Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;… The growth of the body, on Christ's part, is spontaneous, and on man's, consentaneous. "In whom all the building fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord." It grows from Christ, but it grows in unity with our consenting affections. Christ never violates human freedom, but works in it, with it, and by it. "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? Ask, and ye shall receive." "According to your faith be it unto you." He would open and develop in us much more of His purity and truth, goodness and beauty; but He waits for our desire, and by processes of wondrous wisdom and gentleness He seeks to beget in us that desire. If the spirit of the flesh in us be ardent, or the spiritual affections be lukewarm, the growth of the new nature will be retarded, or suspended. If it be necessary to receive Christ, in order to salvation, it is equally necessary to walk in Him, in a spirit of watchfulness and prayer, in order to growth. Inasmuch as "all the building is growing in the Lord," and according to His order, it will, in the end, not only be a glorious temple of humanity, but marvellously adapted for the indwelling and manifestation of God. "I will dwell in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." I will fill them, and they shall represent My fulness. "The whole building," the redeemed of every generation, growing more and more into unity with each other, and with Christ, and through Him with all the hidden powers of the Godhead, is a work which is every way worthy of all Almighty Father. To what glory, to what beauty, will the kingdom grow? to what wisdom will its members attain? what will be their powers? what their fellowship? what their individual freedom of action? what their service and end, as one empire in the Son, and in the Father? At present there is much in human souls, much in the constitution of nature, and very much in the strife of the great spirit world, to hinder the full development of God's purpose in Christ. But all hindrances have their appointed limit. In due time, they will all be overmastered or removed; and God and the redeemed race will come into perfect relationship. (John Pulsford.) 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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