The Central Vision of the Bible: God’s Building
Orientation
Many believers mistakenly view the Christian life as an individualistic pursuit of holiness, which leads to legalism and misses God's central purpose.
- The Bible's central theme is not personal spiritual achievement but God's corporate building.
- Sanctification divorced from fellowship with other believers reduces to self-effort and law.
- God's eternal purpose is to unite believers together in Christ as a spiritual dwelling.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22)
— Ephesians 2:20-22
Clarification
Sanctification is not a private project but the corporate transformation of believers as living stones built together in Christ.
- Christ is the cornerstone and true temple; believers are living stones joined to Him and to one another.
- Ministry is not a professional role but the shared life of Christ that builds up the entire body.
- Old Testament types like the Garden, Tabernacle, and Temple all point to this spiritual building reality.
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)
— 1 Peter 2:5
Structure
God's building work progresses from Old Testament foreshadowings to its fulfillment in Christ and the Church, culminating in the New Jerusalem.
- God's purpose was foreshadowed in Eden, Abraham's city, Jacob's Bethel, Moses' tabernacle, and David's zeal.
- Christ, as the cornerstone and true temple, transfers the building motif into a New Testament spiritual reality.
- Believers, as living stones, are built together now, with their works tested by fire, awaiting the consummation in the New Jerusalem.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11)
— 1 Corinthians 3:11
Weight-Bearing Prose
The central argument of Scripture is God’s building of a spiritual edifice to fulfill His eternal purpose of uniting God and man in Christ. This is not a secondary metaphor but the governing vision. Old Testament history—the Garden, the Patriarchs, the Tabernacle, the Temple—serves as typological preparation, its patterns finding their ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Christ is the cornerstone and the true temple; in Him, the building motif becomes a New Testament spiritual reality. Believers are not saved to solitary piety but are constituted ‘living stones’ for corporate formation into God’s habitation. Consequently, sanctification is reframed: it is the experience of our union with Christ within the corporate context of the body. It occurs as we enjoy Christ together, being built up in love (Ephesians 4:16). Ministry, therefore, is not a clerical function but the expression of the living Christ among fellow heirs, equipping saints for the work of building. To divorce sanctification from this fellowship is to reduce it to legalism, a fleshly pursuit opposed to grace. The materials of this building—our service—are tested by fire at the Bema to prove what is eternal, but the believer’s standing as a stone in God’s house is secure. The hope that motivates is the New Jerusalem, the glorious consummation where God dwells perfectly with His built-together people.
Integration
Your place in God’s building is secure because Christ is the cornerstone. You are a living stone, joined to Him and to other believers. This is not a status you earn or a level you attain; it is your position in Christ. The pressure to ‘sanctify yourself’ through isolated effort is removed. Transformation happens as you enjoy Christ within the fellowship of His body. Your reasonable service is simply to present yourself, alive from the dead, right where God has placed you in the building. The testing of works is about proving the eternal quality of Christ’s life in us, not about evaluating our personal worth. Rest in this: God is building His house. You are in it. Christ is both the foundation and the goal. The hope of the New Jerusalem—God dwelling with us—is the assured end of His faithful work. Your assurance and your peace are found here, in His corporate, building purpose, fulfilled in Christ.