Granted, in the Old Testament the Israelites had the Tabernacle where the presence of God could literally be seen, heard, and even felt at times. Then King Solomon built a grand temple dedicated exclusively for worship. However, that temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, never returned to its former glory.
Looking at the New Testament, we discover that while the rebuilt temple continued to be a place of worship, the “house of God” after Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost became something very different.
We see this emphasized in numerous passages. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 we read, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”
Just three chapters later, perhaps for believers in Corinth that might have missed it the first time, the apostle Paul told them, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
If that’s not clear enough, we have this emphatic statement from the writer of Hebrews, “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything…. Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory” (Hebrews 3:4-6).
We also have the declaration made by Paul that “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands” (Acts 17:24).
“We are His house,” the Bible declares, as well as “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” Hmm. What are we to do with this, since the custom for many of us as we go to church Sunday mornings is to think we’re going into “the house of God”?
Why is this even important? Couldn’t we just acknowledge that the building in which we worship is dedicated to God and since He ultimately is owner of all things, it’s “God’s house”? In one sense that’s true. But it’s of far greater import that we understand – and remain continually aware – that “[our] body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” – that we ourselves are God’s temple and His Spirit lives in us.
I remember years ago, in my pre-Christian, “churchian” days. I’d enter the sanctuary with a mindset that it was the house of God. I’d act appropriately reverent, singing the hymns, repeating prayers and listening to the sermon. But as I exited the door, it was as if I were leaving God behind until my next visit the following week.
Only much later did I discover that as a born-again believer, I was indwelt by God’s Spirit and He was going with me wherever I went. He wasn’t confined to the four walls of a structure where worship services and Bible teaching were conducted.
I’ll never forget a pastor I had years ago. After teaching about Ephesians 4:11, which talks about the spiritual gifts God gave – “some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers” – he focused on the following verse that explains the reason for those gifts: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
This pastor said people often would ask him, “Where is your church?” expecting to hear a specific street or area of the city. However, he would reply, “My church is at the school, in the hospital, working in the supermarket, conducting business downtown.” He understood the biblical view of the Church as being followers of Christ in dispersion, found in every part of the community, representing Jesus as they went about their everyday lives.
Understanding the church is the building where all the “houses of God” come together to “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and [we] sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in [our] hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16), when we’re done we can return to our homes and workplaces knowing the Lord’s living in us and working through us for His glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment