in whom the whole building.
In whom? In Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone. Christ is our Chief Cornerstone upon Whom our Christian faith must be anchored. He is the Word. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God and must remain the foundation upon which our faith is built on. ( see 2 Tim 2:15, etc.). Let us study to show ourselves approved unto God, as workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. For we know that God’s Word is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Let us remember that all Scripture is breathed out by God and must remain the foundation upon which our Christian faith is rooted and grounded: “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone.”
Isa 28:16 which reads: 16 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed. 17 I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level;
The cornerstone was the first stone laid, just like Christ is the first-fruits of all who are resurrected from the dead. It is that stone by which every other stone in the foundation and the superstructure must be measured. So, the building of the New Creation in each one of us, joined together as One Body the Church must be in conformity with the cornerstone, Christ Jesus. He is the one by which all things are measured.
He chose us to be part of this building who’s cornerstone is Christ. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:3-5). And that means that we are measured by Him, and must walk as He walked. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the world.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58). We are being constructed into a whole building that is in alignment and conformity with Jesus, our Cornerstone, We are being joined together, or fitted together for the purpose of the design which God wants to accomplish.
into a holy temple in the Lord,
Two common words are used for temple: The word hieron refers to the whole sacred area of the Jewish temple, including the three courts: the court of the Gentiles, the court of women (Jewish), and the court of Israel (men). Within this last court was the court of priests and inside the court of priests was the sacred building called naos, which refers to the holy place, which included the holy of holies—and this is the term for temple that is used here. Paul is trying to tell us that it’s not just the outer building that he is talking about—it is the most inward part of us, our spirit that is God’s holy place within us, and communes with us in spirit and truth, just as we worship Him in spirit and truth. The deepest part of us are holy to the lord, sanctified, consecrated and set aside for God’s use. And, as we allow God to sanctify us, then He is building us, growing us into a living holy temple, a place set aside for God. And, of course, as Christ’s bride, we are together a temple to the Lord in Christ.
in whom you also are being built together.
In Christ we believing Jews and Gentiles are being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets together. In this way Jews and Gentiles are brought together in Christ as individual pieces of this structure and are being formed as one new building on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The emphasis is on unity. We see this again in 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, where Paul emphasizes this true nature of the Church, the body of Christ when he asked, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are”
We are the temple of God means that we—Christians, believers in Jesus Christ—who are joined together in one family as “the church” are a holy dwelling place for God’s presence.
The “you” here is plural. “you all” is the “you” that’s meant here “y’all’s body is one temple of the Holy Spirit.” This has immense implications for us. When Paul says “You are the temple of God,” he was referring to the believers as a group—the local church. From the beginning, God has desired to live among, walk with, abide with and commune with His people. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam in Eve in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). When He made His covenant with Israel, the Lord promised, “I will put my dwelling place among you. . . . I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Leviticus 26:11–12).
In the New Testament, God’s presence was manifested in a new way: in the person of Jesus Christ—the Logos, who is the living, incarnate, eternal Word of God (John 1:1–4, 14–18). The Logos took on human flesh and made His home among us. Through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, God lived among His people. His name is Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21–23).
Jesus Christ became the new earthly temple of God (John 2:21). “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body,” says Colossians 2:9 (NLT; see also Colossians 1:19). The complete image of the invisible God is revealed in Jesus our Savior (Colossians 1:15). Yet Christ is only the initial installment of God’s indwelling presence.
a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Dwelling place has the idea of a deep or settled dwelling place, firmly rooted. . A Holy Temple, not made with hands, it is a living temple in which God is pleased to dwell.
In the Spirit
The holy temple is God’s dwelling place “in the Spirit” (RV, ASV, RSV, NASB, JB, NJB. It describes the manner of God’s dwelling in this holy temple–in the Spirit. As in other passages in Ephesians we see the Trinity in operation. It is God the Father, the subject of the passage, who is creating this new person into a holy temple. Christ through his work of reconciliation is the cornerstone of this new temple of which the apostles and prophets are the foundation stones. It is a living and dynamic structure that continues to grow by God’s gracious power. The Holy Spirit is the manner by which God dwells in this new structure he is creating. Although the Holy Spirit resides in each individual believer, he resides also in the corporate body of believers called the holy temple, the Church.