Welcome to the Come to Jesus Daily Devotional, where we are continuing our ‘God’s vision for the church’ series. This devotional is based upon a theme given by Joel Shepherd, a member of CCP. Today, let’s reflect on what we can learn about our meetings from the experience of the glory of God at the dedication of The Temple.
To watch this devotional, follow the link below:
‘As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1 Peter 2:4-5)
‘The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.’ (2 Chronicles 5:11-14)
This week, we’ve been considering what it means for the church to be God’s temple. This metaphor is birthed out of what we read about God’s temple in The Old Testament. God had commanded them to build His temple in a certain place and in a certain way. Under the leadership of Solomon The Temple was completed. At its completion and dedication, we are told of an extraordinary moment as God’s presence fell within the temple. In response to the worship led by the singers and musicians, God’s presence fell.
‘Shekinah glory’ is a phrase that is often used to describe the visible presence of the glory of God. This Hebrew word does not appear in the Bible, but is used to describe moments in Biblical history when God appears in a ‘manifest’ - visible fashion. Here, in this account of the dedication of the temple, we have an example of the shekinah glory of God.
After this, We read of Solomon’s prayer of dedication which, likewise, is followed by a repetition of of the manifest presence of God:
‘When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”’ (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
God’s manifest presence is often used to mark a significant moment or new beginning in God’s work. For example, in the book of Acts, at the inauguration of the church - God’s New Covenant temple - we see the shekinah glory of God in wind and tongues of fire as the building shook.
Today, in the last of our meditations on the church being God’s temple, let’s be inspired that God wants to powerfully meet us in His Holy Place - as we gather to worship with the church. Of course, we may not experience the shekinah glory of God, but He is powerfully present with us! If He was present in the Holy of Holies in that Old Covenant Temple, how much more should we expect Him to be present in His temple of living stones! This is why we are encouraged to expect The Spirit’s presence and gifts:
‘What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.’ (1 Corinthians 14:26)
Speaking of our need of a genuine meeting with God, Adrian Warnock writes in his introduction to Terry Virgo's book, The Spirit-Filled Church;
‘The 21st-century Western church is struggling. We are under attack due to the growth of aggressive secularism. Established churches are shrinking at alarming rates. We might be tempted to conclude that the gates of hell are prevailing. What hope is there? Will church management techniques save us? Will fancy websites inevitably produce growth? Should we be selecting the best entrepreneurs as our pastors? The Apostle Paul would say to us, “are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:3, NIV) Because the Holy Spirit initiated our Christian lives, and birthed the Church, we need Him to complete the task. We must go beyond a mere theological acceptance of His work and pursue His power today.’ (Adrian Warnock in, Virgo, Terry. The Spirit-Filled Church)
Response
God’s vision for His church is that of being His holy temple in which He meets with us in worship and prayer. In our own worship, most of us have never experienced the manifest glory of God. However, with the eyes of faith, we are to understand that these ‘signpost’ moments when God especially reveals His glory are to inform what is actually happening, if invisibly, when we worship. Overarching our desire for fellowship, singing, hearing teaching, seeing people saved… do we see that overarching all this, and making any of this effective, is that we are having a meeting with the Holy One! A church meeting is a meeting, firstly, with God. Finally, let this truth of our being His holy temple, and these shekinah glory moments inspire us to pray for more glory - revival - to come to His church and the nations. These moments are to unchain the limitations of our faith as to what the presence of God can do!
'Together' meeting notes
Over the next two 'Together' evenings, we will briefly reflect on our 'God's vision for the church' vision series. This week, we reflect on the promise of God to build His church and the temple metaphor.
1. God has promised and the enemy is opposing
We need to have faith in God’s vision for the church because God has promised to build His church and this is under demonic assault:
‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ (Matthew 16:18)
Pray together: Pray for one another regarding our involvement in building His church. Pray for the church to be built and protected. Specifically, pray for our Community Groups.
2. The church is God’s Chosen people and His temple
The word ‘church’ (ekklēsía) in our text, means to be ‘called out from’, and ‘called to’. The church is all the people ‘called out from the world’ in order to belong to God - we are those chosen by God to be holy for Him and serve Him in this world.
One of the metaphors that’s used for the church is of her being God’s holy temple:
‘Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.(Ephesians 2:20-22)
Discuss:
What is our ‘foundation’ and ‘cornerstone’ and what does this mean?
What is meant by ‘joined together and rises’ and ‘built together’?
What does it mean to be a ‘holy temple in the Lord’?
What does it mean to be ‘a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit'?
How should God’s vision of us being His holy temple be reflected in our various meetings for worship and prayer?
How does is this metaphor to be applied in our individual lives?
Specifically, how should God’s vision for the church as a holy temple affect our vision for our Community Group meetings?
Pray together: Pray for the church and your Community Group to better reflect her identity as God’s holy temple and dwelling place.
Comments