“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:11
According to Merriam-Webster, infrastructure may be defined as “the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization).” Today, the church is the center of God’s religious program. It exists not only as the Lord’s mystical body and bride, but as a living system and an organization. As such, it too rests upon, and functions in accordance with, a divine infrastructure. Foundational to the whole system is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and the word of His testimony entrusted to His apostolic witnesses. Paul tells us that Christians everywhere are God’s “building” (1 Corinthians 3:9) and “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). Peter explains that even though Christ is the Stone that the builders rejected, He is nevertheless God’s appointed foundation for the church. His redeemed are “living stones,” fitted together and resting upon this foundation (1 Peter 2:3-9). The God-intended purpose is to create a special habitation of God in and with His people (Ephesians 2:21-22). In order to accomplish our God-ordained tasks in this life, Christians rely on other pieces of divine infrastructure. For instance, in order to carry out the great commission a bridge must exist that connects us with the lost and unregenerate. The chasm between the two groups is enormous and apparently insurmountable (2 Corinthians 6:14-16; Ephesians 4:17-21; 5:8). Without a suitable bridge how are we supposed to reach our mission field? Amazingly, Christ acts not only as our unshakable foundation but as our needed bridge to the lost as well; He is our common ground with the unregenerate. The Scriptures declare Christ to be the Creator and Sustainer of the entire world (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2); saints and sinners alike are God’s created image-bearers. Furthermore, God is continually revealing Himself to both people groups. (Romans 1:18-20; 2:14-15). The professing non-believer gives evidence of this every time he claims to be a rational or morally upright person. Such claims make no sense unless there is an objectively “right” way to think and act, and this is impossible without God. After all, no one but God could possibly establish objective standards, reveal them to man, and obligate him to live in accordance with them. Finally, our Lord is not only our foundation and our bridge to the lost, He is our wall of protection against evil (Proverbs 30:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 John 5:18). Praise God, the wise Master-Builder, for His divine infrastructure, which enables us to serve Him, resist evil, and bless others also.
God bless you, dear church family,
Pastor John
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