adding. I have no power to get somebody in the church or to make them a member of the church nor do you nor does any other man.

But when one hears the gospel and does what he needs to do to be saved, recognizing that Jesus is Lord in Christ, Jesus will add him to the church. He becomes a part of the church at that point in time. You can see also that that church is not a physical building like we stand in, but that it's people. It's saved people, and that's what the church is. If you look up the word church, you'll find that it's really translated from the word ecclesia.

Just means the called out, What it means. And so we're added to the church. We're added to those who are called out of the world and in behalf of Jesus Christ. We've heard him. We believe that he's the Lord in Christ, and we have done what he said.

And if you believe he's Lord, then you're gonna do what he says to do. And he says, you need to repent, be baptized in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Some 3,000 did that, and they're added to the church. They're the called out, he says. Two passages maybe that help us to understand this idea of being called out.

What does it mean to be called out? Well, first Peter the second chapter in verse nine would say, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, talking about Christians, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. The church is the called out. They're called out of darkness, out of sin, and called into light or into righteousness. You see it again in the book of Acts in the twenty sixth chapter in verse 18.

Paul is talking about what he's been called to do. And he says, I've been called to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. Just like Peter, I'm calling you out of darkness and into light. And then he says, and from the power of Satan unto God. The church is the called out.

And what does it mean to be called out? Well, it means that we are leaving darkness, and we're embracing the light. Light would be God and his teaching and Christ and his teaching. And we're being called out of darkness and called into light to do the will of God and to be what God wants us to be. We're called out of the power of Satan.

Satan has controlled our life. But now we're baptized into the name of Lord Jesus Christ and cleansed of our sins, and we're released from the power of Satan. And we now are in the power of God. And that's what the church is. Those that are called out out of darkness and into light, away from Satan, and into God's kingdom.

We need to recognize that the church can be and is referred to as other things. Go back for just a minute. Okay. I don't have a lot on it. Before I do that, I wanna point out to you that the church is sometimes used in different lane...

Or different ways. It's used here in Acts the second chapter to mean all of the saved. And when you're talking about that church, all of the saved, all that you have is Jesus is the head and the church or all the members are the body. And there's no organization to it as other than Christ is the head and we are members of that body. But then sometimes you'll read about the churches of Christ, for instance, in the book of Romans in the sixteenth chapter verse 16.

And there he's talking about the church in given localities. You may remember when he writes to the Corinthians in first Corinthians one, he talks about the church of God in Corinth, or think about the letters to the seven churches of Asia. The seven churches of Asia are not different denominations. They're all people that have recognized that Jesus is Lord and Christ that have submitted to his commandment, been buried and baptized into Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. But they're in a given locality like the church of God at Corinth.

That's those people that are saved that are in Corinth. They make up the church of God at Corinth. They're bigger, part of the church of Jesus Christ, but now they're also a part of a local congregation, the church of God at Corinth or the seven churches that we read in Asia, where they're all members of the Lord's church, one body. But then you also have them being a separate group or not a separate group, but a group of people that are worshiping together and working together that are all saved, and they make up the local church. And you do find where that church works in preaching and teaching the gospel.

You find where it can be organized and have elders and deacons as well as members. And so we talk about the church, and sometimes we talk about it as we sometimes refer to as the church universal, meaning all of the saved. And that's just any Christian or any person that has recognized that Jesus is Lord and Christ and submitted himself to Jesus as Lord and Christ, been buried with him in baptism. He is added by the Lord to the church, that universal church. But then you have those people that are saved that work together and worship together, And they are a local congregation or a local church, the church at God or at Corinth or whatever.

And as we said, you can see that they are united and have organization, and you can join yourself to that body. You may remember that Paul, on one occasion, was said to wanted to join himself with the disciples. He was trying to join himself to the disciples in Rome or in... Or excuse me, was in Jerusalem. But he could do that.

He could ask to join himself to that group. He was already a member of the Lord's... Baptized, and now he wanted to be a part of that congregation. And we can do the same thing. We can obey the gospel, and the Lord will add us to his church.

But then we join ourselves to a group that are meeting, his people that are meeting together, and hence, we can be a part of that church on that occasion. And so we have talked sometimes about the church universal, all the saved, Christ and his members. We talk about the local church, the saved in a given locality that has work that it can do in preaching and teaching the gospel and may have elders, deacons, as well as members. I wanna talk to you also and point out to you that this church is talked about and can be referred to different things also. Go back if you would to our text in the book of Ephesians in the second chapter And notice that the church is sometimes called the body of Christ.

Look, if you would, to the book of Ephesians in the second chapter in verse 16. He says that he might reconcile them both, talking about Jew and Gentile, to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. Notice he says he adds them or he reconciles them and puts them in the body, he says. You would see that same language a little further over in the book of Ephesians in the fourth chapter when when Paul is talking about the oneness of Christianity. But in verse four, he says, there is one body and talks about one spirit when the hope of our calling.

And so we're talking about the body. He's talking about the church, and he... He's talking about this being Christ's body. And in that book of Ephesians, he would talk about Christ as being the head of that body and we being members of that body. So the church is sometimes described a body.

Secondly, sometimes the church talked about as our being fellow citizens, and I think talking about the kingdom of God, that we are part of the kingdom. Look at Ephesians two in verse 19 where Paul writes and says, now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Notice your fellow... Or fellow citizens. Citizen is somebody that belongs to a country or a group.

And he's saying we belong to the body of Christ, and so we're citizens of that kingdom in that way. You would see also where we're talked about as being members of the household of God. Look at Ephesians again in the same verse. Now therefore, you're no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the members of the household of God. He speaks of the church as being a family, if you would, the household of God.

You'll see this again in the book of first Timothy in the third chapter in verse 15. Paul is writing to Timothy. He said, but if I delayed, I write to you. I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yours... Or conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.

Notice he says, I'm right. I might be delayed until I'm writing to you that you might know how to conduct yourself in the house of God until it's a house or it's a household is the idea. Most of us belong to families, and we love those families. We may have duties in those families. We don't wanna bring shame upon that family.

And Paul is talking to us as the church and saying, you're the house of God, and that all means something to us. And he's writing to Timothy and say, I'll write this so that you know how to behave yourself. You know, I grew up with good parents, And my mom and dad were not Christians until after I was out of college, but they were good moral people. And they would start and go to church for church services for a while and then just stop. But I had good parents, and I knew what I could do and what I couldn't do.

And I did not want to bring shame on my mom and dad or do anything that would bring disgrace to them. And we ought to be the same way in the house of God. God has a code of conduct for us in the scriptures. And to do something different is likely to bring shame upon God if we live like those in the world and yet claim to be Christians. And we ought to realize we are the house of God, and we want to keep his name holy and reverent and to behave ourselves as the house of God.

I want you to notice also that Paul talks about it as being the temple. Go back again if you would to the book of Ephesians in the second chapter and listen to verse 21. Ephesians two and verse 21, he says, in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. He's talking about the church again, and this time he refers to it as the holy temple. The significance of that is is just thinking about what the temple meant in times past and understanding what it means now.

Most of us are familiar with the Old Testament and how that... First, they had the tabernacle that served kinda as a temple to them or precursor to the temple. And then when they got into the promised land, they built the temple. And what was the purpose of that temple? Well, God dwelled there, and that's where they perform many other sacrifices and their services unto God.

And when he calls us the temple of God, what is he saying? Well, just read one more verse in Ephesians the second chapter. In verse 21, he said you're... You go into a holy temple, verse 22, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit. That's the reason he calls the church the temple because this is God's dwelling place today.

And it's not the building, it's us. God dwells in us and through us. And you can just think how they felt about that temple if they were thinking right. It was something holy and to be revered. And by the same token, we ought to think of the church as the temple of God.

But this is where God dwells today in us, amidst us, and we will bring honor and glory to him. I want you, if you would, for a moment, just to listen to the book of Ephesians in the third chapter beginning in verse 14. I think it gets across maybe the thought that we wanna get across from this lesson. He says, for this reason, I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can just see the holy and reverent attitude of Paul as he writes.

I bow my knees, and I recognize that I'm coming before the father of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. From whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man. He wants us to be strengthened as Christians. Why? That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and the length and the depth and the height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God, he says.

He wants us to be filled and give honor and glory to God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundant above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. I hope that somehow we can see the church as God intended for it to be. One sense, looking at all the saved, everyone that has ever named the name of Jesus and added to that group of saved. The second sense looking at us in a locality representing those and being those that are saved in this locality and bring honor and glory into the Lord.

That's what we're supposed to do. And so I'd ask you, are you doing that if you're a member of the church? Do you shine as a light for God? People look at you and can they honestly and accurately find fault that dishonors Christ and God, and you're content to stay that way? Are you compelled to repent of those sins, pray God to forgive you that you can be holy and a part of the holy temple of God.

Only those that are holy will be the holy temple of God. And only those that have repented, been baptized, are added to the church. And so no matter how good you are or how many times you've thought about becoming a member of the Lord's body or his church, if you've never confessed Jesus' name as Lord and Christ and been buried with him in baptism, you're still not a part of that church, that selected group that he calls his, his church, that selected group that is the holy temple, That selected group that is the body of Christ. And when he comes again, it's those people that are his people. Those people that make up the holy temple that he's gonna take back to heaven with him.

And if you're not a part of that group, you're not gonna be in heaven. In fact, the alternative is that you'll spend eternity in hell. My hope and my prayer this morning is that you can see God's purpose and plan, his eternal purpose that he intended to call us out of the world and make us a part of his body. Jesus being our head and our being his servant, our being his holy temple. You've not done that and you wanna do it this morning, come now.

Confess Jesus as Lord and savior. Be buried with him in baptism. He will add you to that church, and you can be a part of this congregation if you want to. Come, miss. Together, we stand the same way.