The gathering of God’s people in worship is described as a Temple… a place where God dwells by His Spirit. What does it mean for our individual and corporate lives to be God’s temple on earth?
Preliminaries:
- A Temple is sacred space that is shared with God
- A Temple is where God appears with authority
- A Temple reminds us of God’s ownership
Observations:
- The life of the individual is reflected in the family
- Salvation is accessed by grace through Jesus
- We are given instructions while we wait
Conclusions: We are RAISED as God’s Temple because…
- Our lives are now God’s residence on earth
- We have been shaped by His grace
- God has placed his mark of ownership upon us
Application: Because God dwells with us…
- Be teachable by God’s grace
- Be moldable while you wait
- Live in community as those who demonstrate the purpose their owner
1 Peter 2:4-6
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Ephesians 2:19-22
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Acts 7:48
“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands.”
John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 2:19
“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
Isaiah 6:1-4
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”
Revelation 22:1-4
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Ephesians 2:22
“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
1 John 3:2-3
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”