Chapter
Two
THE
INNER SANCTUARY WHERE GOD IS 'MORE PRESENT'
'…In whom all the building fitly framed
together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord:' (Ephesians
2:21)
Herod's Temple
in Jerusalem
Herod's Temple looked spectacular
from its outward appearance. But the
glory of God never dwelt in the inner sanctuary of this temple. The prophet Ezekiel had seen the glory of God
depart from Solomon's Temple at the time when the Jews were taken into
Babylonian captivity (Ezekiel 9-11).
This was almost six hundred years before Jesus was born. Even though the Second Temple was rebuilt
seventy years later, the glory never came back to dwell in the inner
sanctuary. The Second Temple built by Zerubbabel and rebuilt by King Herod never contained the
Ark of Covenant or the Shekinah glory of God. The glory of the Second Temple that the
prophets spoke about was fulfilled through the coming of the Lord Jesus. 'The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, says
the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, says the LORD of
hosts.' (Haggai 2:9)
For most people, there was not a
lot of difference between the temple with the glory of God and the temple
without the glory of God. The temple was still the heart of the nation and the
centre of the Jewish religion. The
everyday affairs of the temple carried on exactly the same, and the people
gloried in the outward appearance of the magnificent building that Herod had
built. But there were some who looked
for the 'glory of Israel'. One of these
was an old man called Simeon. When Jesus
was taken to the temple to be dedicated, Simeon took hold of the baby and said,'…a light to lighten the Gentiles and the
glory of Your people Israel' (Luke 2:32).
The
glory of Israel was Jesus, but most people were content with the glory of the
temple building and the activities of organised Jewish religious life. It is exactly the same in the church today. Many people in the church have no desire for
the presence of the Lord. They are
satisfied with living as Christians and being respectable people in the
community. They do not want to become
fools for Christ, or to be worshipping witnesses to Christ. They may be genuinely saved, but they have no
desire for worship beyond singing some songs of worship. They are missing the highest calling of God
to become worshippers.
God is 'more present' in His temple.
The presence of God is everywhere
and in this sense the presence of God was in Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. But when Solomon dedicated the First Temple,
God was 'more present' so that even the priests could not stand to minister (1
Kings 8:10-11). The prophet Isaiah was
lifted even higher than this when he saw a place where God sits enthroned in
the heavens; a place where the angels of God worship the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, crying 'Holy, Holy, Holy' (Isaiah 6:1-3). This place is called the temple of the living
God because His glory is there. The God
who is omnipresent (everywhere) in the universe is 'more present' in His
temple. Wherever God is 'more present'
then His nature and character is manifested, and His power is fully known.
Isaiah longed for God to be 'more present' on earth when he cried: 'Oh that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the
mountains might flow down at thy presence,' (Isaiah 64:1)
When God is 'more present' great
mountains will be removed, and even the mighty kings of the earth are made to
tremble in fear (Daniel 5:5-6). The
prophets who were despised longed for God to manifest His presence, but in the
wisdom of God He has chosen the foolish and weak
things of the world to glorify Himself.
The Son of God came to earth as a servant so that He could redeem a company
of people from the world. A people who
would be insignificant in the eyes of the world, but a people separated for His
possession. This was God's eternal plan
that the glory of His presence would dwell within a temple made of living
stones. A temple built of people who
have been lifted from the depths of sin to the heights of holiness; a people
created for worship. 'You also, as living stones, are
built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'
(1 Peter 2:5).
The
high calling of God is that we have been created in Christ Jesus to be the
dwelling place of God; the temple where God is 'more present'. But only those who desire to be worshippers
can know His glory. Most people in the
church are like Herod's Temple; they are aware that God is everywhere and in
this sense His presence is at the prayer meetings and worship meetings, but
they have no awareness of the glory of the 'more present' God who dwells in the
inner sanctuary of His temple.
Jesus came to build an inner
sanctuary for worship
When Jesus cleansed the temple in
Jerusalem the Jews asked for a sign to show that He had been given the
authority to do this. Jesus told them
that the only sign He would give was; 'Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.' (John 2:19). There are two
Greek words that are translated temple in the New Testament. One of these words is 'hieron' this
refers to the temple building and all its precincts. The other word is 'naos'
which refers to the inner sanctuary of the temple. Jesus was speaking of the inner
sanctuary. It was the place associated
with the presence of God and the glory of God.
Only the priests could enter into the inner sanctuary. Even Jesus was not allowed to enter into this
part of Herod's Temple because He was born of the tribe of Judah. The priests were all Levites. The Jews related the words of Jesus to the
impressive temple that King Herod had built.
When He was put on trial at the house of the High Priest his words were
misquoted, 'We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is
made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without
hands.' (Mark 14:58).
They were misquoting the words of
Jesus because He did not say 'made with hands'.
He was not referring to Herod's Temple at all. He was declaring that His body is the true
inner sanctuary where God dwells. Jesus
was prophesying to them that they would kill Him, but on the third day He would
rise again. He associated His death and
resurrection with the destruction and resurrection of the temple. The body of Christ was the real temple of
God. Jesus was always aware that He had come to build the temple of the Lord,
and the temple would be built through His death and resurrection.
The body of Christ is the new temple
of God
Jesus told the Jews that His body
was the inner sanctuary of God. This was
the true temple where God was worshipped in spirit and in truth. No one else at that time except Jesus could
be associated with the body of Christ.
But after Jesus was crucified on the cross; risen
from the dead; and ascended to the right hand of God, He became the Head of His
body, and every person who is in Christ has become a member of His body. This is not an illustration; this is a fact
because His life dwells in His body. The
believer in Christ is crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), buried with
Christ (Colossians 2:12), risen with Christ (Colossians 3:1), and is seated in
heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6).
In becoming members of His body, we become part of the temple of
God. A people created in Christ Jesus
for worship. 'And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I
will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall
be my people.' (2 Corinthians 6:16)
God
is a jealous God, and the temple of God is set apart for the worship of
God. This is a higher calling than
being 'saved from sin'. It is the call to
holiness and separation. It means
everything in our lives is important, because God is dwelling in His
temple. The thoughts of our minds, the
affections of our hearts, as well as the actions of our bodies are all acts of
worship. We are called to worship in
'spirit and in truth', which means glorifying the Lord in purity of spirit from
the innermost part of our being. 'What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.' (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
God is seen to be 'more present' in
revivals.
When God is 'more present' in the
temple of His body then His nature and character will be manifested and His
power will be known. This is always the
case in revivals. A revival is when the
Holy Spirit takes control of the meetings bringing an awareness of the holiness
of God, filling the believers with the love of God, and producing a godly fear
of the awesomeness of His presence. The
awareness of the holiness of God produces strong conviction of sin and
repentance in the congregation, but this will eventually lead to great
joyfulness. Revivals are always
characterised by these two things; repentance and joy.
Singing is a wonderful way of
being able to express this joy. But
sometimes the Holy Spirit takes complete control of the singing. There was a strange phenomenon at the Azusa Street
revival in 1906 that was called the 'heavenly chorus'. This was spontaneous singing, either solo or
in unison, of a new song in the Spirit.
It was sometimes sung without words, and at other times in unknown tongues. The evidence that this was the Holy Spirit
was that a heavenly atmosphere came upon the congregation and it seemed to them
as though they worshipped with the angels.
The body of Christ at the present
time often resembles Herod's Temple. The
activities of religion are vigorously pursued, but the glory of God is not
present. Many are content to know that
the presence of God is with us, but only a small number desire to see the Holy
Spirit take control and be 'more present' in His body. The eternal plan and purpose of God is that
the Lord Jesus has redeemed a people to be living stones of His temple where
His glory dwells. It is in this context
that every person who has received Christ as his or her Saviour is called to
the higher calling to worship. We have
been created in Christ Jesus to be a place of worship, and to be
worshippers. God is God, we are His
creation, and we worship Him, but we who are in Christ have become the dwelling
place of God and will be for all eternity.
Even the angels stand in awe that God has done this. What a wonder that God loved us so much that
He has lifted us to such heights of worship.