Church under Construction

Arno's Answer:

Ephesians 4:11 says, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”  Ephesians 2:20 reads, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”  Note, for the foundation, no evangelists, pastors, or teachers are needed.  We the Church continue to build upon the existing foundation established in Jerusalem by the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Christ Himself, the Chief Cornerstone.  For about 2,000 years, the Church has been built (see Ephesians 2:20-21).  The Apostle Peter also speaks of this construction: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). The building of the Church will continue until the last “lively stone” is added; that will be the completion. No one knows when it will happen.

During the building process, each individual Christian is responsible.  Note the words in 1 Corinthians 3: 9-15, “laborers, building, masterbuilder, foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.” What we use is decisive; it will either earn reward or “suffer loss.”  This has no relationship to salvation.