When The Temple Fills The Earth

Today in church we continued our exploration of Hebrews 11.32. The past two weeks we've taken glimpses into the lives of both Gideon and Barak. Today, we focused on the life of Samson, a man a little more well known in bible stories. The sermon focused predominately on the death of Samson in Judges 16.23-31. In his death, Samson saved the nation of Israel from the Philistines; he destroyed the temple of Dagon, the Philistine God. This, of course, is a picture of Jesus Christ, the Greater Than Samson, who saved the Israel of God from the enemies of sin, death, and the Devil by dying and then rising again from the dead. One of the comparisons that my pastor brought out was that Samson destroyed the temple of Dagon, but Jesus destroyed the temple of God, at least the physical temple in Jerusalem. The glory-presence of God left the temple when Christ went to the cross and died, which was signified by the temple veil being torn in two.



Biblical theologians have often made the argument that the Garden of Eden was in fact a temple and the one of the duties of Adam and Eve was to cultivate the land and fill the earth, that is, to expand the perimeter of the Garden until it fills the whole of the earth. (It is not my intent to argue this point, but for further study please see the work of G.K. Beale in this book and this lecture series.) This idea crossed my mind as my pastor developed the significance of the temple being made obsolete. This idea is explained in Jesus Christ. The physical temple was the special dwelling place of God where he was with his people. Now, there is no earthly temple. There will never be a temple where man must go in order to offer sacrifices and have their sins atoned for. The sacrifices have been completed by Jesus Christ, and now the temple of God is the church. There is no separation between the people and their God like there was in the temple. The Great High Priest, of the order of Melchizedek, has offered the final sacrifice and has brought his children into the glory-presence of their God. He alone has broken down the wall of separation by the breaking of his body.

The glory of God is filling the entire earth in the church. The task that Adam failed to do, to expand the temple throughout the entire earth, was accomplished Jesus Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection. The glory is seen in the new temple of God, the new place where God meets man: the church. The church is not bound to one location, to one race, to one nation, or people group. The church of God is found in all nations, all races and people groups, anywhere the Saints can be found worshiping the true God, there is the temple. As the church fulfills her commission, Jesus Christ actualizes what he accomplished as the second Adam. In the church, Jesus Christ expands the temple of God throughout the entire earth.

As the church expands throughout the world, so too does the temple of God. We do not have to accomplish what Adam was called to do because the Great High Priest (who is the Second Adam) has already accomplished the task. The glory of God fills the whole earth in Jesus Christ and his church. Let us purify ourselves, as we have already been made pure, and worship the son in spirit and in truth. We behold the glory of God in the church now by faith, let us continue to spread the gospel, gathering all the children of God, making haste the day when we shall see the glory of God not by faith, but by sight.