September 2nd, 2012
II Chronicles 3-4
“Worship Wonder”
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.—1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Background Information:
- Yet the enemies without were not as bad as the enemies within. When the initial call to return to Jerusalem had been issued to the exiles, a relatively meager number of Levites, or temple workers, responded to it. This lack of enthusiasm for the things of God demonstrated itself in other ways as well. Instead of resisting the pressure to let the outsiders join them, often the returned exiles simply caved in and let non-Jews become part of the community. They intermarried with them (Ezra 9). In one case a prominent outsider was given a room even within the sacred temple grounds (Neh 13:7). The desire for racial and cultic purity was not racism on the part of pious Jews. It was rather a confession of faith in God’s promise to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham (Gn 22:18). Similarly, a lack of zeal for this kind of holiness demonstrated a lack of faith in God’s promises and a waning of their spiritual strength. They were being assimilated into the ways of the world. They were becoming just like everybody else. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 2)
- (vss. 7-10-13) Cherubim are special angels mentioned almost 100 times in the OT. They first get mentioned in Gen 3, where they were charged with guarding the way to the tree of life. This seems to show their function. Unlike some of the other angels, the cherubim are not messengers but remain in God’s presence to deny access by anything unholy. They are the palace guards for the King of kings–“guardians of the sacred and throne attendants of the Almighty.” (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 817)
- (v. 3:15) Jakin means “he establishes,” and Boaz may mean “strength is in him.” Selman’s suggestion that these two named pillars signify the fact that Yahweh’s covenant is confirmed through the temple is as good as any for understanding their symbolic value. The NIV harmonizes the height of the pillars with the Kings’ parallel by inserting the word “together” (i.e., the pillars are a combined thirty-five cubits; cf. 18 cubits in height for each pillar, 1 Kgs 7:15). (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 387)
The questions to be answered are . . . Who cares about all this detail about the temple? Why would anyone spend so much time talking about it?
Answer: To the 5th century B.C. Jews (to whom this was written) the Temple represented the Divine presence in their lives. It meant everything to them to have the temple in all of it magnificence as a part of their lives. But, the really amazing facts for us today are these in regard to the temple: 1)- Jesus said He was the New and REAL temple. And 2)- Paul tells us that those who are “in Christ” become the temple of the living God as well. Meditate that!
On one occasion a Christian missionary was reading 2 Chr 3-4 in Hebrew and he proceeded to reflect on its relevance to his own ministry. He was due to write an important letter to a church he had recently planted, where certain problems had since developed. He decided to incorporate his meditation as a useful lesson for them. The missionary was the apostle Paul. He was staying at Ephesus and preparing to write to the church at Corinth. You can find his meditation in 1 Cor 3:10-17. That the account of building the temple was on his mind is clear from his references to the Corinthian church as an antitype of the temple. How do I know that he had been reading the Chronicles account of the temple building rather than the Kings one? Because only the Chronicler has references to founding and precious stones. And why in Hebrew? Because the Greek version does not represent the reference to founding. In the new Christian era Paul envisages himself as another Solomon, this image with that of Huram the “skillful…master craftsman” (2:13). Paul’s foundation work had been done, the initial work of church planting involving evangelism and basic teaching, both of which centered around Jesus Christ. Now each member of the recently formed group had the individual responsibility of building on this work and making his or her own contribution to the fellowship as it grew in love and grace. The apostle was thinking of the craftsmen at work on the temple site. What was their contribution? A golden bowl or a silver goblet or jeweled ornamentation–all lovingly wrought with skill and effort commensurate with the durable material they handled. Here was work that would last for their lifetime and far beyond. (Leslie Allen, Mastering the OT, 1, 2 Chr, 216)
The Word for the Day is . . . Temple
What message is the Chronicler attempting to communicate to his post-exilic audience?:
I. The Temple, its purpose, its materials, location and design have all come about as a result of God’s grace. (2 Chr 3:1; see also Gn 22:14; 1 Chr 21:25-26; 28:19; 29:14-16)
The site of the Temple, Mount Moriah, is identified both with the threshing floor of Ornan, which David purchased (1 Chr 21:18-30) and with the mountains where Abraham offered up his son Isaac (Gn 22:2, 14). Since in Gn 22:14 the theme is God’s provision of a substitutionary sacrifice, the Chronicler seems to be drawing on that by reminding his readers that Solomon’s Temple site was on the same mountain. For sinful man to come into God’s presence, a sacrifice was necessary. By grace, God provided the sacrifice. (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 71-72)
The Chronicler informed his readers of a fact not presented anywhere else in Scripture. He noted that the temple of the LORD was built on Mount Moriah which was the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (3:1). The Chronicler stressed the holiness of the place of temple construction by identifying it with the site where God had shown mercy to Abraham and to David. Abraham prepared to offer Isaac and received a substitute for Isaac on Mount Moriah (see Gn 22:1-19). The threshing floor of Ornan (3:1) was the place David had appointed (3:1). God demonstrated great mercy to David at this threshing floor by forgiving David of his sins and healing the land (see 1 Chr 21:1-22:1). As a result, the Chronicler established that Solomon’s temple was located at the place where his readers could find mercy from God as well. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chr, A Mentor Commentary, 224)
The temple was erected on Mount Moriah, the sacred spot where Abraham offered up Isaac, and where Araunah so generously offered his threshing floor, his oxen and his implements, to sacrifice to the Lord. As a place of loving sacrifice it was especially dear to Jehovah and became the monument of His presence and glory. The naked rock of the summit was selected as the spot for the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place, NIV) and the ark of the covenant to rest. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 380)
II. The Temple is the shadow or symbol of that real place where we come into the presence of a Holy and Righteous God. The Temple must therefore be the best with only the best materials used. The Temple must demonstrate the “OTHERNESS” of God. (2 Chr 3:3-4:22; see also: 1 Chr 22:5; 28:3; 2 Chr 2:5)
Even more awe-inspiring than the things seen were the things that remained unseen, hidden behind the temple walls. The only way most Israelites could learn about the interior of the temple and its contents was by reading descriptions like the one we have before us. Only from them could one learn that once past the portico, the officiating priest entered a room gleaming with gold, glittering with precious stones, and fragrant with incense. This was the Holy Place. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 49)
Restricted as the Holy Place was, the Most Holy Place was even more set apart from the common gaze of the congregation. What could be known about it could only be communicated to them through the Word. None of its contents could be seen from the larger chamber, with the exception of the tips of the poles used to carry the ark of the covenant to its permanent home (5:9). (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 50)
This room was the beating heart of the temple, the center of the entire shrine. Solomon had overlaid the Most Holy Place, a perfect cube, with 23 tons of gold–a staggering amount! All the same, the room was still inadequate as a dwelling place for God. The heavens could not contain him, as Solomon readily admitted, and the whole earth was his (2:6; Ps 24:1). Even so, God had promised Moses, “Before the ark of the Testimony–before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony–[there] I will meet with you” (Ex 30:6). That is why we can say that God “lived” in the house built for him by Solomon according to his gracious promise. On the day of dedication, he would make it absolutely clear to all that he had condescended to adopt as his earthly throne the space above the atonement cover, between the cherubim (1 Chr 13:6). (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 51)
Entering the Temple by the east, between the pillars called Jachin and Boaz (3:17), one finds oneself in the vestibule (3:4), whence one penetrates further into the nave (3:5), and finally stands before the “most holy place”–which might only be entered once a year by the High Priest. There is thus a gradation in the holiness of different parts of the Temple, designed to emphasize the unapproachability of God. The veil (3:14), mentioned only here in the OT but presumably similar to that in the later Herodian temple which was torn from top to bottom at the crucifixion (Mt 27:51), is the final guardian of God’s most intimate presence. (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 121)
The impression one receives from these verses is of opulence and artistic ornamentation. The layperson never entered the temple but worshiped only in its courts. Yet here was splendor and beauty as worthy of God as consecrated giving and dedicated craftsmanship could make them. Only the best–always a relative best–that particular human hands can give and do is good enough for God. He never asks for less, nor for more. It is this human best that God will graciously fill with His glory (5:14). (Leslie Allen, Mastering the OT, 1, 2 Chr, 213)
The materials were all prepared completely before they were brought to the site. Every stone was squared and beveled and fitted for its place. Every piece of timber was hewed, polished and, doubtless, marked and numbered for its precise position in the framework. . . .When the building was ready for erection, it was simply put together according to the plan already prepared and the materials fitted to hand, as we see in the beautiful striking description in 1 Kgs 6:7, “In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 381-82)
He added that Solomon paneled the main hall with pine (3:5). He also added that this paneling was decorated with precious stones (3:5). Moreover, rather than simply stating that Solomon “overlaid the whole interior in gold” (1 Kgs 6:22), he specified that gold was overlaid on the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls, and doors…and the carved cherubim on the walls (3:7). Only a few choice people had ever seen the Main Hall of the temple. The Chronicler’s detailed description gave his readers a spectacular vision of the room. (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chr, A Mentor Commentary, 225)
The text mentions six hundred talents of fine gold on the walls (about 23 tons), gold nails (or “hooks” as it may be translated) each weighing fifty shekels (about 1.25 pounds) and gold on the upper parts (3:8-9). (Richard L. Pratt, 1 & 2 Chr, A Mentor Commentary, 225)
III. The Temple of Almighty God should be eternal, steadfast, unchanging, reliable, trustworthy, and immutable as a testimony of His Name. (2 Chr 2:1, 4-5)
The repeated artistic motifs of the palm tree and the chain design may represent the ideas of life and eternality–the domains of God as Creator. (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 386)
Whereas it took God only six days to create the world, it took him forty days to explain how to build the tabernacle! Obviously God wanted his holy dwelling to be put together exactly the way it was designed. He said to Moses, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb 8:5). The reason God was so attentive to detail was that this building was designed to teach something about his character and about what it means to have a relationship with him. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 814)
The stone for its foundation was quarried from beneath the hills on which Jerusalem is built. It was cut in vast masses of rock, some of them nearly 40 feet in length and as much as three to four, and even six feet in breadth, so that it is difficult to understand how these ponderous stones could have been removed and placed in the foundation walls. They were cut so exactly and fitted so perfectly that no mortar or cement was used in the masonry, but they absolutely supported their own weight and the immense structure above them. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 380)
IV. The Temple can be entered only on the basis of atonement (2 Chr 4:1; Ex 32:30-35; Bk of Lv)
Thus the location of the blood was significant. Above it was God, in all his holiness. Underneath was the law that exposed Israel’s sin. In between came the blood of the atoning sacrifice that covered transgression and turned away wrath, reconciling the people to God. The blood on the ark thus provided safety from judgment. When God came down to dwell with his people, he would not see the law that they had broken, first of all, but the saving blood of an atoning sacrifice. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 820-21)
Once every year, however, the Ark achieved its ultimate sacramental significance in the Day of Atonement service, q.v. (Lv 16:2). After insuring his personal safety through a protecting cloud of incense before it (v. 13), Aaron would sprinkle the Ark’s cover, or mercy seat, seven times: first with the blood of a bull, slain as a sin offering for himself, and then with that of a goat for the people (vv. 14, 15), so as to cleanse Israel “from all [its] sins…before the LORD” (v. 30). In pictorial fashion, grace (the blood of the testament) thus became an intervening cover between the holiness of God (the glory cloud) and the verdict of the divine justice upon the conduct of man. (Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible: Vol. One, 307)
CONCLUSION: What does this message have to do with Christ and me?:
A- Christ (the new temple) has come as a result of God’s grace (Mt 12:6; 26:61; 27:40; Mk 14:48; 15:29; Jn 2:19-21; Rv 21;22)
This magnificent temple of Solomon was still glorious only with an earthly splendor. Such glory was bound to fade, to wither and fall “like the flowers of the field” (Is 40:6). Even when it was first built, the temple remained a footstool fit for God only by grace, only because he had freely chosen to put his name there. In a similar way, the second temple, the temple rebuilt by those who returned, would remain God’s house by grace alone. Whatever shortcomings they might perceive in their temple’s outward appointments would be removed when suddenly “the Lord…[came] to his temple” (Mal 3:1). Many years after this portion of Scripture was written, King Herod undertook a massively expensive renovation of the Lord’s house. But all of Herod’s glitter could never match the glory the King Messiah would bring once he graced the temple with his presence! (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 53-54)
To talk like this does more than simply add a bit of drama to shock the readers. The intention is that Jesus be seen as the new–and improved–tabernacle/temple. This is not to reject the OT versions of the temple as merely ritualistic and now, thankfully, done away with. It is, rather, to understand the reality to which the OT structures pointed, a reality that reaches its climax in Christ. Hence, John continues in Jn 1:14: “We have seen his glory.” The glory that resided above the ark in the Most Holy Place, to which the high priest alone had access once a year, is now walking the streets of Jerusalem for all to see, a truly “portable” tabernacle!
The coming of Christ is not a dulling of the majesty of the OT tabernacle but a heightening of what it stood for. True, the ornate decorations and furnishings are not here, but something far better is. Inasmuch as the tabernacle was an earthly representation of a heavenly reality, how much more so is Christ, who–to continue John’s words in 1:14–“came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ fulfills the purpose for which the tabernacle was built. (Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, 555)
Solomon has fulfilled his function as temple builder, and so he is fittingly characterized as the finisher. It reminds us of Another who was to cry “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). It was evidently this cry that triggered the tearing of the veil of the Holy of Holies from top to bottom, if one examines Mt 27:50, 51 and Mk 15:37, 38 and compares Lk 23:45, 46. The Evangelists were making a theological point. The temple era, inaugurated with its exclusive veil (3:14), had indeed lasted until the period of Jesus. Then God did a new work. It was symbolized by His tearing the veil and giving fuller access to His presence. This theology implied by the Gospels is spelled out with reference not to the temple but to the tabernacle in Heb 9:1-14; 10:19-22. (Leslie Allen, Mastering the OT, 1, 2 Chr, 215)
The tabernacle represented the earthly Church amid the trials and vicissitudes of this wilderness life. The temple represented the triumphant Church, the new Jerusalem above, when the trial and change shall all be passed and Christ in more than Solomon’s glory shall come to share with His people the sovereignty of a regenerated world. (A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 383)
The point is that the temple of the Old Covenant was a type or foreshadowing of the glory of Christ. It was the place where the Law of Moses was preserved, of which Jesus is now the fulfilment. It was the place of revelation and relationship, where God met and spoke to his people. Now we hear God and see God and meet God in Jesus. It was the place of sacrifice, where forgiveness of sins was obtained. For that, we now go to Jesus. Israel worshipped and celebrated in the temple in Jerusalem. We now worship in spirit and truth, regardless of geographical locale (cf. Jn 4:20-26). www.wordpress.com
B- Christ is God with us. Not as a mere shadow or symbol but as reality. For those “in Christ” we have intimate access to a Holy and Righteous God on the merits of Christ. (Mt 1:21; Rom 5:8-19; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Eph 2:13-20; Col 1:19-23; Heb ch. 9; 10:1-22)
In the NT, when Christ gives up His spirit and pays for our sins, the veil described here (3:14) IS TORN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, SIGNIFYING THAT God had opened the way into the Most Holy Place to all people (Mk 15:37-38). Now we can boldly come before God anytime we need to. There is no longer a priest who needs to intercede for us. (Dr. Tremper Longman, Quicknotes, 1 Chr Thru Job, 64)
The NT makes extensive use of temple imagery. The gospels report Jesus’ teaching that his body was the temple of God (Mt 12:6; 26:61; 27:40; Mk 14:58; Lk 23:45); his death opened a way into the Most Holy Place (Heb 9). The writer of Hebrews treats the earthly temple/tabernacle as a pattern of the heavenly one (8:5; 9:23). In the letter to the church at Philadelphia, the overcomer is made an inscribed pillar in the temple (Rv 3:12). The New Jerusalem is a perfect cube, like the Most Holy Place; there is no temple there since the entire city has been made the dwelling of God (Rv 21:15-23). Abraham, who was seeking a heavenly city (Heb 11:8-10), had once visited the earthly Zion (Gn 22:2; 1 Chr 21; 2 Chr 3:1); it was there that through the centuries hundreds of thousands of animals would die beneath a blade as sacrifices, until ultimately the blade of divine justice would find its mark in God’s own Son. (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 31)
The author of Hebrews views the old covenant shrines as a copy of the heavenly one (Heb 9), and he reflects on the paraphernalia and furnishings; the work of Christ is the reality which the service there anticipated (Heb 10). John saw the Christ standing among seven lampstands (Rv 4:12-20); in the holy city the Lamb of God is the lamp (Rv 21:23-24; 22:5). There is no cosmic Sea in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv 21:1); the great basin in the temple court has been replaced by the life-giving river (Rv 22:1-2; cf. Ezek 47:1-12). Instead of the twelve loaves on the table (Lv 24:5-9) in the presence of God, the church partakes of one loaf (1 Cor 10:17). (Raymond B. Dillard, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 15, 38)
Moses’ tabernacle had only a single court. The more developed ritual of the temple led to a division between the inner courtyard of the priests (1 Kgs 6:36; 7:12)–also called the upper court, because it was elevated, so that the priests would be more visible as they performed their sacred duties (Jer 36:10)–and the outer “larger court” for Israel’s general worshipers. Yet this very division into two courts (2 Kgs 23:12) gave concrete expression to the fact that under the older testament there had not yet been achieved that universal priesthood of the believers that would come about through Jesus Christ. In him all the people of God have direct access to the Father (Jer 31:34; Gal 3:28; Heb 4:14-16). (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 453-54)
Heidelberg Catechism Q & A: #60
Q. How are you right with God?
A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart
C- Christ (the new temple) is the exact representation of God in every aspect because He is God (Mt 9:1-8; 22:43-45; Mk 10:17-18; Jn 1:1-2; 1:14; 5:17-23; 8:12-59; 10:30-33; 20:28; Rom 9:5; Phil 2:6; 1 Tm 3:16; Ti 2:13; Heb 1:1-4)
Whereas the glory of Moses was only a reflection, the glory of Jesus was inherent. It came from his own glorious person. Jesus is God the Son, and the Scripture says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory” (Heb. 1:3a). So his glory is not reflected; it radiates from his own divine being. Jesus shines with all the glory of God. In him there is a fullness of glory, compared to which the glory of Moses was only a flicker of light. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word Exodus, 1073)
Jesus’ glory was even more fully revealed in his resurrection. Near the end of his life Jesus had prayed for God to restore the glory that was rightfully his. “Father,” he prayed, “glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (Jn 17:5). The Father answered this prayer by raising Jesus from the dead in a glorious resurrection body. And this is what authenticated his ministry as the Mediator, proving that he is both Savior and Lord. Jesus “was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4). (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word Exodus, 1073)
D- A relationship with Christ, the new temple, can only be entered into on the basis of the atonement of Christ. (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45; Rom 3:19-26; Heb 2:14-18; ch. 9-10:22)
The tabernacle was but a copy of the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 8:5; 9:24; cf. also Acts 7:44; Rv 15:5) and was designed to foreshadow things to come (10:1). Its regulations were temporary (9:10), its sacrifices imperfect (9:9; 10:1-4), and the access it afforded to the divine presence very limited (9:7f.). But Christ has offered Himself as a perfect, once-for-all sacrifice (9:12-14, 26). He has entered the heavenly sanctuary not made with human hands (8:2; 9;11), thereby opening a “new and living way” into God’s presence for all believers (10:19-22; cf. 6:19). Believers can therefore approach the “throne of grace” (i.e., the heavenly counterpart of the tabernacle “mercy seat”) with the confidence that they will obtain the mercy and grace that they need (4:16). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Vol. Four, 705)
Jesus was zealous for the purity of worship–worship that he was going to make universally available through his death. Only by clarifying how the old system was intended could the new system have a place. Only by “destroying the temple” would Jesus be able to offer all believers personal access to God. Only by fulfilling the system of sacrifice could he become the perfect and final sacrifice for all mankind. The eventual destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. was the final evidence that the old system had been superseded by Jesus’ work on the cross and in the lives of those who believe in him. (Bruce B. Barton, D.Min., Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 46)
The temple’s “curtain” corresponds to the “veil” that separated the two rooms in the Mosaic tabernacle (Ex 26:31), and it was supplementary to the wooden doors mentioned in 4:22 and 1 Kgs 6:31-32. It emphasized the fact that even though the awesome presence of God, represented by the glory cloud in the Most Holy Place, was present with men, it was still at the same time separated from them. The curtain portrayed the spiritual truth that the way to God was not yet open (Heb 9:8) and that it would not be till Christ would perform the true atonement to reconcile God and man. This then would end the anticipatory forms of the older testament, including the veil (Mt 27:51). (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 451)
Just as in the tabernacle, the altar was the first main object to be met as one entered the sanctuary court. It demonstrates that God may be approached only through sacrifices, i.e., through the substitutionary and testamentary death of Christ (Heb 8:2-3; 9:12). (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 452)
The NT often describes the saving work of Jesus Christ in terms of the mercy seat. It says that Jesus came to “make atonement for the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17). It says, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Rom 3:25). It says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). The word that the Bible uses in each of these verses (hilasterion) refers specifically to a sacrifice poured on the mercy seat. The cross of Christ is our mercy seat. It is the place where the blood of an atoning sacrifice reconciles us to God by coming between his holiness and our sin. The cross is the place where sinners can find mercy. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word: Exodus, 821)
APPLICATION: What effect should this message have on my life ?:
1- Christians who are “In Christ” are being built into the Temple of God as a result of God’s grace (1 Cor 3:10-4:1; 6:15-19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:11-22; Phil 1:6; 1 Pt 2:4-5)
As people who worship God “in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24), we are not so much concerned about the specific site of our worship as God’s OT people were. All the same, we dare not think that the grace of God is free-floating–to be found by meditating under any spreading tree, invoking the name of any god, or associating ourselves with any group of people who might claim to worship God. God’s grace is located where the pure gospel-Word is proclaimed and the sacraments are rightly administered. When the called servant of the Word announces God’s forgiveness, we can firmly believe that “our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.” When we are located on a site where all this holds true, we can be certain that our God has put his saving name there according to his promise, whether we are worshiping him inside a fine old church or in a hotel conference room before a makeshift altar. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 42-43)
To meet God, to talk with God, to worship God, you no longer come to a building or a tent or a structure made with human hands. You come to Jesus! Jesus is the Temple of God! But the story doesn’t end there and therefore constitute the temple in which God is pleased to dwell. The presence of Yahweh now abides permanently and powerfully in us through the Holy Spirit. (www.wordpress.com)
“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.” Paul reminds the Corinthians of the sacredness of their bodies. He notes that the Holy Spirit makes his abode within them, so that their body is his temple. He writes the two words body and temple in the singular to apply them to the individual believer. Further, through the word order in the Greek, he places emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Paul literally writes to the Corinthians, “your body is a temple of the one within you, namely, the Holy Spirit.” That is, the physical body of the Christian belongs to the Lord and serves as the residence of the Holy Spirit. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: 1 Corinthians, 202)
Paul asks whether there is any agreement between God’s temple and idols. The temple is the place where God chooses to dwell, although God cannot be confined to a house built by human hands (1 Kgs 8:26; 2 Chr 6:18; Isa 66:1, 2; Acts 7:49-50). He is everywhere and reveals his power against an idol, be it Dagon of the Philistines or Baal of the Canaanites (1 Sm 5:1-5; 1 Kgs 18:21-40). But how would the Gentile Christians in Corinth understand the phrase temple of God? The Jews said that God dwelled in the Most Holy Place in the temple at Jerusalem, but Paul taught the Corinthians that God dwelled within their hearts and made their body his temple (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; see Rom 8:9). (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: 2 Corinthians, 230)
Again I realize it in this way, I realize that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within me. That is Paul’s argument in the sixth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians: ‘Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?’ That is the way to overcome the sins of the flesh. Constantly I find myself having to ask people this question–they come to me about some problem or difficulty and they say: ‘I have been praying about this’, and I say: ‘My friend, do you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?’ That is the answer. I say it again at the risk of being misunderstood, but such friends in a way need to pray less and to think more. They must remind themselves that their bodies are ‘the temples of the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us’. Prayer is always essential, but thought is essential, too, because prayer can be just an escape mechanism, almost at times a cry in the dark by people who are desperate and defeated. Prayer must be intelligent, and it is only to those who realize that their bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost that the answer will be given and the power will come. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure,173)
2- Christians will actually become one with God and Jesus in a mysterious and unimaginable way. (Jn 14:15-21; 17:21-22, ; Eph 2:11-22)
What is the meaning of being transformed? How are we transformed? And, who is the great agent that transforms us? Jesus, the “firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29), was glorified on the mountain of transfiguration. By being the forerunner, he assures us that we, too, shall be glorified. Already in this life we are transformed in his image, now in principle, but eventually in full glory. The transformation that occurs in the inner being of a person affects all of his or her thinking, speaking, and acting. The external consequences become immediately apparent and gradually more explicit. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary 2 Corinthians, 129)
NT writers refer to the church–in the sense of the community of believers –as being a temple in which “God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:22). Just as David’s son Solomon had built God’s house, so David’s greater Son Jesus builds us as “living stones….into a spiritual house,” as Peter tells us (1 Pt 2:5). When at last Solomon’s Successor has completed his glorious work of building God’s house, history will have achieved its purpose; faith will yield to sight, and we will all experience the perfect joy of living in God’s presence forever. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 57)
Paul continues the thought in 1 Cor 6:19: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” The apostle here applies the temple theme to the individual Christian, for the topic here is sexual conduct for individual believers. His point is that between the first and second comings of Christ, the church both collectively and individually realizes the intimacy between God and his people that was first experienced at the building of the tabernacle. (Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, 556)
Meeting with God had a remarkable effect on Moses. Every time he had an audience with the King of kings, he came away glorious. This shows that it is possible for sinners to shine with the rays of God’s reflected majesty. Being with God has a transforming effect on people. No one who meets God by faith is ever the same again, because when we see God as he is, we become like what he is. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word Exodus, 1074)
There is a profound spiritual lesson in this. We do not glorify God by looking at ourselves but by looking into him. It is so easy to get lured into a performance-based approach to the Christian life, in which we are always looking at ourselves to see how we are doing spiritually. It is also easy to waste time worrying what we look like to others. Instead, we should be looking to Jesus. Only then can we reflect his glory to others. As we look to God, we are transformed by his splendor. And then when people look at us, they see his glory shining through. (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word Exodus, 1074)
Patience is not putting up with something. It is how you act while putting up with it. Well, this person drives me crazy! Won’t do you any good to run away from them. You can quit your job and there will be three more waiting for you at the next job just like em. You can sell your house and move and you’ll move next door where there will be not only one in your neighborhood but ten. You better just stay where you are at and get it over with. Cause if you run, God will turn up the fire, just as sure as I’m standing here, the furnace is going up. You might as well just pass that test and get it over with. In God’s Kingdom nobody fails. You just keep taking the test over until you get it right.. (Joyce Meyer sermon “Dare to Believe”)
When Moses went to meet with God, nothing–not even a layer of cloth–was allowed to hinder his gaze upon God.
That passage gives us insight into two things: the deep revelation of God, and the change it brings to those who experience it. The greater the revelation, the greater the transformation. Unveiled in his worship and given incredible access to the presence of God, Moses also became a changed worshiper who glowed with the glory of God.
The NT has amazing news for us that we, too, can be unveiled worshipers: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
God has invited us into an incredibly privileged place in worship. In one sense, the Almighty need not reveal Himself to anyone. He is a consuming fire, blazing with power and holiness. And yet He burns with a heart of love for His people, longing to usher each one of us into deeper levels of glory. It is there we are transformed ever more into His likeness. As someone once put it, “Beholding is becoming.” (Matt Redman; The Unquenchable Worshiper, 62-63)
Justification is God dealing with the penalty of sin
Sanctification is God dealing with the power of sin
Glorification is God dealing with the presence of sin — John MacCarthur
Don’t take yourself so serious. God knew what He was getting when he called you. (Joyce Meyer, message “Out with the Old and in with the New”)
Today’s idols are more in the self than on the shelf.
Goudzwaard’s three basic Biblical rules:
1. Every person is serving god(s) in his life.
2. Every person is transformed into an image of his god.
3. Mankind creates and forms a structure of society in its own image.
3- We will become like Jesus as partakers of the divine nature (Rom 8:29; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Jn 3:1-3; 2 Pt 1:3-4)
We are waiting for the dawn of the coming age, when something even more glorious than what happened to Moses will happen to everyone who trusts in Jesus. The shadows will flee, we will shine with the undimmed majesty of God, and our faces will radiate his glory with growing brightness for all eternity. Then the promise of the ancient blessing will be fulfilled: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Nm 6:24-26). (Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word Exodus, 1077)
The labor of the apostles was not devoted to persuading the Church to comply with certain doctrines, but that Christ would be formed in the Church. Paul testified of this to the Galatians: “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” (Gal 4:19). This is the purpose of all true ministry–that Christ is formed. Jesus is the finished work. Our goal is not formation, but TRANSFORMATION! (Rick Joyner, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, 58)
We should recall in particular that the use of the word heaven to denote the ultimate goal of the redeemed, though of course hugely popularized by medieval and subsequent piety, is severely misleading and does not begin to do justice to the Christian hope. I am repeatedly frustrated by how hard it is to get this point through the thick wall of traditional thought and language that most Christians put up. The ultimate destination is (once more) not “going to heaven when you die” but being bodily raised into the transformed, glorious likeness of Jesus Christ. (N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 168)
Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before,
Since we have seen His beauty, are joined to part no more
To see the Law by Christ fulfilled, and hear His pardon voice,
Transforms a slave into a child and duty into choice — John Newton
4- Since we will be the temple there will no longer be a need for an atonement (Rv 21:22; Heb 7:27; 9:12, 26-28; 10:1-14)
In using the word temple then, NT writers build on the past to help believers understand the wealth of blessings we enjoy here and now in Christ. But this is only the beginning of joy. A look at the ancient past also gives us a better grasp of our glorious future. In Revelation John “saw” the full and final fulfillment of the temple. The Spirit granted him a vision of God’s eternal dwelling place in heaven, the place Solomon’s sanctuary was meant to reproduce on earth (Rv 4; Heb 9:23, 24). Our hearts thrill with happiness when we read John’s description of it. Through his eyes we see God’s dwelling set in the center of what will be our eternal home too, prepared for us by Christ.
In the New Jerusalem, God will live among his people with glory unconcealed (Rv 21:22, 23). Nothing impure will ever be found in that city, and then our hope for complete deliverance from sin and pain will at last be fully realized. Instead of the bronze Sea standing next to God’s sanctuary, heaven holds a life-giving river “clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rv 22:1). John makes no mention of any altar or sacrifice. We know why. The Lamb that was slain (Rv 5:6) “by one sacrifice…has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb 10:14). (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 58-59)
Worship point: Meditate upon the magnificence of the Temple. Meditate upon Christ as the reality of what the Temple foreshadowed. Meditate upon our (those who are “in Christ”) being the Temple of God. Meditate upon your future magnificence. If you do that in spirit and in truth you should experience amazing (Sg; Jer chps. 3-5; Ezek ch 23; Bk Hos; Jn 3:29-36; 1 Cor 7; Eph 5:21-33; Rv 18:23-24; 19:7-21; 21:1-27; 22:17-21) worship.
If Paul tells us that a man is not to join himself to a prostitute because his body is a holy temple–that is, if we are to use such imagery to avoid sinning–can a Christian not use the same imagery to be drawn into God’s presence in a unique way as he joins his body with his wife? Isn’t he somehow entering God’s temple–knocking on the door of shekinah glory–when he joins himself to a fellow believer? And isn’t this a tacit encouragement to perhaps even think about God as your body is joined with your spouse? (Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage, 209-10)
The work on the temple had not gone as quickly as one might have hoped, since the people had become bogged down in their own affairs (Hg 1). As they considered the size and beauty of the structure they were working on, many felt it was not at all as glorious as they might have expected the house of the Lord to be (Hg 2). In view of the magnificent promises of restoration God had made to his people through the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, these small beginnings must surely have seemed “like nothing” (Hg 2:3). God’s people were tempted to become discouraged and disillusioned. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 2 Chr, 1-2)
Spiritual Challenge: Let God have His way with you and He will reform, rebuild, restore, renew, revitalize, redeem, and remake you into a building worthy of His presence. Oh, and more than just His presence. He promises to be one with us as He is with Christ. Can you fathom what that means? So, let Him have His way with you so you can become all that God created and designed you to be.
When Paul wrote his great resurrection chapter, 1 Cor 15, he didn’t end by saying, “So let’s celebrate the great future life that awaits us.” He ended by saying, “So get on with your work because you know that in the Lord it won’t go to waste.” When the final resurrection occurs, as the centerpiece of God’s new creation, we will discover that everything done in the present world in the power of Jesus’ own resurrection will be celebrated and included, appropriately transformed. (N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 294)
(See: Eph 1:18-23 & 3:14-21)
Quotes to Note:
When Stephen, the first martyr for Christ, made his speech before the council, he suggested that his contemporaries’ attachment to the Temple was similar to the worship of the golden calf in the wilderness. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well that true worship is not tied to a building but is rooted in truth and spirit (Jn 4:24). (Broadman & Holman Pub, Shepherd’s Notes, 1, 2 Chr, 53)
Bulletin Picture here
I am the Temple — Jesus (John 2:19-21)
You are the Temple — The Apostle Paul writing to
those “in Christ” (1 Cor 3:10-17; 6:15-20)
Christ:
The Temples’ Temple
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