The apostles are also the real witnesses of God’s mercy. When we consider the twelve foundations, we must recognize the mercy of God. What is the difference between mercy and grace? Suppose that there are two brothers who love each other in the Lord. One day the first brother purchases a fine Bible and presents it to the second. This is an act of grace. Let us consider now a second instance in which the second brother is not so lovable; let us suppose he is a poor and dirty beggar. Such a person is not worthy of love, yet the first brother loves him and gives him a gift. This is an act of mercy. Mercy is more far-reaching than grace. God is not only a God of grace, but also a God of mercy. If there were some worthiness about us, we would qualify for God’s grace. But we are in a more pitiful state than a poor and dirty beggar. Praise God that His mercy is so far-reaching that it has reached poor sinners like us!
Now look closely at the twelve foundation stones. Every time I have studied the four Gospels, I have always said, “Poor, pitiful Peter!” Yet Peter was chosen and used by the Lord. He was adorned and equipped by mercy, and his name is on one of the foundations of the city. After the adornment of God’s mercy, Peter became qualified for God’s grace. If we are humble, we will realize how truly pitiful we are before the Lord, how worthless in His eyes. We need His mercy. But after we receive His mercy, we can praise Him and tell Him that now we qualify for His grace. Why? It has nothing to do with our qualifications; it is all the Lord’s mercy.
Consider the twelve Apostles. Peter was a poor fisherman (Matt. 4:18-19), and Matthew was a tax gatherer (Matt. 9:9; Luke 5:27). In those days people spit whenever a tax gatherer was mentioned. These men collected taxes for Caesar and the Roman Empire, not for the temple of God. They were despised and hated by their own countrymen; they were pitiful people. Yet one of them became an Apostle and eventually one of the twelve foundations of the glorious city of God. What a mercy! These twelve foundation stones will eternally declare God’s mercy. Oh, we must know the mercy of God!
The twelve foundation stones are also a witness of God’s grace. Most Christians today conceive of grace as something given to us by God. But God’s grace is nothing less than God Himself. God gives Himself to us as our enjoyment to meet all our needs. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says that it is no longer he, but Christ who lives within him. Again, he declares, “Yet not I, but the grace of God” (1 Cor. 15:10). By putting these two verses together, we see that grace is nothing less than Christ Himself. Grace is God in Christ as my strength, my power, my enjoyment. These poor fishermen and a publican could become so important as parts of the foundation of the holy city, not only because of God’s mercy, but also because of God’s grace.
It is also through God’s faithfulness that the Apostles have become the city’s foundation stones. In Scripture the rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness encircles His throne. In the holy city, the foundation is not laid block by block, but layer upon layer, and each of the twelve layers is a different kind of precious stone. Every layer displays a special color. According to an expert who has studied this matter thoroughly, the layer upon layer of precious stones which compose the foundation of the city show forth the colors of the rainbow. This proves that the faithfulness of God is the very foundation of the city. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all looked for “the city which hath the foundations” (Heb. 11:10). They looked for such a city because that city is built upon the faithfulness of God. Psalm 89:2 says that the faithfulness of God is established in the very heavens. Strictly speaking, the twelve stones alone do not compose the foundations of this holy city; rather, the faithfulness of God bestowed upon the twelve stones makes up the foundations. The Apostles themselves are not sufficient to constitute the foundation. I would not have any trust in Peter and Matthew by themselves. But I realize that the faithfulness of God is with them, and I trust the faithfulness of God upon them. These twelve layers of precious stones as the foundation appear as a rainbow, eternally declaring God’s faithfulness.
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