“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Luke 19:46 NIV
There is both another perspective and spiritual significance to these words of Jesus. He was, at that moment, dealing with the misuse of God’s house in Jerusalem…but there is another “house” of greater importance than the physical temple which no longer exists in the holy city today.
“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
Hebrews 3:5-6 NIV
Moses was the builder of God’s visible “house”, the tabernacle in the wilderness, as a servant under orders. However, Jesus, God’s Son, is the head of God’s house, His household, His permanent dwelling place.
The Old Testament types and pictures have been fulfilled and replaced by Jesus and His church as God’s household. Jesus is the true head of His “house”, His family of brothers and sisters of which God is Father.
“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
Hebrews 2:10-11 NIV
This “house” of God’s redeemed people is also His temple, and the throne room from which He rules over His family.
ln Scripture, every believer is His temple…
“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; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
…and, together, the church is His temple, His dwelling place.
“In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:21-22 NIV
Therefore, just as the temple in Jerusalem was God’s dwelling place among His people and set apart for worship and prayer, so we, who are a part of His church, are also set apart to be His spiritual temple for worship and prayer. God is seeking true worshippers…
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
John 4:23 NIV
…and partners in prayer…
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:18 NIV
…with unwavering devotion…
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Colossians 4:2 NIV
…because we are, alone and together, God’s “house of prayer”.
The implications are as real for us today as they were when Jesus threw the merchants out of the temple in Jerusalem. We have no right to turn God’s temple, our bodies, into a “den of thieves”. Anything that pollutes our “house of prayer” is illegitimate and an intrusion into what God has set apart for His exclusive use.
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 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; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NIV
On the contrary, Paul argues for God’s exclusive possession of our earthly temples for Him to occupy and for us to do His will. Just as Jesus offered His body as a sacrifice for us, so we must give our bodies to Him…preserved holy through the cleansing and renewing of our minds, so that we will know, approve, and fulfil His will…
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Since we are, individually and corporately, God’s “house”, the place where He lives by His Spirit, we are to keep the house clean and free from the pollution of worldly desires and practices. As Paul wrote…
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”…
Ephesians 3:16-17a NIV
To be continued…