Your Foundation Determines How High You Go In God

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Ezra 3:10-11 (KJV)

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. Ezra 6:14-15 (KJV)

These verses speak of laying a foundation and building a new temple upon it. When we want to build a big building, like a skyscraper, the foundation must be very deep so we can build securely upon it. The foundation must be good so the building can stand for the duration.

As God works on us to lay a foundation, the deeper it goes and the longer it takes, the better it will be for us. God wants to do big things in us and in our lives, so we must be firmly established. God builds for eternity, something that will remain and last. The deeper our foundation, the better it will sustain us for however high God wants to take us. The amount of revelation we can take depends upon the strength of our foundation. Our foundation is Christ as the Chief Cornerstone and we are God’s temple. God builds us upon Christ so what is built will last.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

God is building our lives as His holy temple, a place for Him to dwell. In Ezra’s day, they praised God when the foundation was laid because it enabled them to finish the house of God; a rebuilt temple. According to Ezra 6, the temple was finished on the third day of the month. Correlate this with Jesus being raised on the third day. This shows us that what Christ starts, He finishes. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 (KJV)

We’re built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone. We are God’s building, built up and growing into a holy temple in the Lord. We’re built together for a habitation, or dwelling place of God. According to Ephesians 4:11, we also have the five-fold ministy for our maturing and building up. As we encounter these, we grow and mature. When our foundation is deeper, God can build us higher and higher in Him. As this happens, we can praise God that what He began, He is faithful to complete it.