A Spiritual House

Pastor E. Keith Hassell

John 4:19-26 NKJV “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”

John 4:23-24 (Wuest Translation): “But there comes an hour and it is now when the genuine worshipers shall worship the Father in a spiritual sphere, and in the sphere of Truth. For indeed, the Father is seeking such as these who worship Him. God, as to His nature, is spirit, and for those who are worshiping, it is necessary in the nature of the case to be worshiping in a spiritual sphere, and in the sphere of truth.”

I. Jesus said that He would build His house, the church

A. Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

II. The House of God is spiritual

A. No more worship in the temples in Samaria or Jerusalem

1. John 4:19-21 “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.’”

B. Jesus proclaims the earthly temple’s spiritual desolation

1. Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

C. Jesus foretells the earthly temple’s physical destruction

1. Matthew 24:1-2 “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.”

D. The true Tabernacle of God is in heaven

1. Hebrews 8:1-5 “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”

2. Hebrews 9:11 “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.”

E. The church is a spiritual house

1. 2 Corinthians 6:16 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

2. Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

3. 1 Peter 2:4-5 “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

III. This spiritual house is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone

A. The corner stone must be perfectly square or else the whole foundation will veer off track. Cornerstones that were not “true” were rejected.

B. The apostolic ministry establishes the logos word (doctrine)

C. The prophetic ministry clarifies the rhema word (direction)

D. The logos (Scripture) and rhema (prophetic) must agree in order to build

IV. The House of God is built of “lively stones”

A. “Lively stones” speak of those are alive spiritually.

B. “Lively stones” worship in spirit and in truth

1. John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”

C. “Lively stones” serve in spirit

1. Romans 1:9 “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,”

D. “Lively stones” are willing and obedient

1. Isaiah 1:19 “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;”

V. This spiritual house is built by the Holy Spirit

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