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16 Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Cor
3:16-17)
The antecedent of Solomon’s Temple was the Wilderness Tabernacle. It was
gloriously appointed inside with sheets of gold to cover the walls, and
curtains of rich colors for drapes. It was a beautiful place in an ugly and
Wilderness area. But on the outside, it was covered with goat hair – a most
unbecoming decor. But the Temple was richly furnished both inside and out. It
was a stunning achievement in both art and architecture costing a fortune in
its materials and furnishings. I consider that Wilderness Tabernacle to be, in
some respects, the Christian in this World – and the Temple to represent the
glorified Christian of the resurrection. At the completion of both structures,
the glory of the Lord filled each. Let us review the occasion of the completion
of both in Holy Scripture.
The Tabernacle
When the Tabernacle was completed, we read, “34 Then a cloud covered the tent of
the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter
into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Ex 40:34-35)
Once all had been done according to the counsel of the Lord,
the Glory of the Lord filled the Wilderness Tabernacle.
The Temple
Likewise at the completion of Solomon’s Temple, we read, “1 Now when Solomon had made an end
of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and
the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
2 And the priests could not
enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the
LORD'S house. 3 And
when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of
the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground
upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is
good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (2 Chron 7:1-3)
In both cases, when all of the preparations were satisfied, the Glory of God
filled both places. But He would not have done so had the workmen omitted a
single requirement in the construction. This is very much like the regenerated
soul of man being filled with the Holy Ghost when he has become the Temple of
God – the dwelling place of God. Once God has made His abode with us, we must
not do anything to defile that Temple. All things were accomplished in the
death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
The Wilderness Tabernacle provided all of the detail of the Temple in lesser
degree in grandeur. So it is with these mortal (Wilderness) bodies as we await
the glorification of our bodies to come in Heaven. At that moment, our
mortality shall take on immortality and we shall be changed from glory to glory
– like unto that glorious Temple of Solomon, but far greater.
The unbeliever is like an empty shell walking about in complete abandon.
Whatever spirit motivates him is not of God but of the dark Prince of the Air.
He is, in fact, a dead man walking. He is very like that goat hair covered
Tabernacle of the Wilderness ere the Glory of the Lord filled it. “1 And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. (Eph
2:1-2) Please do
not tell me that you awakened in your dead spirit by your own conscious intent
and turned to Christ. You were DEAD - as dead as Lazarus, the brother of Mary
and Martha, and the dead can do NOTHING! “4 But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he
might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man
should boast.” (Eph
2:4-9) None deserve
the mercy and grace of God, but He has shown it to His Elect by grace and not
merit.
Of course, we are saved by grace UNTO good works, “created in Christ Jesus
unto good works.” (Eph
2:10)
There were at least ten cardinal fixtures in the Tabernacle and the Temple:
1. Brazen Altar;
2. Bronze Laver;
3. Table of Shewbread – on the
right side of the Holy Place;
4. Candelabra on the left side of
the Holy Place facing the Shewbread Table;
5. Table of Incense before the
Temple Veil separating the Holy Place from the Holiest Place;
6. Ark of the Covenant behind the
Veil containing Manna, the Ten Commandments, and the Rod of Moses.
7. The Mercy Seat rested above the
Ark.
8. The Manna represents the Word of
God consumed and digested in the Believer’s Temple of God. Jesus was “the bread of life.” (John
6:35)
9. The Tables of the Law were the
Ten Commandments which, in the new believer’s Temple of God, are written on the
soft sinews of the heart. “3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink,
but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of the heart.”
(2 Cor 3:3)
10. The Rod of Moses in the new
Temple of the believer is that of faith and power of the Holy Ghost.
So you see, every physical accoutrement of the old Temple of
Solomon is spiritually present in the soul of the believer.
One other important point of the Temple of God for us is this: Before entering
the Tabernacle or Temple proper, one must bring his sin offering to be
sacrificed on the Brazen Altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle or Temple. The
sins of none could be absolved without that offering of sacrifice. Nothing is
changed since. We still must depend upon the efficacy of that sacrifice before
we come near to God. But OUR sacrifice is imminently more efficacious for the
absolution of sin than all of the beasts of burden in all of the world – the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the very Door and Sacrificial Offering at the entrance
of the Temple (or Tabernacle). “No man cometh
unto the Father but by Me.”
Next is the Bronze Laver. Why the difference in metal between the Brazen Altar
and the Bronze Laver? The Bronze Laver was filled with pure water and the
foundations were highly polished and served as a mirror for us to behold what
manner of man we are. Ere we go before the Lord to worship, we must repent of
our sins. The same is true of God’s Word today. It is a mirror to our souls.
There are but two images we behold therein – our marred and disfigured
countenance and unworthiness, and the beauty of holiness and righteousness of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The contrast is infinite. We see in God’s Word our
shameful shortcomings.
The Holy Place, you will remember, contained the Shewbread (Unleavened Bread)
Table on the right side of the Holy Place; the Candelabra on the left held
seven candles and provided the only light in the Holy Place. These two
represent the Body of Christ (Unleavened Bread), or His Word; and His nature as
Light of the World in the candles. Before the Veil (between the Table of
Unleavened Bread and the Candelabra (and forward of it) was the Table of
incense. Here the High Priest alone was admitted once per year to waft up the
prayers of the people (represented by the rising smoke of the incense) and
plead for the forgiveness of all of Israel. He must always enter that place
with sacrificial blood. We still have a High Priest who intercedes on our
behalf, and who carries with Him that sacrificial blood (His own) – our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Remember our leading Bible verse? “7 If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” God has not changed one iota
from before the Creation of the World, or the building of the Tabernacle, the
Temple, or the Temple of God (which Temple ye are!). “6 For I am the LORD, I change not;
therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal 3:6) “8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
and to day, and for ever.”
(Heb 13:8)
The moment of our coming to terms with our sinfulness and unworthiness and
repenting before God in receiving that blood sacrifice of His only BEGOTTEN
SON, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit came down upon us and filled our empty
Temple with the glory of God.
God
is the same always, He will not allow His Holy Temple to be defiled! What do you suppose will defile His Temple? If
we, as believers, put anything in His Temple that is an abomination before God,
it will defile His Temple. Do you believe God changed His mind as to what He
considers abominations? As abominations
God names among others:
·
Idolatry
(failure to keep the FIRST Commandment);
·
Adultery;
·
Homosexuality;
·
Abortion
(shedding of innocent blood);
·
Wicked
rulers;
·
Pride;
·
Cruelty
So, have we kept Holy our Temples of God, my friends?
