built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Parallel translations
- WEB being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
- KJV And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
- NKJV having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
- NASB having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,
- NLT Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone. It shows Christ as the church's foundation and unifying center.
Overview
Shifting to a building image, Paul says God's household is built 'on the foundation of the apostles and prophets' — that is, on their gospel teaching — 'Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.' The cornerstone sets the line and bears the weight of the whole structure. Christ is thus both the foundation and the one who unites and supports the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Pet 2:4–5As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Isa 28:16So 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 Pet 2:7–8To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Ps 118:22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Eph 4:11–13And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
- Matt 16:18And 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.
- Rev 21:14The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
- Acts 4:11–12This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- 1 Cor 3:9–11For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Mark 12:10–11Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- 1 Cor 12:28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
- Gal 2:9And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
- Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
- Luke 20:17–18But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 2:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.