The Church's One Foundation

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  (Matthew 16:18)

Candy's thoughts: It was Easter Sunday, 1983. Steve and I attended First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, CA.  It was my first time observing and participating in a Protestant service, and the first time I ever heard the hymn "The Church's One Foundation."  I was absolutely mesmerized by the preaching that day, and by the congregational singing of this hymn in particular. I thought it was such a beautiful tune, and the words, while strange and confusing to my soon-to-be-converted heart, still tugged at me in a mysterious way. I wanted to hear more of this type of preaching and singing.

Fast forward 36 years and "The Church's One Foundation" remains in my Top 3 Favorite Hymns list in my mind. It always brings tears to my eyes, both because of its loveliness, but also because God used it so many years ago as part of the process of claiming me to be His.

Here is the story behind the writing of this hymn:

Lindsay Terry's thoughts: "Stainless in character, strong in body, steady in nerve, studious in learning, and swift to the defense of the gospel are said to be characteristics of one Samuel John Stone, born in England in 1839.

"His tender heart led him to the down-and-outer, the man on the other side of the tracks. He was a great leader of his people and was loved by them all.

"Even in his later years he enjoyed a remarkable ministry among the shop hands and office workers of London. As the early, cheaper trains began to stream in the city bringing the workers, Samuel Stone would open his church and have periods of singing and short messages for the people. He then would allow them to sit quietly and visit, sew, or read until it was time for them to begin their day's work.

"He noted that many used the 'Apostle's Creed' in their praying, but that few had any comprehension of its meaning. This ignorance, coupled with the blasphemy of the evolutionist and materialist of his day, prompted Stone to write one of the truly great hymns used in our churches today, 'The Church's One Foundation.'

                             The Church's one foundation

                             Is Jesus Christ her Lord;

                             She is His new creation

                             By water and the Word:

                             From Heaven He came and sought her

                             To be His holy bride;

                             With His own blood He bought her,

                             And for her life He died.

"No hymn could be more Scriptural. In the first stanza the writer tells that the foundation of Christ's Church is Himself, that a man must be born of water and the Word, and that Christ gave Himself for His Church and purchased her with His own blood.

"Reflection:  It is not enough to know about Christ. In order to go to heaven we must know Him and we must become His. When we give Christ His rightful place, the rest of our theology seems to fall in place."