A Temple
(1 Cor. 3; 2 Cor. 6; Eph. 2; 1 Pet. 2). We are living stones designed to be assembled together with other living stones to form God’s House. Jesus Christ embodies the House of God—His holy temple. Christ is the chief architect, the builder, the foundation, the cornerstone, and the capstone of the building.
Test 13: Are the members of your church being built together? Or do they have little to do with one another outside of church gatherings? Is your church a rock heap, or is it a building?
Beyond the temple, the church is . . .
A City
(Php. 3; Heb. 12; Rev. 21-22). We are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God. Jesus Christ is the prince of the city. He is also the light of the city. One of the central characteristics of the heavenly Jerusalem is that she is born in freedom (Gal. 4:26). Old Testament Jerusalem was discarded by God because it was enmeshed with the bondage of legalism, religious duty, and guilt-ridden tradition. The heavenly Jerusalem is free from all of that.
Test 14: Are the members of your church free in Christ, or are they in religious bondage? Are they inflicted with an incurable headache of guilt, or are they secure in God’s love and liberated to love Him back freely? Are the practices of your church based on human tradition, or are they built on the spiritual principles of the city of God?
Again, all of the aforementioned images reinforce the point that the church is a close-knit, shared-life community of people who enthrone Jesus Christ together.
To bottom line this chapter, God has chosen to make His Son knowable, touchable, visible, and locatable on planet earth through only one vessel: The ekklesia. Jesus Christ has distributed Himself in His Body so that He might be expressed. The church, therefore, is God’s designated instrument for the expression of His Son. And it is the very heartbeat of God’s ultimate passion.
A sighting of God’s passion narrates our world and our lives. It adds texture and richness to our spiritual experience. It also delivers us from a passionless Christianity, a shallow walk, and a purposeless faith. The overwhelming passion of our Lord is to obtain the following in every city on this planet: A Bride who dearly loves Him, a House where He can dwell, a Body that freely expresses Him, and a Family that brings Him delight.
In this light, it is the supreme calling of every Christian leader to equip God’s people to see the mystery of God’s ultimate passion with spiritual eyes . . . to hear it with spiritual ears . . . to handle it with spiritual hands . . . to taste its sweetness and smell its fragrance.
God is looking for those who will burn for His ultimate passion and allow their lives to be shaped by it. May you be among that hearty band.
