CPRC Bulletin – March 22, 2026

John Calvin: “They are built on the foundation,—they are founded on the doctrine, of the apostles and prophets. We are thus enabled to distinguish between a true and a false church. This is of the greatest importance; for the tendency to error is always strong, and the consequences of mistake are dangerous in the extreme. No churches boast more loudly of the name than those which bear a false and empty title; as may be seen in our own times. To guard us against mistake, the mark of a true church is pointed out” (Comm. on Eph. 2:20).

R. C. H. Lenski: “[The cornerstone is] the stone set at the corner of a wall so that its outer angle becomes important. This importance is ideal, we may say symbolic: the angle of the cornerstone governs all the lines and all the other angles of the building. This one stone is thus laid with special, sometimes with elaborate ceremonies. It supports the building no more than does any other stone. Its entire significance is to be found in its one outer angle. Its size is immaterial and certainly need not be immense. It is thus also placed at the most important corner, in or on the top tier of the foundation, so as to be seen by all. The idea that its place was originally at the bottom of the excavation appears improbable when we note that in the case of large buildings the foundation is broad at the bottom, and that the angles are rough, not always exact. The purpose of a cornerstone is ideal only, i.e., its lines and angles” (Comm. on Eph. 2:20).

D. M. Lloyd-Jones: “… there can be no repetition of apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. You do not repeat a foundation. A foundation is laid once and forever. And therefore all talk about apostolic succession is a denial of our text. There are no special successors to the apostles. Indeed there are no successors to the apostles. An apostle was a man who had seen the risen Lord and could therefore be a witness to the resurrection. Are there such people today? An apostle was one who was specially commissioned by the Lord himself in a visible manner. Are there such today? He was given special powers, miracles and others, and infallibility, in order that he might preach and teach infallibly” (God’s Way of Reconciliation, p. 454).