Are You Suitable To Be A Piece Of The Lord’s Building?

April 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Are You Suitable To Be A Piece Of The Lord’s Building?

Good construction contractors will only use quality materials. They often have their preferred brands and suppliers. People who build high quality structures tend to want very good materials and will often search for the best items from the most reputable companies, sometimes across the globe. In Scripture we read about the careful selection of building materials, such as for Solomon’s temple. The stones were carefully prepared offsite. Wood was obtained from another country. Gold and other materials were collected over many years for use in this particular building. The work, too, was done under the direction of skilled craftsmen (consider 1 Ki. 5–6; 1 Chr. 29). It was a house for God, and all that was connected to it was to represent Him in some way.

This month’s Feature articles focus on the Lord building His Church – a spiritual structure composed of believers. Like the temple of old, one might think that the materials to be used in this spiritual building would have to be of topmost character – and that person would be right! The people who make up “the church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15) are only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. From the moment of believing, by the grace of God, each saved individual has the acceptable quality for being part of His house, for they stand before Him in the perfections of Christ (1 Pet. 2:4-5).

The thing is, not one single Christian is suitable for His building before they are saved. In those days, we were like a badly stained rock or a warped piece of wood. We all were rotten on the inside no matter how good we thought we appeared. But God, in His great mercy, saved us and made us fit in our standing before Him to be part of His house (Eph. 2:4-5). We may wonder how that can be when we see our failures in the mirror of Scripture, but we know it is true because God has said it!

Have you put your trust in the Lord? Some people think they are too bad for God to accept them. Others do not perceive the blessings of being part of something the Lord is making. Truly, the Lord has already dealt with sin for those who will put their trust in Him, and He has prepared the way of blessing for all who come to Him by faith. Accept Him today! We can tell you how.

By Paul Alberts