Devotions: What Kind of Building Are We?

 

in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

We are citizens of God’s country and members of His family, being added to the foundation of Jesus and those who have gone before us. But what are we being built into? A foundation is useless without a building to support. That foundation is the beginning of a temple, not one made by human hands like Solomon’s, but one made of people. God resides within us (via the Holy Spirit) so each of us is a small, private temple on our own, but together with the whole body of believers we are being built into one huge, glorious, corporate temple. In a way, we could think of it as our bodies being individual “shrines” or prayer closets, or even small churches, and all of those together makes one massive temple where God resides. We are a temple on our own, but we are a better one together where we can help and complement each other, filling in the pieces that others can’t. In the same way, we have faith on our own and it is not completely dependant on a body of believers, but it grows and flourishes so much better surrounded by other believers. This is a foretaste of heaven, where we will be with God the Father in His holy temple.

One specific word to take special note of here is “dwelling.” God doesn’t just reside here, He dwells with us. It’s like the difference between sharing an apartment with roommates and having a family (in the perfect sense.) In the first there is just casual inhabitation of the same space, but the second invokes intimacy, love, camaraderie, togetherness. It is not merely physical, but also mental, emotional and spiritual. God not only lives with us, but does life with us. He is among us and in us, and there is deep connection.

Another important word is “growing.” The building is not finished, nor is it perfect, yet. It is a process that takes time, patience and grace. Of course God and His part in it are perfect, but the rest dealing with humans is not. Just as we ourselves are growing and getting closer to perfection (slowly but surely), so the rest of the building is as well. While we should view togetherness as positive, we need to have grace and not be discouraged when it is not. We need to enjoy our time with God and others for what it is, and do our best to get as close to God as we can so it is better for everyone. If we are all growing toward the same point (like a triangle) then we will all gradually get closer together as we get closer to that goal/point, and that point is God.

Are you part of God’s temple? How do you view your time with the other “building blocks?” What is your participation and contribution like? What does it mean that God dwells with you? What point are you growing toward?

 

 

To view a video of this devo, visit my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/evelynbray.author

To receive these devotions daily, like my page or subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription box to the right!