ISB ~ 1 Timothy 3 v15
pillar and bulwark:The terms refer to structural supports that hold up a building. The Church is set in place to support the edifice of gospel truth. The Spirit makes this possible by enabling the successors of the apostles to preserve the apostolic faith from corruption and distortion as the centuries pass. Without this protective grace, the bishops of the Church would be no more than fallible human teachers unequipped to fulfill the mission granted to them by the Lord. Other passages suggest that Paul may envision the leaders of the Church as the pillars and foundation stones of God’s living Temple (Gal 2:9; Eph 2:20; CCC 171, 768, 2032).