Oikodomeo: Watching a Building Rise

Word of the Week

August 10, 2024

Oikodomeō: Watching a Building Rise

 

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB

 

Who can resist the urge to keep tabs on a building project?

When our first house was under construction, we would drive by often to see if the footings had been poured or the framing was up.  And everyone pauses to do a little “sidewalk superintending” when power shovels are digging the foundation for a high rise – or the cranes are hoisting steel beams to the upper floors.

We love to watch a building move toward completion.

And God keeps a close eye on His own construction projects.

The New Testament devotes ample space to buildings both literal and spiritual, a fact that becomes clear when we examine the Greek word for building.

The Greek verb for “build” is oikodomeō [oy-kaw-daw-MEH-oh] which occurs 40 times, along with the noun oikodomia, “building.” Older translations like the King James Version render these words as “edify” or “edification.”  Pastor David Jeremiah points out that “The New Testament words edify and edification are based on a compound biblical word: house and build.”¹

People who lived in first century Israel were accustomed to the wide variety of construction projects featured in every Roman center.  Jesus mentioned many of these in His teaching sessions:

Houses built on solid or shaky foundations (Matthew 7:24, 26)

Watchtowers for vineyards (Matthew 21:33)

Barns for surplus grain (Luke 12:18)

Defense towers for cities (Luke 14:28)

In one instance, we read of a Roman centurion who financed the building of a synagogue (Luke 7:5).  In another, Jesus claimed that He could tear down a temple and rebuild it in three days (John 2:20).

Everyone understood the physical building projects that surrounded them, so it was natural to use the same terminology to describe the kind of spiritual construction activities that are even more crucial in the kingdom of God.

God cares about building His church

When Jesus mentioned the church for the first time, He boldly announced, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).  This was God’s building project:  a massive collection of Christ-followers who would represent His kingdom in the world.

When Saul accepted Christ and stopped persecuting the followers of Jesus, “the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up” (Acts 9:31).  Christ laid the foundation for the church and it grew from a tiny foundation to something much bigger.  It increased in numbers, it spread to ever-wider regions, and it expanded beyond ethnic and social barriers.

Individual believers did their part to build the church.  Paul, for instance, made it a habit to preach Christ where no one else had begun a church, so that he “would not build on another person’s foundation” (Romans 15:20).

That’s the one massive edifice that God is raising for His glory, but the New Testament also describes a host of smaller-scale projects.

God cares about building believers

As the Lord moves toward completion of His worldwide church, He has plans to shape each of His children so that we can fill our place in that plan.  1 Peter 2:5 says that we are all living stones – breathing building blocks – that God is using to construct a temple where He can manifest His presence.

Think of yourself as a chunk of limestone in a quarry.  You’re just rough mineral, not useful for much.  But  a master stonemason takes you and starts shaping you, knocking off rough edges and smoothing the sides, making you a perfect match for one spot in the wall of the temple that is being constructed.

Similarly, God goes through a process of shaping each of us, in effect making you a small construction project, exercising His skill in making you useful.

The New Testament gives careful attention to this kind of building project.

• God does the work. Paul says that it is “the word of His grace which is able to build you up” (Acts 20:32).
• We participate in the work by building up our fellow believers. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
• We build others through love. “Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies people” (1 Corinthians 8:1).
• We sometimes limit our freedom in order to build up a weaker believer. “All things are permitted, but not all things build people up” (1 Corinthians 8:10).
• We may have to choose between activities which benefit ourselves and activities which strengthen someone else (1 Corinthians 14:4).

In short, we can see the people around as buildings in progress.  God has a blueprint that shows what they will eventually become, and it is our privilege to work with Him to help move the process along.  We become more like Christ.  The brothers and sisters around us become more like Christ, and His church grows in size and beauty.

When the church of Christ grows, people will stop to watch the building go up!

¹David Jeremiah. Every Day with Jesus. Turning Point, 2021, page 133.

 

Study Hint:

Oikodomeō is one of those common words that has a literal meaning and can also be used in a figurative sense. You can easily distinguish one from the other by looking at the context of each verse.  Sometimes the literal imagery will be very obvious, as in passages like 1 Peter 2, which mentions stones, bricks, and temple.  In other passages, the connection with physical buildings may not be as obvious.  In English, for instance, we use the word edify without any conscious thought of a building, but the word originally means “to erect an edifice or building.”  Again, look at the context to determine how much emphasis to place on the link to physical building projects.

 

Coming Up

Vision is vital and the New Testament mentions sight often.  Next week we are going to look closely at one of the words for sight – one that has more than one meaning attached!

©Ezra Project 2024