I almost feel like I could fly over here to the
pulpit. Today we're looking in God's Word in
Ephesians chapter 2. I invite you to turn there
with me. The Church of Jesus Christ is described
in the New Testament by many metaphors and pictures.
These serve as illustrations intended by the
Lord to enlighten us as to the nature of the
church. A study of these metaphors will give
us an understanding of what the church is and
also how it is to function. And that's really
important for us. For if we are a part of the
mystery of the ages, a new thing that God is
doing in this age, something He's never done
before and will never do again. If we are a part
of something as wonderful as the mystery of the
ages, the kingdom of heaven in a mystery form,
in a sense, if we are a part of something that
special, then we need to understand it and to
know how God intends for it to function. We need
to know how it functions in at least three respects.
First, in its relation to God. And then in its
relation to the world. And finally, in its relation
to itself, that is, how we are to function among
ourselves in ministry. The next few weeks, we're
going to take up a study of these metaphors and
pictures of the church, and we'll learn some
of these truths regarding what the church is
all about and how it should function in relation
to God and to the world around us and in relation
to itself. Our text today begins in Ephesians
2 .19 where it says, So then you are no longer
strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints and are of God's household, having
been built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone, in whom the whole building being
fitted together is growing into a holy temple
in the Lord, in whom you also are being... built
together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
And so the metaphor that we are examining today
regarding the church is this, that the church
is the holy temple of God. We're not talking
about a building now or a facility of brick and
mortar or of wood, but we're talking about the
people who populate and make up the church. I
remember the first impression I had of the word
church when I was a little boy and we started
attending church. I guess I was eight or nine
years of age. I remember that white ancient structure
that we used to enter and the tall doors made
out of a heavy wood. They would squeak open and
they would squeak shut. I remember having the
impression that it didn't seem God ever oiled
the doors of this house. We would walk in and
the ceiling was very high and lofty. And there
was a hush in the place. And there was a musty
kind of smell. And there was rather... rather
worn, thin carpet on the floor. And I remember
having the impression as a young boy that this
is where God was. And I would be very quiet when
I came in there. And if nobody else was in the
sanctuary, as we called it, I would walk through
almost on tiptoes because I didn't want to arouse
God. Because to me, that's where God was, you
see. And how wrong that is. How wrong that is.
God doesn't live there. God doesn't live over
at B2 in Hamlin either. God does not reside in
an earthly structure. We are not talking about
the building, the holy temple of God, as though
it were a building that you went to to worship.
We're talking about the people of God, those
who are genuinely saved, those who have trusted
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We, as a body,
make up the holy temple of God. What is the purpose
of this holy temple of God? Well, we see in the
last verse that we've read from Ephesians 2 that
its purpose is to be a dwelling of God in the
Spirit. In other words, this church, the temple
of God, is intended by Him to be His place of
residence in the world. Now, in the Old Testament,
it was different because then God did dwell in
a building, and that's where we get the idea
that I had when I was a small child. In fact,
it was God who commanded the construction of
the tabernacle. He told Moses to build a tabernacle
according to the specifications that he would
give. And in the book of Exodus, we have the
specifications and the carrying out of them in
the construction of that marvelous, beautiful
tent. that we call the tent of the meeting or
the tabernacle. That dwelling place was God's
idea. It was not man's. It was a gracious and
humble desire of God to dwell among his people.
Now, it wasn't as though God needed a house.
It's not as though God was going to get cold
or God was concerned about getting rain done.
That's not the idea. when God commanded a house
to be built for him. But rather he commanded
it for at least two reasons. First, that he might
manifest himself to his people to be worshipped.
God wanted those Old Testament Jews, the Israelites,
to have a focus, a center of their worship, and
that was the tent, the tabernacle where he dwelt.
And more specifically, it was that inner compartment
called the Holy of Holies. It was there that
God manifested Himself in His visible glory,
which we call the Shekinah. God did that in order
that His people might worship Him. But there
was a second reason that God commanded the house,
the tent, to be built. And that was that He might
graciously meet with His people there. He wanted
to manifest his own glory, but he wanted a place,
a meeting ground, where he would be able to communicate
and reveal himself to them. And so he established
that. And it was there that the blood of atonement
was shed on the altar. It was shed there as a
covering for the sins of the nation. There God
graciously met with his people on the basis of
blood. You see, before God can fellowship or
meet with people, there must be a caring for
their sins. And in the Old Testament, that was
the way that God did that. He provided the blood
of the atonement of that animal that was slain.
Today we do not have the blood of animals, but
rather we have the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which was once and for all shed. sacrificed for
us on the cross of Calvary. And because of that
blood, we today meet with him. But back then
it was different, you see. Back then there was
a tent. There was a place where God dwelt. It
was there that his presence was indicated by
this visible illumination of glory, which was
so bright that Moses was unable to look at it.
which was so beautiful that it caused his face
to absorb the glory, though it faded away when
he got away from the presence of God. Nonetheless,
his very face, the skin of his face, shone with
the beauty of that Shekinah, the glory that was
in that house. Later, after David had constructed
a palace for himself, he was burdened that God
only had that tent. And so he decided that he
wanted to build God a permanent dwelling. And
we find in the book of 2 Samuel a record of David's
expression of that desire to God. And we find
the record there, too, of a preacher who made
a mistake. That was Nathan. Because his immediate
response to David was, sure, go ahead and do
it. God will bless that. But the word of God
came to Nathan later, and God said to Nathan,
Go back and tell David this. And the message
was, David, you can't do it. Because there's
blood on your hands. You're a man of war. And
God expressed to David how thankful he was for
David's heart. And yet David was disqualified
from building that house. But God said, David,
nonetheless, I'm going to raise up a seed after
you that's going to dwell on an eternal throne.
Ultimately, that refers to Christ. And he said,
I'm going to allow your son to build me the house
that your heart desires. So Solomon was permitted
to build it. And we find then in 1 Kings chapters
6, 7, and 8, a record of that construction. And
when it was finally built, there was a great
service that was held outside that permanent
building. So many sacrifices were offered that
day that they could not even be counted. So many
rams and lambs and other sacrifices were killed,
and the blood was shed on the altar of that new
place of worship. And the glory of God appeared
there. That cloud of glory, called the Shekinah,
filled the place. And God manifested His presence
in that temple, as it was called. And yet in
his prayer dedicating the building, Solomon recognized
that God dwells in the heavens, actually, and
that even the heaven of heavens couldn't contain
him. But he praises God that God chose to manifest
himself in that house, that permanent residence.
And yet, as the years transpired, a very sad
thing happened. The people of God, became disobedient,
and they were guilty of spiritual adultery because
of following false gods. And as a result of that,
God sent first the northern part of the kingdom
called Israel into captivity, and later he sent
the southern part of the kingdom called Judah.
into captivity. And of course, it was in Judah
where Jerusalem and the temple were located.
And when that southern part of the kingdom went
into captivity, God had a prophet over in Babylon
where the people were taken by the name of Ezekiel.
In the early chapters of the book containing
his name, the book of Ezekiel, We have the record
of Ezekiel being caught up in a vision, perhaps
something like John the Apostle was when he saw
the great vision recorded in the book of the
Revelation. He was carried away in this vision
and he saw the temple in Jerusalem. And what
did he see there? He saw the glory of God lift
itself up and move out of the temple to the east
gate of the city. And a little later in this
vision, he saw that glory of God move further
to the east, to the top of the Mount of Olives.
You say, what did all that mean? It signified
that the presence of God was no longer in that
place. He was leaving that temple that Solomon
had constructed. God was no longer there. God
left. And the glory was not seen in Israel for
600 years approximately until one day when a
man and his wife brought her baby into the temple,
a reconstructed temple called Herod's Temple.
The man was Joseph, the woman was Mary, and the
baby was Jesus. There was an old man by the name
of Simeon who was nearly blind. He had served
in the temple for decades. The Spirit of God
brought him into that temple at that moment.
And he, that old man who had walked with God,
recognized who the baby was. And he began to
pray a prayer that is just magnificent. But in
part, do you know what he said? My eyes have
seen your glory. The glory of your people Israel.
Do you know what happened on that day? The glory
of God that had departed the temple in the days
of Ezekiel had returned to that temple. But this
time it was not in a cloud. This time it was
in the form of a baby. And throughout the next
30 -some years, the glory of God would be in
that temple in the person of Jesus Christ until
ultimately, at the end of his ministry, he left
the temple. And once again, the glory left. And
he ultimately went out to the Mount of Olives
just as the glory had back in the days of Ezekiel.
And from the Mount of Olives, he, the glory of
God, went back to heaven. He did not stay in
that temple because the nation rejected him.
And since that time, that temple was destroyed,
and there has not been a temple in Jerusalem,
though one is prophesied to be built one day,
and we believe it could be soon, when the Jews
will construct it. And yet the glory of God has
not been in that temple in Jerusalem. The glory
went back to heaven when Jesus ascended. But
it didn't stay there. Ten days later, the Holy
Spirit came. He fell upon the Lord's people in
Jerusalem, those disciples and the band around
them, on the day of Pentecost. And on that day,
the glory of God returned and dwelt in... believers,
for the first time. So that God took up residence
in the world, not in a temple in Israel, and
not in the person of His Son, but in the person
of believers, so that today the glory of God
lives in you, in your body. And when we collectively
meet together like this, we become a local expression
of this temple that God is building. The church
is now the dwelling place of the glory of God.
Turn over to Colossians chapter 1. This is a
cross -reference here. Notice what the apostle
says beginning in verse 24 as he expresses, his
heart to these believers in Colossae. Now I rejoice
in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh
I do my share on behalf of his body, which is
the church, in filling up that which is lacking
in Christ's afflictions. What does he mean by
that? Someone asked that several weeks ago on
Sunday night. It does not mean that the Apostle
Paul or that we today suffer for sins. as did
Christ suffer and become afflicted for our sins.
But it means that he has died once and for all,
has suffered once and forever for sins, but now
is in heaven. We are in his place in the world,
and we suffer for his sake. Verse 25, he says,
Of this church I was made a minister, according
to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for
your benefit, that I might fully carry out the
preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery.
I hope you recognize that word. The mystery which
has been hidden from the past ages and generations,
but has now been manifested to his saints, to
whom God willed to make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ, what? In you, the hope of glory.
You know what he's saying there in essence? The
one aspect of the mystery of the church is this,
that God in all of his glory lives in you. It
is Christ in you. And he says someday that glory
is going to be manifested and expressed. It will
burst through you and you will be transfigured,
transformed and changed entirely. You'll be like
Christ. But now that glory is in you. It indwells
you. Turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. In
verse 16 he says, What agreement has the temple
of God with idols? The temple of God, he says.
And in the context, he's talking about the church.
He says, what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For we are the temple of the living
God. Do you notice that? He says, we are the
temple of the living God. Just as God said, I
will dwell in them and walk among them. Now,
he is quoting here from the book of Ezekiel,
chapter 37, verse 27. In that context, God is
speaking these words to Israel, and his promise
is that someday in the millennium, he will dwell
in their millennial temple. But what the Apostle
Paul is saying, that just as surely as Jesus
Christ will reign on the earth and will come
back and dwell in that millennial temple, So
now he dwells in us. The indwelling is just the
same. We are the temple of the living God. We
are his habitation, his residence. Do you recognize
what that means? Do you understand how that should
impact our lives? Let's think for a moment about
its construction. Who's the architect? God. You've
got to have an architect for a building. I mean,
if I put up a building that I designed, I cannot
imagine what it would look like. You need an
architect who's able to design it. Jesus said,
I will build my church. Matthew 16, 18. So God
himself is the architect, the designer of this.
temple in which He dwells now. According to our
text in Ephesians chapter 2 and in 1 Peter chapter
2, verse 5, verse 6 rather, Jesus Christ is the
cornerstone of it. That word can mean that He
is the keystone of the archway or it can mean
that He is the key strategic stone which underlies
all of the other stones. That word can be taken
either way. I remember seeing an archway one
time in Caesarea by the sea in Israel from the
days of the Apostle Paul. And they pointed out
to us the cornerstone in that archway. And the
point was that if that stone were taken out of
its place, the whole archway would fall. It was
critical and vital to the architecture of that
arch. And so Jesus Christ is the cornerstone
of the church. There is no church without him.
In Ephesians chapter 2, once again, he talks
about the foundation. And that foundation he
calls, in verse 20, the apostles and prophets.
Now, he's not talking here about the Old Testament
prophets. He's talking about the apostles and
the prophets of the New Testament church, those
early gifted men who laid the foundation of this
structure. They are no longer on the scene, for
once you lay the foundation, it is laid. You
don't have to go back over it again. So do you
see the construction here? You have the designer.
That's God. The cornerstone, the key piece to
it all is Jesus Christ. It is the apostles and
prophets who served as the foundation of it all,
but you've got to have more than a foundation.
You've got to build on that. And the materials
of the construction, God says, according to 1
Peter 2, verses 4 and 5, the materials are believers.
He says there that we are living stones that
are being put into place in this temple. Here
in Ephesians chapter 2, he says we are fitted
together, verse 21. What does it mean to fit
together stones? Perhaps one of the most marvelous
examples of craftsmanship and architecture in
all the world would be the pyramids of Egypt.
Those massive stones are laid into place without
any mortar, and they have stood the wear of thousands
of years, and so closely are they fitted together
that it is said you cannot even put a piece of
paper in between them. The craftsmanship is marvelous.
Now, my friend, Jesus Christ is building his
church today. And you and I are the living stones.
And what he does is he cuts us out of the quarry
of the world, as you would a stone. He saves
us, in other words. And then he begins to rub
us through trials, through the word of God, so
that he smooths us down and prepares us. And
then he places us into his temple. You see, in
the buildings they would build in those days,
they would take the stones from the quarry, they
would prepare the surface by rubbing them, then
they would prepare the dowels and the dowel holes,
and finally they would fill those dowels with
molten lead to hold the stones in place. What
a marvelous illustration that is of the Lord
putting us into our place in his temple. I don't
know where the Lord is in the building of his
temple. I know he's well beyond the foundation
of it. I think he must be up on the top of the
steeple somewhere. I believe we're that part
of the age. But I can tell you this, for the
last 2 ,000 years, that's what he's been doing.
He has been saving people. sanctifying them,
polishing us, and then putting us into his temple
in which he dwells. And there is not a one that
fills an unimportant place. That is the construction
of the temple. It is a marvelous work of God.
What is its development? Well, in its dimension,
It's been 2 ,000 years now he's been working
at it. And continuously, we don't know how large
it is. There are multiplied millions of living
stones that have been placed into this temple.
And maybe there are multiplied millions to come.
We do not know. But our Lord is in the process
of building it. And in its development, furthermore,
he calls it here a holy temple. It's developing
in holiness. The Lord is sanctifying and cleansing
us. God doesn't dwell in a dirty place. He doesn't
dwell in an imperfect temple. He dwells in a
perfect temple. That's why he can dwell in you,
because you are a new man. in Jesus Christ. You
are a new thing. God has done a new work in you
by your regeneration. He dwells in you, your
new man, Christ in you. And now he is preparing
his church in a marvelous way. The church has
not all been together yet. He's still building.
But someday it's going to be complete, and when
that building is complete, we are leaving the
world, and we will be taken to heaven through
the process of the rapture. Dear people, it is
important that you and I cooperate with the Lord
in developing His holy temple. Go back to 2 Corinthians
chapter 6, and let me just read a couple of verses
from that context again. He talks about our being
the temple of God. He says, I will dwell in them,
walk among them. Then verse 17. Therefore, he
says, come out. from their midst and be separate,
says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean,
and I will welcome you, and I will be a father
to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to
me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having
these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God, perfecting, bringing
to its consummation, to its Full end holiness.
There is one sense in which you are holy now
in the sight of God. That is your position and
that can never change. But there is another case
in which we are all becoming holy. That is our
present practice. And I suppose that's the one
that we think about more, isn't it? That's the
one that we live with day in and day out, that
we're aware of. And that's the one that's emphasized
here. He says, because we are the temple of the
living God, let's cleanse ourselves from all
defilement of flesh and of spirit. Outwardly
and inwardly, he says, let's clean up our act.
Let's be the kind of a temple where God can dwell.
Are you that kind of a temple? Are you a holy
and pure dwelling place for God? Your mind, what
you think about, what you read, what you watch.
Is your mind holy? What about your affections,
your desires? Are they pure and holy? What about
the habits that you have or the places that you
go? Are they the kind of a place where you, as
the temple of God, don't mind taking God along?
Because you do. You see, these are very practical
words, and it's difficult to apply them to you,
but I can sure apply them to me. You can apply
them to you. What is the defilement today that
you need to talk to God about so that you can
cleanse yourself? Perfecting holiness in the
fear of God. You say, why the fear of God? Why
does he have that there? Because of the final
point this morning. The inspection of the temple.
You know, when a building gets done, in fact,
along the way, you have to have it inspected,
don't you? But when it's done, you get that final
inspection to see if it passes. And so it is
with God's building, God's holy temple. He is
telling us here that there is a final inspection
coming, and we had better be prepared for it.
He's talking about the bema seat, or the judgment.
seat of Christ. When according to 1 Corinthians
chapter 3, the quality of our work here is going
to be inspected. For he says there in that context,
if any man builds upon the foundation with gold,
silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, or straw,
each man's work will become evident. For the
day will show it because it is to be revealed
with fire, and the fire itself will test the
quality of each man's work. If any man's work
which he has built upon it remains, he shall
receive a reward. If any man's work is burned
up, he shall suffer loss. The question is loss
of what? Well, not salvation, he goes on to say,
but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through
fire. So it's loss of what? Loss of reward. Then
he says, do you not know that you are the temple
of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Why is it that I should be concerned about cleaning
up my life and working out and bringing to its
full purpose holiness? It is because I have a
final inspection coming. And when I think about
that day, it produces in me a healthy fear of
the Lord. To me, what we have talked about today
is one of the most amazing truths that we can
ponder. And that is that God dwells in His redeemed
people. That God chooses to exhibit the riches
of His glory in the flesh and personalities of
mortals who've been saved from their ruin and
their sin by His grace. expose His glory to the
world in you and in me. And that is why it is
important that our lives be clean. Going back
to our text in Ephesians 2, he says, In whom
you also are being built together into a dwelling
of God in the Spirit. He calls it a holy. temple
in the Lord. Let's bow together. I wonder as
we close the service and as we ponder this truth
that we have looked at this morning regarding
the temple of God, if you are here today as a
believer and you have to honestly confess that
holiness is not being perfected in you, That
there is some defilement that needs to be dealt
with today. I wonder if just right where you're
sitting, you would talk to the Lord about that.
Has he made you aware of something that needs
to be confessed and repented of? If we confess
our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses
us from all sin. Maybe it's an angry spirit or
jealousy or bitterness. Some defilement of spirit.
Maybe it's defilement of the flesh. a habit,
a place that you go you ought not, or you're
defiled. Maybe it's a program you watch on television
that's been a real snare to you, and today you
need to talk to God about that and give it up.
Let us perfect holiness in the fear of God. Father,
as each of us deals with you responding to this
message, I pray that we will be able to do so
thoroughly, as thoroughly as we know how, and
that we will do so faithfully by confessing and
repenting. Our desire, Father, our sincere desire,
is that your holiness might be on schedule in
our lives, that it may be in the process of being
perfected. We recognize that the inspection is
coming, and on that day we want to pass the test
and be approved and receive the reward. Now,
Father, if there be some friend here without
Christ altogether who's not saved, who's not
even a part of this holy temple we've talked
about, who's not even been quarried out from
the world yet, we pray that you will do a work
in that heart. Bring that one to Christ today,
and may there be a response in faith. May that
one be saved. And it's in Jesus' name that we
pray. Amen.