10 Foundation Stones of the Church—No. 3: The Apostles’ Teaching

By Jerry Harris

Kujenga is the Swahili word for building, and it’s where the name of the building-block game Jenga comes from. The game starts with constructing a tower by stacking identical, rectangular-shaped wooden blocks in opposite rows of three. The fun begins as players take turns removing blocks one at a time and restacking them on the top. This continues until the tower, thoroughly compromised by the removal of blocks and top-heaviness, finally comes crashing down.

Our lives can look a lot like this game. We are all building a life, but as priorities are rearranged, instability increases—and we all know how this game ends, don’t we? It ends with a crash . . . and a mess to clean up!

When we live by the priorities God has given us in his Word, we still will encounter trouble from time to time, but we are far less likely to experience a life-altering crash. Jesus declared,

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).

God can prevent tragic crashes from happening over and over again in our lives. But how? In John 16:13, Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. Later, Paul informed us that these truths cannot be understood apart from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).

So, we must be in relationship with Jesus, infused with his Spirit, and then introduced to the teaching of the apostles, as mentioned in Acts 2:42 (“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching . . .”). This teaching—the third of our ten foundation stones of the church, all found in Acts 2:41-47—is what the apostles learned directly from Jesus; it is what is recorded in the four Gospels and the New Testament. This teaching is what the first church was devoted to, and we must also be devoted to it.

Statistics indicate 87 percent of Americans have a Bible in their house; the average home, in fact, has three Bibles. But merely possessing a Bible (or three) doesn’t mean you are devoted to it. Devotion to the apostles’ teaching—that is, the truth of Scripture—means at least two things: (1) believing it is true and (2) putting it to its greatest effect in your life. The truth of God’s Word is reaffirmed in John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; and 2 Peter 1:21. Jesus compared his words to a rock, the only foundation worthy of building one’s life on.

The only adequate response to believing God’s Word is true is to fully apply it to your life. When we do that, it has a massive effect (as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:13; John 8:31, 32; and Hebrews 4:2). We need to hear God’s Word, believe God’s Word, act on God’s Word, and declare God’s Word! Scripture says,“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).

Here are five takeaways from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:24-27 (read these while also considering the key building block of being “devoted . . . to the apostles’ teaching”):

1. Every one of us is building a life. What does your life look like?
2. Storms are constantly coming. Don’t believe they won’t.
3. A wise person believes in storms and builds accordingly.
4. A house that falls does so when it is needed the most.
5. We must build on the right foundation before storms arrive.

God’s Word is a sword to slay the enemy, a scalpel to cut out the cancer, a swathe to put on the wound, a seed that produces a harvest, a flower that opens to the sunshine, a fountain that quenches the deepest thirst, a light that overpowers the deepest darkness, a mirror into the depths of your soul, a compass that will always bring you home, and a window into God’s heart.

God’s Word holds the answers to life’s hardest questions.

It’s the voice of God speaking through the noise of life. It’s the greatest story ever told. It gives us power for living, hope in dying, joy in the journey, and peace that passes all understanding. It’s the only foundation to stand on when everything else gives way! The world doesn’t need another pep talk, therapy session, or feel-good story . . . it needs the Word of God!