Last week we ended by thinking about believers being the “living stones” Jesus is using to build His Church. Ephesians 2:21 states that the whole structure is “being joined together.”
Buildings are not built out of disconnected or isolated stones. Bricks must be joined together. People who have become living stones must join themselves with other living stones in order for the Church to grow and be all that God intends it to be.
From the Bible’s perspective, “Lone Ranger” Christians are an anomaly. God’s blueprint calls for church members to be in fellowship with one another. Inactive members separated from this fellowship are a disappointment.
The analogy of the Church as a building certainly goes beyond the reality of a physical structure. Ephesians 2:22 explains that the whole structure, “being joined together, grows into a holy temple.”
Physical buildings grow by building new foundations and superstructures onto the existing property. The Church cannot grow in this fashion, in light of 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” So how does the Church grow? It grows only as local congregations grow.
Numerical growth
Most immediately we think of a local church growing by adding more layers of stone upon the foundation. We describe this as growth through evangelism. New Christians joining the church causes numerical growth. Numerical growth ideally means potential for wider ministries and greater impact on the world.
But there is another kind of growth that must not be neglected. The church grows spiritually as each member is growing spiritually. Bricks in a building do not change their size as time goes by, but living stones in God’s building can grow. Miniature bricks do not make for strong buildings. Strong and growing members make for strong churches.
Thus the image of the Church as God’s building suggests the ongoing and simultaneous challenge of giving attention to evangelism and Christian nurture. Churches must be intentional about adding new believers and while giving serious attention to helping all members continue to grow in Christ.
Joined together
A word of caution is in order. Mention was made at the outset of this session that the living stones of God’s Church must be joined together. Spiritual growth happens best when “togetherness” describes the church’s membership. When members are argumentative or divided, spiritual growth is hampered or even absent.
A physical building with cracks in its walls or walls that are shifting off the foundation is likely to be condemned as an unsafe place. Fractured churches or churches with alternative foundation, having moved away from the centrality of Christ, put themselves at risk for divine condemnation. In such an atmosphere Christian growth cannot realistically happen.
Since a local church is the visible expression of the Church as God’s building, the total building is only as strong and viable as its component churches. The component churches are only as strong and viable as its genuine fellowship and unity. Divided churches are stymied, but harmonious churches can grow into “a holy temple in the Lord” and “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21–22).
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