Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;… The metaphor is drawn, of course, from Psalm 118:22 (applied by our Lord to Himself in Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; and by St. Peter to Him in Acts 4:11), or from Isaiah 28:16 (quoted with the other passage in 1 Peter 2:6, 7); in which last it may be noted that both the metaphors are united, and "the tried cornerstone" is also "the sure foundation." In itself it does not convey so obvious an idea of uniqueness and importance as that suggested by the "keystone" of an arch, or the "apex stone" of a pyramid; but it appears to mean a massive cornerstone, in which the two lines of the wall at their foundation meet, by which they were bonded together, and on the perfect squareness of which the true direction of the whole walls depended, since the slightest imperfection in the cornerstone would be indefinitely multiplied along the course of the walls. The doctrine which, if taken alone, it would convey, is simply the acceptance of our Lord's perfect teaching and life, as the one determining influence both of the teaching and institutions, which are the basis of the Church, and of the superstructure in the actual life of the members of the Church itself. By such acceptance both assume symmetry and "stand four-square to all the winds that blow." (See Revelation 21:16.) That this is not the whole truth seems to be implied by the variation from the metaphor in the next verse. (A. Barry, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; |
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