The Temple of God

When people talk about the temple of God, they almost always think about a structure. From the beginning of time men and women have attended a ‘special’ place which they believe was the residence, temple, or meeting place, of God on Earth. Regardless of the religion, a lot of money, time, sweat and even lives have been spent on the Temple of God. People want to make it more beautiful, more accessible and more grandiose. They think that God will visit them because they have come to “the right place” to meet with Him. Sadly, many Christians have that concept because they don’t understand the truth of what Christ accomplished for us.

Approximately 2,800 years ago a man named Solomon ascended the throne of Israel. He was a devout Jew, and had reverence for the God of Israel. Solomon was blessed by God with great wealth and wisdom, and he embraced the task of building the Temple of God according to the Word which had been given to his father, David. When it was finished it was truly a spectacle to behold, and God Himself even showed up in approval! The Lord Himself manifested His presence when the work was completed – so much that even the priests weren’t able to stay inside the building because of His glory.

Yet for all the splendor of that building, Solomon sensed that there was something more that God intended. In his dedication of the Temple of God he made this keen observation;

1 Kings 8:27-28

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”

Even though tremendous amounts of gold, silver, precious stones and fine cloths were included in the construction, Solomon realized it was not enough! He knew the Scriptures (the Law of Moses), and understood that God didn’t want a place, He wanted a people;

Lev 26:11-12

I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

God wanted to be among His people, to fellowship with them and share His goodness with those who would faithfully follow Him. He longed to have a people He could call His own.

Centuries passed and the Temple of God was destroyed because the people of God had rebelled against Him. As a consequence, Israel was scattered among the nations – just as God had forewarned. But He wasn’t finished with them yet. He gathered them back into the land given to Abraham, and a new Temple was built. It’s at this point in time that Jesus came on the scene – to complete the desires of God’s heart;

John 4:23-24

“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.”

Since the Temple of God had already been destroyed once (and would be destroyed again for the same reason), Jesus came to make provision for God to have a dwelling place among His people. Would it be another temple, even more magnificent than the others? The answer is a resounding NO! The temple that God wanted was the human body. It was to be the body of each believer who would come to Him in faith;

John 14:23

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

When you ‘go to church,’ what do you think and feel? Is the place you meet at special? Is there some kind of holiness imparted to the buildings we label as churches? Is that where God is to be found? Again, the answer is a resounding NO! God is found within the hearts of those who seek Him sincerely. That’s by His design, because He wants a people, not a place;

1 Cor 6:19-20

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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

If we have committed our lives to following Christ and His Word, then we have become the Temple of God! God approved of the building that Solomon built when it was dedicated to Him, and manifested His presence in a powerful – and obvious – way. How much more will He approve of those Who seek Him? How much more will He manifest Himself in and through those who live their lives as He intended, making their bodies the Temple of God?