The Church as the House of God
Goal
To show that the Church is the House of God in this age.
Objectives
Text
1 Peter 2:4-9; Eph. 2:19-21; 1 Tim. 3:15; I Cor. 3:16-17
Memory Verse
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. 3:15
Lesson Contents
God’s Omnipresence and Presence
God’s omnipresence means that God is everywhere present with His whole being at all times. 2 Chronicles 6:18 tells us that heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. David describes this wonderful attribute of our God in Psalm 139:7-12 beautifully. The omnipresence of God must not be confounded with the presence of God in our study of this topic. God’s presence must be distinguished from His omnipresence. As the following references show, God being present in a place is conditional upon His approval and association with His Name.
Exodus 20:24-26
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record My Name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Deuteronomy 12:5-7
But 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 ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
Deuteronomy 12:13-14
Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
When we study the topic of the House of God, we are focusing on the personal presence of the Lord associated with His people in a certain place. In our current dispensation, the Church is the House of God. But before we consider the Church, let us trace the dwelling place of God in the past dispensations.
God’s Dwelling Place In the Tanakh
The first mention of the presence of the Lord was in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8) when unfallen man has communion and fellowship with the Lord. After sin entered the world through disobedience, Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. They could no longer enjoy the presence of the Lord.
The first mention of the "the house of God" occurs in Genesis 28 where we find Jacob awakening from his dream with the realization that he has been in the presence of the living God: "How dreadful (awesome) is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." As a result of his experience with God on that occasion, the place was named Bethel.
The next dwelling place of God was in the Tabernacle among the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness. In Exodus 25:8-9, the Lord commanded the Israelites to make Him a sanctuary the He may dwell among them. After the Israelites had entered Canaan, the Tabernacle was pitched at Shiloh (Jos. 18:1). Subsequently, due to the sins of the Israelites, in particular the sons of Eli, the Lord allowed the Ark to be captured by the Philistines. Thus the presence of the Lord departed from Shiloh (Jer. 7:12).
Later, the Ark was brought back under the leadership of David to Mount Zion. David purposed to build a house for the Ark. His proposal was not accepted by the Lord. Instead, the Lord had chosen David’s son Solomon to build the temple (1 Chron. 28:10-13). So David prepared the materials for the temple to be built and the temple was subsequently built by Solomon on Mount Moriah at Jerusalem. From 1 Kings 6, we learn that the house was built of stones taken from the quarries of Tyre and shaped for the place that each was to fill before being brought to the temple site. As they were built together, there was no sound of hammer, axe or any tool upon them. During the inauguration of the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the temple signifying His approval and association with the place (2 Chron. 5:13-14).
As it was with the tabernacle at Shiloh, the Lord forsook the temple at Jerusalem because of the sins of His people (Jer. 7:11-14). The first temple was destroyed during the Babylonian captivity. Although a second temple was built after the return of the Jews, the glory of the Lord did not return to the second temple.
From the period of the Judges to the Babylonian captivity, we read of various locations called high places where the children of Israel worshipped. Some of these locations were used to worship idols while others were used to worship the Lord. Even though at the latter the Israelites purported to worship the Lord, such worship was unacceptable because the Lord did not place His Name in these locations (1 Kings 3:2-3). Many kings have fallen into this snare of worshipping and allowing the people to worship at these high places. Only Hezekiah and Josiah cleared all the high places during their reigns.
G_d’s House In the Brit Chadashah Time
In the Lord Jesus?discourse (John 4:21-24) with the Samaritan woman, we learn that there is a change of dispensation. In the past, worshippers had to go the temple at Jerusalem to worship. Now, worshippers are asked to worship God in spirit and in truth. In the messages given by Stephen (Acts 7:44-50) and Paul (Acts 17:22-25), we learn that God does not dwell anymore in "temples made with hands" as He did in the past.
With the change of dispensation, God’s house in this dispensation is spiritual and not physical as 1 Peter 2:4-5,9 tells us, "To whom coming, as unto a Living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:"
Ephesians 2:19-22 uses the metaphor of an holy temple to picture the church, "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom every building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
1 Timothy 3:15 describes the church as the house of God, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
The above three passages of the New Testament confirm to us that the Church is the dwelling place of God in this dispensation. The presence of the Lord is promised to the place when the local assembly gathers together unto His Name (Matt. 18:20). This is the place where we meet God through worship, prayer, the ministry of His Word, the fellowship of the saints, and the preaching of the gospel. The building which we meet in is not the house of God but the body of the believers gathered is the dwelling place of God.
Practising God’s Presence in Your Assembly
Having recognized that the universal Church is the House of God in our current dispensation and the local assembly is a local expression of the Church, we need to realize that God is present among us when we meet together. This knowledge of God’s presence in our midst will help us greatly in our worship and service.
The House of God is a place of joy and gladness. "Glory and honour are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place." 1 Chron. 16:27. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11. We must always ask ourselves whether we are rejoicing in the Lord in our worship and service for Him. "Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing." Psalm 100:2
The House of God is a place of spiritual refreshment and help. "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest," said the Lord in Ex. 33:14. It is said of Solomon’s temple that there will be help from the Lord when the people stand before the temple and cry unto the Lord (2 Chron. 20:9). Would we absent ourselves from the assembly prayer meeting when we know that the Lord is there to hear and to help us?
There must be proper conduct in the House of God because He is a Holy God. Ecccl. 5:1-2 "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." Surely "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him" (Psalms 89:7).
We are warned not to behave in the House of God as if it were our own house. In Matthew 21:12-13, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." The Lord Jesus warned the Jews that the House of God (God’s Temple) is to be kept pure and holy. However, the Jews disregarded His warning. As the result, the Lord pronounced judgement on the Jews?Temple in Matthew 23:37-39, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
Questions
1. In the Old Testament, what are the reasons that the House of God was built? How can we apply these truths in the New covenant setting.
2. "It doesn’t matter which church or where you go to because they all worship the same God." Discuss.
3. "Since God looks at the heart, it doesn’t matter how you worship Him." Discuss
4. What are some areas in our assembly life which we could improve knowing that God is in our midst?
Assembly Testamony: Autonomy in Local Churches