THE HOUSE OF GOD
There is a principle set forth in scripture that teaches us that there must first be the natural or carnal state in the order of things before the spiritual can be manifested. "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual." (1 Corinthians 15:46). One example of this principle is the House of God, His Holy Temple.
Scripture tells us of four earthly tabernacles or temples
that were built by Israel during their history.
The first was the wilderness tabernacle that God instructed Moses to
build. The next was Solomon's glorious
temple in Jerusalem. After that temple
was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, Ezra later built a new temple after the
captive Jews returned to their homeland.
The last temple was commissioned by King Herod and was the temple that
stood in Jerusalem during Jesus' time.
This was destroyed by the Romans under Titus in 70 A.D. Currently, the temple site is partially held
by the Muslims and they have built a mosque there called the Dome of the Rock
which they esteem a most holy shrine. So
Israel is today without a temple in which they can fulfill all their holy
rituals that were commanded by God. God
has spoken plainly, though, that He does not require any earthly house or
temple.
"Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the
earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is
the place of my rest? For all those
things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but
to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1,2).
God is not impressed or influenced by the money that we spend
on expensive buildings and lavish furnishings.
He has all the glory of the universe in which to dwell, and all the
earth with all it contains is but a footstool to Him. What He desires is a person who is willing to
humble himself before Him and learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth. It is God’s people who He recognizes as His
temple today and, in fact, He always has.
He just wanted to use a physical structure to teach us what His
spiritual house should be like. It was
this spiritual house, though, that He always had in His heart. This is His Church, His Body, and His
Tabernacle. It is invisible as
structures go because it is God’s people who are the building blocks of this
temple. They are lively stones who are
built upon the foundation of the Apostles’ teachings and example. Jesus Christ Himself is the chief corner
stone from which the whole house is plumbed and leveled.
During Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman whom He met
in Sychar at Jacob's well, she asked where it was that God preferred to be
worshipped. She said, "Our
fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship." Jesus'
answer couldn't have been plainer. "Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in
this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we
worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship
Him. God is a Spirit: and they that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:20-24).
The Samaritan woman’s question is just as relevant today as
it was two thousand years ago. With all
of the churches, mosques, and synagogues that there are today; and with all of
the sects, divisions, and denominations there are within those major religions,
how can one know where they ought to worship, and which group they should align
themselves with? The answer is simple. God is seeking only those who are willing to
worship Him in spirit and truth. It is
not a matter of where we worship, but who! It is not this place or that place, but
neither; because it is not a building or a certain doctrine that makes the
church, it is every born again believer.
They may not all believe exactly the same things, but that’s ok, they
are still joined one to another in a mystical bond of fellowship in the Lord
Jesus.
Today, pastor's are encouraging their congregations to go
deeply into debt for large, new churches with large recreation centers attached
and sometimes a building to house a school also. They call them "campuses" now
because they cover such a large acreage and can contain multiple
buildings. In order to support such
programs, the people are asked to give over and above a tenth of their income
and then to give more for "special" offerings as well! This is not the example that the early church
set in the beginning. Not once do we
read where there was a building campaign so that a local church could erect
some large building in order to reach more souls. It seems they did fine with what they had,
and souls were being converted by the thousands. The western church today has become so soft,
though, that they would have trouble holding a crowd if it weren’t for the
padded pews and the finery. Many of the
poorer churches in 3rd world and communist countries you will find are the most
alive spiritually because they can’t afford expensive buildings and, in some
cases, to meet openly at all. The
emphasis is the Word of God, inner growth in the Spirit, and sacrificial love
for God and for their brethren.
In the book of Acts, and in some of Paul's letters to the
churches, we discover that the first century Christians met in people's homes. (See
Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Acts 2:46; Philemon 1:2). This was because they were taught that they
were the church, and not some building.
Peter said, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
(1Peter 2:5) And Paul said, "What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We
see here the principle that we illustrated in the beginning: the natural was
first set forth, but afterward, the spiritual.
If those first four temples had been God's perfect will, would He not
have preserved them all along? But He
had a plan fixed in His mind from the beginning, and saw down through the ages
to its fulfillment in Christ. The
Prophet Haggai spoke of Christ's return and the glory of the church which He
would establish. "For thus saith
the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the
heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all
nations, and the desire of all nations [Jesus Christ] shall come: and I
will fill this house [the body of Christ] with glory, saith the LORD of
hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold
is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD
of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." (Haggai
2:6-9). We know that only in Christ do
we find true peace and not in some earthly building. The glory of this latter house, this
spiritual temple that is His people, shall far exceed the glory of any other
temple that has ever been built.
From a practical standpoint, I know that God's people must
meet somewhere. Small groups can and
should meet in believer's homes. This
creates a comfortable, informal setting where Christians can learn to love and
minister to one another as the early church did, and truly become a
family. As the groups grow, they can
always find a larger space to hold meetings without incurring a burden of financial
debt on the people. It is also possible
that several small fellowships could exist in different homes and come together
for a fellowship meeting once a month.
God will speak to the Elders and leadership when the time comes and let
them know what is best for their particular needs. God will provide a place, and the storehouse
can then be used for real world needs.
The resources that God has blessed His people with should be used for
the work of the ministry, yes; but also to clothe the naked, and feed the
hungry. The money that many churches
pour into their facilities is often more about the comfort of the patrons, than
the calling of the lost.
Jesus stirred the wrath of the "religious" leaders
of His day by saying, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up... But He spake of the temple of His body." (John
2:19, 21). Even though the glory of God
had departed from the Jews temple, they were still bound to the temporal rather
than being aware of the spiritual. God's
glory was resting somewhere altogether unexpected by most of the Jews. The Bible says, "...the Word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." (Luke 3:2). The people were drawn out to John in the wilderness,
not because he was soft spoken, or well dressed, or offered them an air
conditioned sanctuary and a padded pew; but they came to John because the Word
of God was on His lips, and they weren't hearing the same things from the
scribes, Pharisees, and religious leaders of their day. Truly, our emphasis
is on the wrong things today. Even when
something is clearly not working, it is hard to get folks to try something new,
which is not new at all, but simply the pattern set by the Apostles of Christ.
It is time that we learn to worship God in spirit and in
truth and quit putting our trust in buildings and individuals. Jesus is our King, and we are His holy
temple! We can't afford to fall into the
same trap that Israel did. "For
Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath
multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall
devour the palaces thereof." (Hosea 8:14).
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