Building the House of God

This past week our focus was on being a Biblical Community. Our verse comes from Ephesians 2 and for this blog I will focus on verses 19-22 which says:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

I love this image of the people of God being stones that come together to become “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” God created us to be in community with one another. He knows that we need to share our lives with others and help each other grow spiritually. Life is a whole lot tougher when we try to carry every burden and responsibility on our own.

Let’s think about it in terms of this image of “building a house.” One brick is not going to give anyone shelter. You need many bricks to come together and gain a firmer foundation from each other in order to successfully build a house. Another point is that you cannot be a Christian and choose not to participate in community. If you built a house and some of the bricks decided they did not want to be a part of the group anymore and left, the house would be left with gaping holes and would eventually collapse.

In order for the body of Christ to be successful, every member needs to fully participate. God designed the church this way specifically. The old mantra is true: “United we stand, divided we fall.” He says in Ecclesiastes “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (4:12). Don’t fight against community. Embrace the group of Christians around you and let’s work towards becoming a more Biblical Community and help each other grow closer with God.

Kendra Mikols