Bible Strands
Ephesians 2:20
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Ephesian believers, addressing them immediately after describing their transition from strangers to fellow citizens and household members of God. He employs architectural imagery to define their collective spiritual position within the covenant community.
The words — The participle ἐποικοδομηθέντες (epoikodomēthentes) means "having been built," while ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ (epi tō themeliō) specifies that construction rests "upon the foundation" of the apostles and prophets. The supplied Greek focuses on the completed passive action of being established on a structural base rather than on independent construction.
The thread — The text's foundation imagery directly parallels Isaiah 28:16, which announces a tested stone laid as a sure foundation, and 1 Peter 2:4 and 1 Peter 2:7, which identify Christ as the living, precious stone rejected by builders but chosen by God. These passages share the same metaphorical framework of a divinely appointed structural anchor.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to acknowledge that their spiritual standing is structurally dependent on the witness of the apostles and prophets, anchored securely in Christ. It demands submission to this established foundation rather than the development of independent or self-originated belief.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- 1 Peter 2:7 To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Psalms 118:22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Ephesians 4:11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
- Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
- Revelation 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
- Acts 4:11 This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Mark 12:10 Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.