God's Greatest Building Project

“While understanding the church as a building emphasizes its importance as the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit, the image of a body highlights the unity of its members through the Spirit.”

When Nehemiah and the returned exiles rebuilt the walls and gates of Jerusalem, they did their work with wood, stone, and metal. God’s greatest construction project is the church, and it is not made of wood, brick, or mortar but of people. According to 1 Peter 2:4–5, Jesus is the church’s cornerstone, and all those who are in Christ, “like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.”

The Greek term for “house” can also be rendered household or family, but the imagery of stones and a building indicates that the metaphor the author had in mind was a temple. The church is God’s household or family (Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15). But the church is also God’s dwelling place by the Spirit and serves as His temple (Eph. 2:22). As a temple, the church is a spiritual structure securely established on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).

The Bible also uses an organic image to help us understand the church’s nature. The church is the body of Christ, made up of many members (Eph. 4:25; 5:30). While understanding the church as a building emphasizes its importance as the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit, the image of a body highlights the unity of its members through the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the church’s foundation. He is also its head. Ephesians 4:16 explains, “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Just as every part of the human body has a distinct function, every member of the body of Christ has its place. God uses the members to build up the church, equipped for this task by those Christ has given to the church to instruct it (Eph. 4:11–12). We are not only the product of God’s work, we also participate in it. While Christ builds the church (Matt. 16:18), the members bear witness to Christ and speak the truth to one another in love (Eph. 4:15). When it is fully grown, the church will reflect “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

For Further Study

To learn more, read Church by A. W. Tozer (Moody Publishers).