EPHESIANS: A Firm Foundation

EPHESIANS Number 30:

So, we have been adopted into the family of God. We have become His beloved children. We are His heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Christ in us is our hope of glory. This is not a worldly wishful hope. It is our earnest expectation, and it is an anchor for our souls.

Now let’s look at the foundation holding that anchor.

Ephesians 2:20 (KJV) “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

It is tremendously important that we not gloss over this verse because it helps us to correctly understand another passage. We will see more clearly in the next verse, but let’s pause here for a moment to address a passage that has cause great misunderstanding for many.

Matthew 16:15-18 (KJV) reads, “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

A very large and powerful religious institution has built its hierarchical model of governance on the idea that what Jesus said here was that His Church would be built on the Apostle Peter. From this theory, they have constructed a line of succession supposed to have come by divine choice from Peter to their present-day leader. A man they call the vicar of Christ or the Pope.

However, the text here scarcely allows this. Two Greek words are in play here. The first petros, a masculine noun, is translated “Peter.” The second petra, a feminine noun, is translated “rock.” While it is true that the Greek words petros and petra can both refer to rock, the word petros is never used in the New Testament for anything but the name of the Apostle. Petra however, is another matter. This word means stone, and it is always translated as such. In fact, it generally refers to bedrock, or a massive rock formation.

So, while it isn’t a bad idea to refer to Simon Peter the Apostle as Simon Rock. It is a very bad idea to take from this passage that the Apostle Peter is the foundation Rock upon which the Church is built. That honor and distinction is reserved, as Ephesians 2:20 made clear, for the chief cornerstone. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

But the Ephesians verse also says that the household of God is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. A number of New Testament verses agree. Paul speaking in 1 Corinthians 3:9-10 (KJV) tells says, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. (Because we are the Church) According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

So, Paul laid a foundation of doctrine, or teaching upon which he realized others would build. That ongoing construction project continues to this day. Galatians 2:9 (KJV) referring to James, Peter, and John, says that they “seemed to be pillars.” Finally, Revelation 21:14 (KJV) tells us that “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

From this it is quite clear that the Church rests on the teaching of the twelve Apostles. It certainly isn’t just Peter, but there is a bit more to this rock-solid foundation upon which our hope is anchored. Psalm 118:22 (KJV) calls our attention to “the stone which the builders refused” saying that this Stone “is become the head stone of the corner.”

It is to this Stone the prophet Isaiah points us in Isaiah 28:16 (KJV) where he said, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (or will not be stricken with panic or disturbed).

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords is the foundation upon which our hope rests. He holds our anchor, and He cannot fail.