Acts 20:32, 1 Corinthians 3:16
“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32, KJV)
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, KJV)
These two verses show that there is grace in the Word of God to build you up into a temple that inherits the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Think about that!
What is a temple?
A temple is a building that is dedicated to God alone. Meaning, whereas other houses and buildings can be used for other purposes as people see fit, the temple can only be used for God’s service; anything else would be an abomination. In other words, only God’s things can be found in the temple; any other thing (for example, belonging to idols or anybody) would be a defilement of the temple. The temple is completely reserved for God alone; only Him can be worshiped there, only Him can be served there, only His presence can be found there, and only Him can use the temple for whatever He wants, whenever He wants and however He wants. That is what a temple of God is.
Are you ready to live as God’s temple? God has made His grace (His unmerited assistance) available to you (in His Word) to build you into His fully functioning temple – a magnificent spiritual structure you’ll become: full of many divine possibilities, with an underlying trademark of holiness.
Throughout the Old Testament, there have been different temples that the people of Israel have dedicated to God. It began with the tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build in the wilderness (after the people of Israel came out of Egypt). That tabernacle had three sections: the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place; and these represented a three-phase progression to a deeper and more mature relationship with God). This “tabernacle of Moses” design continued in different forms up until the tabernacle that David built (after the people of Israel entered into the promised land). The tabernacle that David built had only one section (the Most Holy Place), instead of the three, and this represented full spiritual maturity and intimacy with God.
There were three other temples in the Old Testament that came after the tabernacle that David built. The first temple was the temple that Solomon built. It was a very glorious temple and was the pride of the people of Israel until it was destroyed and plundered by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The second was the temple that Zerubbabel built. It was an attempt to build a replacement for the temple that Solomon built that was destroyed. The third was the temple that Herod built. This was the temple that existed when the Lord Jesus was on earth. It was a complete rebuild of the temple that Zerubbabel built, into a more magnificent and well decorated building. These were the three temples that came after the tabernacle that David built.
However, for the sake of properly observing the structural trend of the temple building, it is important to note that these three temples were basically permanent versions of the tabernacle that Moses built. They all had the three sections: outer court, holy place, and most holy place. Meaning, although in physical timeline they came after the tabernacle that David built, in structural trend they are categorized along with the tabernacle that Moses built, which was before the tabernacle that David built.
As such, the structural trend of all the temples in the Old Testament shows a transformation from a building with three sections (outer court, holy place, and most holy place) to a building with only one section (the most holy place) – a transition from the tabernacle of Moses design to the tabernacle of David design.
Why is this important?
It is because it gives insight into the kind of transformation God is expecting us (His New Testament temples) to experience as we grow spiritually – a transformation beyond an outer court Christianity (where there is sin and self), and beyond a holy place Christianity (where there is little or no sin but still a good deal of self), to a most holy place Christianity (where there is no sin and there is no self).
Now you may wonder: how can I become totally sinless and selfless? Our text in Acts 20:32 says:
“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
To commend means to present (to recommend). The writer is recommending God and His Word to the brethren as the means by which they can be built into greater heights of spiritual maturity (as most holy Christians). And that recommendation stands today.
Continuously interacting with the Word of God is the recommended means by which we can become totally sinless and selfless, just as interacting with milk is the recommended means by which a baby advances from not being able to sit, to sitting, to standing, and to walking. And just as there is an element in the milk that makes this transformation possible, so also there is the grace of God in the Word of God that makes it automatically possible for you to move from being an outer court Christian to being a Most Holy Christian. That is why Acts 20:32 calls it the Word of His grace. Just keep reading it. Just keep listening to it. Just keep meditating on it. Just keep praying with it. And do these with the faith of obtaining that grace in the Word. Then you will experience the transforming power available to build you into a Most Holy temple of God.
Prayer for today:
O Lord, I come to You who is able to make me sinless and selfless. Reveal Your word to me and let the revelation build me into a most holy place for You. O Lord, let me be a temple in the design of the tabernacle of David, because as You are quoted in Acts 15:16 - “... I will return, and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:” - this is the kind of temple You are interested in at this time. Build up my ruins Lord, for I have fallen from being most holy unto You. Restore me and set me up again as You said You will. In Jesus name, Amen.
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