By Ivan Ho
Meaning and Interpretation
Now, therefore, you are no longer stranger and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22 NKJV
The meaning and interpretation of the dream is based on Ephesians 2:19-22 which speaks about the building of the body of Christ, with all the saints being fitted together and built together as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Every member of the body of Christ is an integral part of that spiritual building and we must be built upon the chief corner stone of Jesus Christ who made the apostles and prophets the foundation.
1. Christ the chief cornerstone
Jesus laid the first and most important stone of the building, the chief cornerstone. Everything that God builds on earth is based on what Christ has already done. If what is built is not based on Jesus the Word of God, it is not of God. Jesus Christ is the head of the body of Christ known as the church.
2. The foundation of the apostles and prophets
Notice that apostles and prophets described in Ephesians 2 are plural so that no single apostle or prophet can claim to be the foundational figure of the building. All the apostles and prophets that Christ appointed are part of the building foundation. They are the white stones in the dream which speaks of purity. The doctrines of the apostles and prophets must be pure and founded upon Jesus Christ the chief cornerstone. Every stone is important and each one blends in and depends upon each other to form the foundation. No single stone piece stands out and becomes out of place.
3. The foundation is complete
Jesus has already completed the foundational works through His death and resurrection, and through everything that He speaks and does on earth. Then the apostles and prophets that Christ formed extended His work and together they contributed to the formation of the foundation of the building. The doctrines of Christ is in the Bible and we must be careful that we don’t lay the foundation again which has been already established by Jesus together with the apostles and prophets.
4. The apostles and prophets are expert builders
The apostles and prophets are expert builders who are trained and formed by Christ to build the foundational works of the kingdom of God on earth. Unless one is trained and formed by Christ, he cannot fit in and be qualified to build.
Many years ago, someone gave me a prophetic word in which he saw me as one of the main bricks in the wall. Everyone that Christ forms and uses becomes a brick in the building. No one is more important than others and we need to synergize together to give the building strength. A brick on its own is useless. Bricks being scattered have no function either, they are loose bricks that the enemies pick up to throw at each other. When someone tries to promote himself as ‘the apostle’ or ‘the prophet’ like some are doing today, it is not of God.
5. The building process is ongoing
While the foundation is complete, the superstructure of the building is still under construction. Christ is still using the saints to build and extend the kingdom of God on planet earth today.
6. Connection to the community
In the dream, I saw steps in the basement foundational wall leading up to the ground on the outside which speaks of connection of the church to the community outside. Everything that God is building is connected to the community. The church must not become self seeking and self centred with no relevance to the community.
7. Take time to witness and build
In the dream, I was given a proper full function camera which speaks of me being one of the main witnesses for Christ. The camera is not a small camera for snap shots. We need to take time and effort if we want to become proper witnesses of Christ and what He is doing. As an example, the way how some people hand out gospel tracks is a shortcut way of witnessing for Christ. People must be given the full gospel of Christ and it takes time to build Christ into people’s life.