A HOUSE FOR GOD

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                       A HOUSE FOR GOD

by Mae Shurow

God is building Himself a dwelling place. A Tabernacle, a Temple, a Habitation, a House, a City, a Country, a Body, a People - it all means the same. It was prophesied that God would do so in the New Covenant:

Jeremiah 31:1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel:

In Isaiah 44:28, and continuing on through Chapter 45, Cyrus was a type of Christ. These prophesies were fulfilled physically in Israel, and the House of God, the Temple, the walls of Jerusalem, were rebuilt by Nehemiah and Ezra. It is always first the physical, they are shadows and types of the spiritual reality. God in His grace does this to help us understand…

Jesus came to fulfill them spiritually, to build a Tabernacle made without hands, and He Himself is the Chief Cornerstone.

· Hebrews 9:11 "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;"

Ephes. 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

THIS is why God is declaring so strongly in Isaiah chapters 44-45 that He is LORD, there is none else beside Him. Who else but GOD could build Himself a Dwelling Place out of the impossible—us!

The Temple, the Body of Christ, looks pretty desolate right now, but

Isaiah 46:10-11 My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

What is His pleasure? Isaiah 44:28 tells us precisely: “He is my sheherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the temple, thy foundation shall be laid.” Christ will build up the waste places, He will build His House, His Church, His Temple!

When we are told in Isaiah 62:6 to pray to the Lord day and night for the fulfillment of His promises (NLT), His promises were about building Jerusalem, His city, His temple.

Isaiah 62:6-7 I have set watchmen on thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mentions of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

His goal is a CITY, (house, temple, body, etc.—it all means the same—a place or people for God to DWELL), and we see that at the conclusion of the Bible:

Rev. 21:2-3 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” And there is no temple there…

John goes on to describe the city…How many times have I heard teachers go into great detail about the stones and exactly what those physical stones will look like, etc…But John is speaking of a spiritual city made of living stones, not a physical city made of rocks and bricks. And, oh, how beautiful she will be!

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

The King of Glory wants to dwell with us, “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands…” (Acts 7:48).

Our Lord is building a dwelling place, making Himself a suitable habitation…

Ephes. 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

This is all not very clear to me yet…it is just beginning to take shape in my mind, but Oh, the glory of it—I get but a glimpse! I know the depth of the meaning of it is far beyond me…

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*All emphasis mine.