This chronicle deals with the house
of God on earth. With His Old Testament people, Israel, it was
the temple in Jerusalem. With His New Testament people, the church,
it is assemblies of believers in every place that call upon the
Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. To help understand the importance
of God’s house to Himself, we first want to look at His
principles in His Old Testament house and then in the New Testament
house. For while the methods of God change from the old to the
new, His character and principles of truth do not.
Both in the Old and New Testaments,
God’s dwelling place among His redeemed people involved
two elements.
|
1. |
Something they are in
that is a gift. |
|
2. |
A place in which
to come together where the Lord has chosen to put His Name (presence
and authority). |
1. “In the Land.” In Deuteronomy 12 God gave Israel instructions
when they would come “in the land, which
the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it.”
The promised land is something they would find themselves in
and the Scriptures consistently express that this land was given
to them as a gift from God. There is a set of instructions concerning
the terms of the land and their behavior in it.
2. “Unto the Place.”
God also gave a second set of instructions. This set involved
a place within the land. Once they were in the land of their
inheritance they were to come “unto the place
which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to
put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and
thither thou shalt come: And thither shall ye bring your offerings
and sacrifices ... .”
Characteristics of the place
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a. it was the place of God’s choosing, not man’s
convenience or popular desire
b. it was the gathering center for His people to assemble
in a God-appointed design
c. it was God’s habitation (living place)–
His house. Thus it is designed foremost for the desires of God
and not man’s needs and wants
d. it was where one came to offer and give to God,
not to get something from Him
e. it was where God put His Name (Lord - Jehovah).
Since He put His Name there, only He has authority there,
never man’s traditions (When one comes “in the name
of the law,” he means the authority of law).
|
Israel's two concerns in their
calling for God
| What made
it "the" (not a) place of assembling exclusively, was
that God's Name was there |
 |
The land was
for the people to live but "the place" was for God
to "live," to receive worship and service |
While instruction concerning the land are numerous and very
important for the people’s welfare, instruction concerning
the place where God resides is equally important. In these chronicles
of the church we want to focus on the place of God’s dwelling
on earth.
In Deuteronomy 12-31 there are a series of instructions concerning
the place of God’s dwelling. They reveal the nature of the
house of God that make it pleasing to the One who resides there.
Following are some things that characterize “the place.”
Old Testament Graphic - God's house (temple) was:
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A place of assembling for offering and sacrificing to God.
Deu. 12:5-7
A place of separation from all other names.
Deu. 12:11-18
A place for the whole family to learn to fear the Lord. Deu.
14:23-27
A place of sacrificing the best to God.
Deu. 15:19-23
A place of remembrance. Deu 16:1-8
A place of observing and obeying God’s statutes (religious
ordinances). Deu 16:9-15
A place of judging matters among God’s people - God’s
supreme court on earth. Deu 17:8-13
A place of liberty for all the priesthood tribe to minister
unto the Lord. Deu. 18:1-8
A place of worship. Deu 26:1-11
A place of proclaiming God’s Word to the whole family.
Deu. 31:9-13
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The old covenant with its temple in its chosen place of Jerusalem
is no longer here. If God lives on earth today, where does He
live? And may we there expect to find His same principles of
truth?
The New Testament reveals that believing Jews and Gentiles
equally “are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit”: the church (Eph. 2:21,22).
The 4 Aspects of
God's Church
For example, take the name ‘Smith family.’ If you
say, “this is the ‘Smith family’ tree,” you
mean the whole clan of Smiths, living and dead from the beginning
to now. If you say, “I’m going to the ‘Smith family’
reunion,” you mean all the living Smiths in the present.
If you point out a house and say, “the ‘Smith family’
lives there,” you mean one family unit (that will have authority,
rules and order to it). If you say, “the ‘Smith family’
is in Congress,” you likely mean one member of the Smiths
who represents the name as a whole.
1. Universal
In whom all the building fitly framed
together
groweth unto an holy TEMPLE in the Lord.
... Christ also loved the CHURCH
and gave himself for it. (Eph. 2:21, 5.25)
Sometimes in Scripture the word temple or church (called out
company - assembly) refers to the body of Christ as a whole.
All from Pentecost to Rapture who placed saving faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ were baptized with the Spirit into Jesus Christ
and form His spiritual body. All in Christ’s body
share equally in the same spiritual blessings and inheritance.
2. Worldwide
I (Paul) persecuted the church of
God.
(1Cor. 15:9)
Sometimes in Scripture the word church simply means all Christians
in general living in the world.
3. Local
Unto the CHURCH of God at Corinth
...
Know ye not that ye are the TEMPLE of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
(1Cor. 1:2, 3:16)
Sometimes in Scripture the word church refers to a specific
congregation of believers who habitually assemble in a place.
Here there is an order and protocol. It has a specific function
and ministry in being a lampstand of testimony unto Christ for
God.
4. Individual
What? know ye not that your body
is the
TEMPLE of the Holy Ghost which is in you.
(1Cor. 6:19)
Here the word body is added, now referring to every individual
believer. Since the Spirit personally indwells the heart of every
believer, one is to behave as the holy temple of God seven days
a week, twenty four hours a day regardless of their physical
location.
While there are definite similarities between the universal
church and local church, there are also differences. This is
because of a different calling to the local. Following are some
distinctions between the two:
Universal
"In Christ" |
Local
"In the church" |
No differences–
everyone
has same body blessings
Gal. 3:28 |
There
are differences in
gifts and roles of authority
Rom. 12:6, Heb. 13:17 |
| Gender equality in
salvation– no male nor female in Christ Gal. 3:28 |
Different
roles–
man oral - woman silent “in the church” 1Cor. 14 |
Secure– no one
can pluck
out of hand Jn. 10:28 |
Non-secure–
one can be excommunicated 1Cor. 5 |
Only God adds
Acts 2:47 |
Man
receives into fellow-
ship of saints Rom. 16:2 |
No ordinances to
be saved Col. 2:14 |
“Keep
the ordinances”
1Cor. 11:2 |
Position blameless
before God Eph. 1:4 |
Practice
(walk) has things
Lord blames Rev. 2:4 |
The Local Church:
the place of gathering for
offering sacrifices to God
As in the OT, the people were first in something and then
came to the place where God’s Name was and there
offered to God, so also in the NT. Observe an opening remark
in the first letter to the local Corinthian church.
Unto the church of God which is at
Corinth, to them that are sanctified IN Christ Jesus, called
to be saints, with all that in every PLACE call upon the NAME
of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. (1:2)
In Christ Jesus. Firstly, believers are in Christ Jesus.
They have been set apart from the world by God and placed with
the Holy Spirit into a union with His Son. This is the effect
of God’s salvation. All believers are now constituted as
the sons of God and the body of the Lord Jesus. This brings the
believer into all the blessings of Jesus Christ Himself, for
when one is in a union (head and body), he shares in all
things.
As the land was the gift of God to Israel so Christ’s
salvation is a gift of God. A gift is not by works (Eph. 2:8,9).
One is in Christ by the grace of God alone.
One could not come
to the place
until he was first in the land.
One must first be in Christ
before he partakes in the church.
In every place. In the Corinthian epistle God does
not say everyone but “every place.” Here He has in
mind the corporate assembly of believers: the local church. In
the NT gospel, it is not one national central headquarters of
gathering but every place worldwide.
Now, every place is not any place. What makes
the “place” a living temple for God’s presence
is that there, believers call upon the Name of Jesus Christ
as Lord. It is upon Jesus alone that the Lord has put His Name:
Lord (Philp. 2:6-11). When a local gathering of believers
recognizes the risen authority of the Lord Jesus alone, they
constitute a NT temple (assembly) of God.
A local church is viewed as those in Christ Jesus (saints)
who in a given community habitually come together in one place
and call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. “In the
Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together”
(1Cor. 5:4). Coming together in the church is defined as “When
ye come together therefore into one place” (1Cor.
11:18,20), and “If therefore the whole church be come together
into one place” (1Cor. 14:23). The geographical place
is not the church or sanctuary but the saints who are gathered
in that place calling upon the Name of the Lord Jesus.
The two aspects of the church's
calling
What constitutes
a group of people as God’s place?
It is them owning
only the
Name of
the Lord
Jesus Christ |
 |
Christ came
for the sinner, but the
“place” is where
believers come
for the
Savior, to
give Him
His desires |
New Testament Reality - God's local church (temple) is:
|
A place of assembling for offering and sacrificing to God.
1Peter 2:5, 9
A place of separation from all other names. 1Cor. 1:10-31
A place of learning to fear the Lord.
1Tim. 5:20, 2Cor. 6:16, 7:1
A place of sacrificing the best to God.
1Peter 4:11
A place of remembrance. 1Cor. 11:17-34
A place of observing and obeying God’s traditions
(ordinances). 1Cor. 11:2, 2Thess. 2:15
A place of judging matters among God’s people - God’s
supreme court on earth. Matt. 18: 15-22
A place of liberty for the priesthood of all believers
to minister unto the Lord. 1Cor. 14
A place of worship. John 4:20-24, 1Cor. 14:23-25
A place of proclaiming God’s Word. 2Tim. 4:2
|
There is much teaching today on being in the land, i.e. in
Christ: the terms of His gospel, its benefits for us, how to
walk, enjoying spiritual fruit in our lives, and family values.
If based on Scripture this is good. Yet there seems to be a neglect
in ministry on the church as it gathers in one place. Because
this is God’s portion, we see it necessary to emphasize
such.
It is true one can worship God in his heart in a private setting.
However, God puts an emphasis on corporate worship and service.
Yes, there is a cost to getting there and putting up with people’s
idiosyncrasies. But worship is sacrificial and has “feet”
to it. Israel was to seek and come with their sacrificial
offerings to the place where God put His Name (Deu. 12:5,6).
King David said he would not offer to the Lord that which cost
him nothing (1Chron. 21:24).
A sports team is elated when fans pack the stadium to cheer
its team. So also as believers of different races and classes
assemble to glorify God in Christ with one mind and one
mouth, the power of God’s gospel is seen (Rom. 15:6).
One should not
say in God’s house,
“I didn’t get anything” but rather,
“did I give anything to Him?”
The house of God is His. Therefore, it functions for His pleasure,
just like your house is designed to your liking. The church is
not for man primarily. If one thinks the purpose of assembling
together is for the unsaved, he will be tempted to turn it into
a mission that’s “seeker sensitive,” to make the
unbeliever feel comfortable, and not offended. If one believes
the assembling together is essentially for the needs of believers,
he will be tempted to make it “user friendly,” a “happy-hour”
for believers. But, if one realizes the assembly is for God,
he will make sure that God is not offended and is delighted according
to His Word.