Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Spirit



It has been argued by Western scholars and theologians that each individual Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The problem with this thinking is not that it isn’t true to an extent (for we see that in John 2 Jesus referred to His own flesh as a temple), but the problem is that we don’t understand the full context and meaning of the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because Western Christian theology has become very individualized, we don’t see the corporate dimension of a lot of things. I want to demonstrate how the temple of the Holy Spirit is both corporate and individual.

In Ezekiel, the prophet prophesies of a new temple in Ezekiel 41 that has never been built to this day. Surrounded by imagery of a new creation and ordinances that go against the ordinances in the Mosaic Law, we can see that there is a mystery element in all of it. Because of the new creation themes, I believe that the prophecy is referring to the New Covenant and that the new temple is a spiritual one. In Ezekiel 45, a priest offers Passover sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. These two things don’t go together or happen together in Jewish Law and practice, but they go together in the New Covenant. Here’s how: Jesus’ sacrifice is described explicitly as our Passover by Paul in 1Co 5:7 and of course his sacrifice directly follows Passover and the events preceding: Jesus introduces communion while Passover is being celebrated and replaces the lamb with bread (Jesus being the lamb), then is sacrificed for humanity’s sin to provide an exodus from sin just as Passover provided Israel an exodus from Egypt, then in 50 days the Holy Spirit comes to His people at the feast of first fruits (50 days after the exodus God comes to the Jews at Sinai to establish the Old Covenant). Passover, of course, wasn’t an atonement for sin. So the fact that Passover is mixed together with the Day of Atonement in Ezekiel would prove that Jesus’ Passover sacrifice was atoning. So in Ezekiel we have a prophesied new temple and New Covenant in Christ. Now in Mark 14:58 Jesus is quoted as having said that he will “destroy this temple and within three days I will build another without hands”. Having the only sinless human body, it makes sense that Jesus would be the temple, or dwelling place of God. His body was physical, and therefore "made with hands". The temple without hands would be the spiritual temple, which we are collectively. Jesus destroyed himself (the temple made with hands), to raise up a new temple in 3 days (which is us, the new dwelling place of God).


Now in Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul argues that we, being of the household of God, are built on a foundation of prophets and apostles with Jesus as the cornerstone. From this he argues that we are being built together to form a "holy temple in the Lord" and a "dwelling of God through the Spirit". This is a clear argument that we, as a corporate body of God, are His temple and dwelling place.

Of course, 1 Corinthians has some references that refer to the believer as a temple in and of himself. This of course isn't a paradox because a temple is where God's presence is, and just as God dwells in the corporate body of Christ, he dwells in each and every one of us personally as well. However, it is important to understand the corporate dimension as well.

I often hear people say when they are going to church that they are "entering the house of the Lord". Now I don't deny their sincerity of heart and willingness to love and worship God in spirit and in truth. However, the physical building of the church is not a temple or the place where God dwells. We are the house of the Lord, and every where we turn He is present with us simply because He is in us. It is so relieving to know that we don't have to enter a building to "meet God", because he is with us at all times within us because he has broken the barrier by His blood. Coming together in a building is the practice of community and corporate worship.

God isn't there waiting, because we bring Him with us.