My local church finally moved into our own building. After more than 10 years of renting, our first meeting in the new building was a prayer gathering. The leaders of our congregation prayed that we would always be a people who seek God.
In 1 Kings 9 Solomon had finally completed the building of the magnificent temple. For 400 years Israel had worshipped in the tabernacle—a mere tent! But Solomon fulfilled the dream of his father David—the dream of a permanent and beautiful place in which the people of Israel could worship their God.
At this important juncture in Israel’s history God appeared to Solomon a second time (the first encounter was recorded in 1 Kings 3:3-15). There are two key lessons we can learn from what God said to Solomon at this significant moment:
First, the temple building—no matter how magnificent—is an empty shell without the presence of God. Its significance is derived from God’s promise that He would always abide in the temple in a special way. Therefore, His people could always count on His eyes resting on them and His heart compassionately responding to their needs (1 Kings 9:3).
Second, the temple was nothing without obedience and faith. Every generation has to commit themselves to walk in faithful obedience to God, for the Lord will reject His temple if His people abandon Him and follow other gods (1 Kings 9:6-7). The words of writer Gary Inrig can serve as a warning to us: “The first generation preached the gospel. The second generation assumed the gospel. The third generation lost the gospel.”
As we enjoy our church’s facilities this Sunday, may we remember that they’re to be used to draw us close with fellow believers in fellowship with God, who is present with us.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today:Mark 9:38-50
More:
Read the parallel account to 1 Kings 9:1-9 in 2 Chronicles 7:11-22.
Next:
How does your local church celebrate the presence of God? In what ways do you strive as a body of believers to draw closer to God?
roxanne robbins on July 25, 2012 at 6:52 am
Thanks for this thought and heart-search provoking post. I appreciated the quote you shared by Gary Inrig.
mike on July 25, 2012 at 6:59 am
My mind is drawn to how this parallels the temple of our individual bodies.
“No matter how magnificent – is an empty shell without the presence of God” and “is nothing without obedience”
Thank you for this great reminder and richness of this truth.
daisymarygoldr on July 25, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Sounds cool, to have the church in your building 🙂 You are absolutely right; the temple building without the presence of God is an empty shell. When the people turned to idolatrous worship, the presence of God did leave the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10-11). In the old dispensation of the law, the temple symbolized the house of God. And under the new dispensation of grace, we are the temple of the living God.
The Most High does not live in houses made by human hands (Acts 7:48). To those who love and “obey” His Word, Jesus promised that He and the Father will come and make our home with them (John 14:23). So Poh Fang, just a little pointer: since Jesus is building His Church, we don’t say my church, your church or their church. We refer to the visible local church in terms of “the church” where we fellowship or get together with other Christians, okay?
Christians like living stones, are being built into a spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5) to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). The writer of Hebrews remarks: “Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house”. How can Christians who gather in someone’s home or a thatched hut use their facilities to draw close to one another? It is the not facilities but the blood of Christ that draws us together as members of God’s household. Church therefore, is not a physical building but the body of believers.
Many understand the church as a building and spend huge amounts of money on glass structures, stone water tower topped with a luminescent cross, high-definition screens, gymnasiums, indoor game rooms, outdoor concert space—even as pews remain half-filled and church attendance keeps declining. Obviously, the bigger, fancier, and luxurious buildings are supposedly meant to draw in the crowds. Fact is: no matter how beautiful and vibrant they appear to be on the outside, these facilities are full of spiritual stagnation and death on the inside.
If the church budget reflects more spending on buildings than on building up the lives of believers, then we are in a big trouble. Can you imagine Jesus attending churches with such massive and lavish facilities? I can certainly imagine Him entering these places with a whip. While building maintenance is a necessity, it is idolatry to spend on upgrading and expansion when there are poor believers in the congregation with dire needs and missionaries to be supported.
Since we are God’s temple, Paul reminds us of God’s warning to not touch the filthy things of this unsaved world (2 Corinthians 6: 16-17). The presence of any idol or unclean thing will cause God to withdraw His presence from us. And then all our Bible reading, teaching, prayer meetings or evangelism will become merely a form of godliness but without the power of the Holy Spirit. Bottom line is: as you said, God dwelling within us and among us is contingent upon our obedience to His Word. Our obedience is an expression of our love for God and is the evidence of our faith in Him.
wmcdaidna on July 25, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Nice devotional
jobert on July 26, 2012 at 7:33 am
So, why we go to church(building) if we are the temple of the Holy Spirit?
Pls. answer my question, ty.
daisymarygoldr on July 26, 2012 at 9:02 pm
We “go to” a place to meet as the church and share God’s love with one another. The place can be a building, a shack or underneath a shady tree. Remember God’s presence is in us and also among us. Hope this helps answer your question.
jobert on July 27, 2012 at 6:33 am
Ok, I clearly understand now. TY.