Q4. Foundation of the Church (2:20-21)

[smithj7]

Q4. (Ephesians 2:20-21) How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about? Exposition

Ephesians 2: 19-21

19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation?

We as citizens or members of the household of God very foundation is built on the apostles and the prophets. We learn and grow through the Word which was taught from their mouths.

In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation?

Jesus is the cornerstone, the stone of the building which makes the building "stand", for lack of a better word. When Jesus is the cornerstone the foundation of the church will be sure and the believers will not be dismayed.

In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord?

It is through the cornerstone that we can grow and become his holy temple.

In what way does growth occur to bring this about?

Jesus works through us by making us fit together into his holy temple. This is speaking of the members or us as lively stones becoming part of the building or church of God.

[wifee]

4a)The scriptures& Jesus teaching to the apostles are the foundation and instructions on which we as believers & churches follow. b)our congregation

[Lion of Grace]

The apostles and Prophets contribute to our lives today by showing us truth. The Prophets showed us who to look for in the Messiah and the truth of God's ways and the Apostles taught the truth of Jesus Christ and the power for us to live in Him. Jesus lived every prophecy. He is the Messiah.

Today we have scripture to read, study and meditate on for the truth about life and our hope in Christ. This is the same either individually or in a congregation of Christians. We learn the truth of God's Kingdom and His ways and the foundation of the truth of our salvation and new lives through Christ.

The cornerstone of a building is the most important stone of the building. Without it, the building would begin to shift and move and eventually collapse. Without Jesus and our faith in Him, our "spiritual" buildings, made up of individual temples and as living stones knit together as Christs church and holy bride, will do the`same. He and our faith in Him must always be our foundational truth. He MUST be the truth we stand upon. Other beliefs or Jesus plus anything starts a shift away from God's purposes and the building and morals, freedom and truths etc. start to crumble.

We as a church, "rise" with Christ from physical death, (Where oh death is your sting?) into eternal life and we "rise" cleansed from sin, freed from death from sin. Jesus rose and conquered death and sin and with Him, by our faith in Him, we share in these glories. We "grow" in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and we find His love and the power of His love with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The more we grow in understanding this loving God, the more we reach a world in love to show who He is, drawing them to Him also. In His love, our lives become changed....for we then love Him because He first loved us. Our motivation in everything comes from love and no longer the law....because we have Christ. We have love.

This growth occurs through, spending time with God, abiding in Him, thankfulness for all He has done. It grows through our faith in Christ and in feeding on His Word for He is the Word. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We fill ourselves with Him when we read/study and meditate on the Word. Through prayer, we can ask the Holy Spirit, our helper and counselor with us now for wisdom and growth and strength in faith. We can ask that our minds be healed and renewed. That our lives be an honor to God and for His purposes. We fellowship with other true Christians for encouragement and ask God to help us in any way we need to see how to be more submitted to Who He is and how we should live by the renewing of our hearts and minds.

[Marloes]

Q4. (Ephesians 2:20-21) How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about? Exposition

Because they testified and wrote the Bible, I / we can read it.

The congregation should be build on Jesus.

If we are a better communion.

[hanks]

4.(Ephesians 2:20-21)

How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today?

They provide a firm foundation - the Scriptures.

To the life of your congregation?

Here again the Scriptures are our firm foundation.

In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation?

Jesus is the foundation;

[Kerneydr]

Q4. (Ephesians 2:20-21) How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about? Exposition

Nearly daily I read the writings of "the apostles and prophets". Their teachings guide me in what I should believe about God and how I should apply this belief to life.

[Jeff@qlbc]

The apostles and prophets were the ones who established God's Word in the life of God's people. We have that written testimony in the Bible. God's Word speaks into my life. The Bible also testfies about Jesus Christ, the Living Word. He is the cornerstone that holds God's testimony together. The church is the place where God's Word is proclaimed and practiced. The church grows through discipleship, fellowship, worship, service and evangelism all based on God's Word.

[anne1151]

Q4. (Ephesians 2:20-21) How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about? Exposition

1. We read their words, and the words Jesus spoke to them. They are an example for us, showing us how to stand up to adversity, how to follow God and Jesus in total faith.

2. We read the letters written to the churches, and are able to see more clearly the faults we, as a church congregation have, and the errors we are making.

3. Christ is the head of the church. The church is founded or built on Him. Without Him the church would not be strong enough to stand up to the temptations of the world. We would not have the forgivenes of sins that would enable us to look forward to living with God in heaven.

4, We grow into a temple as our love of God and our willingness to spread His word grows. We must always put God in the lead and us as followers, then the Holy Spirit will dwell in us.

5. God will lead us as He wants us to go to minister to others, pray for others, and humble ourselves so we can work for others .

[Old Jerry]

“The apostles and prophets” contribute to my life today by being the ones that spread the word of God. They and Jesus Christ are the foundation that my belief is based on. The apostles and prophets are the ones that showed us how to live as a congregation by giving us the Bible.

The way that Jesus Christ serves as a cornerstone to our congregation is that everything that is said and done is based on the way that Jesus Christ would like to have us do. Now I said based because we don’t always do what Jesus Christ would approve.

The way that the congregation “grows” into a holy temple of the Lord is by studying his word and trying to do the things that He wants us to.

[JoanG]

The apostles and prophets have helped to keep the scriptures alive for me. They have helped to share God's words with the world. They give me a challenge to follow in their footsteps and to follow the will of the Father.

 

I feel that these people can be a very good examples to the congregations of today. They shared God's love with all people. They followed the examples of Jesus. They lived by true faith.

 

We should trust in Jesus Christ for everything. We should allow His love to radiate from all of us. We need to follow all of His examples on how to treat each other.

 

I feel a congregation grows when we have the Holy Spirit that radiates from all who worship together. There is an uncontrolable amount of energy that permiates into everyone's soul. There is an ultimate welcoming feelining that draws people to us. The more people that enter into worship, the more energy that is produced and it just keeps going. It is contagious.

[WinstonY]

Q4. (Ephesians 2:20-21) How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? To the life of your congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about?

 

The prophets and the apostles are the foundation of our faith. The whole structure of what we believe is built not unlike a building where each part is interconnected  with the whole. Each part supporting the other so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Abraham was called and so were the rest of the patriarchs. Than there was Moses and the prophets. We have their stories and their faith statements in the words of the Old Testament. At the appropriate time God sent the cornerstone to knit the whole of the story of Israel together by sending his promised Son that those who believe in him would not perish. The apostles who responded to Jesus' call gave their understanding of the culumative story as preached by Peter at Pentacost. The church fathers deliberated, taught and wrote about their understanding. The church as a household continued the understanding  as theologians down through the centuries have also participated in the understanding. 

 

Today Jesus is still the cornerstone for if we lose the hope provided by the resurrection of Christ we have nothing but an empty shell. We must preach Christ and Christ risen.

 

The church continues to grow for Christ is the vine and we are the branches. At times there are hard times and the plumage may wither but the vine is everlasting and promises nourishment for our souls for eternity. At this moment the church in North America has faded but in the world as a whole the church is growing really quickly. Soon-some time North America will revive, it may be by a great preacher , it may spread as it did with Paul or it may even be re-evangelized from the Southern hemisphere. But God has a plan and it will bear fruit. (Jesus walks  may be the tool for a new flame to reignite in America. Praise be the Lord!    

[Siphoñ]

The prophets are the people who are used by God to send his message from the church and from us they build us with scripture when we are facing difficult situations.Jesus is the chief cornerstone because he is the foundation of the church and the church is taught by Jesus to walk in faith through his spiritual word.The church is growing by having bible studies,intercede,reading sriptures and worshiping in spirit and truth.