God’s Building

In the first covenant they repeatedly offered the same sacrifices, which could never take away sins. Heb. 10:11. In other words, there was neither growth nor progress in the first covenant; yet in the new covenant it is entirely different.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, “You are God’s temple!” And Peter writes, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house . . . .” 1 Pet. 2:4-5.

Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation stone. It was by doing God’s will that He was formed and molded to be the cornerstone. When He came into the world He said, “Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.” Heb. 10:7. We enter into the new covenant in precisely the same way. Now it is also by doing God’s will that we are molded into His image. In the volume of the book it is written about us. We are hewn by the word of God. Jesus was the Word revealed in flesh. Previously they had heard the word of God; now they could see it revealed by the body of Jesus. This is the work of the Spirit with each one of us who has entered into the new covenant.

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” 2 Thess. 2:13. Sanctification means being transformed from being human to becoming “divine.” We can no more accomplish this by ourselves than a rock can transform itself into a statue. However, in the hands of a sculptor a block of stone can be hewn into a statue. So it is with us. We read that we are to be sanctified by the Spirit. By faith in Christ we have received the Spirit who was promised. Now all these slabs of rock that struggled in vain to transform themselves into statues, can be transformed in the Sculptor’s hands. Now they have a better hope.

Jesus is the original pattern; and by the Spirit we are being transformed into His image—into living stones. The Spirit works with us according to God’s Word so that we are conformed to such scriptures as: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good;” “Bless, and curse not;” “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor;” or, “He that is greatest among you shall be the servant and slave of all,” etc.

We are God’s building; therefore, if we are going to be formed into the right shape we must come to Jesus, who is the original pattern. We must not let ourselves be formed by father or mother, brother, sister, or worldly magazines. Neither must we be influenced by the spirit of the times. Come to Him, the living stone, who was rejected by men but is chosen and precious in God’s sight.

There are many builders today who are forming people to fit into their own political party or religious denomination. All of them are striving to be great and gain acceptance by contemporary society. However, we cannot fit both into heaven and on earth. We who have entered the new covenant to be formed into living stones in God’s building must accept the fact that we are going to be rejected by men.

Notice how seriously Paul regarded this: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.” 1 Tim. 6:12-14.

What does it mean to keep the commandment without spot, and blameless? It means that we do not tailor the commandment to fit the circumstances; that my understanding of the commandment must not be defiled by the latest trends in psychology. We are to be fashioned according to the commandments—the commandments Jesus gave His disciples prior to His ascension. Acts 1:2. Stones for God’s building have been hewn throughout all ages, and they will all be joined together to be a temple when Jesus returns. Today, each one of us is being hewn—each in his own circumstances. However, the day will come when we will be joined together without the sound of a hammer, just like Solomon’s temple when it was built. The sound of an iron tool will not be heard. 1 Kings 6:7.

If God’s co-workers had tried to adapt the commandment to the prevailing trends of their day, how do you think all the stones formed throughout these nearly 2,000 years would fit together? Jesus has not changed, and the Spirit has remained the same these 2,000 years; if the commandment has been kept without spot, the stones will fit together perfectly.

Now we can understand why Paul admonishes Timothy so strongly to keep the commandment without spot until Jesus returns. He urges him in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ, who had made the good confession. This confession was that His kingdom was not of this world. Timothy was to come to Him, the living stone; enter the covenant, and be sanctified by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds him that he had also made the good confession before many witnesses, that he had been baptized to seek the things that are above where Jesus is, and not the things on earth. And now he exhorts Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” Be not defiled by this present age; keep the commandment pure. Then you will be a stone that fits in God’s building when Jesus returns.

The course of world events in general and what is happening with the Jews in particular assures us that we are living in the time just before Jesus is coming again. We can say that the capstone is being formed in our time. This is the most difficult period of the entire building process. The difficulty lies in the fact that the commandment has been defiled and twisted; in fact, for the most part it has simply been explained away. Paul spoke of this time when he wrote that people will live in their sins, have a form of godliness, but deny its power. 2 Tim. 3:1-5. By this time the commandment will have been so “adapted” to the times and made so acceptable that virtually everything will be considered “Christian.” Indeed, an entire country can be called a “Christian” country, and the people believe that the gospel is shining more clearly and is being spread in more countries than ever before.

Paul continues to write about these times: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” 2 Tim. 4:3-4.

Here we can see that there will be no lack of teachers. There will be hordes of them. But what of the stone they are helping to shape and give form? Alas, they have turned away from the truth and have turned aside to fables. How aptly this describes the teachers of our day. They read a word of God, and then they weave it in to many moving and entertaining stories, in order to tickle the ears of their listeners. When they write, they prefer to do it in the form of a novel, to win the approval of man for their building. But what a lamentation there will be when Jesus returns and it becomes evident that their stone does not fit into God’s building: approved by man, but rejected by God!!! Their entire work will go up in flames!

However, Christ also has His co-workers in these days. Like their Master they have been rejected by men; they are regarded as heretics and deceivers. They fight the good fight of faith and keep the commandment pure and unspotted from the current form of godliness. The stone is being formed by the Sculptor according to the commandments of Jesus Christ beneath a cover of reproach. When Jesus returns, what a joyful shout will arise as the capstone is put in place. Behold it fits!!! It was hewn and fashioned in a time of gross darkness—just prior to the revelation of the Antichrist. Zech. 4:6-7.

Therefore let us stand firm in the new covenant, in the faith and the hope that it gives us, and this great work shall take place in us. Those who are faithful co-workers with Christ on this building will by no means lose their reward. 1 Cor. 3:13-14.