What Is the Church?Sample

The Building of Christ

The word cornerstone is one that is tossed around in many Christian circles. It’s a masonry term that refers to the first stone that is set in a foundation when building a structure. All the other stones are set in reference to the cornerstone, and it determines the position of the entire building.  

Jesus is our cornerstone. He is the foundation of our faith and everything that we do should be set in reference to him. In Matthew 16, Jesus tells Peter (whose name means rock), “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). That’s a powerful statement! In 1 Peter we are told that we are living stones “being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood…” (1 Peter 2:5a). This is an odd metaphor, but it means that we are each a living, breathing part of the Church that God has brought together to share his love.  

Not only that, but also when we accept Christ as our Savior, the power of the Holy Spirit lives within us (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Our bodies become a temple—a dwelling place for God! This should change the way we see ourselves. Later in 1 Corinthians, we learn that we are to honor our bodies so that God may work in and through us (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). When something belongs to someone else, we often put extra effort into taking care of it. Our bodies are not just our own—they belong to God. For our sake and God’s, we should take care of our bodies and treat them according to the value they have. 

So what does this look like? We need to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. We should strive to be physically healthy by making sure our bodies are nourished and active. We can be mentally healthy by allowing ourselves to learn, read, process, and talk with others. We can become spiritually healthy by reading our Bibles, going to church, praying, making friends who hold us accountable to our goals, and finding mentors who can guide us through the questions we have in life. All of these things contribute to a solid foundation, so our lives can be built firmly on Jesus. 

What’s the oldest building you know of? How do you think it’s still standing? 

What cornerstone are you building your life around? 

How can you take care of your body to honor God?