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Scripture Story Sketch Notes · Ephesians 2:11–22

The Chief
Corner Stone

“Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Ephesians 2:20

A low wall once kept Gentiles out of the temple courts. Paul taught that Jesus Christ broke down every wall and became the stone His whole house is built on.

Start building ↓ Read Ephesians 2:11–22 first
Hand-drawn doodle map: a traveler outside a low wall in the temple courts, people walking closer toward light, the wall broken down, people of many lands at one table, builders setting a glowing cornerstone, foundation stones joined to it, walls rising stone by stone, and a finished temple with light in the doorway.

Before you begin

The story in brief

Many of the Saints in Ephesus were Gentiles, people who had not grown up as part of the house of Israel. Paul reminded them that they had once been “without Christ,” “strangers from the covenants of promise.” At the temple in Jerusalem, a low stone wall even kept Gentiles out of the inner courts.

But Jesus Christ changed that. “He is our peace,” Paul wrote, and He “hath broken down the middle wall of partition.” Now they were “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God,” built on “the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Fitted together on Him, the whole building grows into “an holy temple in the Lord.”

Who’s who

  • Paul: the Apostle, writing to the Saints
  • The Gentile Saints: converts who once felt far off
  • Jesus Christ: the chief corner stone

Where and when

A letter from Paul to the Saints in Ephesus.

Watch for the Savior

Watch how everything in the building lines up with Jesus Christ.

Read it yourself: Ephesians 2:11–22

Part 1 of 7

The building, mapped

Eight stops from outside the wall to the finished temple. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.

    Part 2 of 7

    The story, plainly

    Four scenes: far off, the wall comes down, the cornerstone and the building. Look for the Savior in each one.

    Read it plainly

    The words that trip people up

    Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1

    1. Ephesians 2:12“ from the commonwealth of Israel”
    2. Ephesians 2:13“made by the blood of Christ”
    3. Ephesians 2:14“the middle wall of ”
    4. Ephesians 2:16“that he might both unto God”
    5. Ephesians 2:21“ together”
    6. Ephesians 2:22“an of God”

    Part 3 of 7

    Look closer

    Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders or Church resources. Each card says which.

    0 of 9 turned

    Part 4 of 7

    Where are you?

    On the outside, cracks in the foundation, carrying stones, or at home. Which feels most like you right now?

    Try it

    Build on the corner

    Paul described how God builds His house, from the first stone to the finished temple. Tap each step in the order it comes.

    “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Ephesians 2:20

    Part 5 of 7

    Their world, their words

    A little background helps us picture the temple courts and how ancient builders worked. Outside sources are labeled.

    Church resource · Student manual

    A wall in the temple

    Gentiles could enter the outer court, but a partition “about one meter high” kept them out of the inner courts.10

    Paul’s readers knew that wall.

    Church resource · Student manual

    Joining two walls

    “A cornerstone can also be used to connect two adjoining walls to form a corner.”10

    Jew and Gentile, joined in Christ.

    Prophet · President Hinckley

    Cornerstone ceremonies

    In early temples “cornerstones were used at each junction point of the walls,” and the last was “the chief cornerstone.”8

    Its placement was celebrated.

    Church resource · Student manual

    Bound together

    Through Jesus Christ “Jewish and Gentile members of the Church are bound together.”10

    One building, one family.

    Word study · Greek

    akrogōniaios ἀκρογωνιαῖος · “chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20)

    Bible Hub: “at the extreme angle or corner.”11 Outside · lexicon

    The stone right at the corner, where the walls meet.1

    Word study · Greek

    sunarmologeō συναρμολογέω · “fitly framed together” (Ephesians 2:21)

    Bible Hub: “to fit together.”12 Outside · lexicon

    Stones shaped to sit snugly side by side.1

    What the text does not say

    The story does not say the building is finished. Paul says it “groweth” and that the Saints “are builded together.” God is still building, and there’s room for more stones.1

    Part 6 of 7

    Look to Him

    He is our peace, the stone the builders refused, and the corner everything else rests on.

    President Hinckley named Jesus Christ the first of four cornerstones of our faith.

    President Gordon B. Hinckley8
    “I mention first the chief cornerstone, whom we recognize and honor as the Lord Jesus Christ.”
    President Gordon B. Hinckley8
    “Absolutely basic to our faith is our testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.”
    President Gordon B. Hinckley8
    “Those who embrace the gospel become ‘the household of God.’”
    Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander9

    Isaiah

    A sure foundation

    “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.” Isaiah 28:16

    Helaman

    The rock of our Redeemer

    “Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation.” Helaman 5:12

    Part 7 of 7

    Seek Him today

    A question to ask in prayer

    What in my life is not yet built on Christ? Ephesians 2:20

    Ask Heavenly Father to show you one part of your life that needs to line up with the Savior. Then take one step to build it on Him this week.

    Try it today

    One stone each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.

    0 of 7 today

    This week:0 of 7 days

    A quiet moment

    “He is our peace.”

    Read Ephesians 2:13–22 slowly. Think of a time you felt far away, and how the Savior brought you close. Thank Him for being your sure foundation. Ephesians 2:13–22

    A verse to hold

    Talk about it

    1. What did the low wall in the temple courts do?
    2. Why is a cornerstone so important to a building?
    3. Who did Paul say the foundation is built of?
    4. How can we help others feel like “fellowcitizens with the saints”?
    Open

    For adults and deeper study

    Go deeper

    Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
    Prophet

    President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Cornerstones of Our Faith” (1984)

    How cornerstones were laid in early temples, and four cornerstones of the restored Church, beginning with Jesus Christ.8

    Read the talk →
    Seventy

    Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Living Prophets, Seers, and Revelators” (2000)

    Why the Church is built on apostles and prophets, and what their witness of Christ means for us.9

    Read the talk →
    Church resource

    New Testament Student Manual: Ephesians

    The temple partition wall, Jew and Gentile made one, and Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.10

    Read the chapter →
    To ponder

    Harder questions

    • Why might Paul describe Gentile converts as “fellowcitizens” and not just guests?
    • The stone the builders refused became the head of the corner. What does that teach about how the world treated Jesus?
    • What walls between people could the Savior help you take down?

    Sources

    Every quotation, gloss, and piece of background on this page is listed here: scripture first, then Church sources, then outside scholarship (labeled).

    Scripture

    1. Ephesians 2:11–22: “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”
    2. Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
    3. Matthew 21:42: Jesus quotes Psalm 118 about Himself.
    4. Isaiah 28:16: “A precious corner stone, a sure foundation.”
    5. 1 Peter 2:5: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.”
    6. 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Ye are the temple of God.”
    7. Helaman 5:12: “The rock of our Redeemer.”

    Church leaders and Church resources

    1. President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Cornerstones of Our Faith”, general conference, October 1984.
    2. Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Living Prophets, Seers, and Revelators”, general conference, October 2000.
    3. New Testament Student Manual, “Ephesians”, Gospel Library.

    Outside sources (labeled on the page)

    1. Strong’s 204, akrogōniaios, Bible Hub lexicon.
    2. Strong’s 4883, sunarmologeō, Bible Hub lexicon.

    Quotations checked against the linked pages on October 11, 2026. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version as published in the Gospel Library.

    “The chief corner stone”

    Build on Him. Every stone in His house rests on Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:20

    Back to this week: September 27–October 3 Earlier: The Whole Armor of God Next story: Press Toward the Mark All New Testament Story Sketch Notes
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    Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The building is described in Ephesians 2; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.