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PREPARING AND PREPARED (Part 4 of 4) A TEMPLE PREPARED (Amplified--unless otherwise specified) "Know ye not that ye are the temple of Gad.. If any man defile the temple of God,him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are"{I Cor. 3:16-17 KJV} Leviticus--Chapter 14:33-57 When the owner of a dwelling discerned that the Lord had "put a plague of leprosy" {34 KJV} in his house, he was instructed to go to the priest with the confession that "It seems to me there is some sort of disease in my house" {35}. (Will not dis-ease within one's house eventually evidence in some physical manifestation?) In this case, the "plague of leprosy," also termed "a spreading mildew," {35 NIV} appeared as a type of mold or rot. After commanding the house to be emptied, the priest went inside to "examine the disease" {37}. If he found "depressed spots... beneath (the surface of the wall]" {37}, he left the house, shutting it up for seven days, after which time he returned to assess whether the plague had ceased or spread. If it had spread, he commanded "... that they take out the diseased stones and cast them into an unclean place outside the city" {v.40}. Next, the house was to he scraped, its dust (mortar and plaster) poured without the city. Other stones were to be put in the place of those which had been removed, the new stones plastered with fresh mortar. If the plague again broke out, it was judged to be a "rotting or corroding leprosy" {44}, a "fretting leprosy" {44 NKJ}. In this case, the priest was to "tear down the house, its stones and its timber and all the plaster or mortar of the house, and...carry them forth out of the city to an unclean place" {45}. New Testament writers repeatedly equated believers with being God's dwelling place, "His temple: "ye are God's building," {I Cor. 3:9 KJV}, "Christ...whose house we are" {Heb 3:6}, "[Come] and as living stones be yourselves built[into] a spiritual house" {I Peter 2:5}. These writers urged their readers toward self-examination, warned of the contaminating influence of sin and recorded the replacing of contaminated stones. "For if we searchingly examined ourselves--detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition--we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by divine judgment]. But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined and chastened so that we may not (finally) be condemned (to eternal punishment along) with the world" {I Cor. 11:31-32}. "Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from... God's grace,..in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness or hatred) shoot forth and cause trouble and bitter torment, and many become contaminated and defiled by it" {Heb. 12:15}. As a contaminated stone which refused to he cleansed, Judas, one of the original disciples, was replaced with Matthias on the basis of Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few, and let another take his office and charge." Ezekiel Chapter 13 Through the prophet Ezekiel, God cautioned against those who use "untempered mortar" {10-KJV}, that which is not properly mixed, moderated or controlled. These gloss over, covering with a false exterior, that which needs to be judged and cleansed: "...when one builds a [flimsy] wall, behold, [these prophets] daub it over with whitewash" {10}. Warning of future destruction, the Lord commanded, "Say to them who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall!...thus says the Lord God: I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My wrath, and there shall be an overwhelming rain in My anger, and great hailstones in wrath to destroy [that wall]. So will I break down the wall that you have daubed with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundations will be exposed; when it falls, you shall perish and be consumed in the midst of it " {11-14}. The Apostle Paul deliberately separated himself from such pretenders, those he termed "false apostles--spurious, counterfeits--deceitful workers masquerading as apostles (special messengers) of Christ, the Messiah" {2 Cor. 11:13}, for he knew the inevitable judgment which awaited them: "If any one does hurt to God's temple or corrupts [it with false doctrines] or destroys it, God will do hurt to him and bring him to the corruption of death and destroy him. For the temple of God is holy--sacred to Him--and that [temple] you [the believing church and its individual believers] are" {I Cor. 3:17}. Ezekiel--Chapter 44 All that is not pure in the sight of a holy God is subject to His purging or judgment. Those who minister in and as a part of the temple of the Most Holy must themselves he holy. "You have brought into My sanctuary aliens, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to pollute and profane it, even My house...And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have chosen foreign keepers to please yourselves and have set them in charge of My sanctuary. Therefore says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary [where no one but the priest might enter] ... {7-9}. Symbolically covered in the righteousness of Christ, the priests were "clothed with linen garments" {17a}. They were to wear "linen turbans on their heads" {18a} and "linen breeches upon their loins" {18b}, typifying renewed thinking and spiritual walking. Their ministry was to arise from the realm of the Spirit, not the flesh, for "no wool shall come upon them whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court ... {17c KJV} and within the temple" {in Amplified}. I Peter Encouraging his readers that "...though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested..." {l:6-7} Peter urged believer's to "Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight. [Come] and as living stones be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house..." {2:4-5}. Realizing that "...the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with household of God..." {4:17} better equips us as living stones within the temple of God to face trials which confront us. "Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange--unusual and alien to you and your position--were befalling you. But in so far as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory (full of radiance and splendor) is revealed you may also rejoice with triumph--exultantly. If you are censured and suffer abuse [because you bear] the name of Christ, blessed [are you]...because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God is resting upon you." {4:12-14} And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace...will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen (and settle) you" {5:10}. - Ruth French
April 1996 Newsletter | The Cave Season | Pastor's Journal April 1995 Integrity | Earthly Distractions | Preparing and Prepared part 4 of 4 Revised: June 25, 2008. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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