THE HOUSE OF GOD OFTEN MEETS TO WORSHIP IN A BUILDING

The house of God also meets in rented halls, private homes, under a shed, in public buildings, and even in the open spaces. But, one asks, “is not the church building where we meet on Sunday, the Lord’s house? Yes, in the same sense that my house in which my wife and I live is the Lord’s house. It belongs to God who provided it for us. The psalmist declared that “The earth is the Lord’s , and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1,ESV). But, did not David say, ”I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” (Psalm 122:1)?. Yes, that is true. There was a time when God’s presence could be found above the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (sanctuary) that Moses erected. (See Exodus 25:8;21,22). The glory filled also the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). Later, King Solomon built the temple (house) of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem. (1 Kings 6:14). When finished, “the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:11). In the sermon of the apostle Paul as recorded in Acts 17, he declared, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands (v.24). But, God does dwell in His people! You see, the house of God is the church of our Lord! In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote in chapter 3:14,15, “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” In 1 Peter 2:5, we read, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church of God in Corinth, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). The house of God is a spiritual building and not one erected by the hands of men! It is in this sense that the house of God does often meet in a building! The house (church) of our Lord is never a place but a people redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ! The house of God is also referred to as being “a holy temple in the Lord'' as we read in Ephesians 2:19-22: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” We also read in 1 Corinthians 3:16,17, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” The apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the scriptures teach that we are the “house of God, which is the church of the living God”, that is “a spiritual house”; and not the place where we assemble to worship God!.