A structure is only as strong as the foundation it’s built upon—a weak or defective foundation will cause whatever is built upon it to eventually crumble and fall—the same is true with the Christian faith.

 

In Ephesians 2:20 we have an important statement on this subject—Paul tells us that the Temple of God in the New Covenant (the Church) has been built “on the foundation of the apostle and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”

 

The prophets that Paul is referring to were of course N.T. prophets because O.T. prophets knew nothing about the church. Now we need to be careful not to misinterpret what Paul is saying here—he isn’t saying that the apostles and prophets were the actual foundation of the church.

 

That would contradict other passages that clearly teach that Jesus Himself is the foundation upon which the Church has been built—

 

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

 

So then what did Paul mean when he said that the Church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets? It means that the apostles and N.T. prophets were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit and given God’s revelation for the New Testament period—the doctrine that the Church is built upon.

 

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…

 

The word ‘doctrine’ simply means teaching; this teaching is called the “apostle’s doctrine” because it was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit which means it’s God’s doctrine—His Word given to the apostles who then taught it to the Church. The apostles moved around in an itinerant ministry preaching the gospel, planting churches and teaching the saints the doctrine they received from God.

 

The prophets, unlike the apostles, remained in one place ministering to their local congregations. They also received some direct revelation from God but most of what they did was to explain and apply the doctrine the apostles had received from the Holy Spirit and passed on to the churches.

 

This doctrine was eventually written down and became the N.T. Scriptures. Now once the foundation of a building has been laid—that’s it. The workers don’t keep laying it—their work is done and they are no longer needed.

 

The apostles and prophets were used to lay the foundation of Church doctrine—and when the completed cannon of N.T. Scripture was done being given—the offices of apostles and prophets passed off the scene.

 

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.

 

In Paul’s analogy of the Church being the Temple of God built on the revelation that God gave to the apostles and prophets—he quickly adds that Jesus Himself is the Chief Cornerstone. 

 

The cornerstone was the major structural part of ancient buildings. It had to be strong enough to support what was built on it, and it had to be precisely laid because every other part of the structure was lined up with it. If the cornerstone was weak or defective the entire structure would be in danger of collapsing—and if it was crooked every other part of the building would be off kilter and out of alignment.

 

We know that Jesus is strong enough for the Church to be built upon—He is God! We even sing, 

Furthermore we never need to worry about Jesus Christ, as the Chief Cornerstone, being off—as God incarnate He is always faithful and true.

 

As long as the Church is correctly aligned with Jesus and His Word—it will always be what God intended it to be—glorious and victorious! Satan knows this only too well and he knows the quickest way to destroy the local church is to destroy the foundation upon which it’s built.

 

If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

 

The foundations of God’s Word (the foundational principles upon which it stands) are inspiration, inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency.

 

 

In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul said that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. “Inspiration” is a translation of the Greek word theopneustos. Theopneustos literally means “God-breathed.”  The idea is that God breathed “life” into the Scriptures. It reminds us of how God breathed life into the first man He created—

 

 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

 

And again the idea is that God breathed life into the Scriptures that same way He breathed life into Adam—even as the book of Hebrews declares, “The Word of God is living and powerful…” (Heb.4:12)

 

Just as Adam was a direct creation of God whom He breathed life into—so too are the Scriptures—which were written down by human instruments but inspired by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

 

*And that would also include as they wrote down what God wanted to say through them as well. As the Holy Spirit moved each writer of the Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) the writers didn’t just take ‘dictation’—

 

The Holy Spirit allowed each writer’s personality and style to come through each book but made sure that the final product was absolutely error free in the original manuscripts. And that brings us to the second foundational principle of the Word of God—the inerrancy of Scripture.

 

 

Inerrancy simply means that the Scriptures are error free in their original autographs. Inerrancy contends that the Bible does not have any errors of fact or any statements that contradict. All apparent contradictions in Scripture are just that—“apparent” and not actual.

 

 

Many Christians use the terms ‘inerrancy’ and ‘infallibility’ interchangeably even though they are technically different—‘infallible’ being the stronger of the two terms.

 

 

Inerrancy means “without error” while infallibility means “incapable of error.”

 

The 

 of the Christian church is that the Bible is both inerrant and infallible—it is without error (inerrant) because it is impossible for it to have errors (infallible). That logically flows from the idea that “all Scripture is God-breathed”.

 

If all Scripture has been given by God, and God is perfect and incapable of error—then it only stands to reason that the Scriptures are absolutely true, error free and perfect as God Himself is perfect.

 

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 

 

The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

 

The law of the LORD isperfect, converting the soul;

 

And that then brings us to the fourth foundational principle the Word of God is built upon—the sufficiency of the Scriptures.

 

 

Sufficiency simply means that everything we need in the way of truth to live our Christian lives is contained in God’s Word—it doesn’t need to be supplemented with any other source of knowledge or information. When it comes to an instruction manual for Christian living—the Bible is complete—it is sufficient.

 

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

 

“Perfect” is the translation of a Hebrew word meaning, “whole, complete or sufficient. It conveys the idea of something that is comprehensive, so as to cover all aspects of an issue.

 

Commentator Albert Barnes wrote:

“The meaning [of “perfect”] is that [Scripture] lacks nothing [for] its completeness; nothing in order that it might be what it should be. It is complete as a revelation of Divine truth; it is complete as a rule of conduct. . . . It is absolutely true; it is adapted with consummate wisdom to the [needs] of man; it is an unerring guide of conduct. There is nothing there which would lead men into error.”

(to be continued in Part Two)