WEBVTT 00:00:01.899 --> 00:00:03.919 I almost feel like I could fly over here to the 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:12.779 pulpit. Today we're looking in God's Word in 00:00:12.779 --> 00:00:15.080 Ephesians chapter 2. I invite you to turn there 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.420 with me. The Church of Jesus Christ is described 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:23.859 in the New Testament by many metaphors and pictures. 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.039 These serve as illustrations intended by the 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.880 Lord to enlighten us as to the nature of the 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:38.100 church. A study of these metaphors will give 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:43.200 us an understanding of what the church is and 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.799 also how it is to function. And that's really 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:50.240 important for us. For if we are a part of the 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.960 mystery of the ages, a new thing that God is 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:55.219 doing in this age, something He's never done 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:59.539 before and will never do again. If we are a part 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:01.979 of something as wonderful as the mystery of the 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:06.840 ages, the kingdom of heaven in a mystery form, 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:09.879 in a sense, if we are a part of something that 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:13.459 special, then we need to understand it and to 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:17.920 know how God intends for it to function. We need 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:20.599 to know how it functions in at least three respects. 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:25.799 First, in its relation to God. And then in its 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:30.400 relation to the world. And finally, in its relation 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.719 to itself, that is, how we are to function among 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:37.780 ourselves in ministry. The next few weeks, we're 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:40.000 going to take up a study of these metaphors and 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.879 pictures of the church, and we'll learn some 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.680 of these truths regarding what the church is 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.859 all about and how it should function in relation 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:53.579 to God and to the world around us and in relation 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:58.590 to itself. Our text today begins in Ephesians 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:01.430 2 .19 where it says, So then you are no longer 00:02:01.430 --> 00:02:04.790 strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens 00:02:04.790 --> 00:02:08.490 with the saints and are of God's household, having 00:02:08.490 --> 00:02:10.810 been built upon the foundation of the apostles 00:02:10.810 --> 00:02:14.110 and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the 00:02:14.110 --> 00:02:18.469 cornerstone, in whom the whole building being 00:02:18.469 --> 00:02:21.830 fitted together is growing into a holy temple 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:26.080 in the Lord, in whom you also are being... built 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.280 together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 00:02:30.419 --> 00:02:33.879 And so the metaphor that we are examining today 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.300 regarding the church is this, that the church 00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:41.620 is the holy temple of God. We're not talking 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:45.699 about a building now or a facility of brick and 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:49.580 mortar or of wood, but we're talking about the 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:55.599 people who populate and make up the church. I 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.400 remember the first impression I had of the word 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.500 church when I was a little boy and we started 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:03.520 attending church. I guess I was eight or nine 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:10.879 years of age. I remember that white ancient structure 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:15.639 that we used to enter and the tall doors made 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:19.800 out of a heavy wood. They would squeak open and 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.139 they would squeak shut. I remember having the 00:03:23.139 --> 00:03:25.419 impression that it didn't seem God ever oiled 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:29.740 the doors of this house. We would walk in and 00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:34.960 the ceiling was very high and lofty. And there 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:42.139 was a hush in the place. And there was a musty 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:50.560 kind of smell. And there was rather... rather 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:57.379 worn, thin carpet on the floor. And I remember 00:03:57.379 --> 00:04:02.240 having the impression as a young boy that this 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:07.180 is where God was. And I would be very quiet when 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:11.120 I came in there. And if nobody else was in the 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:16.240 sanctuary, as we called it, I would walk through 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.560 almost on tiptoes because I didn't want to arouse 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:25.100 God. Because to me, that's where God was, you 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:30.019 see. And how wrong that is. How wrong that is. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.300 God doesn't live there. God doesn't live over 00:04:35.300 --> 00:04:41.180 at B2 in Hamlin either. God does not reside in 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:44.329 an earthly structure. We are not talking about 00:04:44.329 --> 00:04:46.910 the building, the holy temple of God, as though 00:04:46.910 --> 00:04:49.610 it were a building that you went to to worship. 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:54.449 We're talking about the people of God, those 00:04:54.449 --> 00:04:57.649 who are genuinely saved, those who have trusted 00:04:57.649 --> 00:05:03.170 Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We, as a body, 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:09.870 make up the holy temple of God. What is the purpose 00:05:09.870 --> 00:05:13.389 of this holy temple of God? Well, we see in the 00:05:13.389 --> 00:05:16.769 last verse that we've read from Ephesians 2 that 00:05:16.769 --> 00:05:20.930 its purpose is to be a dwelling of God in the 00:05:20.930 --> 00:05:30.009 Spirit. In other words, this church, the temple 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:35.490 of God, is intended by Him to be His place of 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:40.629 residence in the world. Now, in the Old Testament, 00:05:40.769 --> 00:05:43.550 it was different because then God did dwell in 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:45.449 a building, and that's where we get the idea 00:05:45.449 --> 00:05:49.089 that I had when I was a small child. In fact, 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:51.470 it was God who commanded the construction of 00:05:51.470 --> 00:05:57.110 the tabernacle. He told Moses to build a tabernacle 00:05:57.110 --> 00:05:59.610 according to the specifications that he would 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:02.329 give. And in the book of Exodus, we have the 00:06:02.329 --> 00:06:04.990 specifications and the carrying out of them in 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:07.670 the construction of that marvelous, beautiful 00:06:07.670 --> 00:06:11.370 tent. that we call the tent of the meeting or 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:16.069 the tabernacle. That dwelling place was God's 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:20.569 idea. It was not man's. It was a gracious and 00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:25.250 humble desire of God to dwell among his people. 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:29.490 Now, it wasn't as though God needed a house. 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:33.730 It's not as though God was going to get cold 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:36.550 or God was concerned about getting rain done. 00:06:36.750 --> 00:06:40.110 That's not the idea. when God commanded a house 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:43.410 to be built for him. But rather he commanded 00:06:43.410 --> 00:06:46.629 it for at least two reasons. First, that he might 00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:49.329 manifest himself to his people to be worshipped. 00:06:51.769 --> 00:06:56.009 God wanted those Old Testament Jews, the Israelites, 00:06:56.410 --> 00:07:01.110 to have a focus, a center of their worship, and 00:07:01.110 --> 00:07:04.810 that was the tent, the tabernacle where he dwelt. 00:07:05.610 --> 00:07:08.350 And more specifically, it was that inner compartment 00:07:08.350 --> 00:07:12.029 called the Holy of Holies. It was there that 00:07:12.029 --> 00:07:14.949 God manifested Himself in His visible glory, 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:20.949 which we call the Shekinah. God did that in order 00:07:20.949 --> 00:07:23.689 that His people might worship Him. But there 00:07:23.689 --> 00:07:26.750 was a second reason that God commanded the house, 00:07:26.769 --> 00:07:31.329 the tent, to be built. And that was that He might 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:36.029 graciously meet with His people there. He wanted 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:38.709 to manifest his own glory, but he wanted a place, 00:07:38.709 --> 00:07:42.129 a meeting ground, where he would be able to communicate 00:07:42.129 --> 00:07:45.990 and reveal himself to them. And so he established 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:50.790 that. And it was there that the blood of atonement 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:57.610 was shed on the altar. It was shed there as a 00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:02.589 covering for the sins of the nation. There God 00:08:02.589 --> 00:08:05.050 graciously met with his people on the basis of 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:09.089 blood. You see, before God can fellowship or 00:08:09.089 --> 00:08:12.389 meet with people, there must be a caring for 00:08:12.389 --> 00:08:15.689 their sins. And in the Old Testament, that was 00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:17.970 the way that God did that. He provided the blood 00:08:17.970 --> 00:08:20.670 of the atonement of that animal that was slain. 00:08:21.430 --> 00:08:24.170 Today we do not have the blood of animals, but 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:27.310 rather we have the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:31.029 which was once and for all shed. sacrificed for 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:34.710 us on the cross of Calvary. And because of that 00:08:34.710 --> 00:08:37.009 blood, we today meet with him. But back then 00:08:37.009 --> 00:08:39.490 it was different, you see. Back then there was 00:08:39.490 --> 00:08:44.830 a tent. There was a place where God dwelt. It 00:08:44.830 --> 00:08:47.070 was there that his presence was indicated by 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:56.070 this visible illumination of glory, which was 00:08:56.070 --> 00:08:59.230 so bright that Moses was unable to look at it. 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:04.049 which was so beautiful that it caused his face 00:09:04.049 --> 00:09:08.470 to absorb the glory, though it faded away when 00:09:08.470 --> 00:09:10.289 he got away from the presence of God. Nonetheless, 00:09:10.590 --> 00:09:13.570 his very face, the skin of his face, shone with 00:09:13.570 --> 00:09:15.970 the beauty of that Shekinah, the glory that was 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:21.350 in that house. Later, after David had constructed 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:26.269 a palace for himself, he was burdened that God 00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:31.720 only had that tent. And so he decided that he 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:36.860 wanted to build God a permanent dwelling. And 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:40.279 we find in the book of 2 Samuel a record of David's 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:45.100 expression of that desire to God. And we find 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:46.879 the record there, too, of a preacher who made 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.480 a mistake. That was Nathan. Because his immediate 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:52.720 response to David was, sure, go ahead and do 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.519 it. God will bless that. But the word of God 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:58.419 came to Nathan later, and God said to Nathan, 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.860 Go back and tell David this. And the message 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:05.580 was, David, you can't do it. Because there's 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:09.399 blood on your hands. You're a man of war. And 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:12.879 God expressed to David how thankful he was for 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:16.480 David's heart. And yet David was disqualified 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:18.740 from building that house. But God said, David, 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:21.440 nonetheless, I'm going to raise up a seed after 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.080 you that's going to dwell on an eternal throne. 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:28.649 Ultimately, that refers to Christ. And he said, 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:32.250 I'm going to allow your son to build me the house 00:10:32.250 --> 00:10:35.669 that your heart desires. So Solomon was permitted 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:39.750 to build it. And we find then in 1 Kings chapters 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:46.029 6, 7, and 8, a record of that construction. And 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:48.169 when it was finally built, there was a great 00:10:48.169 --> 00:10:52.169 service that was held outside that permanent 00:10:52.169 --> 00:10:57.600 building. So many sacrifices were offered that 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.080 day that they could not even be counted. So many 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.179 rams and lambs and other sacrifices were killed, 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.220 and the blood was shed on the altar of that new 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:09.559 place of worship. And the glory of God appeared 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:14.220 there. That cloud of glory, called the Shekinah, 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:19.259 filled the place. And God manifested His presence 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:26.019 in that temple, as it was called. And yet in 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:29.000 his prayer dedicating the building, Solomon recognized 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.200 that God dwells in the heavens, actually, and 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.259 that even the heaven of heavens couldn't contain 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:39.200 him. But he praises God that God chose to manifest 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:43.879 himself in that house, that permanent residence. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:51.480 And yet, as the years transpired, a very sad 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:56.840 thing happened. The people of God, became disobedient, 00:11:56.840 --> 00:12:02.519 and they were guilty of spiritual adultery because 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:08.460 of following false gods. And as a result of that, 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:12.019 God sent first the northern part of the kingdom 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:17.779 called Israel into captivity, and later he sent 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:20.159 the southern part of the kingdom called Judah. 00:12:20.970 --> 00:12:23.090 into captivity. And of course, it was in Judah 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:25.070 where Jerusalem and the temple were located. 00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:29.070 And when that southern part of the kingdom went 00:12:29.070 --> 00:12:35.309 into captivity, God had a prophet over in Babylon 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:37.730 where the people were taken by the name of Ezekiel. 00:12:38.710 --> 00:12:41.549 In the early chapters of the book containing 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:45.220 his name, the book of Ezekiel, We have the record 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:47.960 of Ezekiel being caught up in a vision, perhaps 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:50.860 something like John the Apostle was when he saw 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:52.700 the great vision recorded in the book of the 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:56.080 Revelation. He was carried away in this vision 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:01.580 and he saw the temple in Jerusalem. And what 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:07.580 did he see there? He saw the glory of God lift 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:12.100 itself up and move out of the temple to the east 00:13:12.100 --> 00:13:16.019 gate of the city. And a little later in this 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:19.019 vision, he saw that glory of God move further 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:22.320 to the east, to the top of the Mount of Olives. 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.720 You say, what did all that mean? It signified 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:30.019 that the presence of God was no longer in that 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:35.480 place. He was leaving that temple that Solomon 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:43.059 had constructed. God was no longer there. God 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:48.830 left. And the glory was not seen in Israel for 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:54.330 600 years approximately until one day when a 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:58.230 man and his wife brought her baby into the temple, 00:13:58.350 --> 00:14:02.769 a reconstructed temple called Herod's Temple. 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:09.649 The man was Joseph, the woman was Mary, and the 00:14:09.649 --> 00:14:14.759 baby was Jesus. There was an old man by the name 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:20.779 of Simeon who was nearly blind. He had served 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:25.240 in the temple for decades. The Spirit of God 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:28.019 brought him into that temple at that moment. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.659 And he, that old man who had walked with God, 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:38.700 recognized who the baby was. And he began to 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:43.500 pray a prayer that is just magnificent. But in 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:48.620 part, do you know what he said? My eyes have 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:56.480 seen your glory. The glory of your people Israel. 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:00.240 Do you know what happened on that day? The glory 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.879 of God that had departed the temple in the days 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:08.240 of Ezekiel had returned to that temple. But this 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.580 time it was not in a cloud. This time it was 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:15.419 in the form of a baby. And throughout the next 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:19.120 30 -some years, the glory of God would be in 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.179 that temple in the person of Jesus Christ until 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:27.600 ultimately, at the end of his ministry, he left 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:33.139 the temple. And once again, the glory left. And 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:36.200 he ultimately went out to the Mount of Olives 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.940 just as the glory had back in the days of Ezekiel. 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:42.000 And from the Mount of Olives, he, the glory of 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.720 God, went back to heaven. He did not stay in 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:49.340 that temple because the nation rejected him. 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:53.539 And since that time, that temple was destroyed, 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:56.759 and there has not been a temple in Jerusalem, 00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:00.340 though one is prophesied to be built one day, 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:02.899 and we believe it could be soon, when the Jews 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:07.340 will construct it. And yet the glory of God has 00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:13.330 not been in that temple in Jerusalem. The glory 00:16:13.330 --> 00:16:17.889 went back to heaven when Jesus ascended. But 00:16:17.889 --> 00:16:23.350 it didn't stay there. Ten days later, the Holy 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:29.289 Spirit came. He fell upon the Lord's people in 00:16:29.289 --> 00:16:32.850 Jerusalem, those disciples and the band around 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:37.070 them, on the day of Pentecost. And on that day, 00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:44.090 the glory of God returned and dwelt in... believers, 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:50.070 for the first time. So that God took up residence 00:16:50.070 --> 00:16:56.710 in the world, not in a temple in Israel, and 00:16:56.710 --> 00:17:01.470 not in the person of His Son, but in the person 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:06.769 of believers, so that today the glory of God 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:14.980 lives in you, in your body. And when we collectively 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:20.559 meet together like this, we become a local expression 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:28.920 of this temple that God is building. The church 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.759 is now the dwelling place of the glory of God. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:34.839 Turn over to Colossians chapter 1. This is a 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:38.279 cross -reference here. Notice what the apostle 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:44.420 says beginning in verse 24 as he expresses, his 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:48.240 heart to these believers in Colossae. Now I rejoice 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:50.920 in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:54.299 I do my share on behalf of his body, which is 00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:57.720 the church, in filling up that which is lacking 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.319 in Christ's afflictions. What does he mean by 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:03.319 that? Someone asked that several weeks ago on 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:08.019 Sunday night. It does not mean that the Apostle 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:12.309 Paul or that we today suffer for sins. as did 00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:15.329 Christ suffer and become afflicted for our sins. 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:19.210 But it means that he has died once and for all, 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:22.630 has suffered once and forever for sins, but now 00:18:22.630 --> 00:18:25.049 is in heaven. We are in his place in the world, 00:18:25.069 --> 00:18:29.289 and we suffer for his sake. Verse 25, he says, 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:32.309 Of this church I was made a minister, according 00:18:32.309 --> 00:18:34.849 to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for 00:18:34.849 --> 00:18:38.349 your benefit, that I might fully carry out the 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:41.009 preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery. 00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:45.450 I hope you recognize that word. The mystery which 00:18:45.450 --> 00:18:48.450 has been hidden from the past ages and generations, 00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:53.890 but has now been manifested to his saints, to 00:18:53.890 --> 00:18:56.930 whom God willed to make known what is the riches 00:18:56.930 --> 00:19:00.450 of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, 00:19:00.529 --> 00:19:06.950 which is Christ, what? In you, the hope of glory. 00:19:07.910 --> 00:19:10.880 You know what he's saying there in essence? The 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:15.480 one aspect of the mystery of the church is this, 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:21.339 that God in all of his glory lives in you. It 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:26.940 is Christ in you. And he says someday that glory 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:30.940 is going to be manifested and expressed. It will 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:34.960 burst through you and you will be transfigured, 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:40.779 transformed and changed entirely. You'll be like 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:46.440 Christ. But now that glory is in you. It indwells 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:58.940 you. Turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. In 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:03.579 verse 16 he says, What agreement has the temple 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:08.460 of God with idols? The temple of God, he says. 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:11.119 And in the context, he's talking about the church. 00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:14.599 He says, what agreement has the temple of God 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:19.059 with idols? For we are the temple of the living 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:23.519 God. Do you notice that? He says, we are the 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:28.359 temple of the living God. Just as God said, I 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:33.789 will dwell in them and walk among them. Now, 00:20:33.809 --> 00:20:35.930 he is quoting here from the book of Ezekiel, 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:40.430 chapter 37, verse 27. In that context, God is 00:20:40.430 --> 00:20:43.170 speaking these words to Israel, and his promise 00:20:43.170 --> 00:20:47.009 is that someday in the millennium, he will dwell 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:51.009 in their millennial temple. But what the Apostle 00:20:51.009 --> 00:20:54.029 Paul is saying, that just as surely as Jesus 00:20:54.029 --> 00:20:56.730 Christ will reign on the earth and will come 00:20:56.730 --> 00:21:01.039 back and dwell in that millennial temple, So 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:07.900 now he dwells in us. The indwelling is just the 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:16.160 same. We are the temple of the living God. We 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:21.039 are his habitation, his residence. Do you recognize 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:26.240 what that means? Do you understand how that should 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.420 impact our lives? Let's think for a moment about 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:35.779 its construction. Who's the architect? God. You've 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:39.019 got to have an architect for a building. I mean, 00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:40.920 if I put up a building that I designed, I cannot 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:45.380 imagine what it would look like. You need an 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:48.319 architect who's able to design it. Jesus said, 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:55.039 I will build my church. Matthew 16, 18. So God 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.559 himself is the architect, the designer of this. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:03.559 temple in which He dwells now. According to our 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:07.099 text in Ephesians chapter 2 and in 1 Peter chapter 00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:12.160 2, verse 5, verse 6 rather, Jesus Christ is the 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:18.099 cornerstone of it. That word can mean that He 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:23.539 is the keystone of the archway or it can mean 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:32.519 that He is the key strategic stone which underlies 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.420 all of the other stones. That word can be taken 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:38.740 either way. I remember seeing an archway one 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:43.019 time in Caesarea by the sea in Israel from the 00:22:43.019 --> 00:22:47.039 days of the Apostle Paul. And they pointed out 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:52.160 to us the cornerstone in that archway. And the 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.380 point was that if that stone were taken out of 00:22:54.380 --> 00:22:58.410 its place, the whole archway would fall. It was 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:01.190 critical and vital to the architecture of that 00:23:01.190 --> 00:23:07.250 arch. And so Jesus Christ is the cornerstone 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:10.269 of the church. There is no church without him. 00:23:12.730 --> 00:23:15.470 In Ephesians chapter 2, once again, he talks 00:23:15.470 --> 00:23:19.309 about the foundation. And that foundation he 00:23:19.309 --> 00:23:25.890 calls, in verse 20, the apostles and prophets. 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:29.759 Now, he's not talking here about the Old Testament 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.119 prophets. He's talking about the apostles and 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:36.400 the prophets of the New Testament church, those 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:42.980 early gifted men who laid the foundation of this 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:47.779 structure. They are no longer on the scene, for 00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:50.099 once you lay the foundation, it is laid. You 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:53.099 don't have to go back over it again. So do you 00:23:53.099 --> 00:23:55.059 see the construction here? You have the designer. 00:23:55.180 --> 00:24:02.130 That's God. The cornerstone, the key piece to 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:07.150 it all is Jesus Christ. It is the apostles and 00:24:07.150 --> 00:24:09.890 prophets who served as the foundation of it all, 00:24:10.029 --> 00:24:12.190 but you've got to have more than a foundation. 00:24:12.869 --> 00:24:15.950 You've got to build on that. And the materials 00:24:15.950 --> 00:24:19.089 of the construction, God says, according to 1 00:24:19.089 --> 00:24:23.650 Peter 2, verses 4 and 5, the materials are believers. 00:24:25.069 --> 00:24:28.829 He says there that we are living stones that 00:24:28.829 --> 00:24:33.930 are being put into place in this temple. Here 00:24:33.930 --> 00:24:36.450 in Ephesians chapter 2, he says we are fitted 00:24:36.450 --> 00:24:42.349 together, verse 21. What does it mean to fit 00:24:42.349 --> 00:24:46.990 together stones? Perhaps one of the most marvelous 00:24:46.990 --> 00:24:51.269 examples of craftsmanship and architecture in 00:24:51.269 --> 00:24:53.750 all the world would be the pyramids of Egypt. 00:24:55.470 --> 00:25:00.410 Those massive stones are laid into place without 00:25:00.410 --> 00:25:06.809 any mortar, and they have stood the wear of thousands 00:25:06.809 --> 00:25:10.690 of years, and so closely are they fitted together 00:25:10.690 --> 00:25:14.069 that it is said you cannot even put a piece of 00:25:14.069 --> 00:25:20.369 paper in between them. The craftsmanship is marvelous. 00:25:22.190 --> 00:25:26.450 Now, my friend, Jesus Christ is building his 00:25:26.450 --> 00:25:29.789 church today. And you and I are the living stones. 00:25:30.009 --> 00:25:33.650 And what he does is he cuts us out of the quarry 00:25:33.650 --> 00:25:38.049 of the world, as you would a stone. He saves 00:25:38.049 --> 00:25:42.809 us, in other words. And then he begins to rub 00:25:42.809 --> 00:25:48.130 us through trials, through the word of God, so 00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:53.220 that he smooths us down and prepares us. And 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:58.240 then he places us into his temple. You see, in 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:00.019 the buildings they would build in those days, 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.519 they would take the stones from the quarry, they 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:06.700 would prepare the surface by rubbing them, then 00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:10.220 they would prepare the dowels and the dowel holes, 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:14.180 and finally they would fill those dowels with 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:20.599 molten lead to hold the stones in place. What 00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:23.339 a marvelous illustration that is of the Lord 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:28.619 putting us into our place in his temple. I don't 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:30.539 know where the Lord is in the building of his 00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:33.960 temple. I know he's well beyond the foundation 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:37.559 of it. I think he must be up on the top of the 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:40.180 steeple somewhere. I believe we're that part 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:42.720 of the age. But I can tell you this, for the 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:44.839 last 2 ,000 years, that's what he's been doing. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:51.160 He has been saving people. sanctifying them, 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:56.500 polishing us, and then putting us into his temple 00:26:56.500 --> 00:27:01.220 in which he dwells. And there is not a one that 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:07.220 fills an unimportant place. That is the construction 00:27:07.220 --> 00:27:10.339 of the temple. It is a marvelous work of God. 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:16.299 What is its development? Well, in its dimension, 00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:21.589 It's been 2 ,000 years now he's been working 00:27:21.589 --> 00:27:25.250 at it. And continuously, we don't know how large 00:27:25.250 --> 00:27:29.089 it is. There are multiplied millions of living 00:27:29.089 --> 00:27:32.049 stones that have been placed into this temple. 00:27:34.089 --> 00:27:36.890 And maybe there are multiplied millions to come. 00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:40.849 We do not know. But our Lord is in the process 00:27:40.849 --> 00:27:46.089 of building it. And in its development, furthermore, 00:27:46.089 --> 00:27:48.269 he calls it here a holy temple. It's developing 00:27:48.269 --> 00:27:52.769 in holiness. The Lord is sanctifying and cleansing 00:27:52.769 --> 00:28:02.329 us. God doesn't dwell in a dirty place. He doesn't 00:28:02.329 --> 00:28:05.410 dwell in an imperfect temple. He dwells in a 00:28:05.410 --> 00:28:09.569 perfect temple. That's why he can dwell in you, 00:28:09.670 --> 00:28:13.170 because you are a new man. in Jesus Christ. You 00:28:13.170 --> 00:28:16.829 are a new thing. God has done a new work in you 00:28:16.829 --> 00:28:20.269 by your regeneration. He dwells in you, your 00:28:20.269 --> 00:28:24.269 new man, Christ in you. And now he is preparing 00:28:24.269 --> 00:28:28.329 his church in a marvelous way. The church has 00:28:28.329 --> 00:28:30.910 not all been together yet. He's still building. 00:28:31.089 --> 00:28:33.170 But someday it's going to be complete, and when 00:28:33.170 --> 00:28:35.789 that building is complete, we are leaving the 00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:39.029 world, and we will be taken to heaven through 00:28:39.029 --> 00:28:44.900 the process of the rapture. Dear people, it is 00:28:44.900 --> 00:28:48.420 important that you and I cooperate with the Lord 00:28:48.420 --> 00:28:55.259 in developing His holy temple. Go back to 2 Corinthians 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:57.660 chapter 6, and let me just read a couple of verses 00:28:57.660 --> 00:29:01.880 from that context again. He talks about our being 00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:06.619 the temple of God. He says, I will dwell in them, 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:11.240 walk among them. Then verse 17. Therefore, he 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:15.500 says, come out. from their midst and be separate, 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:18.359 says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean, 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:22.059 and I will welcome you, and I will be a father 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:24.539 to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:27.619 me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:30.420 these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:35.579 from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:40.220 holiness in the fear of God, perfecting, bringing 00:29:40.220 --> 00:29:44.029 to its consummation, to its Full end holiness. 00:29:49.130 --> 00:29:53.490 There is one sense in which you are holy now 00:29:53.490 --> 00:29:57.069 in the sight of God. That is your position and 00:29:57.069 --> 00:30:04.170 that can never change. But there is another case 00:30:04.170 --> 00:30:08.289 in which we are all becoming holy. That is our 00:30:08.289 --> 00:30:11.859 present practice. And I suppose that's the one 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:15.220 that we think about more, isn't it? That's the 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:17.880 one that we live with day in and day out, that 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:21.539 we're aware of. And that's the one that's emphasized 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:27.019 here. He says, because we are the temple of the 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:31.079 living God, let's cleanse ourselves from all 00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:38.220 defilement of flesh and of spirit. Outwardly 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:40.500 and inwardly, he says, let's clean up our act. 00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:44.400 Let's be the kind of a temple where God can dwell. 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:53.180 Are you that kind of a temple? Are you a holy 00:30:53.180 --> 00:31:02.660 and pure dwelling place for God? Your mind, what 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:05.220 you think about, what you read, what you watch. 00:31:06.670 --> 00:31:12.190 Is your mind holy? What about your affections, 00:31:12.190 --> 00:31:22.769 your desires? Are they pure and holy? What about 00:31:22.769 --> 00:31:25.069 the habits that you have or the places that you 00:31:25.069 --> 00:31:30.269 go? Are they the kind of a place where you, as 00:31:30.269 --> 00:31:32.410 the temple of God, don't mind taking God along? 00:31:32.589 --> 00:31:39.460 Because you do. You see, these are very practical 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:42.400 words, and it's difficult to apply them to you, 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:46.799 but I can sure apply them to me. You can apply 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:51.819 them to you. What is the defilement today that 00:31:51.819 --> 00:31:54.700 you need to talk to God about so that you can 00:31:54.700 --> 00:32:00.680 cleanse yourself? Perfecting holiness in the 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:04.000 fear of God. You say, why the fear of God? Why 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.599 does he have that there? Because of the final 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:10.180 point this morning. The inspection of the temple. 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:15.180 You know, when a building gets done, in fact, 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:17.220 along the way, you have to have it inspected, 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:20.140 don't you? But when it's done, you get that final 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:24.059 inspection to see if it passes. And so it is 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:28.200 with God's building, God's holy temple. He is 00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:31.099 telling us here that there is a final inspection 00:32:31.099 --> 00:32:34.079 coming, and we had better be prepared for it. 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:37.559 He's talking about the bema seat, or the judgment. 00:32:38.029 --> 00:32:41.730 seat of Christ. When according to 1 Corinthians 00:32:41.730 --> 00:32:44.829 chapter 3, the quality of our work here is going 00:32:44.829 --> 00:32:48.869 to be inspected. For he says there in that context, 00:32:50.250 --> 00:32:55.609 if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, 00:32:55.630 --> 00:32:58.549 silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, or straw, 00:32:58.869 --> 00:33:03.140 each man's work will become evident. For the 00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:05.460 day will show it because it is to be revealed 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:07.819 with fire, and the fire itself will test the 00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:11.519 quality of each man's work. If any man's work 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:13.759 which he has built upon it remains, he shall 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:16.140 receive a reward. If any man's work is burned 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:19.259 up, he shall suffer loss. The question is loss 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:22.200 of what? Well, not salvation, he goes on to say, 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:25.619 but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through 00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:29.869 fire. So it's loss of what? Loss of reward. Then 00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:32.130 he says, do you not know that you are the temple 00:33:32.130 --> 00:33:35.690 of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 00:33:37.509 --> 00:33:41.130 Why is it that I should be concerned about cleaning 00:33:41.130 --> 00:33:45.630 up my life and working out and bringing to its 00:33:45.630 --> 00:33:50.029 full purpose holiness? It is because I have a 00:33:50.029 --> 00:33:53.329 final inspection coming. And when I think about 00:33:53.329 --> 00:33:57.710 that day, it produces in me a healthy fear of 00:33:57.710 --> 00:34:01.960 the Lord. To me, what we have talked about today 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:04.299 is one of the most amazing truths that we can 00:34:04.299 --> 00:34:09.480 ponder. And that is that God dwells in His redeemed 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:14.380 people. That God chooses to exhibit the riches 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:20.780 of His glory in the flesh and personalities of 00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:24.960 mortals who've been saved from their ruin and 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:32.119 their sin by His grace. expose His glory to the 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:38.519 world in you and in me. And that is why it is 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:43.440 important that our lives be clean. Going back 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:48.780 to our text in Ephesians 2, he says, In whom 00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:53.460 you also are being built together into a dwelling 00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:59.659 of God in the Spirit. He calls it a holy. temple 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:07.800 in the Lord. Let's bow together. I wonder as 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:12.059 we close the service and as we ponder this truth 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:15.619 that we have looked at this morning regarding 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:22.099 the temple of God, if you are here today as a 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:24.980 believer and you have to honestly confess that 00:35:24.980 --> 00:35:29.889 holiness is not being perfected in you, That 00:35:29.889 --> 00:35:32.750 there is some defilement that needs to be dealt 00:35:32.750 --> 00:35:36.769 with today. I wonder if just right where you're 00:35:36.769 --> 00:35:39.030 sitting, you would talk to the Lord about that. 00:35:47.769 --> 00:35:50.130 Has he made you aware of something that needs 00:35:50.130 --> 00:35:55.570 to be confessed and repented of? If we confess 00:35:55.570 --> 00:35:58.670 our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us 00:35:58.670 --> 00:36:02.630 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:36:04.150 --> 00:36:08.030 The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses 00:36:08.030 --> 00:36:16.429 us from all sin. Maybe it's an angry spirit or 00:36:16.429 --> 00:36:21.289 jealousy or bitterness. Some defilement of spirit. 00:36:21.389 --> 00:36:24.820 Maybe it's defilement of the flesh. a habit, 00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:31.300 a place that you go you ought not, or you're 00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:36.099 defiled. Maybe it's a program you watch on television 00:36:36.099 --> 00:36:41.800 that's been a real snare to you, and today you 00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:45.139 need to talk to God about that and give it up. 00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:55.530 Let us perfect holiness in the fear of God. Father, 00:36:55.530 --> 00:37:01.929 as each of us deals with you responding to this 00:37:01.929 --> 00:37:05.769 message, I pray that we will be able to do so 00:37:05.769 --> 00:37:09.610 thoroughly, as thoroughly as we know how, and 00:37:09.610 --> 00:37:13.469 that we will do so faithfully by confessing and 00:37:13.469 --> 00:37:18.969 repenting. Our desire, Father, our sincere desire, 00:37:19.210 --> 00:37:25.070 is that your holiness might be on schedule in 00:37:25.070 --> 00:37:28.949 our lives, that it may be in the process of being 00:37:28.949 --> 00:37:34.230 perfected. We recognize that the inspection is 00:37:34.230 --> 00:37:37.530 coming, and on that day we want to pass the test 00:37:37.530 --> 00:37:43.710 and be approved and receive the reward. Now, 00:37:43.730 --> 00:37:45.429 Father, if there be some friend here without 00:37:45.429 --> 00:37:49.769 Christ altogether who's not saved, who's not 00:37:49.769 --> 00:37:51.730 even a part of this holy temple we've talked 00:37:51.730 --> 00:37:53.889 about, who's not even been quarried out from 00:37:53.889 --> 00:37:56.769 the world yet, we pray that you will do a work 00:37:56.769 --> 00:37:59.789 in that heart. Bring that one to Christ today, 00:37:59.929 --> 00:38:04.010 and may there be a response in faith. May that 00:38:04.010 --> 00:38:07.210 one be saved. And it's in Jesus' name that we 00:38:07.210 --> 00:38:08.389 pray. Amen.