It has been almost two years since massive construction began right in front of our apartment building, the BTO flats for the Bukit Merah Ridge precinct. Amidst all the noise and dust, I sometimes would stare in wonder at how fast a block of high-rise flat is erected. As I looked at the various individual pre-fabricated pieces transported by trailers into the site, hoisted up via cranes and precisely fitted together to make up a wall, a room, then a unit, and soon a whole level, I suspect buildings of old, and indeed during biblical times, were not too different in how they were built. Yes, construction technology has advanced, and we have better materials, more precise moulds and cut-outs, and greater efficiency in putting all these together, yet the method has not changed.
The apostle Paul loved to use the analogy of the building construction to illustrate how a church of our Lord Jesus Christ should be established. The church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:20-22). He goes on to say “the whole fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 4:16). The apostle Peter reminds us that “ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” with Christ the “living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious” (1 Pet 2:4-5).
The Foundation
Piling and drilling began in earnest after the plot of land was levelled to ensure the tall structures are firmly anchored to the ground, establishing a firm foundation. The church too is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. These are men chosen of God to reveal His Word. The church must be deeply rooted in His Word or risk division and collapse with the onslaught of false teachings and worldly philosophies that seek to draw us away from the truth.
Brethren, what is your estimation of the Word of God today? How have you grown in the depth of God’s Word in the past year? Or is there a general disinterest having heard the Gospel countless times and the Confession all too familiar to our spiritual consciousness that we dismiss the pursuit of the truth with the “I’ve known it all” attitude. Familiarity breeds contempt. Are you too familiar with Jesus… “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? … A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house, and he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Mt 13:55-58). Yes, this breeds contempt and unbelief. Brethren, may you cease not to avail yourselves to the preaching, teaching and reading of God’s Word. Feed upon Christ the heavenly manna, be nourished and strengthened by the Word. Our Lord likened those that hear the Word and do them to a house built upon a rock and not shifting sand (Mt 7:24-27).
The Chief Corner Stone
Christ is the chief corner stone. Again, this is all too familiar a phrase we would say without much hesitation or careful pondering. Consider who Christ is in each of these words.
He is the stone because He is one of us. He is God that took on the form of a servant and fashioned as a man (Phi 2:7-8) to be one of us as the Immanuel. Peter referred to Him as the living stone, chosen of God and precious, yet humbled and rejected by men, the stone which the builders disallowed (1 Pet 2:7). Take time, brethren, to meditate and wonder upon Christ as the God-Man.
He is the corner stone, the Alpha and beginning of the Church. The corner stone of old is the very first piece to be laid and served as the reference point for the entire structure’s layout and alignment. May we not lose our bearing; may we be firmly oriented upon Christ. As we chart the course of our church in the coming year, is our desire for growth directed at Christ’s kingdom?
He is the chief corner stone, foremost in our hearts and mind, that in all things He might have the preeminence (Col 1:18). Christ must be front and centre, our all in all, in our planning and deliberations, in our decisions, in our actions and in our destination. We must never lose sight of Him, His sufficiency and glory.
The Lively Stones
We are stones or building blocks, each having a place in the church of Christ, stones that have rough edges and joints that need to be smoothen out, shaped and conformed to Christ, so that we may be lovingly put together. We are, as Paul aptly described, fitly framed or joined together and compacted indicating a sense of togetherness and interdependence. The Psalmist in Psalm 122:3 alluded to this where Jerusalem is described as a city built and compact together. With Christ as the corner stone, we are reminded that we are united to Christ and with one another. Our lives are intertwined and bonded in His love.
In Colossians 4:16, there is a sense whereby everyone is equipped, having a part to play, working together and resulting in the building up and increase of the whole. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:5 that we are lively stones with Christ the living stone. We are not dead but alive in Christ, build up to be a spiritual house. As lively stones, some would form the exterior walls that shield and defend against external elements, some would constitute internal structures that provide support and stability, some would have openings that allow the warmth of sunshine but block the cold of the rain, some would form the floors and ceilings that bear up loads and provide covers. What role are you playing in God’s spiritual house?
A Spiritual House
Looking out of the window, the opposite high-rise block has reached twenty-nine storeys high and is increasing in physical stature by the week, the builders tirelessly putting the pieces of concrete blocks together. And so is our church, as members mature and new ones added to the covenant body, it is our prayer that our church may grow in spiritual stature slowly but surely, day by day, little by little. Members as lively stones form the spiritual house, active in the covenant life; everyone seeking to be a blessing to another, “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Heb 10:24-25).
May our church bear the attributes of the spiritual house in the apostles’ illustration, where members feel a sense of belonging dwelling in unity and interconnected lives, where we find ourselves in the company of believers relating, encouraging and holding one another accountable. As a covenant community, are we members fitly joined together, a spiritual compact in union with Christ? Or are we, to borrow the words of Sherry Turkle, alone together. While we might be together, we would rather be left alone. All things being equal, do we prefer to Zoom online rather than gather in person, text rather than talk, communicate rather than converse?
Next year this time, the high-rise block would have been completed standing tall at a height of forty-six storeys! Our church on the other hand is very much a “work in progress,” but we are confident “that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phi 1:6). In the meanwhile, next year this time, would we love Christ a little deeper, and our bond of love for each other a little stronger?
— Elder Peng Hui