Day 152: What is the Nature of God’s New Temple and Priesthood?
One of the most significant truths that we all need to know is that Father God has completely qualified us to serve as Priests in His “New Temple.” We have been 1) chosen, 2) called, 3) set apart, 4) clothed, and 5) anointed spiritually in Christ in order to serve.
Ephesians 2:19-22
So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
21 In Him [Christ] the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Father God is Building a New Temple
As we have said, Ephesians contains the highest and most insightful truths about the nature of the Church, the Body of Christ in the New Testament. In this passage for today, we are jumping into the middle of Paul’s thoughts, really the conclusion, to an explanation of Father God’s work in The Church, a new work which unites both Jews and Gentiles into One Body (see Ephesians 2:11-22).
If you think back to previous discussions, we explained that in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, the LORD God revealed how He had worked through the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants—national Israel, the Jews—to ultimately bless all the families of the Earth through and in Christ. In the New Testament, we get the story of how this blessing is extended to all the nations (the Gentiles) through Father God’s work in the Body of Christ.
The relationship between Israel and the Church is an important (and controversial) aspect of Biblical theology. It is beyond the purpose of this study to get too deep into that issue. We have other resources available if you are interested.
What Paul argues in Ephesians 2 is that now, both Jews and Gentiles have been united together in a “new man” in Christ, in “one body” (see Ephesians 2:15-16). Because of this, the Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens in Father God’s work; we too are now part of the “New Temple and Priesthood” that He is building in Christ.
In the New Testament, the Body of Christ is The New Temple and the New Priesthood of God. Yet unlike Israel and it’s Priesthood in the Old Testament, the Body is not a particular “race” of people nor is it a “nation.” It is a multigenerational, multicultural, multinational group. Consider the following passage:
Colossians 3:9-11
… you have put off the old man with its practices 10 and have been clothed with the new person that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. 11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.
In Christ, cultural and ethnic issues that used to bring hostility and alienation, have now been reconciled so that in His Body, Christ is all and is in all; it is all about the centrality of Jesus. It is our relationship to Him that binds us all together.
Notice in the Ephesians passage, we are “God’s household,” that is being built to be a “holy temple” and “dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” All of this language is borrowing from temple imagery in the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul’s main point is this: we are a new Temple that God is building out of people.
You Are Qualified to Equipped to Serve God as a Priest.
1 Peter 2:4-10
So as you come to Him [Jesus Christ], a living stone rejected by men but chosen and priceless in God’s sight, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, a priest would go through a process that qualified him to serve the LORD. A priest was 1) chosen by God, 2) called by God, 3) set apart (sanctified) for God, 4) clothed with holy garments, and 5) anointed with oil symbolizing his qualification for service. These same things have happened to us spiritually in Christ. Take a look at the following passages:
1) You Are CHOSEN by God to be Holy
Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight…
2) You are CALLED by God
1 Peter 1:14-16
Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”
3) You Are SET APART for God (Sanctified)
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
4) You Are CLOTHED with Christ
Galatians 3:27
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
5) You Are ANOINTED with the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.
As we close this week’s discussion, here is a key reality for you to think about: We all struggle with our own immaturity. You may not feel special or appear special to others. You many not feel like a Holy Priest in God’s New Temple. God, however, sees the newest, rawest, and least gifted child “in Christ” as someone set apart or sanctified for His purposes and pleasure.
There may be areas of your life that you feel are totally out of control. When you are tempted, when you are led to act and think in ways that you know are immature or sinful, remind yourself of your position in Christ: “I have been washed, I have been sanctified, made holy, set apart for God and He will be faithful to perfect me.” Remember this is a process; Father God does not expect you to be perfect before you start serving Him. In fact, it is your serving Him with your imperfect hope, faith and love that He will use to perfect you!!!
We have emphasized our identity IN Christ all throughout MilktoMeat. As we constantly remind ourselves and one another who we are in Christ, we will be encouraged and empowered to grow In Him. You are now part of this New Priesthood and New Temple that the Lord God is building to show His glory to all creation!
You may want to read through those last few passages about being qualified to be a Priest again. Take note of the ideas and truths that really stand out to you.
What grabs your attention the most in these passages?
Why do you think this truth gets your attention?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.