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Where is the house that you build me? And where is the place of My rest? This is a question of vital importance to the church of today. What exactly, is the building project which the Lord is working on now? Is His interest in a cathedral or a tent? A nation or a particular city? He already has an eternal land and country called heaven. It is the place of His throne, His dwelling place. The earth is but His footstool. His interest is not in the material things of this world, but in the people of the earth. His desire is to have them worship Him, the true and Living Lord of all. Paul. At Mars’ hill delivered a foundational message which needs to be heeded today. It is of extreme importance that we understand the will of the Lord for us now, at this most critical time of the age. He called them to task for their religiosity. They had gone so far as to erect an altar to THE UNKNOWN GOD. What a vain, empty religious mixture they were. Acts 15:23.
Too often the vision of the church is on the things of this earth. Material possessions, all of which are destined to pass away. These things are all the work of His hands. What kind of a beautiful edifice can we build to house Him. The world and all of its elements, He has created and they are all His anyhow. He does not dwell in temples made with the hands of men. Acts 15:24 The emphasis of the Word and the Spirit is on the true temple of the Lord. Much time and expense is spent on making church buildings presentable, and hopefully attractive to the general public. That is all well and understandable but the real temple is far more important and demands full attention. The spiritual person, housed in a physical body is proclaimed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. A gift from the Lord, which when received makes us to be His possession, His temple. We are now totally His and bear the responsibility of maintaining a life in the Spirit which is pleasing to Him. 1 Cor. 6:18-20.
We should now be in a process of change, cleansing and the elimination of the works of the flesh. If we strive to maintain the natural, how much greater should our efforts be to advance that which is spiritual. Positively, factually, emphatically, Paul declared the believer to be the temple of the living God. A people who have a positive, definite personal relationship with Him of such depths that it may be said that He actually dwells in His temple, and walks with those in whom He dwells.