If you had time last week to study the passages I gave to you, you know there's a vast difference in the temples used to worship God. Solomon's temple was ornate, beautiful and closed to everyone except the priest. The priest had the responsibility of offering sacrifices and being a bridge between God's people and God himself. The temple was designed to be a dwelling place for God and therefore a completely holy dwelling.
However, 1 Peter 2 gives us a different picture of God's temple today. There are no walls, no gold coverings or ornate decorations. God's temple today is nice! We are his dwelling place on the earth! The temple is as
beautiful or as ugly as we make it. There is no separation between us and God. In our worship together as a church family we enter directly into the presence of our God. In our daily lives we carry with us the seal of the Holy Spirit as we serve God daily. We are the priest that represent God on this earth.
And, of course, the most remarkable temple of all is God's Temple in heaven because the dwelling place (Temple) of God is the entirety of heaven. God himself is the Temple and we are allowed to live with Him for eternity in the beautiful home that He has provided for us.
It is vitally important that we fulfill our function today as God's temple on earth. 1 Peter 2:5 "You yourselves like living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
Dean
