Inside the Old Testament temple of God, there were several pieces of furniture.In Chapter 25 of Exodus God is very specific as to how the furnishings are to be made and the materials that they are to be made of. For instance the ark of the covenant. Verses 10- 22 explain how the ark is to be made and also the mercy seat. The ark was made of wood, then covered inside and out with pure gold. The mercy seat was placed over the ark.
Inside the ark were to be reminders of the testimony of God for his people, and a copy of the ten commandments.
"And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel."
Now I want you to look with me in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 6:19 says:
"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?"
A Christian's body is the temple (tabernacle), that the Holy Ghost lives in. There are items within you that were given to you at the time you willingly offered yourself to Jesus to come live within you. These items will remain forever. Just as the furnishings of the tabernacle of the Old Testament, these are meant to be permanent.
Your spirit, or what the Bible calls your heart/mind, the new man, is one of these. It is the piece that can be compared to the ark of the Old Testament. God takes the old heart/mind, made of wood (something that will decay) changes it with the washing of his Word, that is incorruptible and can never decay, and covers it with his blood for protection.
The psalmist David could only plead with God:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
Compare that to the New Testament :
"for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."Eph. 2:10
Jesus has created in you a clean heart, cleansed by his pure, perfect sinless sacrifice.
1 Corinthians 6:19 spells it out:
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
You see, after you ask God to come into your heart and bring the forgiveness that he has died to give you he places within that clean ark of your heart, the evidence of his grace and mercy, his good faith offering of his intentions to keep his part of the agreement. What is that good faith offering? Read what the scripture says:
"...ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, (see Cor. 6:19) unto the praise of his glory." Eph. 1:13,14
Then he wrote his agreement on your heart.
"This is the covenant that I will make them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; Hebrews 10:16
Until next time-- think about it.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Spiritual Temple (cont.)
I promised that we would compare the tabernacle in the Old Testament with the spiritual temple of the believer ,as Jesus taught, in the New Testament. It has been a few weeks so you may want to check the first post for a refresher(that would be 3/7/11).
"According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." Exodus 25:9
Chapter 25 gives the instruction for the building. Here in this verse God is cautioning them to follow the pattern He has given. He is very precise in what he wants; not just what He wants, but how he wants everything done--the materials needed, the way it should be built, even to the furnishings that were to be inside.
They must be built or fashioned and placed according to the pattern he gives. No variations would be accepted. "But Lord this is the desert! Can't I just use this instead?" would not cut it with God then and it still doesn't today. He had provided everything needed for this tabernacle when they left Egypt. Whether they realized it at the time or not, what they needed to be able to serve Him --they had been carrying around with them all the time. The test was--would they be willing to give it back to Him?
This tabernacle was not meant to be a permanent structure. It was mobile and could travel with the people until they reached the promised land. This was --if you will, God's tent. A place designed for God to live among his people, He wanted to be near them. He wanted them to involve Him in their day to day lives. He wanted the parents to be able to point to His house and tell them "This is where God lives, let's go visit him"
God wanted the people to be able to draw assurance that He was "in their midst", meaning he was right there in the middle of everything that happened to them all the time. This was their loving, providing Heavenly Father wanting to build a relationship with his children.
The outside was a temporary structure, but the furnishings inside were meant to be permanent.
Next time we will take a look at each piece and how God wanted it made.
Till next time..... God bless you and keep you.
"According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." Exodus 25:9
Chapter 25 gives the instruction for the building. Here in this verse God is cautioning them to follow the pattern He has given. He is very precise in what he wants; not just what He wants, but how he wants everything done--the materials needed, the way it should be built, even to the furnishings that were to be inside.
They must be built or fashioned and placed according to the pattern he gives. No variations would be accepted. "But Lord this is the desert! Can't I just use this instead?" would not cut it with God then and it still doesn't today. He had provided everything needed for this tabernacle when they left Egypt. Whether they realized it at the time or not, what they needed to be able to serve Him --they had been carrying around with them all the time. The test was--would they be willing to give it back to Him?
This tabernacle was not meant to be a permanent structure. It was mobile and could travel with the people until they reached the promised land. This was --if you will, God's tent. A place designed for God to live among his people, He wanted to be near them. He wanted them to involve Him in their day to day lives. He wanted the parents to be able to point to His house and tell them "This is where God lives, let's go visit him"
God wanted the people to be able to draw assurance that He was "in their midst", meaning he was right there in the middle of everything that happened to them all the time. This was their loving, providing Heavenly Father wanting to build a relationship with his children.
The outside was a temporary structure, but the furnishings inside were meant to be permanent.
Next time we will take a look at each piece and how God wanted it made.
Till next time..... God bless you and keep you.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Seasons of Change
"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matthew 7:16
The month of March has lived up to its name again this year. Notorious for coming in softly and leaving in a huff of swirling chilly winds, the month seems to have acquired a less than admirable reputation. None of us like cold winds finding all those places we are trying so hard to keep covered and warm, and then exposing them to the elements. March is the last brush with winter that most of the country will see until next year. Those chilly winds, as troublesome as they may be, come for a purpose. They play an important part in the future productivity of the fruit trees and vines from which we love to gather plums and grapes once summer is here.
God plans swirling changes in our lives much the same as He does the month of March. We don't always like the abruptness of these changes, but just as with the winds of March, God is looking forward to the time of harvest when He can gather the fruits of righteousness that He so very much wants to see in His children.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Spiritual Temple
"In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded fogether for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21,22
Have you ever wondered just why it is that God compares Christians to a temple? Specifically the temple of the Jews during the time of Christ and before. Once again God was taking something that most of the people at the time (if they were Jews) would know about and using it to explain something they did not understand.
He does this over and over throughtout the Bible.
Today in America, Christians are not as familiar with the Old Testament of the Jews so it may take some explaining and some study to get the connection. This is not meant to be an exaustive study, and I may break it up into several posts to give time for you to do some study on your own. I hope this helps you in your walk and understanding of Christ.
We will start in Exodus. In Chapter 25 you can read the commands for the tabernacle that God gave to Moses (the leader of the Jews). What does the plan start with in verse two?
"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering." Ex. 25:2
God is the Creator of all things, you know that He could have commanded the Tabernacle to spring up fully built, perfect, just like he wanted it. He didn't need Moses or the people's help but God wanted to involve the people that he had chosen. He wanted their participation in this gift. But he places a requirement on their work and their offerings, their part must be done willingly, just as His was. It wasn't a command that they had to give, it wasn't the amount they could give,matter of fact it was a command that they first be willing to give what God had asked of them.
Where have we heard that before? The way God commands his people to give didn't change in the New Testament when Christ began to build his church. Paul tells us that in the following:
"For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." 2 Cor. 8:12
Paul is telling us that it is a requirement that giving to the Lord for the building and work of the church must first be from a willing mind/heart. Again, God is looking at the attitude the gift is given in, not how much the gift is.
God had a plan for the Tabernacle in the Old Testament and he laid it out for Moses and the people in the book of Exodus. God has a plan for the New Testament church and both plans require the same thing from his people: that we participate because we want to. In this plan of God's, he knows exactly what is needed to do the work. He looks to his children to willingly supply as much of it as they can, then look to Him to provide the rest. God's work, done God's way, will prosper. He gives the increase.
I hope that this has whetted your appetite to come back and find out more of the plans God has for his church that can include you if you are willing. Until next time...God bless.
Have you ever wondered just why it is that God compares Christians to a temple? Specifically the temple of the Jews during the time of Christ and before. Once again God was taking something that most of the people at the time (if they were Jews) would know about and using it to explain something they did not understand.
He does this over and over throughtout the Bible.
Today in America, Christians are not as familiar with the Old Testament of the Jews so it may take some explaining and some study to get the connection. This is not meant to be an exaustive study, and I may break it up into several posts to give time for you to do some study on your own. I hope this helps you in your walk and understanding of Christ.
We will start in Exodus. In Chapter 25 you can read the commands for the tabernacle that God gave to Moses (the leader of the Jews). What does the plan start with in verse two?
"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering." Ex. 25:2
God is the Creator of all things, you know that He could have commanded the Tabernacle to spring up fully built, perfect, just like he wanted it. He didn't need Moses or the people's help but God wanted to involve the people that he had chosen. He wanted their participation in this gift. But he places a requirement on their work and their offerings, their part must be done willingly, just as His was. It wasn't a command that they had to give, it wasn't the amount they could give,matter of fact it was a command that they first be willing to give what God had asked of them.
Where have we heard that before? The way God commands his people to give didn't change in the New Testament when Christ began to build his church. Paul tells us that in the following:
"For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." 2 Cor. 8:12
Paul is telling us that it is a requirement that giving to the Lord for the building and work of the church must first be from a willing mind/heart. Again, God is looking at the attitude the gift is given in, not how much the gift is.
God had a plan for the Tabernacle in the Old Testament and he laid it out for Moses and the people in the book of Exodus. God has a plan for the New Testament church and both plans require the same thing from his people: that we participate because we want to. In this plan of God's, he knows exactly what is needed to do the work. He looks to his children to willingly supply as much of it as they can, then look to Him to provide the rest. God's work, done God's way, will prosper. He gives the increase.
I hope that this has whetted your appetite to come back and find out more of the plans God has for his church that can include you if you are willing. Until next time...God bless.
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