No, your church building is not “the house of God.” Sorry. You must use a different reason to tell the kids to not run in the building. You must use a different reason to tell adults that there shall be no coffee in the sanctuary. You must use a different reason to tell all that they are to wear their Sunday best.
Christian culture is an interesting thing. Many times the self-proclaimed “theologically conservative” churches and Christians are the very ones who elevate unbiblical issues to the place of law. Have some respect, you’re in God’s house this morning! YEAH! God’s house! You better be on your best behavior, lest He put you in time out. My plea with you, if it relates to you, is to stop calling your church building “the house of God.” Please.
The Temple and Your Church Building Are Very Different
Back in the day, beginning with the exodus from Egypt and into the wilderness, God dwelt among them in the Tabernacle. Within the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant which was the place of God’s presence within the Tabernacle. Later, under King Solomon, the Temple (permanent Tabernacle) was built. In the innermost part of the Tabernacle, and then Temple, God’s presence was especially there in the Holy of Holies. As Daniel Hyde points out, “This God is not bound by space, but He bound Himself to this box. He is above all creational constraints, but He bound Himself to them. He is everywhere, but He was there.”
This all changed when Jesus on the cross, “cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:50-51). At the sacrifice of Jesus, God’s presence was unleashed in a special way from that room in that building that all of the Jews understood as the house of God. It’s significant, don’t miss it, that the veil was torn from top to bottom. God did the tearing. He was saying in that moment that He was going to relate to His people in a new way.
Now, since your church building is post-resurrection, we must understand that the Church is much different than the Temple.
The Temple was:
- A special building where God’s presence was found in a special way in the Holy of Holies – a place only for the High Priest to step foot into, once a year, and only after purifying himself in very specific ways.
- A place of sacrifice for the people to account for their sins according to the Law of Moses.
- A place of prayer, accompanying the times of offering or sacrifice.
The Temple is gone now. Its function was served and it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
But wait.
A Better Move Than the Baltimore Colts Moving to Indianapolis
Football fans will remember hearing the surprising news that the Baltimore Colts secretly moved their franchise to Indianapolis, Indiana. It all happened early in the morning of March 29, 1984. And the rest is history, or so they say.
In a bolder and better move, God has moved out of the Temple and into a place where any good Jewish boy or girl would never have thought possible.
The veil of the Temple was torn. Then Jesus was resurrected. Then He spent 40 days among hundreds of people before ascending into Heaven.
Then Pentecost.
Jesus told them before He ascended to Heaven that they would receive POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT comes upon them (Acts 1:8). And He wasn’t lying. Acts 2 says:
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit. God’s presence. In. Them. Temple, they were.[shareable]They were filled with the Holy Spirit. God’s presence. In. Them. Temple, they were.[/shareable]
Stop Calling Your Church Building “The House of God”
Walking tacos? Ha. No.
Walking Temples? Oh yes!
This is the chief misunderstanding or point of negligence when someone refers to their church building as the house of God.
Stop running in the house of God, is a deeply theological statement to make. A deep theological heresy, in fact.
Friend, the church building IS NOT the house of God. YOU ARE! Oh, how this should change things and put things into perspective![shareable]Friend, the church building IS NOT the house of God. YOU ARE![/shareable]
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:
19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Your very body is not yours, but God’s. You were bought back by God from the bondage of sin and death. He has freed you! So glorify and honor God with and in your body.
Stop running in the house of God has a different thrust doesn’t it?
Maybe stop using your body as an instrument of sin and begin using it as an instrument for righteousness that will bring glory to God.
Romans 6:13 says:
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
The house of God is not confined to a building (and really never was, but that’s a whole other article to write). God is now relating to man by indwelling him by His Spirit.
Teens and adults alike have said things like, “you shouldn’t say that in church,” or “you shouldn’t do that in church.” Here’s the reality that we all live in, but we can so easily forget: going to church isn’t biblical because you can’t go to something that you are.
Use the phrase, “we’re going to church,” but please don’t forget that it’s simply an expression, not an actual thing. If you are in Christ, you are the Church. If you are in Christ, you are a temple of the Holy Spirit. God’s presence is in you.
The house of God is not a building, no matter if it has pews, a communion table, or a pulpit. You and me are the house of God. Where we go, that’s where the Church is. Where we go, that’s where God is.
What a crazy, beautiful thing.
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