Real Hope: The TempleНамуна
United
Any Jewish person in the first century who clapped eyes on the Apostle Paul’s letter to Christians in Rome could not have missed it.
Having spilled a lot of ink on the pained, strained history of God and His people (read Romans 9–11), Paul alludes to established patterns and places in Jewish religious observance. Note the references in Romans 12:1–5 to sacrifice, worship, and corporate gathering. The undeniable echoes of temple law and systems scream of so much of what we see recorded within the Old Covenant.
However, there are wonderful differences for those under the New Covenant ushered in by Jesus Christ. In the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:1–17), we are to offer our entire selves as a ‘living sacrifice’. This is how we worship God—holistically, renewed, saved—and we’re called to do this together. United, we lovingly pursue God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.
Written by BEN MCEACHEN
Scripture
About this Plan
Throughout the Bible, the temple is a location where God’s desire to meet and be with His people is realised. However, with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross a new temple was established within us, His people. We trust that as you explore the temple, both old and new, you will see how the desire of God to be in relationship with you is as strong today as it was in the garden of Eden.
More