Holy People - not holy places

Holy People, not holy places

In John 4, Jesus went to Samaria to meet the woman at the well. The following conversation is foundational to the topic at hand.

John 4:19-24 (HCSB) “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” ​Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

A major point of all religions other than the one true one is that they have sacred places they must meet for worship. YHWH had met with the ancient Hebrews in the tabernacle. Their males went to Jerusalem three times a year to meet with God. Pagans built temples and altars at which they had to worship. In Acts 19 we see the pagan temple of Artemis (or Diana, depending on your translation) – the place was important.

In the passage from John 4, Jesus continues to introduce His kingdom by pointing out contrasts between it and what was being made obsolete. “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” This statement would have shocked both Jew and Samaritan, whose religions were based on sacred places. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world (John 18:36) and His people are to worship anywhere and anytime, as long we worship Him in spirit and truth. This is what YHWH desires – not ritual discipline to be at the temple at the right time.

During the ministry of Jesus and His apostles, we read of them engaging Jews in the Jewish synagogue (a system of worship developed outside of the canon of Scripture) but not worshiping with the Jews. When the saints met for worship, there is no record in Scripture of special places they were to meet. There are records of what they did and Who they worshiped.

We read in the Psalms how the people of Israel sang about meeting in the house of God. We read in the New Covenant passages how we are the house of God. Certainly, Christ’s cryptic words “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again,” refer immediately to His bodily resurrection. But the Apostles of the New Testament also understood Christ’s bodily “temple” in a metaphysical sense as a transcendent type of the corporate body of the elect who, as Christ’s spiritual “body” or “temple,” were “raised up together” and “made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:6) Thus James describes the salvation of Jews and Gentiles as the rebuilding of “the tabernacle of David” (Acts 15:16); Peter refers to the regenerated church as “living stones … built up a spiritual house” (1 Pet 2:5); and Paul, as we have seen in Ephesians, depicts the present state of the church as a “building fitly framed together” which constitutes the “holy temple of the Lord.” (Eph 2:21)

The first ten verses of Hebrews 9 details how the tabernacle was a symbol for that present time, when ritual offerings which could not perfect the worshipers’ conscience were made. Verse 10 sums it up: “They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of restoration.” Physical things relate to earth-bound religions. The time of restoration refers to the coming of the kingdom that was inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Verse 11 declares Jesus the high priest of the good things that have come – the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation). The tabernacle in the wilderness was a sacred meeting place for the Hebrew people. Later they would sing about worshiping God in His house – the temple they had built. Another sacred place. Each child of God being a living stone, being built up into a spiritual house has no attachment to any geography. The places God’s redeemed meet to worship Him is not important; having the people He has redeemed worship Him in spirit and truth is.

The spiritual is always greater than the temporal. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and those whose main focus is on temporal things are enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18 & 19). The point is that whether we have large barns that satisfy our soul or put our treasures into grandiose buildings for saints to gather in, having our focus on earthly things is damaging to our souls. If we have been given much, we ought to give much; whether it’s money, time, love, or fellowship. This is how we use temporal wealth – to aid those who are hurting, not build grandiose buildings to impress people.

Phil 3:13-15, 20-21 (HCSB) Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. …  our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.