In the Old Testament, another name for the ‘Temple of God’ was the ‘House of God’. Today, because of Jesus Christ and that we’ve chosen to receive and follow Him, WE are the ‘house’ God has chosen to live in.
1 Peter 2:5 says you are “being built up as a spiritual house”. And it’s written in Hebrews 3:6 that, “Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are His house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope” (ESV).
Furthermore, Paul reveals in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 how our bodies are now God’s temple and that the Spirit dwells in us. We are the ‘house of God’, the ‘Temple of God’. There can be a collective nature to this since we are all ‘in Christ’ — and together are ‘the Body of Christ’, but it’s also true individually. The Spirit now dwells in each of us.
We find important parallels between the original Tabernacle (of Moses), the Temple (which Solomon built), and us as God’s Temple today. There were three main parts to both the Tabernacle and the Temple: the Outer Courts, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place.
Our body could be compared to the Outer Court.
Our soul (mind, will, and emotions) can be compared to The Holy Place — and it is at least supposed to be kept holy.
Then our heart / spirit can be compared to the Most Holy Place where God’s Presence dwelt.
God made it clear to Moses and Solomon that they were to build exactly as God would show them. Why? Because the very structure would be a prophetic example of what God wanted to build in you and me.
God didn’t want to be limited to that Most Holy Place. He wanted to come out and flow in every direction. We see this image in the prophetic vision Ezekiel had, where water flows out of the Temple in every direction bringing life and healing; “everything will live where the river goes” (Ezekiel 47:9, ESV). Why? Because God loves ALL people EVERYWHERE.
See yourself as a carrier of this river. Wherever it goes (and wherever you go) the river is bringing healing and life. What a fantastic reality this is for us today!
You can understand then why the Lord spoke through the Prophet Haggai that, all nations “shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory… The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former… And in this place I will give peace” (Haggai 2:7 and 9, NKJV).
Jesus proclaimed in John 7:38 that, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”. So, because we believe in Him, from inside of you, from inside of me, flow RIVERS of living water.
So as His Temple, filled with His Spirit, let’s begin to see ourselves bringing these mighty rivers of life and healing everywhere we go and to everyone we meet. We speak words of life. We lay hands on the sick, and they are healed. What a privilege and an honor it is to be carriers of this great life! So let the RIVERS flow!
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