Jun 13 (1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5) This is the third day that we have been considering the significance that we are the “house of God.” After the temple was finished, Solomon repeated and answered a question he had asked earlier: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kgs. 8:27).
Luke recorded what Stephen said in his sermon to the Sanhedrin: “But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’” (Ac. 7:47-50, quoting Is. 66:1-2). Paul made this same point in his sermon at Athens: “The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands” (Ac. 17:24).
I once heard Adrian Rogers preach a sermon he entitled, “Where on earth does God live?” Have you ever moved into a new house, but it took some time for it to become home? Paul understood this in the spiritual sense: “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him” (Eph. 3:17, NLT). The more we trust Him, the more He will be at home, and the more our lives will show God’s glory: “…for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kgs. 8:11).
– Al Gary
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