Churches Should be Suitable Dwelling Places for God

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Churches Should be Suitable Dwelling Places for God

Today's Text: The king [David] said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 2 Samuel 7:2

The Message:      David, while dwelling in his palace of cedar, felt disturbed in his conscience as he considered that there was no suitable dwelling place for the ark of God, which symbolized His presence. It still rested in the tabernacle which had been constructed in the wilderness, and borne all the way from Horeb to Jerusalem in a pilgrimage of nearly forty years. But now the nation had ended their pilgrimage and obtained a permanent location. David looked around him upon the costly buildings of cedar, the homes of the inhabitants settled in the goodly land of Canaan, and conceived the idea that a temple should be built, more worthy for the residence of God. The site of the building was indicated and the most complete instructions were given, and Solomon entered upon the great work....      The people that built the temple were many and the house that they built was large and grand; and the Lord God of heaven honored them because they had built Him a sanctuary where they could meet to worship Him. Those that worshiped Him sincerely had His blessing.      The first tabernacle, built according to God's directions, was indeed blessed of Him. The people thus were preparing themselves to worship in the temple not made with hands-a temple in the heavens. The stones of the temple built by Solomon were all prepared at the quarry and then brought to the temple site. They came together without the sound of ax or hammer. The timbers were also fitted in the forest. The furniture was likewise brought to this house all prepared for use.      Even so, the mighty cleaver of truth has taken out a people from the quarry of the world and is fitting this people, who profess to be the children of God, for a place in His heavenly temple. We want the cleaver of truth to do its work for us.... We are here as probationers, and we must pass under the hand of God. All rough edges and rough surfaces must be removed, and we must be stones fitted for the building. We are brought into church capacity with defects of character, but we must not retain them. We must be fitted and squared for the building. We must be "labourers together with God," for we are "God's husbandry," we are "God's building." In view of this we must see that the temple is not defiled with sin. We should be lively stones, not dead ones, but live ones that will reflect the image of Christ. We must be worshipers in spirit and in truth.-Manuscript 49, 1886 (Manuscript Releases 3:230-232).

Commentary: My friend, the church of God is not made up of timbers and stone, but is made up of the people of God.  Each is to be a living stone in His temple.  Each is reflect the lovely image of God through the indwelling of Jesus Christ within the soul.  It is a place where sin cannot dwell for the glory of God is to shine through. Today this view of the church has been lost sight of.  The sanctification of the soul is not cherished and sought after.  The people have lost sight of the majesty of God and as such do not seek to lay aside their sins.  Their view of God has been corrupted by their worship of the trinity, and as such they have taken upon themselves a false righteousness. The condition of the church today is spoken of in Revelation 3:14-22.  The Laodecian condition is such that they believe that they have the righteousness of Christ, but it does not lead them to overcome sin in their lives.  They are blind to their true condition because they think that they are worshiping God but in reality they are worshiping the power behind the beast.  The trinity is the god of Babylon and as such all those who worship this god are worshiping Satan himself.  This condition is sickening to the Lord and as such He says "I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16). In order for us to be living stones in the house of God, we first must be sanctified by Christ dwelling within us through His Spirit.  If we are worshiping the false god of the trinity, Christ cannot take up residence within us.  When the Spirit of Christ is living within our hearts, we will desire to bring our lives into conformity with His will.  We will see our own righteousness as filthy rags and hunger and thirst after His righteousness. My friend, if this is not the experience that you have today; if you are not hungering and thirsting after the righteousness of Christ, it may be that your view of God has been corrupted.  Now is the time to look unto the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ, that He may come into your life and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God bless,

Video of the Week Have We Forgotten? Presented by Matt Dewley Was the personality of God a Pillar? Was it a part of the foundation of the Adventist Movement? What about some of Ellen Whites clearly "Trinitarian" statements in the late 90's? We explore all this and more and seek to understand the context behind one of the most controversial topics in Adventism today.