Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

2:19 So then. Christians have to know and be thoroughly convinced of who they are as saints and members of the household of God if they are to live accordingly. strangers. As in v. 12 ("commonwealth"), Paul employs a term that was common to political life in ancient cities like Ephesus. Strangers (also v. 12) were complete foreigners with no rights or privileges (see Acts 16:20-23); aliens were non-citizens who dwelt in the city and were accorded customary privileges as neighbors. Only citizens had full protections and rights in the city (see Acts 21:39).

2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. There are several views about the apostles and prophets referred to here: (1) Some think that they were "foundational" because they proclaimed the very words of God, and some of their words became the books of the NT. Since a "foundation" is laid only once (i.e., at the beginning of the church) there are no more apostles or prophets today, but their function of speaking the words of God has been replaced by the written Bible, which is the foundation today. (2) Others argue that these "prophets" are very closely tied to apostles in the phrase "the apostles and prophets," and that these prophets do not represent all who had a gift of prophecy in the early church (see note on 1 Cor. 12:10); they were a small group closely associated with the apostles (or else identical to the apostles) to whom God had revealed the mystery of the Gentile inclusion in the church (see Eph. 3:5, where the same phrase, "the apostles and prophets," occurs). In this case ordinary Christians who had the gift of prophecy in Ephesus (4:11) and other churches (cf. Acts 11:27; 19:6; 21:9-10; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Thess. 5:19-21; 1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14) were not part of the "foundation" but were part of the rest of the building that was being built (that is, the church) and would continue so throughout the church age. (3) Finally, some think the "prophets" here could be the OT prophets, though the same words in Eph. 3:5 point to prophets of the NT era. cornerstone. The critical stone in the corner of the foundation that ensures that a stone building is square and stable.

2:21 joined together. Christians are the temple of God corporately; belonging to the visible church is not optional for followers of Christ. holy temple. Where God meets with his people in joyful worship and fellowship. Believers do not have to worship in Jerusalem today because they themselves have become the new temple of God (see John 4:21).