Study

The ABCs of Church

Ben Stuart
5 Days
Introduction
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

The Assembly of Jesus - pt.2

Day 2

Stay on track with Passion Equip

Create a profile or sign in to track your progress and access your bookmarked content.

Yesterday we learned that we, The Church, are the Assembly of Jesus. We were built and bought for and by Jesus, and we belong to Him and Him alone. Today, lean in as we learn what it means for Jesus to be the cornerstone of the church, just as Paul describes in his letter to the Ephesians: 

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Summary

As you look through the Scriptures, there are three dominant metaphors used to describe the Church in relation to Jesus:

  • The Church is His building. 

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Jesus Christ is building His church, starting with Himself as the cornerstone, the most important and first-placed piece. Then followed the Apostles and the prophets. Now each of us is being placed intentionally and specifically as a brick in the Holy temple of the Lord. You are not accidental today. You are a stone in the amazing construction of the church Jesus is building. 

  • The Church is His Body

23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:23-24

Look at this beautiful illustration. Here Paul wants us to think about the Church as the body, and Jesus as the head. Where the head leads, the body follows. The head provides direction, vision, nourishment, and energy. Jesus cares for the Church, desiring to give us the things we need to flourish and to lead us to the places he wants us to go. He is the head of the Church, and we are His body. 

  • The Church is His Bride

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. 

Ephesians 5:23-30

Jesus loves His church the way a husband loves his wife. What a stunning relationship and life-changing thought. This isn’t a relationship that you can compare to the marriages around you; this is the perfect embodiment of sacrificial love. Jesus isn’t waiting for you to be perfect (Romans 5:8 says that He died for us ‘while we were yet sinners’) or for you to get your act together and earn your way to God, the truth is there is no amount of work that could have earned you that right. This is why Jesus chose to go to the Cross, to purchase for you the beauty and radiance you could have never earned no matter how hard you tried. Jesus paid with his blood so that we, his body and bride, could be presented to God without wrinkle or blemish. Thanks be to God!

Remember what Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians: 

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:16-20

The one who created everything wants a relationship with you, and wants to elevate you to what you were always meant to be. 

We are His building, His body, His bride, and we belong to Him, the Assembly of Jesus. 

What's Next?

Consider the verses in Ephesians again. Have you ever thought of yourself as being intentionally built by Jesus? As being led by Jesus? As being loved by Jesus? Maybe this is the first time you are hearing these truths, or maybe you’ve been in church your whole life and have grown numb to them. Today, write these three statements where you can see them, a note on your desk, or your phone background, and reflect on them often.

I am being built by Jesus.

I am being led by Jesus.

I am loved by Jesus.

  1. What would change if you lived with these declarations in mind?

Scripture References

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15
“But what about you?”
he asked.
“Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
18
And I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
will not overcome it.
19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven.”
20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—
30for we are members of his body.
16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—
5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him

will never be put to shame.”

31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
17Jesus replied,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
18
And I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
will not overcome it.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.