What Is the Church?Ihe Atụ

The Church Is God’s Temple

Do you remember the first time you went to visit someone else’s house?

I don’t remember the name of the person I visited, but I remember my mom making sure I understood what it meant to respect the home where someone else dwells.

The Bible makes a stunning statement about the Church in multiple places:

It is where God dwells, and this has real implications for how we relate to it.

The purity of our lives matters. Imagine being in someone else’s home and doing anything that would damage where they live. We do this all the time with God’s home. The pursuit of holiness in our personal lives and in the Church community matters because our sin makes a mess of God’s house.

We are described not only as God’s dwelling place but also as the priests in the temple. Our role as priests in God’s home is to “proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Here is what that practically means: you can’t be a spectator in God’s home. Every man should be serving and doing something that helps point other people to how great the homeowner is.

If you have ever been connected to a church, you probably feel tension because it doesn’t always seem like God dwells there. If He dwells there, it can also feel like God keeps a messy home. All kinds of people do things that don’t seem right, and others seem not to care they are part of God’s home.

The good news is the Bible also calls the Church a building project. Ephesians 2:22 describes us as “being built together.” If you have ever lived through a renovation project in your own home, you know it can be frustrating and exciting at the same time. It’s frustrating because of the mess but it's exciting because you get a front-row seat to the transformation.

Jesus is still working to build us into the dwelling place He wants. Be patient with the Church because Jesus hasn’t finished His work yet.

Many view the Church as “my home,” but the Bible does not teach that. The truth that we are God’s dwelling place should both humble and motivate us to treat the house of God with even greater respect than we would treat the homes of our friends and neighbors.

Prayer: God, help me to respect the Church as Your home. Amen.

Reflection: How would your perspective of the Church differ if you saw it as God’s home?