What We Are – Part 5 – THE TEMPLE OF GOD
Reading Matthew 21:12-14 “ Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
One of the worst villains in all of Jewish history was a man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. He became the Greek King of the Seleucid Empire which devastated the Jews and their way of worship. We don’t read about this man in our Bibles, rather it all took place during the 400 year gap of the intertestamental period, or the time span in between the what we now have in the Old Testament and the New. This story can be found in apocrypha, (or in non authorized books as seen in some version of Bible) which can help us with some history. For example we read:
In 2 Maccabees 5:11-14 it states that, “Raging like a wild animal, he (Antiochus Epiphanes) set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.”
After this we read that this evil king set out to destroy the Jewish religion all together. Let me read to you from 2 Maccabees 6:1-8 “Not long after that, the king sent an elderly Athenian to force the Jews to abandon their religion and the customs of their ancestors. 2 He was also to defile their Temple by dedicating it to the Olympian god Zeus. The temple on Mount Gerizim was to be officially named Temple of Zeus the God of Hospitality, as the people who lived there had requested.
3 The oppression was harsh and almost intolerable. 4 Gentiles filled the Temple with drinking parties and all sorts of immorality. They even had intercourse with prostitutes there. Forbidden objects were brought into the Temple, 5 and the altar was covered with detestable sacrifices prohibited by our Law. 6 It was impossible to observe the Sabbath, to celebrate any of the traditional festivals, or even so much as to admit to being a Jew. 7 Each month when the king’s birthday was celebrated, the Jews were compelled by brute force to eat the intestines of sacrificial animals. Then, during the festival in honor of the wine god Dionysus, they were required to wear ivy wreaths on their heads and march in procession. 8 On the advice of Ptolemy, the neighboring Greek cities were also instructed to require Jews to eat the sacrifices; 9 they were told to put to death every Jew who refused to adopt the Greek way of life.”
They not only stopped the Jews from worshipping the way the Law prescribed, they defiled the Temple and altar by offering pig flesh on it and sprinkling the entire place with pig broth which was an abomination. Daniel 11:31 describes this as the “abomination that causes desolation.”
Up to this point in history, Judaism had never been attacked and profaned in such a manner. In scripture we read that God had allowed this to happen because the Jews had again become unfaithful and corrupt in His sight.
But can you just imagine being the one standing before God on the last day knowing that you were personally responsible for such sacrilege and defilement of the Lord’s Holy Temple? As a matter of fact I believe this evil king Antiochus was judged and punished even before he died suffering for horrifying and painful death. According 2 Maccabees 9:5ff, he was struck with excruciating pains in his bowels, his body swarmed with worms and his flesh rotted of while still alive. Eventually he humbly repented before God, but it was to late..
The Temple was later restored after the victory of the Maccabees, which was led by Judas Maccabeus (2 Macc. 10) andto honor that event the feast know as Hanukkah marks the re-dedication and restoration of the Temple.
According toFlavius Josephus, it was not until in 20-18 BCE.that Herod the Great completely rebuilt the Temple. Yet 50 years later, what do we read in Matthew 21:12-16? The Jews themselves had begun to defile the Temple. They had allowed animals and money changers in the Temples and Jesus literally says that they had turned it in to den of thieves.
So what does all this have to do with us?
So far in this series of lesson as to what we are, we have seen were Jesus calls us, salt, and light, a branch, and sheep. But today we will see how now we are also we are called the TEMPLE of God.
In 1 Corinthians 3:16 it says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
And in verse17 he writes, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
And then in 1 Corinthians 6:19 he writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
You are the Temple of God. Just like God came and rested in Holy of Holies, God is in each one of us Christians.
And just as Jesus addressed the Jews telling them that they were defiling the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Paul was warning the Corinthian brethren not to defile themselves with sinful practices because they would likewise be defiling God’s Temple.
So what was the significance of the Temple and how does it relate to us as being the Temple of God today?
Well to begin with, because of God’s presence within:
#1. It was Holy, and was to be kept holy. Just as the Jews were not allowed to bring anything defiled or sinful into the Temple of God, Paul lets us know that we as Christian who are also the Temple of God should not defile our self with anything unholy or sinful. We should do our best to stay pure and not get involved with things that are evil and corrupt. In the Corinthian letter, Paul warns those Christians to stop messing around with prostitutes, but I would dare to say that there are many other ways to pollute and defile our Temple. Maybe you do things that can harm your body or you don’t take very good care of it. Maybe we allow things to enter our ears and our eyes and even our mouth that we should not. We need to be careful what we do. We need to be careful and keep it holy and not let anything defile it.
Actually, it is now God’s Temple, not yours, and Paul said it was bought and paid for at a price, so we have a responsibility to take care of it the best we can. This is a responsibility we have as Christians.
#2. Jesus told those in Matthew 21, that His Father house, or His Temple is to be a place of Prayer. And to that I would also like to add that Jews would go there to worship, and sing, and read portions of scripture.
Likewise, since God is in us, we should be communicating with Him on a regular basis. We don’t have to go to a church building to pray, because His own Spirit is in us and hears us and is there to help us, guide us, comfort us, and so much more. We should be singing songs of praise every day just knowing that we have God with us and in us. We should not only be a people of prayer and song, we should also have a humble spirit and worship Him, to honor His presence.
#3.The Temple was also a place to give one’s best, making offerings and giving and making sacrifices. Likewise, we should be the most generous and willing to sacrifice. In Romans chapter 12:1-2 Paul wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
How much do you give to God? Would you consider it a sacrifice, or is it just something you have that’s left over? The Jews were required to give back 1/10th of their income, or a tithe, in addition to other sacrifices and gifts that they would make. But for some reason as Christians many feel like we have the freedom to abandon that practice since we are no longer under the OT law. I disagree with that line of thought.
I agree that we are not longer under the Mosaic Law and that it was nailed to the cross, and hence we no longer have an obligation or law to tithe; but I feel that because we have been freed from the Law, and have had our sins forgiven by the blood of Christ. I feel that it’s something we should WANT TO do. As a matter of fact Paul suggests not just a tithe, but that we give our whole self as a living sacrifice to God.
And I personally believe we honor God by our contributions and they should be considered and treated as an important part of our Worship. Christians should be the most generous and giving people on the planet.
#4. The Temple was also a place of service and Ministry. Every day the priests we responsible for a number of duties directly related to serving God.
Likewise I believe we as Christians need to be serving our Lord faithfully throughout the day. Peter writes in his epistle that we are a kingdom of priests. He wrote, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (2:9)
I believe that in many ways we are God’s hands to serve others in this world today. Through the ages Christians have done a countless number of nice, generous and wonderful things to help and serve others in the service of our Lord, some at great expense to themselves, and we should do the same as his holy priesthood today.
#5. The Temple was also a place of Power. As you read on in Matt. 21 we see Jesus doing many miracles at the Temple changing lives of others.
Likewise, as God’s Spirit works in you and through you, your life will be changed and change lives of others as well.
The very fact that we have been called God’s Temple speaks of an important responsibility we have but it is also tremendous honor which should not be taken lightly. We should not take this privilege for granted as the Jews in Jesus’ time did, but rather honor God with your body and your service to Him.
This privilege is not an automatic privilege for everyone just because we are human. It is only for those who have swept clean, and where the defilement of sin has been removed. When a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and allows Him to remove their sin, only then will God enter a person as His Temple. (See Colossians 2:9ff)
I pray that you will see from this how much God loves you, and the special relationship we have with Him, and I hope that this opens your eyes to the awesome opportunities privilege you have to serve Him.
For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566
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