[0:00] And quite often when we come to study God's word at a service on a Sunday or at midweek, we will maybe take a verse or a passage or maybe a chapter as a whole and focus in on that in quite a bit of detail.
[0:13] And it's amazing how much you can draw out of even a few sentences or even a few words in the word of God. That's very often what we'll do.
[0:25] We'll go to a chapter, we'll go to a verse, and we'll spend a lot of time focusing on that portion in a lot of detail. Today I'm going to do something a little bit different.
[0:39] Rather than focusing on one part of the Bible, I want us to actually step back and think about the whole Bible. And in particular, I want us to focus on a great theme that runs from the very beginning right to the very end of the word of God.
[1:00] And that great theme is the theme of the temple. We're going to read again at Exodus chapter 25, verse 8, where God said, Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.
[1:21] We're going to look at the great theme of God's temple. And to do that, we're going to ask ourselves three very simple questions. What happened in the Old Testament?
[1:32] What happened in the New Testament? And what does this mean for us? So first of all, what happened in terms of God's temple in the Old Testament?
[1:44] Well, we have to go right back to the very beginning, to the Garden of Eden. And the first point that we have to establish is the fact that the Garden of Eden wasn't just a garden.
[1:55] It was, in fact, a temple. Now, if you read Genesis chapter 1 and 2, that's not stated explicitly. But if you look closely, it becomes very, very clear that the Garden of Eden was indeed a temple.
[2:11] Because if you ask yourself the question, what is a temple? What's the answer? Well, the answer is that a temple is a place where God dwells.
[2:24] And it's a place where we can meet with him and worship him. And that's exactly what you find in the Garden of Eden, isn't it? God was present in the Garden of Eden and humanity was there with him.
[2:39] It was a place where God dwelt and where we could meet him and be with him. In fact, Genesis chapter 3 verse 8 says that God walked in the Garden of Eden.
[2:53] Genesis 3 verse 8. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And that very same word is used by God when he talks about dwelling amongst his people later on in the sanctuary.
[3:08] Leviticus 26 verse 11. I will make my dwelling among you and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God and you shall be my people.
[3:20] So when God is talking about establishing the tabernacle as his sanctuary, which later became the temple, he deliberately refers back to the very same language used of Eden.
[3:32] A place where he dwelt. A place where he walked. And if you look at the details of the tabernacle and then of the temple, you discover that there are a lot of similarities to the Garden of Eden.
[3:49] Did you notice that when we read Exodus chapter 25? It said that there were cherubim. Remember, we find the same thing in the Garden of Eden.
[4:02] There was lots of reference to gold and to precious stones in Exodus 25. You go back to the Garden of Eden, it talks about the precious stones that dwelt there. And then when we read the last bit of the chapter about the lampstand, it's all very garden-like, isn't it?
[4:18] There's all this talk of flowers and branches. And the description echoes the features of Eden very, very clearly.
[4:30] And the very same thing is true in Solomon's temple when it was built later. Listen to these verses from 1 Kings chapter 6. And see if you can hear things that sound like the Garden of Eden.
[4:44] Around all the walls of the house, and that's the temple, around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim, that's back in Eden, and palm trees and open flowers, that's garden language, in the inner and outer rooms.
[4:59] The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, precious material, in the inner and outer rooms. From the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
[5:11] He covered the two doors of olive wood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
[5:24] It's deliberately echoing Eden because the Garden of Eden was a temple. God dwelling with humanity. His presence was in their midst.
[5:37] So that's the starting point. Right back at the beginning you've got this temple. Beautiful, perfect temple where God and humanity are together.
[5:49] But what happened after that? Well, if you look at the narrative of the Old Testament, you see that the temple goes through four key stages. Stage one is Genesis chapter three.
[6:02] When Adam sins and as a result he is driven out of God's presence. Genesis 3.24 He drove out the man and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
[6:19] One of the clear consequences of sin is that God and humanity can no longer dwell together because we have become sinful. Therefore Adam is expelled from the temple.
[6:31] So we go from this amazing closeness in Genesis 2 to separation in Genesis 3.
[6:43] That's stage one. Stage two occurs in Exodus chapter 19 at Mount Sinai.
[6:55] The Israelites have come out of Egypt. They go down to Mount Sinai and this is the next major temple moment in the Old Testament because this was the point at which God's presence came.
[7:14] I'm going to read some verses from Exodus 19. Try and imagine the scene. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God.
[7:25] Meeting God, that's temple language. And they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
[7:38] And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.
[7:51] The Lord said to Moses, go down and warn the people lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves lest the Lord break out against them.
[8:03] And Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you yourself warned us saying, set limits around the mountain and consecrate it. And the Lord said to him, go down and come up bringing Aaron with you.
[8:16] But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord lest he break out against them. So here you have the scene. The greatest manifestation of God's presence on earth since the Garden of Eden.
[8:30] He comes down to the top of this mountain. And the overwhelming emphasis is, keep back. Keep away.
[8:43] And Exodus 19 is like a big description of the inaccessibility of God's presence. So here you have an issue that's starting to manifest itself.
[8:56] Originally God and humanity were together. Sin separates them. But God wants to draw close to humanity again. But there are severe restrictions.
[9:10] However, God does not give up. God wants to dwell among his people again. And for this reason he gives Moses instructions as to how it was going to be possible for God to come and dwell in the midst of his people again.
[9:25] And the means by which he is going to do that is to build a tabernacle. That's stage three. God comes and he gives very specific instructions about how this tabernacle is going to be built.
[9:38] From chapter 5 in Exodus all the way through to chapter 40. And the detail is incredible. God gives detail as to how the tabernacle is going to be built.
[9:48] And then he gives specific details as to how he is to be approached. And that's what the book of Leviticus teaches us. The holiness of God and the seediness of sin means that a sacrificial system is necessary.
[10:03] People just can't waltz into God's presence. They have to come according to very strict and very careful instructions. And so Moses does this.
[10:17] He builds a tabernacle. He establishes a priesthood. He gets everything ready. And what happens at the end of Exodus? Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting.
[10:29] That's the tabernacle. And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And so do you see what's happening? God whose presence was at arm's length at Sinai has now come down into this tabernacle.
[10:46] Now the tabernacle was designed for traveling because the Israelites were nomadic at this stage. Moving through the wilderness on their way to the promised land. When they eventually settled in the promised land the tabernacle was replaced by a permanent temple.
[11:01] And this is stage 4. It was built by Solomon but it served exactly the same purpose. So when you hear tabernacle and temple it's really talking about the same thing. The only difference is that one was movable the other one wasn't.
[11:15] Its purpose was to be a place where God would dwell. 2 Chronicles 7.1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices.
[11:29] And the glory of the Lord filled the temple. So God came and he dwelt in the middle of the temple.
[11:40] So let's just remind ourselves where we've gone. From the closeness of Eden to the separation of Adam's fall. Then you have Sinai where God's at the top of a mountain but you can't go near it.
[11:51] He then comes down and dwells within a tabernacle but only under very strict conditions. Which when they went into the promised land was replaced by a permanent temple.
[12:01] But even then with God dwelling in the middle of the Holy of Holies in the temple access was restricted. And there was a thick curtain which kept people out.
[12:18] And so on the one hand you have this fact that God wants to dwell among his people. But at the same time there is still alienation and separation between God and humanity.
[12:32] And the tabernacle and the temple are an attempt to solve this problem. But they only go so far. It's nowhere near how things were with Eden.
[12:44] Remember back in Eden Adam and Eve could walk with God in the cool of the day. In the temple the high priest could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year.
[12:57] And so it's nowhere near back to what it was. So once the temple was built God was there dwelling in the midst of his people.
[13:11] Albeit in a restricted sense. But from that point the history of Israel in terms of the temple was one of failure. If you read the Old Testament again and again and again and again the people turned away from God.
[13:28] They followed false idols. They followed the other nations. And they abandoned their covenant commitment to God. And this is what continues again and again through the book of Kings all the way to the point where the nation is lost.
[13:44] The people are conquered. And God's presence withdraws from the temple.
[13:54] That's one of the key themes of the prophecy of Ezekiel. Ezekiel comes after the nation fell. So you've got Solomon's temple built I think around 930 BC.
[14:08] Something like that. Should have checked that. But it's about there. About the year 586 BC. So that's 330 years or so.
[14:19] 340 years later. Jerusalem falls. The people are in exile. Ezekiel became a prophet at this point. And he sees a vision. Ezekiel 10.
[14:31] Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house. And stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out.
[14:44] With the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord. And the glory of the Lord of Israel was over them. Do you see the contrast between what we read earlier about Solomon?
[14:56] Solomon prayed and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. In Ezekiel we read that the glory of the Lord went out from the temple. And when the Babylonians came and conquered Israel.
[15:13] They destroyed the temple. God's presence was no longer among the people. Now a few years later the people returned from exile.
[15:27] And one of the first things they tried to do was to rebuild the temple. As the book of Ezra records for us. But the prophecy of Haggai tells us that it was not the same.
[15:40] In the seventh month on the twentieth day of the first month. The word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel. Governor of Judah. And to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest.
[15:53] And to all the remnant of the people. And say who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory. How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
[16:06] And so the great story of the Old Testament in terms of temple is one of failure. The people ended up losing their temple. And they lost God's presence with them.
[16:19] However. The prophecies of the Old Testament also emphasize. That the best is yet to come. And that's what the great words of Haggai 2.9 says.
[16:32] The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former. Says the Lord of hosts. And the prophecy of Ezekiel ends with chapters.
[16:43] Chapters 40 to 48. That describe a new glorious heavenly temple. Where God's presence comes and fills it again. And so.
[16:54] Although the story of the Old Testament is one of failure. The promise of the Old Testament. Is that once and for all. The whole problem.
[17:05] Of the fact that God and humanity. Cannot dwell together. That problem. Is going to be solved. And at the heart of that problem.
[17:18] At the heart of that promise. Is the fact that there is one person who is going to come. And his name is going to be Emmanuel.
[17:30] Now that name is a temple name. Because it means. God. With us. The great plan of the Old Testament.
[17:42] Is that once again. God and humanity. Will dwell together. That brings us to our second question. What happens. In the New Testament.
[17:53] Well the Old Testament. As we're saying. Starts off with God and humanity. Totally separated. And in a sense. They come a little bit closer. They come a bit closer at Sinai.
[18:06] They come a bit closer. In the tabernacle. And in the temple. But then it all falls apart. When we come to the New Testament. We see very very quickly.
[18:17] That in the coming of Jesus Christ. We see the fulfillment. The perfect fulfillment. Of all the Old Testament. Temple prophecies.
[18:29] In the incarnation. When Jesus became a human. God himself. Came to dwell among us. Behold the virgin shall conceive. And bear a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel.
[18:41] Which means God with us. So now. Instead of God with us. Meaning the glory of the Lord. In the midst of the Holy of Holies. God with us. Is Jesus Christ. In the flesh.
[18:52] And a key verse. That highlights this. Is John 1.14. The word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory.
[19:02] Glory as of the only son. From the father. Full of grace. And truth. Now. One of the reasons. Why that's such an important. Verse. Is because the word. Dwelt. Literally means.
[19:15] Tabernacled. God. And so it's clearly. Echoing the Old Testament language. And the same is with the emphasis. On glory. Just as there was glory. In the Old Testament.
[19:25] Tabernacle. Now. The word. God himself. Has become flesh. And is dwelling. Among us. And just in case. We weren't. Sure of this.
[19:36] Jesus himself. Makes it clear. That he is the new temple. John 2.19. Jesus answered them. Destroy this temple. And in three days. I will raise it up.
[19:47] The Jews then said. It's taken 46 years. To build this temple. And you will raise it up. In three days. But he was speaking. About the temple. Of his body.
[19:59] And so. Jesus himself. Is the presence. And glory. Of God. And he. Is among the people. And so.
[20:09] I hope you can see. That things have. All of a sudden. Got much. Much closer. Haven't they? The separation. Back in Genesis 3. Then you've got. The inaccessibility. Of Exodus 19.
[20:20] Then you've got. The restricted access. Of the tabernacle. And temple. But now. In the New Testament era. With the coming of Jesus Christ. God himself. Is walking.
[20:31] Among his people. Talking to them. Speaking to them. Helping them. Jesus. Has come to be.
[20:42] God. Dwelling. Among us. But not only. Does Jesus come. To bring God's presence. In his own body. He also comes.
[20:53] To open up. Full access. To God. And he does this. Because he is not just. The new temple. He is also. The high priest. Who will offer. The once.
[21:04] For all. Sacrifice. For sin. And not only. Is he the high priest. He is also. The sacrifice. Itself. He died. On the cross. To open.
[21:14] Up. Access. Into God's. Presence. Again. Remember. Back in the old testament. In the tabernacle. In the temple. God's presence. Was cut off. By a thick curtain.
[21:27] What happened. To that curtain. When Jesus died. It was torn in two. From top to bottom. And I hope you can see.
[21:38] What's happening. The restriction. Is being lifted. God. And humanity. Can again. Draw near. To each other. And that's what the letter. To the Hebrews.
[21:49] Emphasizes. Very powerfully. I'll read some verses. From Hebrews 10. Therefore. Brothers. Since we have confidence.
[21:59] To enter the holy places. By the blood of Jesus. Now. When we read those words. Remember. Remember. Remember. What we read. Back in Exodus 19.
[22:09] Where God said. Do not let. Anyone. Near. Because my presence. Is here. Now. In Hebrews.
[22:20] It says. Therefore. Brothers. Since we have confidence. To enter the holy places. By the blood of Jesus. By the new. And living way. That he opened up for us. Through the curtain. That is. Through his flesh.
[22:31] And since we have a great high priest. Over the house of God. Let us. Draw near. With a true heart. In full assurance of faith. With our hearts.
[22:42] Sprinkled clean. From an evil conscience. And our bodies washed. With pure. Water. Now. Those two words. Draw near. They sound so. Easy.
[22:53] In a way. Don't they? But if you think back. To the restriction. Of the Old Testament. To the separation. That existed. And all the complex detail. Of the sacrificial.
[23:04] And ceremonial. Law. To draw near. To God. Is a massive thing. And yet. We can do it.
[23:16] Confidently. And freely. Because of Jesus. And so we have. This amazing work. Of restoration. Through Jesus. Is coming into the world. God.
[23:26] Is in ermits again. And through Jesus. Is death. We now. Have access. Into God's presence. And so. From the separation. Of Eden. The inaccessibility. Of Exodus.
[23:36] The restriction. Of the tabernacle. Now. We can get. Close. To God. Again. Amen. But.
[23:47] There's a question. That arises here. We are saying. That Jesus. Has come. To dwell. On the earth. He is God. With us. And therefore.
[23:58] He functions. As the new temple. But Jesus. Isn't here now. He came. As God. With us. But then.
[24:08] He ascended. Didn't he? And. He is now. At the right hand. Of the father. He's not. Walking. Among us. Now. And so. What we.
[24:20] We saw. As things. Getting closer. And closer. And closer. We think to ourselves. Well. What's happening now? Because Jesus. Is no longer here. And that raises the question. Where is God's presence.
[24:31] On earth. Now. When Jesus. Was walking. On this earth. God. Was there. God's presence. Was there. But where is it now?
[24:45] Well. That takes us. To the next stage. Of the biblical story. And we come. To the amazing events. Of the day. Of Pentecost. And Jesus himself. Explained.
[24:57] What was going to happen. He says. I will ask the father. And he will give you. Another helper. To be with you forever. Even the spirit. Of truth. Whom the world. Cannot receive.
[25:07] Because it neither sees him. Nor knows him. You will know him. You know him. For he dwells with you. And will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come.
[25:19] To you. And so Jesus is saying. Yes. I'm going back to the father. But I will send. My spirit. And that's what takes place. In the day of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit.
[25:29] Is poured out. Upon all believers. Church. And ever since then. Anytime somebody comes to faith. In Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit. Comes and dwells. In their hearts.
[25:40] When you became a Christian. Or if you become one today. Which you can. The Holy Spirit. Comes. And dwells.
[25:51] In your heart. And do you see what this means? It means that we are getting. Closer. And closer. And closer. God's presence. Is coming closer. And closer.
[26:02] And closer. And closer. Adam and Eve. Were expelled from Eden. God was at the top of a mountain. Which you couldn't touch. He was then in a temple. And a tabernacle. That you could only enter.
[26:12] Under severe restrictions. He then came in the person. Of Jesus Christ. Who people could meet. And stand face to face with. But now. Now.
[26:23] He dwells. In you. God's presence. God's dwelling place.
[26:35] Is in you. If you are a Christian. And that's why. You. Are the temple.
[26:48] Of God. God's temple. Do you not know. That you are God's temple. And that God's spirit.
[27:00] Dwells. In you. What we lost in Eden. Has been restored. Through Jesus. Back then. Man was driven out. Of God's presence.
[27:11] Now. Through Jesus Christ. You. You. Are the very. Dwelling place. Of God's presence.
[27:25] That's why Jesus said. If two or three of you are gathered. I am there. In your midst. And just think about this for a moment.
[27:38] In terms of the earth. God's special presence. Has been in various. Geographical locations. It was on the top of the mountain.
[27:49] At Sinai. It was then in the tabernacle. That wandered through the wilderness. It then settled in Jerusalem. In the temple. It then walked on the shores of Galilee.
[28:00] And through the streets of Capernaum. As Jesus. Lived out his life. Eventually coming. To Jerusalem. It was there. In the garden of Gethsemane. In the person of Jesus Christ.
[28:11] It there. It was there. On the cross. Of Calvary. God's presence. Has been in various. Geographical locations. Throughout. Redemptive history.
[28:22] But do you know. Where God. Really. Really. Wants to be. In your heart. You.
[28:35] Are the temple. Of God. And as we look forward. To glory. We see.
[28:46] That in. The new creation. We will dwell. With God. In perfect fellowship. Which is why. Revelation 21. Says. I heard a loud voice. From the throne. Saying.
[28:56] Behold. The dwelling place. Of God. Is with man. He will dwell. With them. And in heaven. God's presence. With us.
[29:06] Will be so perfect. That there will be. No need. For a temple. And I saw. No temple. In the city. Says in Revelation.
[29:16] 21. 22. For its temple. Is the Lord. God. The almighty. And the lamb. God. And so. God's. Great.
[29:27] Goal. Is that. We will be. Together. With him. Forever. In perfect. Fellowship. In perfect.
[29:38] Unity. Everything. Back. To what it once. Was. In the garden. Of Eden. Always remember.
[29:48] That that's God's. Goal for you. What does God. Want from you. Does he want. Great effort.
[29:59] In terms of your works. In your life. God. Does God. Want great knowledge. In terms of your understanding. In scripture. Does God. Want great achievements. In terms of the things. That you accomplish. As you walk on this earth.
[30:10] Does God. Want that from you. What does God. Really want. From you. He wants. You. With him.
[30:24] He wants you. With him. And that's what we will have. In the new creation. And it's an amazing thought.
[30:37] So our last question. Very briefly is this. What does it mean for us? Well. I want to say three things. Very very briefly. All of this is teaching us. About God's.
[30:48] Presence. In our lives. And the temple. Is all about God's presence. With his people. Now. Often. We can find ourselves thinking.
[31:00] How could God. Want me. Anywhere near him. It's so easy to feel. That God is disappointed. With us. And that if he loves us at all. It's probably from a distance.
[31:11] It's probably at arm's length. But the fact that you are God. Are now the temple of God. The Holy Spirit. It is telling you that God's great desire for you.
[31:22] Is that you would be near to him. And. That's what happens when you love someone. Isn't it? When you really love someone.
[31:33] You want to be near to them. And that's how God loves you. He doesn't love you from a distance.
[31:45] He doesn't love you at arm's length. But he loves you. As close as he possibly can. He wants you.
[31:57] To be near him. And it reminds us. That as we go through our lives. God is present with us. Remember we said at the very start. There was a key word.
[32:07] Repeated in Genesis and Leviticus. That God is walking with us. And so as you go to and fro. In your life. You are doing it hand in hand with God.
[32:17] God. And that applies to every moment. Of your life. So when you arrive at work tomorrow morning. God is with you as you sit at your desk.
[32:32] When you talk to people in the week ahead. God is with you in every single conversation. When you type an email.
[32:43] Or send a text. Or prepare a report. Or whatever it is you have to do on a daily basis. God is with you. As you do that. And when you're at home.
[32:57] Maybe even when you're on your own. God is there. With you. If you think back to the Old Testament. Wherever the tabernacle went.
[33:08] God went. And exactly the same is still true. You are the tabernacle. And so he is with you.
[33:20] And that is simply the fulfillment of God's promise to his people. That he will never leave you. God said to you. I'll never leave you. That's because he's come to dwell in you.
[33:30] You can't go anywhere and leave your heart behind. You can't go anywhere and leave God behind. He is with you.
[33:44] And. It's a great reminder. That God's house. God's house. Is not a building.
[33:58] God's house is not this building. You are God's house. And. It's important.
[34:11] That we remember that. And. I think that you all have a really exciting future. As a congregation. Uh.
[34:21] And. It is so encouraging to look on. And see all that is happening here in point. It is wonderful. Uh. And of course there will be many things to think about. And many things to look ahead.
[34:31] But. If you do have to have conversations about buildings. Remember. That you. As the people. You are the house of God.
[34:43] You are the church. Not the walls. Or the roof. And. If you are not yet a Christian. Please. Listen to these words.
[34:55] We have been talking about how God wants to be present in your heart. Listen to what it says here. In Revelation 3. 20. Behold. I stand at the door. And knock.
[35:06] If anyone hears my voice. And opens the door. I will come. Into him. And eat with him. And he with me. So God wants to come and dwell in your heart. So.
[35:17] We learn about God's presence in our lives. Two more. Very quickly. We are also here learning about the preciousness. Of your heart. Whenever you read about the temple being described in the Bible.
[35:30] Whether it's in Eden. Or in the tabernacle. Or in Solomon's temple. Or in the New Jerusalem. There is a clear emphasis on the preciousness of it all. That's why you have all these references to onyx stones.
[35:42] And all these different jewels. It is precious. It is full of beauty and wonder.
[35:53] God's temple is a precious place. And it's a great reminder. That your heart. As a Christian.
[36:05] Is a very precious. And a very sacred place. Here's an interesting question. We sang at the very start. How lovely is thy dwelling place.
[36:18] O Lord of hosts to me. A brilliant psalm. Wonderful psalm. When we stand and sing. And say. How lovely is thy dwelling place. Now in the New Testament era.
[36:31] What are we talking about? What are you talking about when you say. How lovely is thy dwelling place. Do you know what you're talking about? You're talking about your heart.
[36:46] Because that is where God dwells now. And of course that means that we have to guard our hearts. And when Paul speaks about God's temple.
[36:57] He uses that as a point to emphasize ethical obligation. I'll give you an example. Flee from sexual immorality.
[37:09] Every other sin a person commits is outside the body. But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you. Whom you had from God.
[37:20] You are not your own. You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Paul is reminding us that because God now dwells in us. We must flee from sin. And we must guard our hearts.
[37:32] Because our hearts are God's dwelling place. And as he dwells in our hearts. He writes his law on our hearts. Your heart is precious. So keep it away from sin.
[37:45] And keep it away from influences that will corrupt it. And spoil it. We must guard our hearts. And of course the opposite is true as well.
[37:57] We want to keep evil things from our hearts. But remember the first temple in the Garden of Eden was a garden as well.
[38:08] What do you get in a garden? You get fruit. What does Paul ask for in terms of our lives? What does Jesus ask for in terms of our lives as Christians?
[38:23] Fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Coming forth from God's Spirit dwelling within us. So you see how precious your heart is.
[38:39] We see how the fact that God is present with us. The last thing is this, very briefly. We also learn about our purpose as Christians. Because the very fact that we are the temple of God is what gives us purpose in life.
[38:53] If you look back in the Old Testament, the temple had two great purposes. One, it was a place to worship God. But it was also to function as a light to the nations.
[39:06] It was a place that people could see. And it was a great missionary tool, drawing people to come and to worship the true and the living God. Israel in the Old Testament was always to be a light to the nations.
[39:19] And we, as the new Israel, we too are to be a light to the nations. And so, as God's people, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, our great purpose is not to shut ourselves off.
[39:33] It is to reach out. And to draw people in so that God's temple will grow.
[39:45] Remember at Pentecost, you had God's Spirit being poured out. And you had all the languages of the world being heard and understood. Because it is to these people that God's temple is to reach out.
[39:58] So, it gives us purpose. God can use you and me to reach out to the world. You were very patient.
[40:10] I took you through the whole Bible in one sermon. So, you did very, very well. God's temple is a wonderful topic. A reminder that God wants to be with you.
[40:25] And that God will always be with you. You are the temple of God. Let's pray.