Building A Temple

God is a great builder. If we look around at nature, we can observe the enormous amount of detail that He put into our world. The human body itself is a real marvel. Although thousands of years have passed since our creation, God is now using people to build something new. We are told: You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. (1 Peter 2:5 NLT). All the creating of the universe was simply the ground-work for the greatest building of all time. This great temple will last forever and God absolutely loves it. It is going to be unparalleled by anything else in eternity. We can say this because God dwells in every small piece of it. 

The Bible says we are the stones in this eternal temple. It is very important that we fit into our place so that the building will continue in the plan of God. Remember, the failure of a stone to conform to its place in the wall, will cause that stone to be rejected by the builder. It is difficult for some humans to understand the motives of God. To resolve this shortfall, our loving God simply teaches and leads us during our everyday walk of faith. The Lord has instructed us to gather together and help each other the best we can. In Jesus, we are priest of God but we don’t have a strict schedule to follow. This allows us to help other stones to fit into place. We fit with the other stones when the Spirit directs our lives.

Our spiritual growth is individual although its purpose is always for the building-up of others. This ties us together forever. The new temple has a heroic foundation: And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. (Eph 2:20-22 NLT). We are a family that spiritually fits together. Support for one another is one of the primary needs of this temple. It’s important for our leaders to seek God because a building always has a plan to be followed. We must learn patience as God slowly builds His great temple. We should use every opportunity for prayer and to purify our lives. This building is the most majestic building ever constructed. 

God’s temple is a place where we can hear, see, and feel things that are not available in any other place on earth. Musicians tell us that the sound qualities in some stone temples cannot be duplicated. We can hear some things that we will never hear anywhere else. Some great stone buildings can have a grandeur that takes away our breath. Sometimes the splendor contained in a great building makes us feel insignificant. The Bible says: Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:16-17 NLT). My friends, this is our only chance to be built into something that will have greatness forever. We are the materials that God is building with and we have a certain responsibility as part of this great temple.

The local church is the place where God gathers His stones together. It is in these groups of people that the stones are prepared to be part of God’s great building. Paul said this about the church leaders: Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Eph 4:12-13 NLT). A stone is not able to prepare itself individually to be a part of God’s great temple. To reach the complete standard of Christ we must interact with other members of the church. There is no way for us to describe what it is that each stone will gain from being a member of God’s family.

In our free country it is difficult to convince some people of their need for the church family. We should remember that by faith everything is possible. Becoming a loving member of the local church may be the final test of our devotion to God. Paul reassures us: May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God… Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Eph 3:19-21 NLT). If we want to bring glory to God we should do it through a church family. The church is necessary for every person desiring to have a completed relationship with God.

The reason we are able to be part of this great temple is because the Spirit of God lives in each of us. Our responsibility is to be the kind of righteous stone that will fit well into the building of God’s holy temple. All the stones must work together to accomplish the will of the Master. Our purpose is to fit into the plan of the Creator. We can trust Him because He always wants the best for the family He is building. The Bible says: Every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. (Heb 3:4 NLT). It’s amazing that we can be part of the eternity that the Lord has planned for those that serve Him. May the Lord grant us love for all our brothers and sisters who will live in the family forever!