The very presence of God no longer resides in any special location on this earth, but the Bible tells us that instead the church, the gathering of Jesus’ followers, makes up his home on this earth. So rather than going to where God dwells, God has chosen to dwell among his people. This truth is what makes the church sacred and holy to God.
Temple
Today we conclude our series on the church, the Ekklesia, the gathered people of God. I have loved seeing how much the Bible teaches us through analogies regarding the existence and function of the church. We know that every analogy breaks down at some point; so to give us the fullest possible understanding of the church and its relationship with God and among its members, the Bible gives us four analogies. Each one teaches and enlightens us about a different facet of the church.
Up to this point we have seen that the Ekklesia is not a building or a service, but a gathered people. Yes, here at First Baptist we do meet in the building with the unique roofline, but that’s not who we are.
The Family of God analogy teaches how we are to relate to one another. We, the people of God, are a family; so our relationships with one another should be governed by how we treat family.
The Body of Christ analogy shows how God functions in this world through each of us doing our unique part. Rather than trying to assimilate us all into a single cookie-cutter mode to serve Him in identical ways, God works through our differences of skills, interests, and gifts to serve His purpose in our own unique ways.
The Bride of Christ analogy teaches who God loves: us, His church and His bride. As His bride, we should focus our devotion, commitment, purity and adoration solely on the ONE who has given everything for us.
Today we look at the final analogy the Bible uses to define the church: we are a building. We are a Body, a Bride, and a Building. I know we’ve already said that the Ekklesia is not the building, but the building mentioned here is special. We’re not a pole barn or even a spectacular piece of architecture. We are called the Temple of God. We are GOD’S HOME among humanity.
Home, Sweet Home
“Home.” Think of all the feelings that word elicits. After a tiring day at work, the satisfaction of pulling into your driveway, going into your house and plopping down on your couch gives you that “finally home” feeling. Or maybe you’ve been on a long trip or had a stint in the hospital, and you experience a feeling of excitement when you can finally return home to the comforts of your own space.
Home is about more than the building. Part of what makes it special is that home is where your family is. If you’re married, it’s where you will find your bride. It’s the place where everything comes together. It’s no coincidence that many people call their home their sanctuary. It’s their special and sacred space to rest and relax.
Considering what “home” means to all of us, is it any wonder that the gathered people of God are called God’s home – His house – His temple? We are His family, His bride, so of course we are the place where God resides. His very presence is with us and among us; and since God dwells among us, it makes sense to call us His house or His temple.
This is described clearly and repeatedly in scripture.
The Church is God’s Home
1 Peter 2:4-5 – As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter refers to Jesus as the Living Stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God. This points back to the famous prophecy about Jesus in Psalm 118:22, which tells of the stone the builders rejected becoming the chief cornerstone.
It’s important for us to see that Jesus is not the only living stone. As followers of Jesus, we, too, are living stones and are being built into a spiritual house. This focus on “living” stones means we don’t just have the status of being part of the church. We aren’t just names on a registry of people among whom God dwells.
No, our very lives make up His spiritual house. How we treat people, how we bless the world with our gifts, how we worship God with our lips – these are our spiritual sacrifices we make to God as the house in which He dwells. We aren’t a part of the church only when we sit in our pews, but our status goes with us every moment of every day. Whether we as the church are gathered or scattered, our membership among the people makes us living stones housing God’s presence.
As we’ve already discussed, your house is your home. It’s where you live, where people will find you, where your presence stays. It’s significant for us on this side of the Cross of Jesus that God dwells among us! His house – His home – is wherever WE are.
Before Jesus, people had to go to God’s dwelling. First it was the tabernacle that moved with the Israelites through the wilderness. Then Solomon erected a permanent temple, and three times a year all the Israelites were called to go to the temple to make sacrifices and worship God at His house.
Now we live under the New Covenant, and there is no longer a temple where we must go to meet God. There is nothing special about church buildings in which His presence resides. He resides in us, the living stones who make up His house.
There is some confusion among Christians on this point. In Week 1 of this series, I said the church is not a building. This latest analogy, however, says the church is a building. This can cause people to miss the analogy and think God has a special presence in our church buildings. The people, when we gather together, make up the “home” of God. The building in which we meet simply offers us shelter when we meet.
The special presence of God isn’t found in a place, but in the gathering. That’s what makes up God’s house! That’s where outsiders should be drawn – not to our buildings with steeples, but to us, the people of God, by how we live our lives and how we love one another.
The Church Fits Together with Purpose
Ephesians 2:19-22 – 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Here again we see the clear analogy of a building that is constructed with purpose and design. First (also pulling from Psalm 118:22) it focuses our attention on Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. Just as Christ is the Head of the body in that analogy, He is the most important stone in the structure in this analogy. Jesus is always first, but He is with us and we are able to be a part of what He builds. He’s not above or beyond us; we see in these metaphors that He invites us to join Him.
After Jesus, the apostles and prophets are the foundation. They followed Jesus and gave shape to the church and to the life of every follower of Jesus to come after them.
After the apostles and the prophets, all of us are joined together and rise into the temple, the home for God. Notice the orderliness and the intention. There is a design and a plan. Blocks in a building have to fit together. They have to rest on one another. Otherwise, all you have is a rock pile and you can’t live in a rock pile unless you’re a snake! We need one another to fit together to make up this home for God, specifically His Spirit.
Before I go on, I have to address a common misconception many people have. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” This is true, but it also leads some people to think they can do this faith thing all on their own. They feel that since they have the Spirit inside of them, they don’t need a church.
Paul, however (the same author who wrote 1 Corinthians) also wrote this passage from Ephesians that clearly points to the unity necessary for the church to become a singular temple for the Lord. This text (combined with the passage from 1 Peter about us as living stones being built into a spiritual house) makes it clear that we are called to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Each of us who decides to follow Jesus is called to join with other Christians in a church. A single stone can’t make a temple! The temple is constructed only when all of us are joined together.
This is just one more place we see that for those who follow Jesus, being connected to a church is NOT optional! I know I’m preaching to the choir here, if you are here today listening to this message. My hope, though, is that you can take what you hear today and share it with the people you care about – people who you know follow Jesus but who for one reason or another have disconnected from church.
I know these people think it doesn’t matter, but that is simply not what Jesus, Peter or Paul taught. Being a part of an Ekklesia and “doing faith” with others is a significant part of the teaching in all four of these analogies. I think this is about a lot more than simple obedience; it is about what God knows is truly better for His kids!
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but next week is kind of a great time to invite people to church! Think right now about who you can invite to join you at church for Easter next week. Maybe you don’t even need to tell them about how the church is so important – just use the holiday as a reason to invite them, and promise they won’t be disappointed. God is doing something special here, and I trust He will show everyone next week why being a part of a church is good for them.
The Church is Sacred – Don’t Destroy It
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Again we see that “you yourselves” (plural “you,” meaning all of us) are God’s temple. Together, as a community, we are where God dwells. We make up His home, and to God, His home is special; it is sacred.
If someone tried to burn down your house, you would be upset. God feels the same way. This is an incredible warning in this passage: if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy them!
This is a very clear warning, and yet many Christians feel free to throw flames around the community about their church or other churches in town. I understand that you may be upset about something going on in your church, or you may disagree with other churches. This passage doesn’t tell us to just accept that everything done by every church is ordained by the hand of God. We know that a lot of churches have hurt a lot of people. However, how you address those shortcomings is important. Are you trying to help root out sin and improve God’s temple, or are you trying to burn it to the ground?
Right here at First Baptist, if you see something you disagree with, I would love for you to come and talk to me. That’s what family does. We discuss our differences. This protects you from the warning of this passage: if instead you go gossiping around the community in an effort to damage the church, God will, in fact, be against you.
This warning, I believe, simply shows how much God cares about His church. As His temple, we are sacred to Him, beloved and protected.
Conclusion
As I was thinking about this analogy of a building, I kept thinking about the game Jenga – that game with the long, skinny blocks that build a tall, narrow tower. In the game, you have to remove a block from somewhere in the tower and stack it on top to make the tower taller. However, as you remove more and more blocks from the tower, it gets weaker and is more easily toppled.
We all need to recognize the incredible blessing we have to be where God dwells on this earth; and we must also recognize it as the incredible responsibility it is. When the world wants to find God they will find Him in our midst. We need to take that seriously!
Our study of “Ekklesia” has shown us from beginning to end that God loves His church and wants everyone to be a part of a local church. Being connected with a church family is NOT optional for a Christian! With that in mind, I applaud all of you who are newer to First Baptist and have landed here in the past year or so. (That’s about a third of you.) I know many of you came from situations in which you were frustrated with a church or had stopped going to church altogether. But you didn’t give up. You ;didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, but instead made sure to find a new church home. I hope we can be an incredibly supportive church family for all of you. We need you and you need us!
More than anything else, I want us to be a strong and healthy church where others can come and join us and meet Jesus. I want people to be able to plug in and serve with their gifts – to feel the love of a family and give love to others.
We are the Family of God in how we relate to one another.
As the Body of Christ we show our community and our world how God functions.
As the Bride of Christ we are chosen and cherished – the ones who are loved by God.
As the Temple of God we are where God resides.
We are the Gathered Ones – the representatives of a God who is “not willing that any should perish.” We have received the indescribable blessing of “God With Us.” Therefore we bear a precious and humbling responsibility to be The Church every day and spread the blessing.
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