What is the church?
What is the church? Is it the physical building where people congregate each Sunday? Is it the people that make up a congregation? Based on the passage in John 2:13-22, we learn from Jesus’ ordeal in the temple that the church is more than a building and more than just a group of people congregating.
The church is where people meet God
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:17)
At the time of the passage, the Jewish people were celebrating Passover. A day to celebrate and remember God’s love for his people. A celebration that began many years ago and continued to take place. To commemorate this holiday, many of the Jewish people would go to the temple to make a sacrificial offering. Jesus and his friends were on their way to the temple, when Jesus found a grave sight.
In Jewish history, the temple is extremely holy; a place symbolising that God’s presence is among his people. Essentially, the Jewish people believed that God could only be encountered in the temple. But at this time, the temple was filled with money exchangers and animal sellers who were taking advantage of the holiday. Instead of worship and praise, Jesus and his disciples found people who were there with the wrong motive: selfish gain.
How does this apply to us today? Like at the temple, the only reason we should be at church is to meet God. People come to church with many differing intentions with meeting God at the very bottom of that list. In this way, we’re like the money exchangers and animal sellers: in the wrong place with the wrong motives. Again, church is a place to meet God. But, who is the church?
Our body is the church
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19)
When asked by what authority Jesus was overturning the tables, Jesus instead implied his authority by stating that he would raise the temple in three days if destroyed. The Jews questioning Jesus didn’t understand what he was saying. They believed he meant the literal brick and mortar of the temple. But Jesus was speaking of something more. He was referring to himself. Let’s connect the dots further. If Jesus is referring to himself as the temple and in 1 Corinthians, his people are referred to as the ‘body of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:27), we can assume (and know) that each believer is God’s temple, a living and breathing invitiation for others to meet and worship God. If we truly believe ourselves as the body of Christ and in turn, God’s temple, there are major implications for us. 1 Corinthians 9:19 says,
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
Where ever we are and whoever we are with, we must acknowledge and remember that we are God’s temples; a chance for others to meet God and have their lives changed.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your loving kindness and gracious mercy, that you would call us the Body of Christ and entrust us as temples of the Living God. We pray for your strength and discipline so we may be a living invitation for others to meet You.
In Jesus’ mighty name we pray,
Amen