Truth For Today?

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Category: The House Of God | Dec 1974

In this closing article of the series, The House of God, we will briefly review the subject as it has been progressively expounded by various writers month by month. We will examine its setting in the Scriptures, emphasize some basic principles underlying its presentation, and then discuss its relevance to the present phase of God's dealings with men.

A divine concept

To dwell with men on the earth is a divine concept. This is the reason it should be pondered and cherished by all who call upon His Name. In our coverage of the subject we have observed the prominent place it occupies in the inspired record. In tracing the history of God's ancient people Israel we have seen that they could only serve Him acceptably while He dwelt among them. In their early zeal they responded nobly to God's longing and built Him a house. Their prosperity as a nation was dependent on His dwelling there. God's house was the spiritual centre of their national life. But privilege and responsibility are inseparable. Failure to equate them was Israel's besetting sin. Periods of declension and revival marked her chequered history, until, eventually, succeeding generations lost the vision, profaned His holy habitation, and God reluctantly withdrew His presence. These are among things written aforetime for our learning, and full use of them is made in the teaching of our Lord and His apostles. To discern the lessons to be learned from them has been the objective in this series of articles.

Early outline

The subject of the house of God is introduced in Scripture by prophetic revelation given to Jacob (Gen. 28). Here, in germina form, can be discerned some of the distinctive features of a divine dwelling-place on the earth. These were ably expounded in the article in our January issue. For our present purpose we emphasize one important lesson to be learned from that remarkable incident.

At the place called Luz the weary fugitive met the God of his fathers. As he lay under the stars Jacob thought himself alone; God was here but he knew it not. He awoke a changed man. He would never forget this place - it was now hallowed ground: "This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven", he said. If God spared him he would return and pay his vows there. Taking the stone he had used for a pillow he set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it, "and he called the name of that place Beth-el". "This stone", he said, "shall be God's house". The crude pillar erected by the patriarch foreshadowed that God's dwelling-place on this earth would be erected by human instrumentality. God would choose the place, but men would build Him a house and in infinite grace He would deign to dwell there.

First realization

But before there could be a dwelling-place for God on earth there must be a people to undertake its construction. God prepared a people in the land of Egypt for this very purpose. Then He redeemed them by the blood of the pascal lamb, liberated them from their bondage, and cut them off from their old life by the waters of the Red Sea. At Mount Sinai Israel pledged their obedience to His covenant and thereupon received the charter of their nationhood. Then, not till then, Jehovah gave the instruction to Moses:

"And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exod. 25:8).

For over four hundred years, since His promise to Abraham, God had looked forward to this moment. His pent-up longing to dwell with men on earth now became possible for the first time. According to His great design for them Israel were to journey to the land which was to be their national home. When they had possessed it and found rest there Jehovah would choose a place where they would build His temple and He would rest among them. But so great was His love for His chosen people that He would not wait until they were settled in the land. He would dwell in their midst as they crossed that great and terrible wilderness. If they dwelt in tents He too would dwell in a tent. So in infinite grace He designed a dwelling-place for Himself suitable to wilderness conditions. There His people would serve Him and He would share their affliction and guide them in triumph to their destined inheritance.

As foreshadowed in the prophetic revelation in Genesis 28 the tabernacle in the wilderness was constructed by men. The people of Israel brought the materials specified by Jehovah and the work was carried out according to the pattern that was shown to Moses in the mount. The framework of the building, with its curtains and hangings, was completed; the holy vessels were skilfully fashioned by competent workmen. And when all was finished and assembled on the desert sand, then, "the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exod. 40:34). All this, and the priestly service in the sanctuary which was embodied in the construction of the tabernacle, is rich in teaching and typical foreshadowing - "a parable for the time now present", as Hebrews 9:9 puts it. Contributors to this series in months past have endeavoured to expound the parable. This is a

region of the Christian Faith to be 'rightly divided' in its application to a divine dwelling-place on earth in the present age.

Zenith and fall

"But Solomon built Him a house", is the terse comment of Stephen in his address to the Jewish council (Acts 7:47). This magnificent edifice, erected at the zenith of Israel's national prosperity, was built by Solomon in the place God chose, and according to the divine pattern. It must have been one of the most magnificent buildings this world has ever seen. It took the place of the Mosaic tabernacle but its priestly service, although expanded, followed the same order as that performed in its humble predecessor. The true greatness of the Solomonic temple consisted not in its surpassing grandeur but in that it was the earthly dwelling-place of "the great God". In this respect tabernacle and temple were equal. It is significant that the typical teaching of the Hebrews epistle is based not on the temple but on its prototype, the Mosaic tabernacle.

In his treatment of this part of our subject in April last our contributor summed up with this pithy comment: "Neither the beauty nor value of the house itself, nor its divinely ordained priestly service, would ensure God's continuous dwelling there. What was of vital importance was the continual obedience of God's people. Of the place He had chosen to put His Name, He said, There thou shalt do all that I command thee (Deut. 12:14). Alas, the warning was largely unheeded I And four hundred years later the beautiful temple built by Solomon was destroyed by fire". Thus ended that epoch in Israel's history which began with such glorious promise - God reluctantly forsook His earthly dwelling-place. Solomon's magnificent temple was destroyed and the people were carried away to captivity in Babylon. The lesson of this calamity is clear. God's dwelling-place on this earth will only continue to be acknowledged by Him so long as the conditions He lays down are observed by His people. His abiding presence requires undeviating submission to His will. Where God dwells He must rule.

The Solomonic temple, forsaken by God, lay in ruins. God's people were in captivity. Was this, then, the end of the road? Could there ever again be a dwelling-place for God among His people Israel? These are crucial questions. The answer to them has an important bearing on the will of God for His gathered people during the present age.

Revival

Our contributor in June last gave a helpful account of the return from Babylon of a remnant of Judah to rebuild the house of God on its former site in Jerusalem. The spiritual revival which inspired that movement, the difficulties and opposition it encountered, and the pleasure it brought to God are recorded for us in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. We refer readers to the article mentioned above for more detailed treatment of the lessons to be learned from this memorable event. For our present purpose we note that:

(a)This was a remnant movement. The great majority of God's people were not involved in it.

(b)God's longing to dwell among His people was undiminished in spite of their former departure from Him. He encouraged this small remnant in their resolve to go back to the place of His choice and build His house there.

(c)Many obstacles had to be overcome; opposition, ridicule and reproach had to be endured.

(d)The house built by the remnant bore no comparison in architectural grandeur to the temple built by Solomon. But God took pleasure in it; and sanctified it by His presence after the same manner as the Mosaic tabernacle and the Solomonic temple.

(e)The divine ordinances and priestly service of the temple of the remnant were those laid down in the instructions given to Moses. No new revelation was given. They had to return for guidance to the original pattern.

A spiritual house

Up to this point we have surveyed the background to our subject in the things that were written aforetime "for our learning". We now refer briefly to three articles in this series which examine New Testament teaching on this important theme. In these articles the phrase used by the apostle Peter, "a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:5), figures prominently. To whom does this phrase refer? and how does it relate to the line of teaching we have been following in the Old Testament writings?

To summarize the change in the divine economy in the New Covenant age we borrow again from Stephen's address to the Jewish council, "Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands" (Acts 7:48). No building of earthly materials, however grand or imposing, is now owned by God as His earthly dwellingplace. The concept belongs to the Old Covenant and is now discarded. It has no place in the apostles' teaching. Yet Christendom holds on to it. The erroneous idea of a sacred building being God's house is widely cherished. The Epistle to the Hebrews is a massive repudiation of it.

The persons addressed by Peter, "Ye also, as living stones are built up a spiritual house", were disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ located in five provinces of the Roman Empire (1 Pet. 1:2). According to apostolic practice these disciples were gathered locally in churches of God, but here the singular noun "house" is used to describe their togetherness. The closeness of the bond of each to the other is emphasized by the imagery used. As "living stones" they were built together to form "a spiritual house". Readers are referred

to the helpful article which appeared in our July issue for further comment on this phase of our subject.

It is contended by some that the word "house" in 1 Pet. 2:5 should be understood in the sense of "household". But this does violence to the context. One would not describe a household as being built of stones! Clearly, a building is referred to; a building which is the New Testament counterpart of God's dwelling-place on earth under the Old Covenant. But in contrast to the house of God in former ages it was "a spiritual house" composed of "living stones". Peter's words in this paragraph (1 Pet. 2:1-10) are an echo of the words of Jehovah to Israel at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:3-6). The comparison is highly significant. In a similar way the apostle Paul applies the term "temple of God" to the disciples comprising churches of God:

"We are (a) temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (2 Cor. 6:16).

In this quotation Paul cites Leviticus 26:12 which refers to the dwelling of God in the midst of His people Israel. Although the words were addressed to Israel in a past age the apostle indicates that they apply equally to God's spiritual house in the New Covenant age.

The conclusion, then, reached in our studies in this series of articles is that the churches of God founded by the apostles and their fellow-workers formed a dwelling-place for God on earth. Here the will of God was paramount, priestly service was rendered to Him, divine government was in operation, and divine light and truth streamed forth into the surrounding darkness. Those were days of great spiritual vitality. God moved mightily among His gathered people. To recapture the vision of a spiritual house for God in accordance with New Testament revelation is one of the great needs of God's scattered children today.

History repeated

Space forbids to trace in detail the historical decline of those early churches of God. High privilege incurred corresponding responsibility. Now, as in past ages, God would continue to dwell among His gathered people only so long as they remained faithful to Him. In keeping with the commission entrusted to them by the risen Lord, the apostles stood on guard and warned of the dangers ahead from declension within and infiltration from without. In the centuries following the apostolic age there was serious and rapid departure from the Faith, and eventually the light of those early churches was extinguished. It is a melancholy story. But we can be thankful that the apostolic pattern of a spiritual house for God among His gathered people remains, bequeathed to us in their writings. A precious heritage, indeed! We trust that those who: have followed these studies have been impressed by the spiritual riches deposited in this area of Scripture doctrine.

In the closing paragraph of this review it remains to enquire, Can there be in our time a return to the original basis of gathering for God's children? The great majority of them are scattered in the various denominations. In these conditions is it feasible or possible to go back to the New Testament pattern? There are those who contend that because "the church is in ruins" (whatever they mean by this expression) there can be no return to the principles which obtained in the churches of God in New Testament times, and that any attempt to do so is serious heresy. Undoubtedly the analogy of the Faith would indicate that any attempt to return to apostolic principles of gathering for God's people would begin with a small minority of God's children. We infer this from the history of the Remnant of Judah under Ezra and Nehemiah who returned from Babylon to rebuild the house of God on its ancient site in Jerusalem, and to set up the service of God as it had been prescribed in the Mosaic Law. That God took pleasure in that movement and owned the house they built is the answer to those who would censure a like movement today. There we must leave the matter for the present. We hope to return to it in a future issue, if the Lord will.

T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Dec 1974
The House Of God