STOLEN IDENTITY

"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1).

One of the fastest growing crimes in our day is identity theft. Larger and larger numbers are finding that their identity has been assumed by others. With this stolen identity, professional thieves have been able to amass great wealth by fraud.

But identify theft is nothing new for the church, the body of Christ. Our true identity has been stolen from us -- years before we were even born. That's right, human organizations and institutions, along with their brick and mortar structures, have assumed for themsleves our identity "in Christ."

The "Reformation" never did free the members of Christ's body from this type of religious fraud. And centuries later, in spite of all the truth that the body of Christ has been exposed to, it is still the common practice to simply surrender our true identity to the religious system:

"Why not go to church with us tonight?"
"Remember that this is the Lord's House."
"Welcome to the House of God."
"Be reverent when entering the sanctuary."

Now, there was a time when the last three of these phrases would have had legitimate meaning. Psalm 122:1, for example – "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." But to what was this passage referring? And to whom was this written?

Well, first of all we must realize that at the time this was written the body of Christ did not, as yet, exist. If we rightly divide the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15), we can understand that the audience of that particular Scripture was Israel, and it was a reference to a physical structure.

In time past, Israel had the Temple. It was God's House in that day (c.f. II Chronicles 7:1-2, 5). It was the meeting place of God with Israel. But today, in the dispensation of grace, we -- the members of Christ's body -- are God's house.

But how often have we heard Psalm 122:1 – "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord" used in reference to some man-made structure in the dispensation of grace? This is takes the passage out of its dispensational context. It is an illegitimate use of the passage. The truth of the matter is that any physical building presented as "the house of the Lord" today is a fraud! We are the church. We are the house of God. God lives in us – we're His church building!

And on an even sadder note, we have been party to all of this identity fraud. We have supported and help build such a system. And all the while, it was taking our identity from us, and using it for ill gotten gain! In fact, they took our identity, and then they took our money!

When will we wake up and realize that our identity has been taken from us? And when will be understand that we have even been aiding and abetting them in this crime? When will we reclaim our true identity and live in the fulness of who and what we are in Christ?

It is high time that this crime against the body of Christ be reported. Let's search the Scriptures and learn of our true identity as God's church, God's house. Then let's report these truths to the saints. Let's ask them if they know that there are those out there parading under the pretense of being us. Let's encourage them to reclaim their identity and expose this scam.

Be and enjoy who and what you are in Christ!

Help lead others to this wonderful place!

(For a closer look at the subject of Israel's Temple, and today's temple – the body of Christ, see the article Where on Earth is God?: A Look at the Dwelling Place of God – Bible Student's Notebook #45.)

Clyde Pilkington

Gladstone, VA

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