The Temple of the Living God
Things have drastically changed since Old Testament times. Back then sacrifice and worship revolved around the moveable Tabernacle, then afterwards the permanent Temple of God first built by Solomon (then rebuilt in Ezra 4-6 after its destruction). The significance of the temple of God can’t be overstated. God’s holy presence dwelt in the temple in the holy of holies into which only the high priest could enter once per year and only with the blood of animals (Heb. 9:7), but no more!
Before that significant spiritual change, back in Jeremiah’s day false prophets were opposing Jeremiah’s message with the concept that the temple of God was among them and therefore Jerusalem would not be destroyed because of it. Jeremiah countered with this:
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!” (Jer 7:4)
The temple of God Solomon built was destroyed because of sin, just as we can be today (1 Cor. 3:16,17)!
Temple of the Living God - Errors
Things have changed, making such a change about the temple of God one of the most astounding events in the New Testament, accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, since the cross of Calvary, Christians are the temple of the living God! We are the living, breathing and moving temple of the living God! What a flagrant scriptural error it is, therefore, for any church congregation to refer to their church building as the temple of God! It surely isn’t! Christians are the temple of God! They are the sanctuary.
Even some “Christian” songs need to be trashed, such as “We Have Come Into His House.”
Even some “Christian” songs need to be trashed, such as “We Have Come Into His House.”
We have come into His house and gathered
In His name to worship Him
We have come into His house and gathered
In His name to worship Him
We have come into His house and gathered
In His name to worship Him
Worship Him, Christ, the Lord
In His name to worship Him
We have come into His house and gathered
In His name to worship Him
We have come into His house and gathered
In His name to worship Him
Worship Him, Christ, the Lord
Deceitful Musical Sermons In The Church Building
Religious songs carry a teaching, and many are used by the devil to deceive! Besides the obvious error of church buildings being called the temple of God, in Catholicism each Catholic church has their own personal “tabernacle” where Jesus dwells! At least that is what they say and want us to believe! Though God doesn’t dwell in a man-made tabernacle, according to his error-free word (Acts 7:48), Catholics believe otherwise because of their false doctrine of the priest changing (through transubstantiation) the communion elements into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Those unconsumed communion wafers (which they call the Eucharist) are stored in a boxed tabernacle by their altar. Again, such a religious belief is a direct strike against the fact that the physical bodies of Christians are now the temple of God, not any man-made structure.
God In You
What an awesome thought! GOD DWELLS IN THE BODIES OF CHRISTIANS! Wow! We are the temple of God:
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor 6:16-18)
When a Christian prays, he doesn’t have to “pray through” to a distant God somewhere far away. God is dwelling in his own physical body! He is the temple of God. To realize that we are the temple of God can be life changing! What an important self image changer. God has considered you, because of submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ and following him, worthy of becoming the temple of God! That makes this truth real in your life:
The one who is in you [ALMIGHTY GOD] is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
Another Catholic Error
Catholicism continues to unduly and idolatrously exalt their fabricated image of Mary in many ways, including with the unique title for her of “ark of the covenant.” (That is only one of Mary’s many titles given by Catholicism to their mythical sinless, queen of heaven and co-redeemer of mankind.) The truth is, ALL Christians are the temple of God (or ark of God). If this was common knowledge, religious myths such as the aforementioned would be expelled immediately and the HOLY image of a Christian (a saint) would be much better established. Remember, IF you are a Christian, YOU are the temple of God now. It doesn’t matter if you are a male or female, the color of your skin or your economic condition. IF you are putting God’s word into practice (Lk. 8:21) you are in God’s family and his temple, but this applies too:
But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. (Heb 3:6)
Reflecting the conditional security for the believer, Heb. 3:6 mentions both COURAGE and HOPE. We Christians must hold on to each for ourselves, which some don’t and consequently cease being the house of God. Moreover, the following warning of destruction similarly applies:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:16,17)
That means there absolutely is NO eternal security, even though Calvinism says otherwise.
Another Literal Temple of Brick and Mortar
Another literal temple will be built! In it the antichrist will proclaim himself to be God!
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thess 2:4)
So we are NOT as close to the end as many think, because there is no literal temple yet, but one will be rebuilt. However, we know that temple is NOT really the temple of God, because that privilege is uniquely reserved for Christians.
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