Bible Lesson: Titles Of The Church:
Church Title: Habitation Of God.
Bible Text:
Ephesians 2:13-22 KJV
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by
The Blood Of Christ.
14 For He is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us;
15 Having abolished in His flesh the
enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to
make in Himself of twain one new Man, so making peace;
16 And that He might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to
you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through Him we both have
access by One Spirit unto The Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of
The Household Of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being The Chief
Corner Stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
The Lord:
22 In whom ye also are built
together for an Habitation Of God through The Spirit.
Ephesians 2:13-22 NLT
13 But now you have been united with
Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been
brought near to Him through The Blood Of Christ.
14 For Christ Himself has brought
peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His
own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that
separated us.
15 He did this by ending the system
of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between
Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two
groups.
16 Together as one body, Christ
reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and
our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of
peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the
Jews who were near.
18 Now all of us can come to The
Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done
for us.
(A Temple for The
Lord)
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer
strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s
holy people. You are members of God’s family.
20 Together, we are His house,
built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And The
Cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself.
21 We are carefully joined together
in Him, becoming a holy temple for The Lord.
22 Through Him you Gentiles are also
being made part of this dwelling where God lives
by His Spirit.
When
one considers building a house of worship, there are literally scores
of choices for stones, which may be used. (Types of building stones:
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/BS-Main.html
- cut and paste into your browser -click return.)
Question:
Does God need a temple?
Acts 17:24,25
NLT
24 “He is the God
who made the world and everything in it. Since He is
Lord Of Heaven And
Earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples,
25 and human hands
can’t serve His needs—for He has no needs. He himself gives Life
and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.
Answer:
There is nothing that God needs, and yet that is not to say that He
does not desire something.
Our Lord, desires a
temple, created with stones, that no contractor has ever used, a
temple built with living stones.
I Peter 2:1-10
KJV
1 Wherefore laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of The Word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that The
Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto A
Living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and
precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones,
are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in
The Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion
A Chief Corner Stone, Elect,
Precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe
He is Precious: but unto them which be disobedient, The Stone which
the builders disallowed, the same is made The Head Of The Corner,
8 And A Stone Of Stumbling, and A
Rock Of Offence, even to them which stumble at
The Word, being disobedient:
whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should
shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness
into His Marvelous Light;
10 Which in time past were not a
people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy.
I Corinthians
3:9,16,17 KJV
9 For we are laborers together with
God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
16 Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that The Spirit Of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.
I Corinthians
6:19 KJV
What? know ye not that your body
is the temple of The Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own?
II Corinthians
6:16 KJV
And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? for ye are the temple of The Living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.
Ephesians
2:18-22 KJV
18 For through Him (The Lord Jesus)
we both have access by one Spirit unto The Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of
the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being The Chief
Corner Stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
The Lord:
22 In whom ye also are built
together for an habitation of God through The Spirit.
Revelation 21:3
KJV
And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall
be with them, and be their God.
Are you, a part of
the Spiritual House our Lord is building? You can be, by calling upon
The Lord, and asking Him to forgive you of your sins, and to be your
Savior.
John 3:14-21 KJV
14 "...The Son Of Man be lifted
up:
15 That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that
He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved.
18 He that believeth on Him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of The Only Begotten Son Of God.
19 And this is the condemnation,
that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
Light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil
hateth The Light, neither cometh to The Light, lest his deeds should
be reproved.
21 But he that doeth Truth cometh to
The Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought
in God.
You cannot be a
Living Stone in The Spiritual House of The Lord, unless you have
repented of your sins, and taken The Lord as your Savior. And if you
have, the psalmist tells us...
Psalm 118:15 KJV
The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous:
May that be true of
you, a Living Stone, put in place, by the loving hands of The Master
Builder, and Savior The Lord Jesus Christ.
