-No brick and mortar edifice, this. We’re talking heart and soul and real flesh - and real blood which was poured out in order to begin building this house that is the family of God.
-And of course for these readers there was no brick and mortar whatsoever. Theirs was to meet in homes. Yes, they were perhaps in many cases small enough to pull that off, but they were also poor enough and persecuted enough that building a building was neither practical nor wise. Not to say that what they had was better but for them it was all about people. People loving people, people reaching people, people who need people. For us, the modern western Church, it tends to be more about buildings and programs. And the preacher. Preacher does the heavy lifting while we watch and listen. Or until we find him wanting and find ourselves a better preacher with a better program.
-But to the point, we have the foundation of this family home being built on the backs of the apostles and the prophets - their blood and sweat and tears, their lives, and their words. Most commentators tend to agree that these are New Testament prophets, by the way. But what these guys did was drive the growth and expansion of the body of Christ in the first century after He was crucified, beginning with Christ as their jumping off point and carrying on through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. They are our example, and their words - aka God’s Word delivered to us through them - is our spiritual milk and bread and meat (along with the Old Testament too, of course). And most importantly there is no other starting point than Christ. He is the Chief Cornerstone, the first and primary brick that must be laid in the heart and life of every would-be believer and assembly. It is said that the ancient traditions associated with the laying of cornerstones for buildings or temples included the offering of a sacrifice which would be buried under the cornerstone and whose blood it was believed would give strength and stability to the entire building. In this case it really is the blood of Christ which He Himself offered up that kicked off the entire enterprise to begin with. He it is Who both inaugurates and perpetuates this new household of faith, this new temple, this new way even to enter in. There is no starting without Him, no growing or continuing apart from Him. Yes, progress in the Christian life begins with Christ, and is fueled by God's Word and by being in community (i.e. doing life) with His people. How are we doing?
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