Living the Mystery in the House of God
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
God wants to live with us in a house
The body is only one of the illustrations of the mystery. Another illustration of the mystery is the temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16 APNT:
Do you not know that you [plural] are the temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God lives in you [plural]?
All the believers are the temple. We can’t have a small idea of this; it is not talking about your individual body. It’s much bigger than that.
What joins us all together is: the Spirit of God dwells in you all.
In the temple (of believers), love is the mortar that glues everyone together.
When God talks about the temple here, He is not talking about the entire building of the temple. The temple of Israel included the outer court that Gentiles could enter.
Here, “temple” is referring to the inner sanctum of the holy of holies.
The holy of holies wasn’t open to anyone in the temple in Israel, other than the high priest once per year.
1 Corinthians 3:17 APNT:
And he who corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt, for the temple of God is holy, because you are [holy].
“Holy” is to be set apart for God. It’s not because we are better than others but because God made us holy. God set us apart. Because of that holiness, we have access into the inner sanctum, the holy of holies. In fact, it’s where we belong—because that’s where He is!
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 APNT:
19 Or do you [plural] not know that your [plural] body is the temple of the Holy Spirit that lives in you [plural] that you [plural] received from God and [that] you [plural] are not your [plural] own?
20 For you [plural] are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your [plural] body and in your [plural] spirit, which are of God.
2 Corinthians 6:16 APNT:
And what alliance has the temple of God with demons? But you [plural] are the temple of the living God, as it is said: I will live with them and I will walk with them and I will be their God and they will be my people.
The temple of the living God is a permanent house.
Ephesians 2:20–22 APNT:
20 And you [plural] are built on the foundation of the apostles and of the prophets and Jesus Christ is the head of the corner of the building.
21 And in him the whole building is fit together and is growing into a holy temple in the lord,
22 while you [plural] also are built in him for a dwelling of God spiritually.
See also the teaching Jesus Christ Our Complete Foundation
1 Peter 2:4–5 APNT:
4 The one to whom you are drawn is the living stone that men have rejected, yet with God [is] chosen and honored.
5 And you also, as living stones, are built up and are spiritual temples and holy priests to offer spiritual sacrifices [willing offerings] that are acceptable before God by way ofJesus Christ
If God’s dwelling place (house) is in us, what kinds of things do we do in a house? We eat, sleep, and rest. When you are in your own house you can lie down, rest, and recharge. We clean, study, read, invite guests, raise children, heal, converse, talk, and share. This is what we are to do in the temple of God.
Matthew 21:13 APNT:
And he said to them, “It is written: My house will be called a house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves.”
You could allow things to come into the house that were not good.
Isaiah 56:7 ESV:
these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
In the Old Testament, they brought sacrifices. We bring offerings of ourselves and what we share.
There were two chests in the temple for the offerings. One was for the requirements of the law. The other was for free will offerings. And that’s where the widow brought her mites (she had already fulfilled her tithe).
2 Corinthians 9:6–9, 12 APNT:
6 Now this [I say], “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully,
7 everyone according to what is in his mind, not from sadness or from constraint, for God loves a joyous giver.”
8 Now all grace comes by the hands of God who causes [it] to increase in you, so that always, in everything, you will havewhat is sufficient for you and will increase in every good work.
9 As it is written: He has distributed and given to the poor and his justification is valid forever.
12 because the work of this service not only supplies the needs of the holy [ones], but also increases with much thanksgiving to God.
We give out of our free will, not out of requirement or law. You can tithe if you want; you can give more than the tithe if you want.
Acts 5:42 APNT:
And they did not cease to teach every day in the temple and at home and to preach about our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament temple, they had certain hours of prayer. But we are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
See Also:
Jesus Christ Our Complete Foundation
Living the Mystery in the House of God on the Acts Now Fellowship website
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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