Sermon – City of God

What a beautiful concept concerning the city of God. Of course, we understand that the location for the “city of God” described in this Psalm is the city of Jerusalem, where the “Ark of the Covenant” resided in the Temple that Solomon constructed. 

Residing with the Ark

However, God resided with the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle before residing in the Solomonic Temple. As we know, God instructed the Israelites to create a dwelling place for Him to reside so He could cohabit with His people. The Israelites built the Tabernacle in the desert, and when completed, we read in Ex 40:34–35 that “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”[1] So in a sense, initially, the city of God was located within the Tabernacle, which resided with the Israelites in the desert.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 40:34–35.

Exodus 40:34–35 ESV

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Ark and Tabernacle at Shiloh

Then, with the conquest of Canaan, the Israelites moved the Tabernacle into Shiloh. God continued to reside in the Holy of Holies with the Ark of the Covenant for around 300 years.

“Shiloh would serve as the nation’s religious headquarters for the next 300 years.”

Edward E. Hindson

Why did the ark reside in Shiloh for only 300 years? ______________

What a beautiful concept concerning the city of God. Of course, we understand that the location for the “city of God” described in this Psalm is the city of Jerusalem, where the “Ark of the Covenant” resided in the Temple that Solomon constructed. 

The Ark as a weapon of war

Unfortunately, the Israelites seemed to have understood that the Ark was a weapon of war. During a battle described in 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh, hoping God would overwhelm the Philistines.

Ark captured by Philistines

Unfortunately, the Philistines won that battle and captured the Ark of the Covenant. For a bit of time, the residence of God was not with the Ark of the Covenant.

God is not residing with the Ark

When the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites, I am not sure that God resided where the Israelites moved the Ark. Even when David moved the Ark into Jerusalem, there does not seem to be evidence of the presence of God in the Ark like that evidence by God while in the desert.

Ark resides in the Temple built by Solomon

However, when Solomon dedicated the Temple, according to 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 “the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”[1] Hence, we know God’s presence was with the Ark of the Covenant, within the Holy of Holies.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ch 5:13–14.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 “and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”

God residing in the Holy of Holies

However, God residing in the Holy of Holies within the Solomonic Temple did not last. The Babylonian conquest in 587 BC destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah state that Jerusalem’s walls and the Temple were rebuilt. However, there does not seem to be any tremendous physical evidence that God was residing in the Holy of Holies like that experienced when Solomon dedicated the Temple. Even after Herod the Great, in the first century BC enhanced the Temple complex and the Temple building, there was no physical manifestation like that of the Solomonic Temple. Thus we have several centuries where the physical evidence of God cohabiting with the Israelites seen during the early stages of the nation of Israel is missing.

Did God determine never to cohabit with His people again?

Thankfully, there is an answer found in 1 Cor 3:16. The verse starts with “Don’t you know …?” This seems to be telling the people of Corinth that they should be well aware of the rest of the verse, which states, “… that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”[1] As one commentator states, this verse introduces an indisputable statement. We all should be aware of God’s presence within His Temple, which is within each of us, even in today’s world.

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Co 3:16. Thankfully, there is an answer found in 1 Cor 3:16. The verse starts with “Don’t you know …?” This seems to be telling the people of Corinth that they should be well aware of the rest of the verse, which states, “… that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”[1] As one commentator states, this verse introduces an indisputable statement. We all should be aware of God’s presence within His Temple, which is within each of us, even in today’s world.

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Co 3:16.

This an example of inclusion of an illustration that I would use in the sermon, but not necessarily in the sermon.

Here is an example of a prompt that I might use to ask the worship team to sing a song.

“We believe in the perseverance of the saints, but many are not saints, and therefore do not persevere. Nominal saints exhibit no final perseverance.”

Truth Stranger Than Fiction, Volume 35, Sermon #2081 - Joel 2:25

Charles Spurgeon

City of God location

So, based on this understanding, how can we understand what we should be doing to promote that the City of God is present in His community of people and that God resides within the city composed of the community of Christians? In other words, what does this mean for us at Providence Evangelical Friends Church?

First and foremost, from 1 Cor 3:9, we must understand that “we are part of God’s building,” therefore, we should know we are God’s Temple on earth, and as such, we should be holy.

1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV)

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

What does it mean that we are God’s building?

False teaching

What the Apostle Paul was preaching against in 1 Corinthians were the false teachers among the Corinthians who were teaching excessive, transgression doctrines that were particularly fitted to the taste of this lewd city. Corinth was known as a very corrupt city within the Roman Empire. The city was known throughout the Roman Empire as a city where morality was absent. Thus Paul was teaching that the Christians in Corinth must understand that they should constantly seek a life of purity and holiness. Paul stressed to the Corinthians that the church of Corinth, and every single believer among them, constituted the Temple of God.

Today’s understanding

Our understanding, therefore, should be the same for our church here at PEFC. Christian churches are temples of God. God is dwelling among His people through the Holy Spirit. Together we are to build a habitation for God through the Spirit. Every Christian thus becomes a living temple of the living God. When God dwelt in the Jewish Tabernacle and later the Temple, taking possession of and residing in it, He manifested a glorious cloud that was the token of His presence with that people. Today, Christ, by His Spirit, dwells in all true believers, and the fruits we bring into the community we live within a physical manifestation is seen.

Providence Evangelical Friends Church, as a Temple, should be devoted and consecrated to God and set apart for holy use, standing ready to provide immediate service to God. Similarly, all Christians are set apart for God and His service. We are sacred to Him, and since we are the temples of God, we must do nothing that would alienate ourselves from Him or corrupt and pollute ourselves and thereby become unfit for His use. We must be pure and clean both in heart and conversation.

One commentary stated, “to be visited by an earthly monarch would be a higher honour than to be admitted into his palace, so to have God dwelling in our hearts on earth is even a higher honour than to be admitted into his Temple ....”

Obtaining a magnificent honor

Shall we then be eager to obtain this magnificent honor? God has designed His Temple within each of us, so let’s make sure we enjoy the happiness and joy that comes about by having the presence of God in His Temple. We should heartily abhor and carefully avoid what would defile God’s Temple. We must maintain the Temple as a pure and holy residence for Our God and Lord! We must dedicate every passion to maintaining godliness to accomplish the abovementioned purity. We must be aware of issues that easily distract us from obtaining and maintaining purity and gratitude. We should also be aware that disregarding our maintenance of purity can result in actions that might be unpleasant.

Along these lines, I recently became aware of a hymn with the following refrain “Let us build the City of God. May our tears be turned into dancing! For the Lord, our light and our love has turned the night into day!” A primary objective of being in the service of God is to bring about a City of God that shines forth with such brilliance that people in the surrounding community wonder what is happening and begin to investigate.

So, as we close this sermon and have a time of prayer, let each person pray for the awareness of the issues in one’s life that are hindering the building of the City of God in your life and ask God for assistance in overcoming the issues.