In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph 2:22).
Every building has a purpose. Architects design some structures to be high rise office towers. Some are hotels. Some are hospitals. Some are stadiums. Some are homes. As Jesus rolls out His divine blueprints, we see that He has a VERY specific purpose for His majestic construction project. "In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (v22). Christ is handcrafting His house of God.
Let's back up just a second and take a look at this verse from 10,000 feet. Just as Jesus has a specific purpose for His building, Paul has a purpose for his letter. There are destructive heresies that are damaging God's church around the Mediterranean rim. Galatia. Colossae. Hierapolis. Laodicea. Spiritual con men have duped Jesus' followers into believing a counterfeit gospel that's actually no Gospel at all. The common lie running through all of these false teachings says that we need more than Jesus to be saved. The only way we can really be sure we're in is by following a meticulous list of religious rules, diet and holidays. In other words, we have to finish the job ourselves.
From a cold dark dungeon in Rome, the apostle does what he can to head this heresy off at the pass. He's already written letters to the folks in Galatia, Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis trying to get them back on track. Now he dips his pen in ink and writes this letter to his friends in Ephesus. The false teaching is just 100 miles down the road in Colossae. He knows that he can inoculate believers there by reminding them who Jesus is, what He's done and who they are in Him. He tells us to sit back and let the Tsunami of Blessings wash over them (Eph 1:3-14). He reminds us that we were the original Walking Dead before God "made us alive together in Christ" (Eph 2:1-5). Dead people aren't very good at becoming alive. Only God does that. And if there's any doubt of what role we play in our salvation, Paul makes that perfectly clear. "This is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8-9). It's not about you. It's about Jesus. Got it? Got it.
Paul begins this verse by once again letting us know that this entire construction project is "in Him" (v22). He uses this or some variation of "in Christ" 28 times in this letter to Ephesus. This is a two-word reminder of just what we bring to the table. Nothing. It's all Jesus. Our salvation is "in Him." We don't do one cotton pickin' thing to save ourselves. We place our trust in what Jesus has done for us. He lived the perfect life that we failed to live. He died the brutal death for sin that we should have died. He rose to a brand spankin' new life that we don't deserve. He does for us what we could never do for ourselves in a million years. That's the power that's packed in those two little words "in Him" (v22).
The divine blueprints tell us that the cornerstone of God's temple is Jesus Himself (Eph 2:20). The foundation is God's teaching revealed through His prophets and apostles (Eph 2:20). Christ is custom building with some very special materials: both Jews and Gentiles that He's mixed together (Eph 2:18-19). And now He reveals the purpose of this project. This is "a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (v22).
According to Paul, we're "being built together" (v22). That's the Greek verb sunoikodomeo. It means to construct out of several things to build up the whole, or to build in with other materials. This is VERY similar to what Paul says just a couple of verses back, that believers are "built (Gr. epioikodomeo) on the foundation of the prophets and apostles" (Eph 2:20). This lets us know a couple of important points. Jesus is the Builder. He's the Carpenter. This is HIS church. He told His boys that He'll handle this job from start to finish. "I will build My church" (Mt 16:18). And the apostle reassures us that Christ started it and will completed it (Phil 1:6). It's not my church. It's not your church. It's Jesus' church.
The second important point is that there are no Lone Rangers in the family of God. We're in this together. We're being built together. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is a perfect example. Other than his notes of personal instruction to Phil, Tim and Titus, all of his letters are written to churches. Romans. Corinthians. Thessalonians. Galatians. Philippians. Colossians. God puts us together because we need each other. We're not complete apart from each other. They need you. You need them. We're being "built together" (v22).
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