June 1924
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
347
entiated them from all the heathen in the world— a sanitary menu th a t purged them of all uncleanness and physical impurities. Do you know th a t th ere is a lower death ra te in the crowded Jewish qu arters of New York, th a n among the wealthy, aristocratic Gentiles of upper F ifth Avenue? The reason is found in the 11th chapter of Leviticus. Out of these, twelve, tribes a pure V irgin was selected, under the over-shadowing of th e Holy Spirit she brought forth a Man child, whose name was called “ Immanuel— God w ith us,” the only person ever born on th is planet th a t did not have two parents, saving the first created man. “A body h ast thou prepared me.” That body was a temple containing the Shekiriah glory (John 2:19-21). “Destroy th is body, and in th ree days I will raise it up. ***But he spake of th e temple of his body.” He was a sanctuary. A temple is a sanctuary—-God’s house—where Deity dwells. “ In Him dwelleth all the ful ness of the Godhead bodily.” Sixth: We pass to th e sixth temple— the body of th e be liever. “What, know ye not th a t your body is th e temple of the Holy Ghost? **** Which temple ye are.” We have Divine au tho rity for saying th a t th e body of the Christian is a temple. We .cannot explain it or under stand it. I t would not be surprising to be told th a t the sp irit of th e believer is a temple. That would be less difficult to apprehend; but somehow, according to the Word of God, th e body of th e Christian is a temple where God re sides. Therefore we ought to reverence the sanctuary of the body. It should be purified from all uncleanness be cause it belongs to God and because God inhabits it as a temple^irrthis m ortal body. I read of th e funeral of a godly young man, th e son of a m inister, who died, and his aged and broken-hearted fath e r said to th e pallbearers, “Step softly. You ares bearing w hat has been the temple of the Holy Spirit.” This is why I believe angels watch th e place where th e body of the sain t is buried, and th a t body will be raised out of the dust and glorified and beautified when th e trum p of God rouses th e sleeping believers. Seventh: The seventh and last— the church of th e living God, bu ilt upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We are living stones—m iniature temples individually but the church itself is a building, to be a habitation of God through th e countless ages of eternity. We are here th is afternoon to dedicate this little edifice, this tru e sanctuary, provided by the generous and sacri ficial gifts of th e people of God. But, in th e sight of God, flesh and blood count for more th a n bricks and m ortar. God is not so greatly concerned about th e m aterial edifice, as He is w ith the men and women of God who worship here. The locality is nothing. The stru ctu re is nothing. No thing counts bu t men and women, flesh and blood, souls and bodies; these are th e constituted m aterial of God’s spiritual temple. “T hat Christ may dwell in your h earts by faith, th a t ye being rooted and grounded in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. This building is only the accessory, a means to an end, where God is manifested, His Word taugh t, expounded and applied, His Spirit received, His will obeyed, His cross lifted up, His life received by faith, and from this place th ere shall flow rivers of living water. The church of th e living God, th e pillar and ground of th e tru th ! There is rejoicing today in Heaven, not over m aterial stru ctu res, not over costly cathedrals, not over g reat splendid churches where gates of silver and bars of
This same relationship is found today. Sometimes in the E ast in driving through th e country one may see a little church w ith its old tim e spire nestling among th e trees, bu t as we draw near we see th a t th e building has fallen into decay, the paint is peeling off the sides, th e windows and doors are broken, the walls are crumbling. We know a t once what kind of a community lies around it— religion is at th e lowest ebb, th ere is no sp iritu al life in the commun ity. - U > . J "1 0 0 1 . But let a work of grace spring up in th at,comm unity and in less than six months you will find a coat of fresh paint on the meeting house, new shingles on th e roof, glass in the windows, doors swinging on th e ir hinges and everything good to look upon, as the by-product of a sp iritual work of grace. The same law holds good in modern times as in ancient times, “Bring ye all th e tithes into th e storehouse, and prove me now, herew ith, saith th e Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing th a t th ere shall not be room to receive it.” : This restored temple was a pitiable sub stitu te for the former one and the old men who remembered the temple bu ilt by Solomon broke down and wept. Where was the fu rn itu re which was in th e first temple? W here was the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod th a t budded, th e golden candlestick.— Note th e prophecy: “The glory of this la tte r house shall be g reater th a n of the former, saith th e Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith th e Lord of hosts.” It was this second edifice th a t Herod enlarged and beau tified, and th is prophetic utterance was literally fulfilled when into th is temple came a little baby boy and the aged Simeon took the Child in his arm s and said “Lord now let- test thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. A light to lighten th e Gentile, and the glory of thy people Israel.” The presence of the holy Christ child lent a g reater dig nity and glory to th a t restored temple th an all the jewels and gold which it was afterw ard adorned. Third: The th ird temple will be the m illenial temple, de scribed in Ezekiel. The Mosque of Omar now stands on Mt. Moriah, but it will give place to ano th er temple th a t will be rebu ilt by restored Israel, albeit in unbelief, and the blue p rin ts and specifications given by the prophet E^pkiel are to be literally accepted. Never yet have they been carried out, bu t we w ait for the introduction of the Millen nial Age and th e resto ration of Israel to th e ir own land although at first in unbelief. F o u rth : Of th is temple we cannot speak experimentally because it is still future, and so we pass on to th e fou rth temple mentioned in the Word of God-—the temple of n atu re. The world is a temple. The mountaihs are altars, the rolling seas thund er a diapason anthem (Psa. 2 9 :9 ). A wonderful passage, tru e of natu re. There is no sin in n a tu re. The birds fly in th e ir appointed way. All n atu re is ju b ilan t w ith anthem s and doxologies of praise to its Cre ator. Man is the only rebel, the only sinner, th e only discord a n t note in th e paean of Nature. F ifth : The fifth temple is the body of th e Lord Jesus Christ. Back in etern ity we h ear Him saying “Lo, I come, to do thy will— a body h ast thou prepared me.” Think of th e centuries of p reparation for th a t body, beginning with the separation of Israel from the Egyptians, giving them a selected diet in th e 11th of Leviticus which differ
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