5 Smooth Stones

have come to need milk and not solid food [stereos - other translations strong meat.] 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food [stereos] belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” The ascension gift level of a teacher will strengthen and mature the church on the foundations of what is laid by the apostles and prophets. I like the way Paul worded this in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 12:28: “And God has appointed these in the church: fi rst apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles...” [emphasis mine] I like to read this verse with the view that when we accept the order that the Lord has provided for the church we can expect the power, the miracles and the healings to follow. The Lord has provided the biblical pa tt ern and the apostolic architects are needed to see that we return to the pa tt ern if we desire the promised results of that pa tt ern. Apostles establish, prophets con fi rm, teachers strengthen, this is a cycle, not a one time act. ENDNOTES: 22 When Jesus was explained Psalm 118:22 he gave the example of a cornerstone and a capstone, You can fall upon a cornerstone and a cap stone can fall upon someone, Luke 20:17: “Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is wri tt en: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’? 18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Thus Jesus was in a sense emphasizing what he later said through John the apostle Revelation 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Jesus is the apostle as well as the author and fi nisher of our faith. Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, Hebrews 12:2: “looking unto Jesus, the author and fi nisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” As in Psalm 118:22, the word for “cornerstone” in Ma tt hew 21:42, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:7 could technically be translated as either “capstone” or “cornerstone.” The word in Greek can mean “head, chief, or cornerstone,” but the word carries a connotation similar to that of capstone. For instance, in the 1996, and 2001 editions of the New International Version, Ma tt hew 21:42 states, “The Stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”

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