By Todd Lockwood
Do you see the church building as the new temple of God found in the Old Testament? When you step into the building do you feel as if you are stepping into the presence of God, the holy of holies? Don’t misunderstand me, there is a need for a church building for members to gather for worship and I do believe God can move during that but you are mistaken if you think the building is the temple of God for today. There are some who look at a church building as so which leads them to want to invest just as much time and money in the church building as was given to the temple of God in the Old Testament. I do not mean to diminish the temple of the Old Testament, the time and money for the temple of God was justified seeing that it served a purpose to represent the presence of God on earth during that dispensation. But this is not the case for today; the representation of God on earth is no longer to be expressed through a building. You do not have to look any further than yourself, if you are a believer, to see how the presence of God is expressed here on earth. The Bible teaches that it is the believer that is the temple of God, that it is within them that the presence of God is represented here on earth. If this is true then where is the justification for putting more time and money into a building rather than in a believer or into future believers? A believer doesn’t have to wait to step into a church building to experience the presence of God; they have the presence of God, the Holy Spirit. The time and money spent for the temple of God in the Old Testament was justified for its time and it is the churches responsibility to use that same time and money for the temple of God of today, believers. The presence of God is not going to grow today by extravagant church buildings but by sanctified lives of believers. There is a need for a church building but it should never overshadow the investment that should be put into where God’s presence truly abides today, within the believer. In other words, invest in your people more than your building. Amen.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor 3:16-17
