The Meaning of Ephesians 2:20 Explained

Ephesians 2:20

KJV: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

YLT: being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being chief corner -stone,

Darby: being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner-stone,

ASV: being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And are built  upon  the foundation  of the apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the chief corner  [stone]; 

What does Ephesians 2:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Paul, third, compared the church to a temple. It rests on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Evidently New Testament prophets are in view since the word "prophets" follows "apostles" (cf. Ephesians 3:5; Ephesians 4:11). These men constituted the foundation of the church since it was through them that God revealed and established the church.
"In practical terms this means that the church is built on the New Testament Scriptures." [1]
When Paul wrote, the cornerstone was the crucial part of the foundation of a building. It was the stone with which the builder squared up every other stone, including the other foundation stones. [2]
"In the East it was considered to be even more important than the foundation." [3]

Context Summary

Ephesians 2:11-22 - Reconciled And United By The Cross
The state of the unconverted must be described by a series of negations. Shut the sun out of the world, love out of the home, liberty out of the state! The unsaved know not of their infinite loss; but if they could see what we inherit through union with Jesus, they could cease to wonder that we run not with them into the same excess of riot. Does a maiden need much persuasion to cast aside paste jewels when real ones are offered her!
There was no natural affinity between Jew and Gentile. This arose partly because of diverse nationality and genius; but in addition the whole code of Jewish customs as to eating clean meats and ceremonial pollution, prevented it. All these party-walls of division were swept away by Christ. In Him, as the cornerstone, two walls, running in different directions, met. Two sections of humanity, East and West, became united to each other, because each was united to Him, and thus was formed a new unit of humanity.
What a noble conception is given of the Church and ultimately of the redeemed race, growing slowly through the ages and becoming God's dwelling-place! Notice the Trinity; through Jesus, the Eternal Father comes by His Spirit to dwell in the heart of man. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ephesians 2

1  By comparing what we were by nature, with what we are by grace,
10  he declares that we are made for good works: and being brought near by Christ,
19  should not live as Gentiles and foreigners, but as citizens with the saints, and the family of God

Greek Commentary for Ephesians 2:20

Being built upon [εποικοδομητεντες]
First aorist passive participle of εποικοδομεω — epoikodomeō for which double compound verb see note on 1 Corinthians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 2:17. [source]
The foundation [επι τωι τεμελιωι]
Repetition of επι — epi with the locative case. See note on 1 Corinthians 3:11 for this word. Of the apostles and prophets (τον αποστολων και προπητων — ton apostolōn kai prophētōn). Genitive of apposition with τεμελιωι — themeliōi consisting in. If one is surprised that Paul should refer so to the apostles, he being one himself, Peter does the same thing (2 Peter 3:2). Paul repeats this language in Ephesians 3:5. Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone Genitive absolute. The compound ακρογωνιαιος — akrogōniaios occurs only in the lxx (first in Isa 28:16) and in the N.T. (here, 1 Peter 2:6). Λιτος — Lithos (stone) is understood. Jesus had spoken of himself as the stone, rejected by the Jewish builders (experts), but chosen of God as the head of the corner (Matthew 21:42), εις κεπαλην γωνιας — eis kephalēn gōnias “The ακρογωνιαιος — akrogōniaios here is the primary foundation-stone at the angle of the structure by which the architect fixes a standard for the bearings of the walls and cross-walls throughout” (W. W. Lloyd). [source]
Of the apostles and prophets [τον αποστολων και προπητων]
Genitive of apposition with τεμελιωι — themeliōi consisting in. If one is surprised that Paul should refer so to the apostles, he being one himself, Peter does the same thing (2 Peter 3:2). Paul repeats this language in Ephesians 3:5. [source]
Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone [οντως ακρογωνιανιου αυτου Χριστου Ιησου]
Genitive absolute. The compound ακρογωνιαιος — akrogōniaios occurs only in the lxx (first in Isa 28:16) and in the N.T. (here, 1 Peter 2:6). Λιτος — Lithos (stone) is understood. Jesus had spoken of himself as the stone, rejected by the Jewish builders (experts), but chosen of God as the head of the corner (Matthew 21:42), εις κεπαλην γωνιας — eis kephalēn gōnias “The ακρογωνιαιος — akrogōniaios here is the primary foundation-stone at the angle of the structure by which the architect fixes a standard for the bearings of the walls and cross-walls throughout” (W. W. Lloyd). [source]
Of the apostles and prophets []
The foundation laid by them. Prophets are New-Testament prophets. See Ephesians 3:5; Ephesians 4:11. See on 1 Corinthians 12:10. [source]
Chief corner-stone [ἀκρογωνίαου]
Only here and 1 Peter 2:6. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Ephesians 2:20

Matthew 16:18 Thou art Peter [οὺ εἶ Πέτρος]
Christ responds to Peter's emphatic thou with another, equally emphatic. Peter says, “Thou art the Christ.” Christ replies, “Thou art Peter.” Πέτρος (Peter ) is used as a proper name, but without losing its meaning as a common noun. The name was bestowed on Simon at his first interview with Jesus (John 1:42) under the form of its Aramaic equivalent, CephasIn this passage attention is called, not to the giving of the name, but to its meaning. In classical Greek the word means a piece of rock, as in Homer, of Ajax throwing a stone at Hector (“Iliadvii., 270), or of Patroclus grasping and hiding in his hand a jagged stone (“Iliadxvi., 784).On this rock ( ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέρᾳ )The word is feminine, and means a rock, as distinguished from a stone or a fragment of rock ( πέτρος , above). Used of a ledge of rocks or a rocky peak. In Homer (“Odyssey,” ix., 243), the rock ( πέτρην ) which Polyphemus places at the door of his cavern, is a mass which two-and-twenty wagons could not remove; and the rock which he hurled at the retreating ships of Ulysses, created by its fall a wave in the sea which drove the ships back toward the land (“Odyssey,” ix., 484). The word refers neither to Christ as a rock, distinguished from Simon, a stone, nor to Peter's confession, but to Peter himself, in a sense defined by his previous confession, and as enlightened by the “Father in Heaven.” The reference of πέτρα to Christ is forced and unnatural. The obvious reference of the word is to Peter. The emphatic this naturally refers to the nearest antecedent; and besides, the metaphor is thus weakened, since Christ appears here, not as the foundation, but as the architect: “On this rock will I build.” Again, Christ is the great foundation, the “chief corner-stone,” but the New Testament writers recognize no impropriety in applying to the members of Christ's church certain terms which are applied to him. For instance, Peter himself (1 Peter 2:4), calls Christ a living stone, and, in 1 Peter 2:5, addresses the church as living stones. In Revelation 21:14, the names of the twelve apostles appear in the twelve foundation-stones of the heavenly city; and in Ephesians 2:20, it is said, “Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (i.e., laid by the apostles and prophets), Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” Equally untenable is the explanation which refers πέτρα to Simon's confession. Both the play upon the words and the natural reading of the passage are against it, and besides, it does not conform to the fact, since the church is built, not on confessions, but on confessors - living men. “The word πέτρα ,” says Edersheim, “was used in the same sense in Rabbinic language. According to the Rabbins, when God was about to build his world, he could not rear it on the generation of Enos, nor on that of the flood, who brought destruction upon the world; but when he beheld that Abraham would arise in the future, he said' 'Behold, I have found a rock to build on it, and to found the world,' whence, also, Abraham is called a rock, as it is said' 'Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn.' The parallel between Abraham and Peter might be carried even further. If, from a misunderstanding of the Lord's promise to Peter, later Christian legend represented the apostle as sitting at the gate of heaven, Jewish legend represents Abraham as sitting at the gate of Gehenna, so as to prevent all who had the seal of circumcision from falling into its abyss” (“Life and Times of Jesus”). The reference to Simon himself is confirmed by the actual relation of Peter to the early church, to the Jewish portion of which he was a foundation-stone. See Acts, Acts 1:15; Acts 2:14, Acts 2:37; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:8; Acts 5:15, Acts 5:29; Acts 9:34, Acts 9:40; Acts 10:25, Acts 10:26; Galatians 1:15.Church ( ἐκκλησίαν ) ἐκ out, καλέω , to call or summon. This is the first occurrence of this word in the New Testament. Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned. So in New Testament, Acts 19:39. The Septuagint uses the word for the congregation of Israel, either as summoned for a definite purpose (Acts 7:38); but for this there is more commonly employed συναγωγή , of which synagogue is a transcription; σύν , together, ἄγω , to bring (Acts 13:43). In Christ's words to Peter the word ἐκκλησία acquires special emphasis from the opposition implied in it to the synagogue. The Christian community in the midst of Israel would be designated as ἐκκλησία , without being confounded with the συναγωγή , the Jewish community. See Acts 5:11; Acts 8:1; Acts 12:1; Acts 14:23, Acts 14:27, etc. Nevertheless συναγωγή is applied to a Christian assembly in James 2:2, while ἐπισυναγωγή (gathering or assembling together ) is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1; Hebrews 10:25. Both in Hebrew and in New Testament usage ἐκκλησία implies more than a collective or national unity; rather a community based on a special religious idea and established in a special way. In the New Testament the term is used also in the narrower sense of a single church, or a church confined to a particular place. So of the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (Romans 16:5); the church at Corinth, the churches in Judea, the church at Jerusalem, etc.Gates of hell ( πύλαι ᾅδου )Rev., Hades. Hades was originally the name of the god who presided over the realm of the dead - Pluto or Dis. Hence the phrase, house of Hades. It is derived from ἀ , not, and; ἰδεῖν , to see; and signifies, therefore, the invisible land, the realm of shadow. It is the place to which all who depart this life descend, without reference to their moral character. By this word the Septuagint translated the Hebrew Sheol, which has a similar general meaning. The classical Hades embraced both good and bad men, though divided into Elysium, the abode of the virtuous, and Tartarus, the abode of the wicked. In these particulars it corresponds substantially with Sheol; both the godly and the wicked being represented as gathered into the latter. See Genesis 42:38; Psalm 9:17; Psalm 139:8; Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 57:2; Ezekiel 32:27; Hosea 13:14. Hades and Sheol were alike conceived as a definite place, lower than the world. The passage of both good and bad into it was regarded as a descent. The Hebrew conception is that of a place of darkness; a cheerless home of a dull, joyless, shadowy life. See Psalm 6:5; Psalm 94:17; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 88:5, Psalm 88:6, Psalm 88:10; Job 10:21; Job 3:17-19; Job 14:10, Job 14:11; Ecclesiastes 9:5. Vagueness is its characteristic. In this the Hebrew's faith appears bare in contrast with that of the Greek and Roman. The pagan poets gave the popular mind definite pictures of Tartarus and Elysium; of Styx and Acheron; of happy plains where dead heroes held high discourse, and of black abysses where offenders underwent strange and ingenious tortures. There was, indeed, this difference between the Hebrew and the Pagan conceptions; that to the Pagan, Hades was the final home of its tenants, while Sheol was a temporary condition. Hence the patriarchs are described (Hebrews 11:16) as looking for a better, heavenly country; and the martyrs as enduring in hope of “a better resurrection.” Prophecy declared that the dead should arise and sing, when Sheol itself should be destroyed and its inmates brought forth, some to everlasting life, and others to shame and contempt (Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12:2). Paul represents this promise as made to the fathers by God, and as the hope of his countrymen (Acts 26:7). God was the God of the dead as well as of the living; present in the dark chambers of Sheol as well as in heaven (Psalm 139:8; Psalm 16:10). This is the underlying thought of that most touching and pathetic utterance of Job (Job 14:13-15), in which he breathes the wish that God would hide him with loving care in Hades, as a place of temporary concealment, where he will wait patiently, standing like a sentinel at his post, awaiting the divine voice calling him to a new and happier life. This, too, is the thought of the familiar and much-disputed passage, Job 19:23-27. His Redeemer, vindicator, avenger, shall arise after he shall have passed through the shadowy realm of Sheol. “A judgment in Hades, in which the judge will show himself his friend, in which all the tangled skein of his life will be unravelled by wise and kindly hands, and the insoluble problem of his strange and self-contradicting experience will at last be solved - this is what Job still looks for on that happy day when he shall see God for himself, and find his Goel (vindicator) in that Almighty Deliverer” (Cox, “Commentary on the Book of Job”). In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead. It cannot be successfully maintained that it is, in particular, the place for sinners (so Cremer, “Biblico-Theological Lexicon”). The words about Capernaum (Matthew 11:23), which it is surprising to find Cremer citing in support of this position, are merely a rhetorical expression of a fall from the height of earthly glory to the deepest degradation, and have no more bearing upon the moral character of Hades than the words of Zophar (Job 11:7, Job 11:8) about the perfection of the Almighty. “It is high as heaven - deeper than Sheol. ” Hades is indeed coupled with Death (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14), but the association is natural, and indeed inevitable, apart from all moral distinctions. Death would naturally be followed by Hades in any case. In Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14, the general judgment is predicted, and not only Death and Hades, but the sea give tip their dead, and only those who are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). The rich man was in Hades (Luke 16:23), and in torments, but Lazarus was also in Hades, “in Abraham's bosom.” The details of this story “evidently represent the views current at the time among the Jews. According to them, the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life were the abode of the blessed. We read that the righteous in Eden see the wicked in Gehenna and rejoice; and similarly, that the wicked in Gehenna see the righteous sitting beatified in Eden, and their souls are troubled (Edersheim, “Life and Times of Jesus”). Christ also was in Hades (Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31). Moreover, the word γέεννα , hell (see on Matthew 5:22), is specially used to denote the place of future punishment. Hades, then, in the New Testament, is a broad and general conception, with an idea of locality bound up with it. It is the condition following death, which is blessed or the contrary, according to the moral character of the dead, and is therefore divided into different realms, represented by Paradise or Abraham's bosom, and Gehenna. The expression Gates of Hades is an orientalism for the court, throne, power, and dignity of the infernal kingdom. Hades is contemplated as a mighty city, with formidable, frowning portals. Some expositors introduce also the idea of the councils of the Satanic powers, with reference to the Eastern custom of holding such deliberations in the gates of cities. Compare the expression Sublime Porte, applied to the Ottoman court. The idea of a building is maintained in both members of the comparison. The kingdom or city of Hades confronts and assaults the church which Christ will build upon the rock. See Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13; Psalm 107:18; Isaiah 38:10. [source]
Acts 20:32 I commend [παρατιτεμαι]
Present middle indicative of παρατιτημι — paratithēmi old verb to place beside, middle, to deposit with one, to interest as in 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:2. Paul can now only do this, but he does it hopefully. Cf. 1 Peter 4:19. The word of his grace (τωι λογωι της χαριτος αυτου — tōi logōi tēs charitos autou). The instrumentality through preaching and the Holy Spirit employed by God. Cf. Colossians 4:6; Ephesians 4:29. Which is able to build up God works through the word of his grace and so it is able to build up (edify); a favourite Pauline word (1 Corinthians 3:10-14; 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 2:20-22; 2 Timothy 3:15; etc.), and James 1:21. The very words “build” and “inheritance among the sanctified” will occur in Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 3:18 and which some may recall on reading. Cf. Colossians 1:12. Stephen in Acts 7:5 used the word “inheritance” (κληρονομιαν — klēronomian), nowhere else in Acts, but in Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 5:5. In Ephesians 1:18 the very expression occurs “his inheritance among the saints “ (την κληρονομιαν αυτου εν τοις αγιοις — tēn klēronomian autou en tois hagiois). [source]
Acts 20:32 Which is able to build up [τωι δυναμενωι οικοδομησαι]
God works through the word of his grace and so it is able to build up (edify); a favourite Pauline word (1 Corinthians 3:10-14; 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 2:20-22; 2 Timothy 3:15; etc.), and James 1:21. The very words “build” and “inheritance among the sanctified” will occur in Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 3:18 and which some may recall on reading. Cf. Colossians 1:12. Stephen in Acts 7:5 used the word “inheritance” (κληρονομιαν — klēronomian), nowhere else in Acts, but in Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 5:5. In Ephesians 1:18 the very expression occurs “his inheritance among the saints “ (την κληρονομιαν αυτου εν τοις αγιοις — tēn klēronomian autou en tois hagiois). [source]
1 Corinthians 15:48 As is the earthly [οιος ο χοικος]
Masculine gender because of αντρωπος — anthrōpos and correlative pronouns Christ in his ascended state (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 2:20; Philemon 3:20.). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Galatians 2:18 I build again the things which I destroyed [ἃ κατέλυσα ταῦτα πάλιν οἰκοδομῶ]
Peter, by his Christian profession, had asserted that justification was by faith alone; and by his eating with Gentiles had declared that the Mosaic law was no longer binding upon him. He had thus, figuratively, destroyed or pulled down the Jewish law as a standard of Christian faith and conduct. By his subsequent refusal to eat with Gentiles he had retracted this declaration, had asserted that the Jewish law was still binding upon Christians, and had thus built again what he had pulled down. Building and pulling down are favorite figures with Paul. See Romans 14:20; Romans 15:20; 1 Corinthians 8:1, 1 Corinthians 8:10; 1 Corinthians 10:23; 1 Corinthians 14:17; Ephesians 2:20f. For καταλύειν destroysee on Romans 14:20; see on 2 Corinthians 5:1. [source]
Colossians 2:7 In Him [ἐν αὐτῶ]
Rather than upon Him, as might have been expected. In this and in the Ephesian epistle, Christ is represented as the sphere within which the building goes on. Compare Ephesians 2:20. The whole upbuilding of the Church proceeds within the compass of Christ's personality, life, and power. [source]
Colossians 2:7 Rooted - built up [ἐῤῥιζωμένοι - ἐποικοδομούμενοι]
Note the change of metaphor from the solidity of military array to walking, rooting of a tree, and then to building. The metaphors of rooting and being founded occur together, Ephesians 3:17. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:9. In Jeremiah 1:10, ἐκριζοῦν toroot out is applied to a kingdom, and the words to build and to plant follow. It must be said that ῥιζόω tocause to take root is often used in the sense of firmness or fixedness without regard to its primary meaning. Built up. The preposition ἐπί uponindicates the placing of one layer upon another. See on Acts 20:32, and see on 1 Corinthians 3:9. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:10-14; Ephesians 2:20. note also the change of tenses: having been rooted (perfect participle), being (in process of) built up and strengthened (present participle). [source]
Colossians 1:23 Grounded [τετεμελιωμενοι]
Perfect passive participle of τεμελιοω — themelioō old verb from τεμελιος — themelios (adjective, from τεμα — thema from τιτημι — tithēmi laid down as a foundation, substantive, 1 Corinthians 3:11.). Picture of the saint as a building like Ephesians 2:20. [source]
Colossians 1:23 Pistei []
is in the locative case (in faith). Grounded (τετεμελιωμενοι — tethemeliōmenoi). Perfect passive participle of τεμελιοω — themelioō old verb from τεμελιος — themelios (adjective, from τεμα — thema from τιτημι — tithēmi laid down as a foundation, substantive, 1 Corinthians 3:11.). Picture of the saint as a building like Ephesians 2:20. Steadfast Old adjective from εδρα — hedra (seat). In N.T. only here, 1 Corinthians 7:37; 1 Corinthians 15:58. Metaphor of seated in a chair. Not moved away (μη μετακινουμενοι — mē metakinoumenoi). Present passive participle (with negative μη — mē) of μετακινεω — metakineō old verb, to move away, to change location, only here in N.T. Negative statement covering the same ground. From the hope of the gospel Ablative case with απο — apo The hope given by or in the gospel and there alone. Which ye heard (ου ηκουσατε — hou ēkousate). Genitive case of relative either by attraction or after ηκουσατε — ēkousate The Colossians had in reality heard the gospel from Epaphras. Preached First aorist passive participle of κηρυσσω — kērussō to herald, to proclaim. In all creation (εν πασηι κτισει — en pasēi ktisei). Κτισις — Ktisis is the act of founding (Romans 1:20) from κτιζω — ktizō (Colossians 1:16), then a created thing (Romans 1:25), then the sum of created things as here and Revelation 3:14. It is hyperbole, to be sure, but Paul does not say that all men are converted, but only that the message has been heralded abroad over the Roman Empire in a wider fashion than most people imagine. A minister General term for service Our “deacon” is this word transliterated and given a technical meaning as in Philemon 1:1. [source]
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Edify [οἰκοδομεῖτε]
Lit. build up. See on Acts 20:32. The metaphorical sense habitually in Paul. See 1 Corinthians 8:1, 1 Corinthians 8:10; 1 Corinthians 10:23; 1 Corinthians 14:4; Ephesians 2:20. In O.T. mostly in the literal sense. See however lxx, Rth 4:11 ; 88:2; Jeremiah href="/desk/?q=jer+31:4&sr=1">Jeremiah 31:4. [source]
1 Thessalonians 5:20 Prophesyings [προφητείας]
The emphasis on prophesyings corresponds with that in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 1 Corinthians 14:22ff. Prophecy in the apostolic church was directly inspired instruction, exhortation, or warning. The prophet received the truth into his own spirit which was withdrawn from earthly things and concentrated upon the spiritual world. His higher, spiritual part ( πνεῦμα ), and his moral intelligence ( νοῦς ), and his speech ( λόγος ) worked in harmony. His spirit received a spiritual truth in symbol: his understanding interpreted it in its application to actual events, and his speech uttered the interpretation. He was not ecstatically rapt out of the sphere of human intelligence, although his understanding was intensified and clarified by the phenomenal action of the Spirit upon it. This double action imparted a peculiarly elevated character to his speech. The prophetic influence was thus distinguished from the mystical ecstasy, the ecstasy of Paul when rapt into the third heaven, which affected the subject alone and was incommunicable (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The gift of tongues carried the subject out of the prophetic condition in which spirit, understanding, and speech operated in concert, and into a condition in which the understanding was overpowered by the communication to the spirit, so that the spirit could not find its natural expression in rational speech, or speech begotten of the understanding, and found supernatural expression in a tongue created by the Spirit. Paul attached great value to prophecy. He places prophets next after apostles in the list of those whom God has set in the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28). He associates apostles and prophets as the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20). He assigns to prophecy the precedence among spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1-5), and urges his readers to desire the gift (1 Corinthians 14:1, 1 Corinthians 14:39). Hence his exhortation here. [source]
1 Timothy 1:18 According to the prophecies which went before on thee [κατὰ τὰς προαγούσας ἐπὶ σὲ προφητείας]
Const, according to with I commit: which went before is to be taken absolutely, and not with on thee: const. prophecies with on these. On thee means concerning thee. The sense of the whole passage is: “I commit this charge unto thee in accordance with prophetic intimations which I formerly received concerning thee.” Prophecy is ranked among the foremost of the special spiritual endowments enumerated by Paul. See Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 Corinthians 13:8; 1 Corinthians 14:6, 1 Corinthians 14:22. In 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11, prophets come next after apostles in the list of those whom God has appointed in the church. In Ephesians 2:20, believers, Jew and Gentile, are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. According to 1 Timothy 4:14, prophecy has previously designated Timothy as the recipient of a special spiritual gift; and the prophecies in our passage are the single expressions or detailed contents of the prophecy mentioned there. Προαγεῖν togo before is not used by Paul. In the Pastorals and Hebrews it appears only as an intransitive verb, and so in the only instance in Luke, Luke 18:39. In Acts always transitive, to bring forth. See Acts 12:6; Acts 16:30; Acts 17:5; Acts 25:26. [source]
2 Timothy 2:19 The foundation of God standeth sure [ὁ στερεὸς θεμέλιος τοῦ θεοῦ ἕστηκεν]
Wrong. Στερεὸς sureis attributive, not predicative. Rend. the firm foundation of God standeth. The phrase foundation of God, N.T.o Θεμέλιος foundationis an adjective, and λίθος stoneis to be supplied. It is not to be taken by metonymy for οἰκία house(2 Timothy 2:20), but must be interpreted consistently with it, and, in a loose way, represents or foreshadows it. So we speak of an endowed institution as a foundation. By “the sure foundation of God” is meant the church, which is “the pillar and stay of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), by means of which the truth of God is to withstand the assaults of error. The church has its being in the contents of “the sound teaching” (1 Timothy 1:10), which is “according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3), and which is deposited in it. “The mystery of godliness “ is intrusted to it (1 Timothy 3:16). Its servants possess “the mystery of the faith” (1 Timothy 3:9). In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Christ is represented as “ the chief corner-stone.” In Ephesians 2:20, the church is built “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” with Christ as the corner-stone, and grows into a “holy temple ( ναὸν ) in the Lord.” Here, the church itself is the foundation, and the building is conceived as a great dwelling-house. While the conception of the church here does not contradict that of Paul, the difference is apparent between it and the conception in Ephesians, where the church is the seat of the indwelling and energy of the Holy Spirit. Comp. 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 3:17. Στερεός firmonly here, Hebrews 5:12, Hebrews 5:14, and 1 Peter 5:9(note). Ἕστηκεν standethin contrast with overthrow (2 Timothy 2:18). [source]
1 Peter 2:6 It is contained [περιεχει]
Present active (here intransitive, to contain, only N.T. example) of περιεχω — periechō old verb, to surround, transitive in Luke 5:9 to seize (only other N.T. example). The formula with περιεχει — periechei is in Josephus (Ant. XI. 7). This Scripture Paul in Ephesians 2:20 uses the same word, making Christ the chief corner stone (the only other N.T. example). In Isaiah the metaphor is rather a foundation stone. Peter and Paul make it “the primary foundation stone at the structure” (W. W. Lloyd). [source]
Jude 1:20 Building up [εποικοδομουντες]
Present active participle of εποικοδομεω — epoikodomeō old compound with metaphor of a house (οικος — oikos), common in Paul (1 Corinthians 3:9-17; Colossians 2:7; Ephesians 2:20). [source]
Revelation 21:14 Names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [ονοματα των δωδεκα αποστολων του αρνιου]
Jesus had spoken of twelve thrones for the apostles (Matthew 19:28); names of all twelve are here written, not just that of Peter, as some would argue from Matthew 16:18. As a matter of fact, Christ is the corner stone or ακρογωνιαιον — akrogōniaion (1 Peter 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 2:20), though rejected by the Sanhedrin (Matthew 21:42.). One may wonder if the name of Judas is on that stone or that of Matthias. [source]
Revelation 21:14 Twelve foundations [τεμελιους δωδεκα]
Foundation stones, old adjective (from τεμα — thema from τιτημι — tithēmi), here as in 1 Corinthians 3:11.; 2 Timothy 2:19, with λιτους — lithous (stones understood), though often neuter substantive to τεμελιον — themelion (Luke 6:48.; Acts 16:26). See Isaiah 28:16; Hebrews 11:10. Twelve because of the twelve apostles as foundation stones (Ephesians 2:20).On them (επ αυτων — ep' autōn). On the twelve foundation stones.Names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb Jesus had spoken of twelve thrones for the apostles (Matthew 19:28); names of all twelve are here written, not just that of Peter, as some would argue from Matthew 16:18. As a matter of fact, Christ is the corner stone or ακρογωνιαιον — akrogōniaion (1 Peter 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 2:20), though rejected by the Sanhedrin (Matthew 21:42.). One may wonder if the name of Judas is on that stone or that of Matthias. [source]

What do the individual words in Ephesians 2:20 mean?

having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets being [the] cornerstone Himself Christ Jesus
ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ

ἐποικοδομηθέντες  having  been  built 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐποικοδομέω  
Sense: to build upon, build up.
ἐπὶ  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
θεμελίῳ  foundation 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: θεμέλιον 
Sense: laid down as a foundation, the foundation (of a building, wall, city).
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀποστόλων  apostles 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἀπόστολος  
Sense: a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.
προφητῶν  prophets 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: προφήτης  
Sense: in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things.
ὄντος  being 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀκρογωνιαίου  [the]  cornerstone 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀκρογωνιαῖος  
Sense: placed at an extreme corner, the corner foundation stone.
αὐτοῦ  Himself 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Χριστοῦ  Christ 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Χριστός  
Sense: Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God.
Ἰησοῦ  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.