In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus taught that His words constitute the safe and secure foundation upon which we ought to build. To neglect to do this is to build on dangerously shaky ground and be eligible for a great fall (Matthew 7:26-27). Jesus iterated this same truth when He rose from the dead and ushered in the new covenant: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you….’”(Matthew 28:18-20). In the words of Jesus, the very things He commanded His disciples during His earthly ministry were the very things they were to teach in the New Covenant to build His church, not just to make individual converts but disciples of all nations. This Great Commission is a fundamental and indispensable purpose of the New Testament Church and disproves the erroneous notion that the words and teachings of Jesus are primarily Old Testament and largely irrelevant for the New Testament Church. This also debunks the modern day view that only the epistles are written to and relevant for the church. Otherwise, Jesus’ command to make not just convert but disciples with what He taught during His earthly ministry will be a lie. However, where we find man’s view contradicting God’s, the Scriptures say “Let God be true, and every human being a liar” (Romans 3:4). Moreover, as we shall see below, the whole weight of Scripture, including the words of the apostles, reject this error of making the epistles the ultimate reference point for the church instead of Jesus and His teachings. Jesus indeed lived under the Law before His death and honored the requirements of the Law (e.g., Matthew 8:4, Luke 22:8). Yet, He taught on the new covenant He was bringing, modeled it for us, and gave us the commission to use that to build His church (Matthew 28:18-20, John 13:15, John 14:12, John 15:15, Hebrews 12:2-3).
When the apostles began their ministry, they did not go about contradicting Jesus. Rather, they preached Jesus Christ: “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42, KJV). Paul, who later became an apostle also testified of the same truth: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 4:5, KJV)”. We also read in Ephesians 2:19-20 that “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone”. The cornerstone represents “the basic or fundamental part on which everything depends”i. Traditionally, the cornerstone represents the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference to it. Thus, the cornerstone orients the building in a specific direction and determines its position or locationii. It is also the most important part of ancient construction, which if removed would collapse the whole structureiii. Even so, the depiction of Jesus as the cornerstone affirm that Jesus is the reference point to which all the writings and foundations provided by the apostles and prophets in Scripture must align in order to properly understand and apply them. Therefore, without properly understanding the words and teachings of Jesus, and the revelation He gives of Himself, we would fail to properly understand and apply the epistles (and the entire Scriptures) since they are founded on and moored to Jesus and His teachings (1 Corinthians 3:11, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 5:2, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Hebrews 1:2, Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1).
Even the Old Testament testifies about Christ (see Hebrews 10:1, Col 2: 16-17) and from it, Jesus preached about Himself: “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in ALL the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Until we go back to the basics; to Jesus and His teachings, which have been given us for our ultimate foundation and reference point, we would end up misinterpreting and misapplying both the Old and New Testaments, and consequently lead many astray. Some of the errors that are prevalent in the church today, such as the hyper-grace message, can be traced from the neglect of the words of Jesus’, and the attempt to dissociate the words and teachings of Jesus from what the apostles taught. This is an error, which must be corrected.
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
January 6, 2023
Footnotes:
i. Macmillan Dictionary. https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/cornerstone. Accessed December 24, 2022.
ii. NewStudio Architecture. Architectural Cornerstones: The Meaning, History, and Intent. https://www.newstudioarchitecture.com/newstudio-blog/architectural-cornerstones. Accessed December 24, 2022.
iii. Back to the Bible. Building on the Cornerstone. https://www.backtothebible.org/post/building-on-the-cornerstone. Accessed December 24, 2022.
A Very Important Message
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, for the Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be discipled to grow in the ways of God. You can also email me ([email protected]) and I will be happy to grow together with you in Christ.