Jeremy Hoover

[The sermon MP3 is available for download at the bottom of this post.]

The presence of God is a major theme in the Old Testament. God was with Israel as they wandered through the wilderness in the form of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Eventually they built a tent for God to dwell in, and it came to be known as the "tent of meeting." Eventually, King David looked around at the beautiful palace he lived and was a little embarrassed to realize that God still lived in a tent.

So instead of simplifying his residence he proposed building a great house for God to live in as well. But God had a different idea, and he told David it would be his son (Solomon) who would build a house for God.

Solomon built the Temple. And when the ark of the covenant was placed in the Temple, the glory of the Lord filled it. God had a home.

But Israel turned from God (you know the story) and finally, after many centuries, was defeated and destroyed, ultimately by Babylon. As part of the destruction, Babylon destroyed the Temple. But God was long gone--he had deserted the Temple because of the impurity of the people (Ezekiel 10).

Suddenly, after a long period of silence, Jesus appears on the scene. One day, he goes to the (rebuilt but God-less) Temple and is disgusted at what he finds there. So he grabs a whip, turns over tables and runs the merchants out. The Jews are understandably frustrated. They demand to know under what authority he does this.

So Jesus answers them. He tells the the sign he will give them to prove his authority is that he will rebuild "this temple" in three days after they destroy it. They thought he was talking about the physical temple, but Jesus was talking about his body, which means he was telling them that the authority by which he did these things was from God--because God's presence was in him! (John 2:13-22)

Ultimately, Jesus was killed. But he did what he said and raised the "temple" in three days. And when his disciples gathered around him, he told them to wait in Jerusalem for the "gift" his Father promised. He connects that gift with Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 8). The apostles received that gift on Pentecost (Acts 2), and those who were baptized on that day also received it (Acts 2:38-39), as do all those who are baptized into Christ.

What's so important about the gift of the Holy Spirit? A few scriptures give us some clues:

In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul teaches us that the Spirit, which we received when we believed, marks us with a seal that guarantees our inheritance and redemption.

He also teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 that the Spirit of God is even more--because God's Spirit lives in us, we are the new temples of God, individually and as the church.

What a radical idea! God no longer lives in a building (even a church building), because we are the building God lives in. God's glory is in us!

Which begs this question: If God's glory resides in the temple that is you, are others seeing God's glory in that temple?

Sermon: The Spirit of God is in YOU

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