Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Temple of God
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Jeremiah 17:5-7
We are blessed when our trust and confidence are in God. On the flip side, we are cursed when we trust in man, his abilities, his work, or when our heart becomes set on anything other than God. The contrast is between trusting in the eternal God and trusting in any man—living or dead. In comparison to God, man will always fall short. This does not mean that men can never be trusted or that God does not work through men. The physical Temple served an honorable purpose, and it was a fine thing as long as people did not ascribe more to it than was warranted. The same can be said of any man or organization. In the New Testament, God's church is not the only spiritual temple of God. The individual Christian is also called the "temple of God" in I Corinthians 3:16: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" In type, we are each a temple—an instrument for worshipping and glorifying God. Because of this, the accounts of worshipping the Temple in Ezekiel 24:21 and Jeremiah 7:4-12 take on additional gravity. The "man" in whom one can trust in Jeremiah 17:5 does not have to be somebody else—it can just as easily be oneself! Put another way, if our trust or confidence is in ourselves as the temple of God, we are following the same destructive path as Israel and Judah. In this light, God's testimony against His people in Ezekiel 24:21 applies with even greater weight. We have the potential to boast—arrogantly or subtly—about ourselves rather than God. We could be the "desire of our own eyes," considering ourselves pleasant to look upon—perhaps not physically but spiritually. We are supposed to be pointing people to God, not to ourselves. Perhaps we delight in ourselves, just as Ezekiel castigates Israel for delighting in the Temple at the expense of delighting in God. The prophet also refers to the Temple as Israel's "stronghold" (verse 25), and we can likewise make our strengths and abilities our source of confidence. Ezekiel says the Temple was "that on which they set their minds." Applying this to the New Covenant temple, it would indicate self-centeredness and self-absorption, in which all attention and consideration are focused on the self rather than God and fellow man. Jeremiah's admonition adds even more (Jeremiah 7:4-12). The people of Judah put their trust in the Temple as their source of security and confidence, but they ended up sacrificing their relationships with their neighbors. Similarly, if our trust and confidence are in ourselves—or with a group that constitutes the empirical self—rather than God, the pattern shown in Jeremiah 7 predicts that we will be unable to evaluate and discern properly, with disastrous effect on our relationships. Putting our trust and confidence in ourselves will result in various forms of oppression, personal injury, stealing, killing, unfaithfulness, and dishonesty. None of this is to say that a church organization, or the individual Christian, is superfluous or inherently bad, any more than the physical Temple was. What the individual does determines whether an organization—or an individual—becomes an idol. However, if we regard the church or ourselves as ancient Israel regarded the Temple, it is not surprising that God would respond similarly in both instances. If God sees a church organization or an individual competing with Himself in the members' hearts, it should go without saying who will win that contest. The physical Temple of God, like the Tabernacle before it, served an honorable and necessary role for God's people. The spiritual temple—whether the individual or the whole body of believers—is likewise fundamental to what God is working out. But God's testimony and deeds, both anciently and presently, show that proper regard for the Temple of God, keeping it in the right perspective, is essential to having a right relationship with Him.
David C. Grabbe
Worshipping the Temple (Part Three)
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Acts 2:2
It is interesting that Luke does not say that a wind actually blew. He writes that the sound of a mighty, rushing wind came. Whatever the case, it had a hurricane-like sound understood or perceived to be coming from heaven. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. Why does he mention them sitting? Why were they not standing around and fellowshipping with one another? In all probability the "house" mentioned here is actually the Temple. They were sitting because it was a holy day, and they were having a service. It is also interesting to note that the sound filled only the house, not the whole city. Even if we allow that some of the sound was heard in the area around the house, Luke specifically contains the sound to the general area where the house was. We know that some outside (at least outside of the room the disciples were in) heard it, because they were attracted by the fact that the sound was emanating from the place where the disciples were sitting and having a meeting. So, these other people, a few thousand of them (Acts 2:41), began gathering in the general area, lending more credence to the probability that the "house" was the Temple.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit
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1 Peter 2:4-5
Solomon's Temple was only a type of the true House of God, the real Temple, the church of God (I Corinthians 3:17; II Corinthians 6:16). Solomon's building was the "Temple of God" because of God's presence, and so it is today. God now lives in us by His Holy Spirit, just as His shekinah glory hovered above the golden Mercy Seat covering the Ark in the Holy of Holies. If God is active and present in us, we are living stones and part of His spiritual Temple. Just as the Temple had many types of stones, rocks. and boulders making up the foundation, flooring, walls, roof, and pillars, so will God's spiritual Temple. The spiritual Temple of God is a work in progress. Undoubtedly, God is excited to see its different elements taking shape. He is building us, as living stones in a living Temple, "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19-20). Jesus Himself says that a well-constructed house is built on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25). The foundation of the spiritual Temple has been laid and cannot be changed (I Corinthians 3:11); Jesus Christ is the Rock upon which He builds His church (Matthew 16:18). The eminent Jewish historian Josephus says about the foundation of Solomon's Temple: "Now, therefore, the king laid the foundations of the temple very deep in the ground, and the materials were strong stones, and such as would resist the force of time" (Antiquities of the Jews, 8.3.2). Impressive, certainly, but the spiritual Temple's foundations are even deeper!
Staff
Living Stones in God's House
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Revelation 11:1
"The temple of God" is simply a common symbol of the church. However, it is interesting that, here, it is not the Temple in its general sense. Christ uses an interesting word for it: naon. The naon is not the whole Temple but just the holy place, also called the sanctuary, where the priests are allowed to enter and offer incense on the incense altar, where they brought the shewbread to place the table, where the menorah was lit before God. This is the specific place that Jesus points out to measure—the sanctuary of the Temple. It excludes the courts that are outside. In verse 2, Jesus specifically says to leave them out. Thus, He is speaking of the inner sanctuary—not the Most Holy Place, where God's throne, represented by the Ark of the Covenant, is, but the room just outside the veil—where the priests are allowed to come in and do their work. This room represents the true church, the wheat (as opposed to the tares), the elect. Christ is directing our eyes away from any hangers-on, mixed multitudes, tares, or anyone else among the church. He is speaking of the inner core—those who are truly called and converted. In addition, He is speaking generally, not individually. He means the whole true church, as in "the body of Christ." Paul uses this same term, calling it "the holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:19-22) rather than "the temple of God"—but it is the same idea. Paul calls us "the temple of the living God" in II Corinthians 6:16. The Two Witnesses are told here to measure the church (the called, the elect) in general—the entire true church, the body of Christ.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Two Witnesses (Part Two)
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