So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and
are of God's household. We are of God's household,
having been built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being
the cornerstone, in whom the whole building,
being fitted together, is growing into a holy
temple in the Lord. in whom we also are being
built together into a dwelling of God in the
Spirit. And that is the text we're looking at
today from the second chapter of Ephesians, continuing
where we picked up last, or left off, rather,
last week. I was reading this week a brief...
paragraph about the Washington Cathedral, which
I guess more properly is called the Episcopal
Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is
a large edifice that was begun, believe it or
not, in 1907 and is not yet completed. In fact,
they say that it probably won't be completed
until the turn of the century. a few more years
in the building process. Perhaps you have stood
in that cathedral. I have not. But I understand
that it is quite beautiful with its stained glass
and lovely ornaments. It is a magnificent structure
that inspires, it is said, worship. Now, we all
know that God doesn't live in a church. God's
address is not 1310 West County Road B2, Roseville,
Minnesota. God doesn't live in the structure
where we are. But where the church does meet
can be used of God to inspire worship. God has
created us so that aesthetics mean something
to us. Aesthetics strike our senses, and all
of our senses should be involved in the act of
worshiping God. A beautiful building does not
necessarily mean that God has worshipped there.
That's for sure. But the beauty of a building
can enhance the worship of God's people. To be
very frank with you, there's not a whole lot
here in this room that inspires worship in me.
It is a beautiful room and adequate for our purposes
for this time. But I look forward to someday
when we might be able to construct a building
that would... more aesthetically stimulate worship
in us. We're going to try to do something with
this room to make it a little more such. There
are a couple of ladies in our church working
on some banners depicting various stages of the
life of Christ that we eventually will have hanging
in here, which I think will kind of break it
up a little bit. But really, this room was designed
to be a gym. We've had visitors come in and say,
oh, it's beautiful. When's it going to be finished?
Well, you know, this is it. This is it for the
way it is right now, at least. But the fact is
that God doesn't live in this building. We are
the building of God, or in the terms of Paul's
paragraph here, we are the new temple of God,
his holy temple that he is constructing in this
age. Last time together we saw the substructure
of it, the foundation. of the apostles and prophets,
and the fact that Jesus Christ himself is the
cornerstone of it all. Today we want to pick
it up at that point and move ahead and talk about
the stones in this living temple. He tells us
here in a couple of verses who the stones are.
In verse 20, or backing up to the thought in
verse 19, he says, You are, fellow citizens and
saints, having been built upon the foundation.
And then again in verse 22 he says, in whom you
also are being built together. And so the stones
of this living temple are you. You who are the
saved by grace through faith. Every Christian
is a living stone in this temple that God is
constructing for himself during these hundreds
of years of this age of grace. If you go back
with me to 1 Peter once again this morning and
just look briefly, you'll see that Peter also
says this. He says in verse 4 of the second chapter,
1 Peter 2, 4, And coming to him, Christ, as to
a living stone, skip on to verse 5, you also,
as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual
house. Our coming to him refers to our coming
to him in faith. He says, coming to him who is
the living stone, you also then are made living
stones. And God is building you up into a house.
God is, in the terms of Ephesians 2, putting
you together as a temple for his habitation.
In the Old Testament, the building was indwelt,
but in the New Testament, God indwells the individual
stones of the building. He is the divine stonemason,
if you please, who is putting each of us who
is saved into the body or the temple as it pleases
him. For some, he puts them into a conspicuous
place, a place of prominence or visibility. Others
of us he puts into an ordinary place, a plain
location where routine work is being done, but
essential work. And then some of us God is pleased
by his own sovereign choice to put us into a
hidden place where only he sees our value. But
he is able to accurately measure our significance
even in a hidden place to the whole of his work.
The point is not whether we're in a visible place
or an ordinary place or a hidden place. The point
is that we're in a place. And that where God
places us is his choice. God has mined you and
me from the query of sin and has fit us by grace
into this temple. There's a marvelous thing that
we've sung this morning. That God is the friend
of sinners. Jesus is the friend of sinners. He
can set you free. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
reached down into the quarry of sin. He's able
to take a sinner like you and me and to make
us new creatures. To cleanse us from our sin.
Give us a new purpose in life. And to invest
in us spiritual gifts and then to add us to the
temple. It's a marvelous thing. We are the stones
of this temple that God is building. Let's think
thirdly about the superstructure of the building,
that which is visible, the main part of a building
that we see. We've seen the individual parts.
We're the stones. But let's think now about the
superstructure itself. Now, when Paul wrote about
that in verses 20 and 21, he may have had in
mind the Jerusalem temple, which was still standing
in his day. On the other hand, he may have had
in mind the temple of Diana or Artemis, the Roman
Greek goddess whom the Ephesians in their paganism
worshipped. There was a temple there in the city
of Ephesus that was one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world. There was a structure that
was just unbelievable in its beauty and sadly
wicked in the worship that was practiced there.
but they would be quite well aware of a temple
-type metaphor, even if they had never been to
Jerusalem and had seen the temple of Herod there
in that city. He says to them and to us, having
been built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building
being fitted together is growing. into a holy
temple in the Lord. Seems to me that he gives
us here a four -fold depiction of this temple.
Notice that he tells us first that it's massive
in its dimension. He speaks about the whole building.
Kind of reminds you of that commercial a few
years ago, the whole thing that the person ate,
right? Well, he's talking here about the whole
building. It is massive in its picture here.
He describes the dimensions of it in that very
simple phrase as being very complex. It could
be read this way, all the building or each individual
building, which is very suggestive to us because
it refers to a great temple with many porches,
courts and towers, etc., all that goes with it.
Each of these is connected. With the great bond
of the substructure that's underneath it. If
you have ever seen a picture in a Bible dictionary
of Herod's temple, you understand the picture
that Paul has in mind here. The huge foundation
that was under that complex of the temple. It
tied it all together. But the temple itself had
many porches, and there were lots of rooms in
it, not just the Holy of Holies and the holy
place. There were courts outside and many steps
leading up to it. It was quite a beautiful structure.
And that is the picture that Paul has here. He
says, now God is building a living temple. The
whole building, he says, in its dimension. And
in saying that, he is saying that what God is
building in this age is vast. It is vast. It's
vast in time. It stretches from the day of Pentecost
until that day when Jesus will come again. It
is vast in terms of the numbers of people, a
multitude that cannot be counted. It is vast
in terms of the kinds of people it reaches, the
high and the low, the black and the white and
the red and the yellow. Those who come from civilized
countries, those who have never known civilization.
It is a vast building that God is putting together.
He is calling out a people today through the
preaching of the gospel. He is calling out a
people to become living stones in this whole
complex building he is putting together. And
then he says that it increases in its cohesion.
He says the whole building being fitted together.
That term is only used one at a time in the whole
Bible, and that's in chapter 4 and verse 16,
where he uses a very similar phrase in verse
16 as it's in the English. It says, being fitted
and held together. The linguistic key of the
Greek New Testament says regarding this particular
verb, in construction terms, it represents the
whole of the elaborate process by which stones
are fitted together. the preparation of the surfaces,
including the cutting, rubbing, and testing,
the preparation of the dowels and the dowel holes,
and finally the fitting of the dowels with molten
lead. When they built one of these huge edifices
in that day, they took very much care in preparing
the stones so that they would fit right into
place. And then the stones were held in place.
They would drill holes down into the stones and
fill those holes with molten lead so that there
was not only a heavy stone put in place, but
it was held there by the lead dowel. Now that
is the picture that the apostle has in mind.
He pictures a building that is being carefully
fitted together. It is a building that binds
itself into greater solidarity as it is put up.
It is not a building that's just thrown together
where stones are piled one on top of another,
but carefully the stones are put into place so
that progressively the building is made more
tight. As each stone is put into place, it is
joined more firmly together so that the building
is consolidated. Now, we must expect that to
be the case because God is the great architect
of it. And he knows where every stone is supposed
to be. He knows what every stone is supposed
to look like. In other words, he knows just how
he has prepared you and me to be placed into
this living temple. He knows how he has gifted
us so that we play our role in the building that
he's constructing in the spirit. The pyramids
of Egypt were also the wonders of the ancient
world, and they are still wonders today in the
20th century. I have never been privileged to
see them, but I'm fascinated by them. These tremendous
monuments to the ancient pharaohs and kings of
Egypt have stood through thousands of years,
and there is no mortar that holds those stones
together. They were so carefully fashioned and
crafted by skilled men back in those days that
where those stones were placed, some of them
weighing five tons, where they were put into
place by their well -advanced engineering methods,
those stones have stayed. Now, they have been
partially buried at times by the sands of the
desert blowing up against them, but they have
stayed in place and they are preserved to this
day. you can enter into those pyramids and see
the rooms that are there. In some cases, see
the vaults and the burial rooms where these leaders
were placed. And even in some of them, you can
see the paintings on the walls still. How carefully
those were fitted together. The same is true,
by the way, of Solomon's temple. It's interesting
to read about it in the Old Testament because...
It tells us, the Holy Spirit tells us there,
that when that temple was put together, there
was not the sound of a hammer with an earshot
of the temple. The stones were all cut and then
polished and carried to the temple so that when
it was put into place, there would be the sound
only of a rock being slidden into its spot, not
the sound of a hammer. So carefully... were those
stones prepared. And my friend, that's exactly
what God is doing in your life and mine today.
Now there are times when you and I say, ouch,
to what God is doing as he works on this living
stone. And it seems to grind us a little too
much on occasion. But you and I can be sure of
this, that what he is doing is for our good and
for our glory in Jesus Christ. Because he is
preparing us, he is fitting us, to be put into
place in this temple that he's building. It increases
in its cohesion as it is built up, and then it
grows in its extension. He says here, the whole
building being fitted together is growing into
a holy temple. Present tense there. It is growing.
All the time it is growing. It is increasing
in its extension. The term growing here is a
biological term. That would be inconsistent if
Paul were speaking of a structure of stone. But
he's talking about people. He's talking about
living stones. And so he says, we as living stones
are growing because the church is an organism,
you see. As members are added, it enlarges. As
I've already said, it began on the day of Pentecost
and through the centuries. Despite fire, despite
sword, despite prison cells, despite persecution
and suffering, the church has grown and grown
and grown and will continue to grow until that
day that it's finished. And it will be finished
one day. In Acts 2 .47 it says, The Lord was
adding to their number day by day those who were
being saved. The church is intended to grow and
to keep on growing. I am absolutely perplexed
by some churches that make decisions not to grow
anymore. I have a friend, a shirt -tail relative
by marriage, actually, who moved to Lexington,
Kentucky. One of the things that he and his wife
had to do was to relocate in a church. And he
came back one time and shared with me, he said,
you know, I just can't understand this one church
that we visited. He said, they let us know when
we came that they were very content with what
they were and the size they were, and they were
not interested in growing anymore. And he said,
that's not the kind of a church I want to be
a part of. You know, it's interesting, they did
go to that church. God brought in a new ministry,
and the church is growing again. But how sad
it is when... an attitude or a spirit, if not
even a decision is made, at least the attitude
is made in the parts of people, we've grown big
enough. That is never the plan of God. Now, a
church may not always grow quickly. There may
not be growth by leaps and bounds in a church,
but the plan of God is for the church to keep
on growing as it is being fitted together. You
see, a church never maxes out in its growth until
it decides mentally that it's done that. And
then it's done. God intends for the church to
keep on growing. One of the concerns, frankly,
that I have regarding our ministry here is that
we have come to the point once more where we
really cannot grow. For two reasons. One is our
parking. Now, we've tried to attack that, and
some of you are really helping us on it, and
we appreciate that so much, your willingness
to park at the high school and ride back here
so that we can keep spaces open for new people,
visitors who are coming. The last couple of weeks,
that has really worked well. We've had a few
extra spots, both between the services and at
critical times during the morning. and that has
meant a great deal. But even more important than
that is the fact that we're out of space for
small churches to grow anymore. We have some
small churches that badly need to divide, and
we cannot do that without changing our morning
schedule, not our worship schedule. But some
of the small churches, I think even today, are
being asked if they're interested in moving to
another hour, like at 8 .15 in the morning. Frankly,
what we need is more space. But I'm not sure
that I'm ready for another building program right
now. I'm not sure that you're ready for that
either, frankly. Now, if the Lord should bring
in someone this week with a million dollars and
say, I want to start a building fund, I wouldn't
turn it down. You understand? I could probably
get in the mood fairly quickly if that were to
happen. But just as I stand here this morning,
I'm not real excited about starting a new building
by June or something like that, I'll tell you.
What we really need is for that next phase, the
CE building next door to us here to be put up
two or three stories as a part of our original
design for our church here. I don't think we're
ready for that. So if we're not ready for that,
how are we going to keep growing? We've got to
provide for that growth. If we don't, we'll level
off. And frankly, when a church decides it's
going to level off, it doesn't level off. You
know what happens. It goes downhill. There is
no such thing as leveling off. I've heard of
churches that entered into a maintenance time.
You know, they just kind of maintained themselves.
I pastored a church for a while that got into
that frame of mind. Well, you know, we're just
not going to change anymore. We're just going
to maintain. And for the two years that I was
there and they tried to maintain, they went just
like that. You can't maintain. That's an impossible
concept in a church. A church is either growing
or it's dying. And it's not the will of God for
it to die. A church dies when the people of the
church make up their mind they're done growing.
They're not going to change anymore. They're
not going to do what is necessary so the growth
can continue. Now, in our case here, because
we're not ready to build again, it means that
we're going to have to ask God to give us grace
that we might be able to change and experiment,
be creative in meeting at some different times,
perhaps, some of us at least, so that we can
continue growth because there will be space for
people to sit. You say, well, there's still room
here in the auditorium for worship. Yes, there
is. And we can continue to grow here for some
time by adding more chairs and putting the chairs
we have close together, for that matter. We can
continue to grow in worship, but you see, coming
to the worship service is not being a part of
the church. If you're going to be a part of the
church, it means being a part of a small church
and getting involved in the life of the church.
And that's where, right now, we're at a real
bottleneck, and we need God's wisdom about that.
You'll hear tonight one of the things we're doing.
is putting together some deacon commissions,
and one of those commissions is a long -range
planning commission, which some of you will be
asked to serve on. And these are the kinds of
things we need to be thinking about, how we're
going to allow for the Spirit of God to continue
growth and life and vitality in our church at
a time when we cannot yet, as far as we know
today, right now, build another building. God's
plan is for the church and its superstructure
to grow in its extension, to reach out to new
people. A church never gets to the point that
it doesn't need additional people. It does always
need people because there are people that need
the church and who need the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, that's the point. When we get to that
position and think, well, we can just maintain
now. We've gone far enough. We're big enough.
What we're saying is there are people out there
who need the Lord. There are people out there
who need the ministry of the word of God, and
of course that's a fallacy. There are many churches
in our Twin Cities area, but there are many,
many hundreds of thousands of people who have
not been reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and that's why we're here. And so we need to
keep in mind that God's put us here to grow.
This is what it says here in his word. And then
he tells us, fourthly, that he would describe
the superstructure as holy in its description.
He says that we are growing into a holy temple
in the Lord, a holy temple. The word temple here
is not the word for the temple complex, but it's
that word for the inner sanctuary of the temple,
the place of the presence, the shrine, as the
pagans would have put it there in Ephesus. It
was that inner shrine which was dedicated to
the goddess that they worshipped in their heathenism.
In terms of the Jewish temple, it would refer
to the Holy of Holies, that innermost cubicle
where the Ark of the Covenant was placed and
where God was pleased to manifest his presence
with the Shekinah glory. Now he tells us here
that we are growing into a holy place. A holy
shrine in the Lord. This same picture is used
in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 16 and 17, where he
says, Do you not know that you are a temple of
God? Now, he's writing to a local church, and
he's saying that to them as a body. We can easily
say today, You, Grace Church Roseville, do you
not know that you are a temple, a holy... shrine,
a holy place of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? If any man destroys this temple
of God, God will destroy him, for the temple
of God is holy, and that is what you are. The
superstructure that God is building is a holy
superstructure of people. And he says, that we
as a total church, capital C, all of us saved
in this age, and we as a local church, the visible
earthly expression of the church, we are also
a holy temple to the Lord, a sanctuary to the
Lord. Really, this room is not a sanctuary. We
call it the worship center. Because the sanctuary
you see in this age is in us as we gather together
to worship the Lord. We become the sanctuary
when we are here. When we leave, the sanctuary
is gone. Now in verse 22, the apostle gives us
the scheme of the building. He says that God
has done all of this so that we might be his
habitation in the spirit. The Spirit of God is
the great unifier. He ties us together so that
we are a permanent abode of God. That word again,
habitation, is found only one other place, and
that is in Revelation 18 .2, the very negative
context there. But it's used many times in the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, called
the Septuagint. And there it is used of the place
where God rests. It is the place where God settles
down. That is his habitation. And so he tells
us here that we, as the living temple, the holy
temple, are God's habitation. We are his resting
place where God is pleased to settle down. John's
testimony this morning, and he's not in here,
but I'll say this. I appreciate the emotion.
of his testimony and the fact that sharing about
his salvation experience causes that kind of
feeling in his heart. God help us when we can
talk about our conversion and it's just like
the newspaper. You know, it doesn't have a lot
of meaning to us. But he was saying that as he
went into that church, Wooddale Baptist Church,
and met with that group, there was something
different about it. Well, of course, because
that's where God was, you see. He sensed the
presence of God. There's not a greater compliment
that can come to a congregation of people than
for someone to come in and say, I sense the presence
of God here. That's exactly what God's plan is,
you see. He wishes to settle down, to abide in
the church. He says that we are being built together
for that purpose. Similar phrase to verse 21,
but a different one. He says built together,
but the emphasis is on the togetherness of it.
The importance is that we are a fellowship in
a local church. God has not created us as his
people to be lone rangers. I've had people say
to me, well, I can worship God out there in the
woods as I'm fishing on Sunday morning. Well,
you can worship God anywhere, but the point is
that if you're a child of God, God says to worship
together in a church, in a congregation of his
people. That's his plan. God has not created
us as living stones to be thrown out there and
be isolated, but he has created us as living
stones to be placed into a body of people with
whom we interact and with whom we worship. There's
great unity that's involved here, which God creates,
and which we then are exhorted to keep over in
the fourth chapter of the book of Ephesians.
We are told to keep that unity that God is building
together in us. One may not be divisive or be
a troublemaker in a church and yet not be contributing
to the unity that God is building. So how can
one contribute to the unity? Simply by exercising
the gifts of the Spirit that he has in the fellowship
of that local church. That's why God has gifted
us, so that we can exercise those gifts in the
dynamic of our relationship together as an organism.
And as we do that, we are going to grow and the
whole body grows. He talks about that in the
fourth chapter. We'll get to it eventually. So
how can I contribute to the unity of this local
church by exercising your spiritual gifts here?
God hasn't created the church to be a spectator
arena. Where people come together and they observe
others doing the work of the Lord. The church
is to be a place where all of us as living stones
are contributing together. He is together building
us. He is together fitting us into place. So
that we share ministry together. That's God's
plan. That's the scheme that he has in mind.
You know, there is something that amazes me about
some folks who come to our church, and I don't
say it in criticism. I simply say it rather in
astonishment because I've never seen it before
now. We have not a few people who come to our
church and who are involved in ministry in our
church, sometimes in rather significant ways,
and who have made significant financial commitments
to our church who are not even members of our
church. Now, honestly, in all of my ministry,
I've never seen that before. On one hand, I'm
glad, because I'm glad people have confidence
in the leadership of the church, in the ministry
of the church, in its vision, so that they want
to do that. On the other hand, frankly, I'm puzzled
by the fact that people will do that much, even
contribute of their money, which is usually the
very last thing that comes, and yet they don't
want to become a part of the church as a member,
or at least they neglect to do that. In a few
minutes, I'm going to give you an opportunity
to respond to that, by the way, some of you who
have been in that position. It would sure help
me and decrease my perplexity. I would appreciate
that. Well, listen, we have to move ahead because
he has concluded here what he wants to say about
the church as the holy temple. Dr. Mull says,
thus closes the special revelation. of the plan
and nature of the great living sanctuary, built
on the Son by the Spirit for the Father to be
the scene of the manifestation of his glory to
whatsoever spectators eternity shall bring to
see it. Last week we had sung for us that beautiful,
beautiful song, The Holy City. And it describes
there in musical terms what is set before us.
Revelation chapters 21 and 22. I don't understand
all that's in those chapters. But it is a beautiful
scene, the city that is described there. Some
1 ,500 miles in its dimensions, whether you see
it as a cube or a pyramid or a sphere, however
you may choose to view that description. It is
an immense city. You know what it says about
it? The angel says, come here, John. I want to
show you the lamb's wife. His bride. You see,
that city that is there is the place you and
I are going to live for eternity. It's our home.
It's where we who are part of his bride will
live in the eternity future. The new Jerusalem,
the holy city. Well, right now God is building
that city over there. But right now in a spiritual
sense, God is building it in us. We are his temple,
his habitation. And in light of that, there's
just one word of instruction that I want to close
with, and it's found over in 2 Corinthians. I'd
like you to turn there with me. In 2 Corinthians
6, verse 16, he says, What agreement has the
temple of God with idols? For we are the temple
of the living God. Then in chapter 7, verse 1,
he summarizes his words. He says, Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
He talks here about our separation from sin.
And he says, because we are a holy temple of
God. God wants us to be separate from sin. He
wants us to perfect holiness in our lives. Perfecting
holiness in the fear of God, he says. Cleansing
ourselves of the filthiness of the flesh and
of the spirit because we're a holy temple. Folks,
because what God has called us to be, what he
is fitting us to become, where he has placed
us, in the new temple. Let's allow our lifestyles
to reflect the fact that we're a holy temple.
For not only are we as a congregation a holy
temple, but we in our bodies, we are holy temples.
Our bodies themselves are holy to the Lord. He
has purchased us. So let's live the kind of lives
that reflect who we are in Jesus Christ. View
the building, see it rise. The work, how great,
the plan, how wise. Nor can that faith be overthrown
that rests upon the living stone. Let's pray.
I wonder how the message this morning may be
used of the Spirit of God in your life. Are you
built on the living stone? Is your faith in Jesus
Christ? Have you come to him in faith so that
he can make you a part of the new temple? And
you, my Christian brother and sister, are you
living a holy life? Are you in your body a holy
temple? Are you contributing to the unity of
this new temple God is creating? What is it that's
withholding you from membership, taking that
step in this local church today? Is God leading
you to make that step? Heavenly Father, I pray
that you will deal with us personally, lovingly,
patiently, as only you can, in such a beautiful
way. And by the Spirit, give us the right desires
in our hearts and the willingness to follow through
in obedience to your plan for us. In Jesus' name.
Amen. I'd like us to sing in closing number 451.
And as we do that, we're just going to sing a
verse or two. First of all, I want to give you
an opportunity if you've never trusted the Lord
Jesus Christ to do that this morning. And to
come here in the front where I'll be standing
and I'll introduce you to a counselor who can
take you aside privately and can answer whatever
questions you have as to how to become a real
Christian. the kind of a Christian that stood
before you and gave his testimony this morning.
It may be that you're here today and you've come
to this fellowship. You're even a contributor
and you're a minister in the sense that you're
participating in some ministry, but you're not
a member of the church. I want to open up that
invitation today for you so that you can come
and publicly say, I want to become a part of
this church, and we can start that process for
you today. You say, do I have to do that? No,
you don't have to, but this is an opportunity
to get started so that you may not neglect it
anymore as you perhaps have been in the past.
I urge you to come for that purpose this morning
and not feel ashamed in coming, but be glad to
come and to join with us in the work of the Lord
here at Grace Church as a member of this local
body. Let's stand together as we sing 451, All
to Jesus I Surrender.