Who We Are-God's Temple
A few weeks ago, we saw in 1 Pet 2:9 that we ARE a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special treasure. Today, we want to look at not only the fact that we are His priesthood, but we are actually God’s temple! It was in the temple of the Old Testament that God’s presence dwelt, but it in us as His temple that His presence dwells today.
1 Cor 3:16-17(NIV) Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Heb 9:1-5 (NIV) Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover (mercy seat).a But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
Let us briefly look at the Old Testament temple to get an idea of what Paul was referring to when he said we ARE the temple of God. Moses was told to build the tabernacle in the wilderness after a specific plan that God gave him. The details of that plan are found in the book of Exodus. Here is a brief summary:
1. Outer court
a. Brazen Altar—burnt offering and sacrifices were made here
b. Brazen Laver—priests washed here
2. Holy Place
a. Table of Showbread
b. Golden Candlestick
c. Golden Altar of Incense
---------------------------------------------Veil--------------------------------
3. Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place)
a. Ark of the Covenant—covered by the Mercy Seat—covered in gold—2 cherubim with their wings extended over the ark of the covenant
i. Golden jar of Manna
ii. Aaron’s rod that budded
iii. Tablets of the law
b. Place where God’s presence dwelled
Now it is clear from scripture that God’s presence dwelt only in the Holy of Holies above the mercy seat that covered the Ark of the Covenant.
Exodus 25:21-22 (NIV) Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
Leviticus 16:2 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover (Mercy Seat).
There was a thick curtain, (veil) that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The priests could enter the Holy Place anytime they wanted to and they did so regularly. But only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) and he could only do it one time a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Which by the way, was October 4th, or this last Tuesday.
Now Paul says that we ARE the temple of God. He says that our bodies ARE the temple of God. “That is the solemn truth of Scripture, that every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God. How could we ever think of taking a body in which the Holy Spirit dwells and using it for vile purposes? Not only is our body the shrine of the Holy Spirit, but in addition, we are not our own. It is not for us to take our bodies and use them the way we desire. In the final analysis, they do not belong to us; they belong to the Lord.” [i]
Of course, he is referring to believers—those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ—the church. In 1 Cor 6:20 he says that we are not our own—we have been bought with a price—that price is the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:18-19).
In Jewish understanding God lives in his Temple; that is where His glory dwells, His Sh˒khinah (MJ 1:2–3N), His Spirit. [ii] Just as the Jews had one temple only, so in the fullest sense all Christian churches and individual believers form one temple only. . . . The unseen, but much more efficient, Spirit of God in the spiritual temple now takes the place of the visible Shekinah in the old material temple.[iii]
So if the presence of God dwells in His temple in only one place—the Holy of Holies—then that means we are God’s Holy of Holies today because the scripture tells us that He dwells in us! No longer is the presence of God hidden behind a veil. Now it is in open view through His living church—His living temple—US!
If we ARE the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place), then the only way we could become that is by the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. It is not by anything we could do on our own. God created us as new creations to have His divine nature dwelling in us (2 Cor 5:17; 2 Pet 1:4). God made us as a dwelling place for His Holy Spirit, so that the entire world could see His glory.
Now if that seems too far fetched to believe, I can understand that you might think that way. However, it is truth. That is why we have been studying what the scripture says we ARE. We are seeing that God has a different view of us than what we may have been taught or feel like. This is shouting material when you really understand who you are IN CHRIST!
God told Moses to build the tabernacle after a specific plan, which is the plan of the heavenly tabernacle that was not made by hands (Heb 9:11). A friend of mine, who is a converted Jew, Dick Reuben, always said “When the pattern is right, the glory will fall.” Once Moses got the pattern right in the Old Testament, God’s “shekinah” glory fell on the tabernacle and dwelt above the mercy seat (Ex 40:34-35). This “shekinah” glory is the presence of God that traveled with them through the wilderness. It was a great cloud by day to provide shade and a pillar of fire by night to provide light and warmth (Ex 13:21-22).
Since Jesus paid the price for our sins, we were able to be bought by the price of His blood and became God’s Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place). So the pattern was right, and the glory fell on us when we accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Now the Holy Spirit of God lives in us—that is His glory lives in us.
Does it sound like heresy to say that we are the dwelling place of Holy God—His Holy of Holies? What do we teach children about where Jesus lives when they accept Him? “In my heart.” Well, if Jesus or the Holy Spirit live in our hearts, then that must be the place where God’s Spirit dwells. Just as in the Old Testament, the only place God’s Spirit dwelt was in the Holy of Holies. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be IN us, not on us like He was in the Old Testament (John 14:17). He also said that if we love Him, the Father and Jesus will come to live with us (John 14:23).
John 14:17 (NIV) the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will bea in you.
John 14:23 (NIV) Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Ephesians 2:21-22 (NIV) 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.
Since we ARE the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) on earth, then we also have contained within us the same thing that was in the original tabernacle. Let’s look at what was in the Ark of the Covenant and gain a further understanding of how God’s glory lives in us. There were 3 items that God told Moses to put inside the Ark of Covenant:
1. Golden Pot of Manna (Ex 16.32-34)—this represented how God provided food for them when they were in the wilderness for 40 years.
2. Aaron’s Rod that Budded (Num 17:10)—this represented that Aaron was chosen by God as High Priest and it was through him that the authority of the priesthood was established by God
3. Tablets of the Covenant (Ex 31:18, 32:15, Deut 9:9,11,15; 10:3-5)—Ten Commandments written on stone by the finger of God. This is called the “words of the covenant” (Ex 34:28) and provided them the rules they needed to be a holy people.
What is the significance of these items to us? If we are the Most Holy Place of God, then there must be an Ark of the Covenant in us. And what must be in that ark are the same 3 items, since God works off patterns and never changes. “The natural always reveals the spiritual” according to Dick Reuben. Let’s look at these natural items to learn what the spiritual items are in our lives.
1. The golden pot of manna—this is the testimony of God’s provision in our lives that should be revealed to all who know us. Like David we can say, our God has never failed us (Psalm 37:25 (NIV) I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.) Or in the words of Paul, Philippians 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.)
--We should declare His goodness and give out the Bread of Life (Jesus) to all those around us.
2. Aarons’ rod that budded—as priests of God, we are to minister to those around us. We are to represent our God as His ambassadors and declare His reconciliation (restoration to friendship). We have been given the authority by our High Priest Jesus to serve God in worship and sacrifices—praises such as the fruit of our lips (Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.)
-- We are His representatives and have power in His name. God wants us to set the captives free and take authority over the enemy in the lives of people.
3. Tablets of the covenant—these are the words we are to use to guide and instruct us. God’s Word spoken in His Holy Temple has all the authority and power needed to crush the enemy and break down the walls he tries to build around us. (Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.) We should be skillful in the use of His Word so that nothing the enemy can do can defeat us.
--The Word of God is powerful and as covenant partners with God, we need to learn to use it in our daily lives to give us victory and make us more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.
(3:17 Apparently there were false teachers who had come into the church at Corinth and whose instruction tended more to sin than to holiness. They did not think it a serious matter to thus cause havoc in a temple of God, so Paul thunders out this solemn declaration: “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.” Viewed in its local setting, this means that if any man enters a local church and wrecks its testimony, God will destroy him. The passage is speaking of false teachers who are not true believers in the Lord Jesus. The seriousness of such an offense is indicated by the closing words of verse 17: “For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” [iv] )
As the temple of God we are the place where God’s glory is to live on this earth. In the temple, the incense rose over the mercy seat. Today we are that sweet aroma to God that rises up to His throne. Are we hiding His glory, like the veil of the Old Testament, by sin in our lives? Or are we letting His glory shine forth with His Holiness in us?
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a Traditionally the mercy seat
[i]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (electronic ed.) (1 Co 6:19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[ii]Stern, D. H. (1992). Jewish New Testament commentary : A companion volume to the Jewish New Testament. Includes index. (1st ed.) (1 Co 3:16). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish New Testament Publications.
[iii]Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (1 Co 6:19). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a Some early manuscripts and is
[iv]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (electronic ed.) (1 Co 3:16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.