Blog

‘By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.’

It is through wisdom that a house is built. Wisdom is the principle thing and so we cry out for wisdom…

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

If the Lord does not build it, our work is futile; a waste of time and energy. But when God builds, He always builds according to his heavenly pattern or blueprint;

This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The Tabernacle of Moses was built to exacting heavenly standards. Noah’s Ark was built according to the pattern he was shown from above, as was Solomon’s Temple…

God guided Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest through the prophets Zechariah and Haggai to build the Second Temple…

Are we building according to the pattern that God has shown us?

Not building according to our own human plans and schemes, but on instructions that come directly from the mouth of God. He can show us his plans through dreams, visions and prophetic direction. We also build on the principles and practices outlined in scripture.

Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Jesus, the master carpenter, sees to it that the Church is built according to His exacting standard, the heavenly blueprint: on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus builds His Church and when he does so, the gates of hell in that place are unable to stand up against it! That’s the kind of Church I want to be a part of! The Church that Christ Builds!

‘By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’

The foundation to all we do must be Jesus Christ – any other foundation is sinking sand…

Paul describes himself as a wise or skilled builder. The Greek word used here is ‘architekton’ from which we get our word architect. In Paul’s day, an architect was a builder as well as a designer; a chief contractor

Apostles are given the grace to lay foundations as master builders or architects. Others in the Fivefold Ministry then build on those foundations…the prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers equip God’s people for works of service so that the whole Body of Christ may be built up

The Fivefold are like the superstructure [a structure built on top of something else. The part of a building above its foundations.] of the house God is building, with Jesus as the foundation stone…

The apostle Paul spent 1.5 years in the city of Corinth laying the foundation as a wise master builder. Then others came along and built the superstructure…

The Foundation the early apostles and Paul laid in the building of the Church are outlined in Hebrews 6:1-3. These are referred to as the Basic Principles of Christ, namely;

-Repentance from Dead Works

-Faith towards Jesus

-Instruction about Baptisms

-Laying of Hands

-Resurrection

-The Judgment to Come

We see these Basic Teachings played out throughout the Book of Acts. The apostles also laid the Basic Practices in the First Church birthed in Acts 2:36-47

‘Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.’

We must be careful how we build on the foundation. The work is fire-tested to prove the quality of each person’s work and to test the quality of the materials used in the building work.

Six building materials are mentioned in the building work; some are materials that are durable, solid and can handle fire. Others are materials that are combustible and will not stand up under pressure. When Jesus builds, he doesn’t build with wood, hay or straw…He builds with valuable treasures such as; gold, silver and precious stones…

When Zerubbabel was involved in building the Second Temple, God said to him; ‘I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory…’

During Corona Restrictions, God is once again shaking the nations. As a result, the treasures of all nations are being brought into His building plans. The Churches are being tested or proved for quality assurance. When Corona passes, what will remain of the churches we have built?

‘Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.’

Notice that WE are the material, we together are the temple; the precious stones that Jesus builds with. We are ‘Living Stones!’ As the apostle Paul states; ‘You are God’s Building’

Picture that…a building made up entirely of ‘Living Stones’ that are actually people made in the image of God. Living Stones that reflect the light of Christ

The superstructure; The Fivefold Ministry builds on the foundation by equipping the saints who are the ‘Living Stones.’ As a result, the house is built up living stone by living stone

God builds with people!

In God’s building, house or temple, the materials God builds with are actually people.

‘As you come to Christ, the living Stone–rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him–you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.’

We are being built into a Spiritual House!

Isaiah 28:16 says, “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.”

Jesus is the precious cornerstone and we are living stones

How do we live out our calling as these precious ‘Living Stones’?

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

We train each Living Stone to hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice

Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…”

It is as each person becomes responsive to Christ that we become these Living Stones and together we rise to become A Living Building that can flex and morph into the shape that Jesus designs it to be for the environment it is placed in.

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 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.

Together, we are his house! In him the whole building is joined together and we rise to become a holy temple in the Lord