We read in Act 2:46-47, And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Webster)
There are two words in the above mentioned verses that I would like to highlight in this message. In verse 46 there is a reference to the temple, and in verse 47 that is a reference to the church. Whether we refer to the temple of God or the church of God we realize that God is the focal point of both.
We will try to understand what the bible means with reference to the temple of God, and the church of God. As God is the central focus of the temple or the church, we will first and foremost try to comprehend who our God truly is.
God is holy
In Isaiah 6:3, we read, “And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Webster)
The prophet Isaiah in a vision beheld the Lord God seated on His throne, and around the throne of God, these were the happenings that he observed. The angels were worshipping God by declaring that the Lord of hosts was most holy, and that the earth was full of His glory. If there is one word to define who God is, it is the word ‘Holy’ for our God is a most holy One.
We read in Habakkuk 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil; and you cannot tolerate wickedness.”(ISV)
God is so holy that His eyes cannot even gaze upon evil, and He does not tolerate wickedness.
Let us be reminded that our God is a most holy God, and He gave man the authority to rule over all of His creation. The work entrusted to man was to rule and exercise authority over everything that God made. Just as a government employee is entrusted with powers by the government to carry out certain duties, so also man was endowed with powers by God to exercise rule over God’s creation. However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed the commandment of the holy God and dishonored Him, this was the consequence.
We read in Genesis 3:24, “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (ASV)
When Adam and Eve got deceived by the serpent, and disobeyed the Holy God, both of them were driven out of God’s presence. The Lord also prevented from entering again into that Garden of Eden, lest they gain access to the tree of life. The Lord therefore kept a cherubim with a flaming sword to keep Adam and Eve out of that garden. Only after being driven out of God’s presence, Adam and Eve must have recognized what they had, and also must have discussed with each other about what they had forfeited.
It must have been these narrations about God that probably motivated their children Cain and Abel to bring sacrifices to the Lord. However, all those who descended after Adam and Eve, could never enjoy the wonderful presence of God that Adam and Eve relished in the Garden of Eden. While God remained holy, mankind became defiled because of sin.
The tabernacle in the wilderness
Many years later these were the word of God to Moses as recorded in Exodus 25:8,"The people will build a holy place for me. Then I can live among them.” (ERV)
The Lord wanted to dwell amongst the people of Israel. We see that the Almighty God is so loving that He wanted to make His abode with human beings. Though mankind was filled with sin and wickedness, it was still God’s amazing love that prompted Him to have this fellowship with fallen man. As the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness, they set up a tent into which the presence of the Lord descended. God’s desire we see is that He should come, and dwell among His people.
The temple at Jerusalem
After the wanderings of the Israelites were all done, they entered the Promised Land. It was after they had settled there that King Solomon built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. Even the foundation of this temple was made of expensive stones. This temple was dedicated to the Lord, and these were the words of the Lord as recorded below.
We read in 2 Chronicles 7:15, “Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place.” (ASV)
This was a great privilege for the people of Israel for the presence of God dwelt in that temple, and the main purpose of the temple was to be a place of prayer. God guaranteed that His eyes would be open, and His ears attentive to the prayers that would be made in that temple.
However, with time, by the time Jesus came down to the earth, the sole purpose of the temple was totally forgotten. The purpose of the temple was for prayer, and for people to gather together to confess their sins, and get right with God. Sadly, this glorious aspiration was forgotten.
Jesus cleared the temple
When Jesus entered the temple these were His words as recorded in Mark 11:15,“And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;”(ASV)
Mark 11:17, “And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers.” (ASV)
The temple had become a business center, and the Lord Jesus was enraged. Over the years the purpose of the temple was forgotten, and there was those who had made it a place to earn more money for themselves. Jesus has to emphasize that the temple was His house, where He resides, and that it was built to be a house of prayer for all nations. What was meant to be a place of prayer had become a den of robbers. A den of robbers implies that it was filled with things that were not rightfully theirs, and a place where the booty was divided among the thieves. No wonder Jesus was greatly angered.
Even today, we will observe churches with great architecture, and if we were to delve into its history, we will realize that these were built with sacrifices of many who sincerely wanted them to be places of prayer and worship. As the years roll on, there is more importance give to the structure, than to the purpose for which the church was built in the first place. In addition, most of what happens in it, is completely against the principles set by God. Yet, many are so proud of their association with a certain church, just because it has been in existence for many long years. Often the church building is given greater prominence than to the Lord Himself.
Jesus was not impressed with the structure
One day as Jesus was walking beside the temple at Jerusalem, some of the disciples pointed out to Jesus the beauty of the architecture.
We read in Luke 21:5-6, “Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said, "All this you see— the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; everyone will be thrown down." (GNB)
When the disciples spoke about the brilliance of the structure, Jesus was prompt to remind them that a time would come soon, when one single stone will not be left in place, but that all of it would be destroyed. There might have been a question that arose in the minds of those who heard this as to how the temple, where God resides could be demolished.
It is good to remind ourselves that whenever, the purpose of the church is forgotten or moves away from it, and when it is used for selfish gain and use, that day the purpose of the church will be ruined, and the Lord will not abide there.
Where does God dwell?
So, the question that could arise in our mind is, ‘Where does God dwell?’
We read in John 2:18-21, “The Jewish authorities came back at him with a question, "What miracle can you perform to show us that you have the right to do this?" Jesus answered, "Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again." "Are you going to build it again in three days?" they asked him. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple!" But the temple Jesus was speaking about was his body. (GNB)
The religious leaders in the days of Jesus loved the temple more than they loved God, and gave the temple far greater importance. They were proud that they were the ones who were in authority in the temple, and when one did not comply with their rules and regulations, they ex-communicated them. To such the Lord Jesus told them that if they tore down the temple, He could rebuild it in three days. This was a shocking statement to the religious leaders who knew that it took forty six years to build the temple at Jerusalem.
God does not dwell in temples made by men
The temple that Jesus was speaking about was His body. When one speaks about the church, often the picture that comes to our mind is of a building, but we see that Jesus gave a brand new explanation for what the temple truly is. Jesus was referring to His body, and it was explicit that the Lord Almighty would no longer dwell in buildings made by men.
Here’s the words in the discourse by Stephen before he was martyred. We read in Act 7:47-48, “But Solomon was the one who built the Temple. "But the Most High God does not live in houses built by human hands.”” (ERV)
Paul also reinforced the same message as recorded in Act 17:24,"He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands.” (ERV)
Both the above mentioned verses clearly explain to us the truth that God no longer dwells in the buildings made by men. After Jesus came down to the earth there were many changes, and one of the most important ones was that God no longer dwells in the church buildings that are built by human hands. It is only a building, and is used for the purpose of gathering, but God does not dwell there. Contrarily, everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, and has their sins forgiven by His blood, become the temple of God, within whom God comes to dwell. Our bodies are the temple of the living God, and God dwells inside of us.
Many people would be fearful to do wrong inside the premises of a church building simply because they think that God dwells inside the building. However, the same people will live any way they want once they are outside. There are others who are destroying their bodies because of various addictions. Some are involved in various other evil ways, and are thereby defiling their bodies. The Lord reminds us that our bodies are the temple of God where He desires to reside.
Our bodies are God’s holy temple
In the Old Testament when Adam and Eve sinned there was a huge gulf created between God and man. However, when God the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, everyone who believes in Jesus, is delivered from their sins. Though our sins are like scarlet, the blood of Jesus can make them white as snow. As those who are cleansed we now become the holy people inside of whom God can dwell.
Paul writing to the Corinthian Church says it this way in, 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary.” (TPT)
Paul reminds the church at Corinth that our bodies are the temples of the living God. For those who feel weak because of any sort of sinfulness, you can pray to God, and ask for His cleansing and invite Him to make your body His own temple. Invite the Lord Jesus to come into your life and decide that you will not do anything to defile this precious body which is God’s holy temple. You will experience tremendous changes in your lives when you do so.
What is the purpose of the church?
If you are wondering, ‘What then is the church?’ let me explain this to you. In the early church when Peter preached after the day of Pentecost thousands were added to the church. This is what they did as recorded in the verse below.
In Act 2:42 we read, “Every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles. Their hearts were mutually linked to one another, sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer.”(TPT)
There are four aspects that were followed by the early church believers.
Firstly, they were faithfully devoted to the apostle’s teachings. The main purpose of the church is that it be a place where the word of God is taught diligently. Just as children go to school to be taught by teachers, the children of God should also gather together to be taught to rightly divide the word of God
Secondly, they fellowshipped with one another at church. Believers in the Lord Jesus should be united to one another, with genuine love for each other. One translation says that their hearts were linked one with another.
Thirdly, they broke bread together. This is an important part of the church as Jesus Himself taught His disciples that they should do it as often as they could to be reminded of His death on the cross. The death of Jesus is so significant, because the sinless Son of God took the sins of all sinful mankind on Himself, and gave His life up for us on the cross of Calvary. The bread and the wine that we partake in, are to remind us of His body that was broken for us, and His precious blood was shed on our behalf.
Every time we do this we remind ourselves that we are members of the body of Christ because of this redemptive act of Jesus on our behalf. God has removed the gulf of sin that remained between us and God, and the holy God has made His dwelling inside of us.
Fourthly, they were all together in one accord in prayer. They were praying for themselves, for those in authority and for the nations. The early church tarried in prayer, and received strength from the Lord.
We have tried to understand what is the temple of God, and the church of God as is revealed to us today. May we surrender our bodies to be the temple of the living Lord, and let us live holy lives wherever we are, so that the Lord will be honored in and through our lives.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
