T H E K I N G ’S BU S I N B S S
June 1924
346
Make Me a Sanctuary Dr. F red eric W. F a rr P asto r of Calvary B ap tist Church, Los Angeles, California
I t gives us g rea t pleasure to pass on to ou r read ers th is splendid address which was delivered in connection w ith th e dedication of San Gabriel (C alifornia) Union Church, where Mr. Marion Reynolds, (th e efficient Super in tenden t of th e Shop W ork of th e B ible In stitu te of Bos Angeles) is th e beloved pastor.
HE word “ church” may mean any one of four dif feren t things. (1) I t may mean the “meeting house” where worship is offered to God. (2) Any p articu lar denom ination. (3) The local assembly of believers organized for worship. (4 ) The entire company of the regen erate;in heaven and on earth. In Scripture, the word is used w ith th e la st two mean ings only, i. e.’, th e local assembly, or the' en tire company of the saved. The definite and indefinite articles characterize these two definitions. One may belong to a church, w ithout belonging to th e church, and conversely, one may belong to th e church w ithout having his name upon any church register. The meeting-house, where we offer worship and observe the ordinances, is th e arch itectu ral successor of th e Jewish synagogue which came into existence during th e Babylon ian captivity. The temple destroyed, where could they worship? Their ritu a l in terrup ted , they could offer no sacrifices, w ith neither temple nor altar. So the custom grew th a t wherever th ere were ten or more Jews a synagogue was established. The building would be a plain, rectangu lar stru ctu re, th e men and women occupying diffèrent portions. Providentially, these syna gogues were a g reat help to th e extension of Christianity afte r th e coming of Christ. F o r example, th e Apostle Paul came to a city: He first directed his steps to th e Jewish synagogue and found th e re a company of h earers assembled indoors like soil awaiting th e planting of the Gospel seed. How long it would have tak en to gath er a company of be lievers and erect a suitable building for worship, and what an advantage to the Christian m issionary to find th e ir con gregation already housed, in an attitu d e of reverent and thoughtful attention. Thus Christianity became speedily extended th roughout the Homan Empire. Synagogues were found everywhere except at Phillipi, where sp irituality was a t so low an ebb th a t th e only religious g athering which could be found was a women’s prayer meeting on Saturday morning. B u t out of th a t small and humble beginning came th e church at Phillipi to which P aul w rote th a t wonderful outpouring of joy— the epistle to the Phillipians. How poor we would have been w ithout th a t wonderful contribution to th e Canon of the New Testament! The meeting house is called by various names— a church, a synagogue, a temple. Groves were th e first temples. Gothic architecture is simply th e embodiment in stone and m arble of th e tree tops of the medieval forest. As Paul said to the A thenians, we say “ God dwelleth not in temples made w ith hands.” Nevertheless, God is pleased w ith the erection of suitable edifices, where He may be worshipped, H is gospel preached and believers grow in grace and knowledge from th e study and teaching of the Word. God said to Israel in the wilderness, “Make me a sanc tu a ry ” and God indw elt th e Tabernacle, th e p attern of which existed in Heaven before it ever came to earth . God said to Moses, “ See thou make all things according to the p attern shewn thee in the mount.” :
There must have been an heavenly tabernacle which was the model of the earth ly stru ctu re. T h at was only a tent, bu t it was the meeting-place between God and man, and in the, innerm ost sanctuary, behind the splendid veil, was the ark of the covenant under the over-reaching wings of the cherubim, which was called “ the throne of Jehovah” and th ere blazed the Shekinah glory. There, once a year, the High P riest, as a representative of th e people, sprinkled the sacrificial blood; then came fo rth w ith the annual absolu tion of all th e tribes of Israel. This ceremony was typical of th e g reat Anti-type who with, H is own blood went behind th e veil and pu t away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. We have now eternal absolu tion. He needeth no t to offer up sacrifices perpetually. This He did once when He offered up Himself. Seven Temples are Spoken of in The Bible F irs t; The splendid temple of Soiomon. The tabernacle in the w ilderness passed away. David conceived th e thought of building a house for God. He looked upon his own royal house and said “ I dwell in a house of cedar.” He was ashamed of th e disparity. God, however, prevented him from carrying out his ideal. This privilege was passed on to his son Solomon, bu t David spent his life gathering m aterial so th a t Solomon simply pu t it together, and th a t splendid temple w ent up w ithout sound of axe or hammer. The magnificent cedars were floated down by sea from Leb anon to Joppa, tran spo rted to Jerusalem , covered with plates of gold— th e exact reproduction of th e tabernacle, only twice as large. As the temple stood on Mt. Moriah, w ith those plates of solid gold overlapping one ano th er from top to bottom , a* spectator standing on th e hills looking across the valley was almost blinded by th e surpassing glory. A wonderful stru ctu re it was, one of th e wonders of the world, it became so prized by the children of Israel th a t instead of being a means to an end, it became an end in itself and a fetich. One count in th eir indictm ent of th eir Messiah was His speaking against the temple, and any slighting rem ark was considered lese majeste, an act of treason which could never be atoned for. Our Lord cleansed the temple a t the beginning of jHis m inistry, and said “Make not my F a th e r’s house a den of thieves.” At the close when He wept over Jerusalem he said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” God had vacated th e sanctuary. It was no longer “God’s house” but “ th e ir” house. But they clung to it and when Jerusalem was destroyed, thousands of Jews plunged into the flames of th a t temple and comm itted suicide ra th e r th an survive its destruction. . Second: The first temple of Solomon was razed by the Babylonian invader under Nebuchadnezzar. He carried its sacred vessels away to Babylon. The temple was destroyed. Its very foundations were ploughed up. It was restored by Zerubabbel when th e rem nant retu rn ed from captivity. Haggai said, “ Is it the tim e for you to dwell in ceiled houses?” Then he traced the relationship between th e ir m aterial prosperity and th e ir sp iritual diligence, “Ye have sown much and bring in little .”
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