The Church Is the House of God From Jesus' Cross On

Summary: The apostle Paul identified the Lord's Church as "the house of God". In the local church, in a spiritual "house" near where you live, you can experience vibrant worship of God, hear the Word of God preached and taught, and see the demonstration of God's power in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:15, KJV  ...the house of God, which is the church of the living God...

•• In the Old Testamant, the temple was God's "house". Today, under the New Covenant, the Lord's Church is “the house of God”.

• What insights can we find in the bible about the “house of God” — that is, the Church that Jesus loves and gave His life for?

1 Kings 9:3  The LORD said to [Solomon]: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple [KJV: this house], which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

•• God places His NAME upon His house — then the temple, now the Church.

• He is pleased to be associated with His Church.

•• Further, God’s “heart will always be there.”

• God loves His house, the Church. So does Jesus.

•• And God’s “eyes ... will always be there.”

• He watches over and guides His house.

Exodus 34:26  Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.

•• Give the Lord's house your best.

•• And give God’s Church the firstfruits, not the leftovers, of your time, your talent, and your treasure.

1 Kings 3:1-2, KJV  And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. [2] Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.

•• When the house of the Lord is not visible and central, people seek spiritual “alternatives.”

• New Age, cults, etc., to satisfy man’s “spiritual” side.

• Worldliness to satisfy man’s carnal side.

•• It takes dynamic, powerful, Spirit-filled churches to draw people away from those things to God.

1 Samuel 1:24-25  And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. [25] And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

•• Bring your children to God's house.

• Train them to love the Lord and His “house.”

• Instill in them respect for the Lord and His Church.

2 Chronicles 5:7, 13-14  The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.... [13] The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, [14] and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God [KJV: the house of God].

•• Let the Lord’s Presence (represented here by the Ark) lead to the filling of the house with the glory of the Lord.

• Trumpeters, singers, praisers and thankers —> Glory! This illustrates the importance of vibrant, spiritual worship in the churches.

• I remember many powerful church services where we assembled worshipers keenly felt the Lord's Presence.

• God wants to fill His house with His manifested glory.

2 Chronicles 31:21  In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple [KJV: the house of God] and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

•• Seek God for His enablement to do your service in the Church, which is "the house of God."

•• Work wholeheartedly at your assigned tasks in the service of His Church.

1 Chronicles 22:5  David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

•• Mature Christians have an obligation to train younger, inexperienced ones in the building of God’s house.

• Carry your load, and while doing that, mentor the younger believers who will take over the work of the Lord’s house.

Luke 19:45-46  Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. [46] “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

•• “My house will be a house of prayer” — Is your local church a house of prayer?

• Each of us should ask: “Am I a living stone in the Lord’s ‘house of prayer’?” Am I a man or woman of prayer? The Lord's house desperately needs many such.

Jesus loves His house, the Church, so much that He died for it! Ask God to fill your heart with that same heavenly passion for the "house of God" in your city. Find a good, bible-preaching, Jesus-exalting, Spirit-filled church near you. Be faithful to that "house." Love the people there; serve God there. Be encouraged and equipped there to go forth from the house of God (His Church) to touch this world with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We invite you to see our related sermon outline entitled "Committed to the Church, 'the House of God'."

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©2004, James H. Feeney.
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