The Temple of the Sovereign God

Q: What does the Bible say about God being the Creator?

The Bible teaches that God is the Creator of the world and all things in it, as stated in Genesis 1:1. The Scriptures assert that God is the Creator of the world and all is contained within it, a fundamental truth stated in Genesis 1:1, 'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.' This claim underscores God's sovereign nature, positioning Him as the ultimate authority over all creation. Acts 17:24 emphasizes that He 'made the world and all things therein,' reminding us of His power and control over the universe. The understanding of God as Creator is vital for recognizing His sovereignty and the divine purpose behind creation.

Q: Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

God's sovereignty assures Christians that everything happens according to His divine plan and purpose. Understanding God's sovereignty is crucial for Christians as it affirms that He is in control over all events in the world, as articulated in Acts 17:24, where God is described as the 'Lord of heaven and earth.' This sovereignty means that nothing occurs outside of His perfect will, allowing believers to trust in Him amidst life's uncertainties. The reality of God's sovereign nature provides comfort and assurance that their salvation and the unfolding of their lives are orchestrated by a loving and all-powerful God, reinforcing their reliance on His grace and providence.

Q: How do we know that Christ is the temple of God?

The New Testament reveals that Christ is the temple of God, where the fullness of the Godhead dwells. The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus Christ is the true temple of God, as stated in John 2:19-21, where He speaks of His body as the temple. This declaration demonstrates that all previous temples, made with human hands, are inadequate representations of God's dwelling. Christ's incarnation embodies the fullness of the Godhead, as mentioned in Colossians 2:9, emphasizing His divine nature. In Him, believers find their identity as members of this spiritual temple, indicating that God's presence is not confined to physical structures but dwells within His people through faith in Christ.

Q: What does it mean that believers are the temple of God?

Believers, through the Holy Spirit, are collectively the temple of God, signifying His presence within them. In 2 Corinthians 6:16, it is declared that believers are the temple of the living God, indicating that God's presence resides within them through the Holy Spirit. This transformative truth means that Christians are not just individual temples but part of a collective dwelling where God manifests His glory. Ephesians 2:21-22 further illustrates that as believers are fitly framed together in Christ, they are being built into a holy temple for the habitation of God. This emphasizes the unity among believers and their shared purpose of living lives that reflect God's holiness and glory.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to believe God is sovereign?

Believing in God's sovereignty is essential for Christians as it provides them peace and assurance in His control over all aspects of life. Belief in God's sovereignty is foundational for a Christian's faith, as it assures them that God governs all things according to His will. Acts 17:24 illustrates that God is the ultimate authority over heaven and earth, which reassures believers that their lives unfold under His providential care. Recognizing His sovereignty fosters a posture of trust and reliance on God, even in challenging circumstances. It reminds Christians that they are not in control but that they serve a God who has a divine purpose for everything that transpires in their lives, ultimately leading to their good and His glory.

Now, here in Acts chapter 17,
we see how that Paul had come into Athens
and he had gone into the synagogue and he spoke with the Jews and
he spoke with the devout persons there and he went to the market
daily where the philosophers and the men of learning and some
The fellows gathered to debate, to discuss new things. And it
says in verse 18, then certain philosophers of the Epicureans
and of the Stoics encountered him. And some said, what will
this babbler say? They considered him just base
and a babbler. Some others said he seemed to
be a setter forth of strange gods because he preached unto
them Jesus and the resurrection. And they asked him a lot of questions. They talked back and forth with
Paul here. And so finally, it says, verse 19, they took him,
brought him to Oropagus saying, may we know what this new doctrine,
whereof thou speakest, is. They wanted to give him a hearing.
And so they brought him here to this place. It's sort of like
a court, but it's more so just to give him a hearing, to hear
this doctrine of his. We read here that it says, Thou
bringest certain strange things to our ears. We would know, therefore,
what these things mean. Verse 21 says, For all the Athenians,
all those that were native to Athens and strangers that came
that way, which were there, spent their time in nothing else but
either to tell or to hear some new thing. It reminds me a great
deal of our day. We seem to be news addicts in
our day. News is not even news anymore
in our day. And this really was what it was
about. They wanted to hear something new concerning their doctrine,
concerning just anything. And when Paul comes along speaking
this new doctrine, well, they wanted to hear all about this.
So it says here in verse 22, Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill, and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld
your devotions, or the gods that you worship, I found an altar
with this inscription, to the unknown God. Whom therefore ye
ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Now, in the Athenians
and in the strangers that were there, we behold the natural
thoughts of man if God leaves us to ourselves. Those to whom
Paul preached set themselves up as if man is his own creator. We could get into great detail
about what it was that the Epicureans believed, what it was the Stoics
believed, what it was the Jews and the devout persons in the
synagogue believed, what it was the strangers who came there
believed, but it amounts to this. They set themselves up as their
own creators. And they imagined that they were
the benefactors toward God, that they were benefiting God. And
these were men and women who lived as if everything was made
for their glory, and for their happiness, and for their recreation. We find these same thoughts in
our day, even among many who claim to be worshiping Christ.
This philosophy, this idolatry is alive and well in our day. It's alive and well in our day.
Most are nothing more than would-be gods. Most live and go about
their devotions as if they are benefiting God, gracing God,
giving God something, and doing God a favor by worshiping God. And we're living in a day when
men are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Everybody
today, in our day, has some form of godliness. It would be easier
in our day to walk out on the streets and find somebody with,
you just won't find somebody that does not have some form
of godliness, of some shape, form, or fashion, but they don't
know anything about the power of God. And when Paul begins
here, and I'm not going to go beyond verse 24 tonight, what
he does here is unravel really the thoughts and intents of the
evil, depraved heart of men. philosophy, idolatry of men,
that's natural to men. He just unravels this. And what
he says here in this very beginning strikes at the root of the whole
problem. In verse 24, Paul says, God that
made the world and all things therein. That's the first thing. That's the first problem. Here's
the first thing for you to see tonight. God is the creator of
the world and all things therein. The first words. Turn over to
Genesis. Genesis chapter 1. The first
words are very important. Whether you're writing or whether
you're speaking publicly. And I'm well aware that Genesis
is not the first book written. in our Bible, but by God's providence,
it's the first book in our Bible as we have it today, and it is
the beginning of everything. This is the beginning of everything,
including our salvation. It begins right here. If we miss
this, we're going to miss everything. Genesis 1-1, In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form
and void. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. Those three
verses contain the gospel. You have God creating. You have
the Spirit moving, and you have the light. That's what we need.
That's what we've got to have. God's got to create, the Spirit's
got to move, and we've got to have some light. Turn with me
to Isaiah chapter 40. Preach this message tonight and
get you to look at these scriptures and try to stay out of it and
just read these scriptures to you. I think this will be of
benefit to you. In Isaiah chapter 40 verse 12, Who hath measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span,
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance. Who hath
directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor, hath
taught him? With whom took he counsel? And who instructed him, and taught
him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and
showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.
Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon
is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient
for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as
nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing, and
vanity. Look down at verse 28. Hast thou not known, hast thou
not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There's
no searching of his understanding. And therefore this God, he said
through Jeremiah, thus shall you say unto them, the gods that
have not made the heavens and the earth, they shall perish
from the earth and from under these heavens. Now, The first
thing is, we do not understand by nature and men do not perceive
that God indeed is the creator of the world and all things therein. Here's the second thing. God
is Lord of heaven and earth. Acts 17 verse 24. God that made
the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven
and earth. Now this word Lord means that
He is the Almighty over heaven and earth. He is the Lord. Turn with me to Job chapter 40.
Job chapter 40. Then answered the Lord unto Job.
Job chapter 40 verse 6. Then answered the Lord unto Job
out of the whirlwind and said, Gird up thy loins now like a
man. You muster all your very best strength, every
bit of strength you have. Gird up your loins now like a
man. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou
also disannul my judgment? Can you stop God's judgment?
Wilt thou condemn me that thou mayest be righteous? God's going
to condemn a multitude that he might be righteous. Can you condemn
God that you might be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? Or canst thou thunder with a
voice like Him? Deck thyself now with majesty
and excellency, And array thyself with glory and beauty." Put on
your most majestic, excellent beauty. Deck yourself with glory
and beauty. How does it compare with God's?
With what He's decked Himself with and arrayed Himself with?
Look at verse 11, cast abroad the rage of thy wrath and behold
everyone that is proud and abase him. You got the strength to
do that? Look on everyone that is proud
and bring him low. You have strength to do that?
Power to do that? And tread down the wicked in
their place. Hide them in the dust together
and bind their faces in secret. The Lord says, now you gird up
your strength like a man. Can you do all this? Verse 14,
He says, then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right
hand can save thee. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where now is their God? David said. David said, our God's
in the heavens. He's done whatsoever pleased
Him. To whom will you liken Me?" God
said. Who are you going to equal to Me? Are you going to make
a graven image? Are you going to shape something,
form something, make something, and liken it unto Me? God said.
He's the Creator. He's the Lord of heaven and earth.
He's the power of heaven and earth. Everything is held where
it is right now by His Word. Everything happens right on course
according to His Word. Everything that transpires in
this world Whether you like it or you don't like it is according
to His Word. It's by His power. It's by His
sovereign grace. He's either absolutely sovereign
or He's not God. He's either absolutely all-powerful
over all things or He's not God. And you have to be willfully
ignorant to look into this book and to come to some conclusion
that he's not powerful over all things. You would have to be
willfully ignorant to do that. Close your eyes and put blinders
on not to see in this book that God Almighty is absolutely sovereign. He's the Lord. And I'll tell
you something, the errors of men concerning creation and those
that follow men that are in error concerning God and the power
of God. That manifests to us the necessity
that God, in the beginning, must create a new spirit within a
sinner, that the Holy Spirit must move on these void and formless
sinners, and that God must say, let there be light or a sinner
cannot bow and believe and trust God. And brethren, that is the
height of backwardness, of inordinate affection, that we would look
to these hands, or to these members, or to our minds, or to our imaginations,
or fashion something that looks like and call it a God, or think
that we can somehow bind God and control God. rather than
bow to what his word clearly, emphatically says concerning
him. That tells us clearly, brethren, we got a problem. Man by nature's
got a serious problem that we can't simply bow and trust God
and submit to him. We hear this word read and it
doesn't even cause us to tremble. Oh, I've heard that a hundred
times. You just read the same old scripture I've read over
and over. Well, read it! May God give you grace to read
it and hear it. This is God. I was watching on
the news today and this Navy ship following this vessel from
North Korea that they say might be carrying a nuclear weapon
and they think North Korea might have the power to reach Hawaii
or somewhere or whatever. I'll tell you what, I don't know
how God's going to end it, but He can end it. Something like
that. Just as easily. He's brought down whole nations
with His Word. Moved whole, but destroyed nations
and kingdoms that you never thought would have ever been destroyed.
And one day He said, I'm going to destroy this world. I'm going
to completely destroy it. Wouldn't it be something? Wouldn't
it be amazing grace if we could hear these words of our God and
look into these things that our God says just as if it's going
to be the next hour? If we were in the place where
we had just heard news from the doctors that you've got two days,
or you've got a week, we don't know how long it's going to be.
I tell you, we'd be interested in these things then. Probably
not. Not unless God, in His mercy,
gives us that grace to look into these things. Well, here's the
third thing, and here's where I'm going to spend most of my
time tonight. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Look at verse 24, Acts 17, 24. God that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands." Now, you might look
at this and you might say, you know, the Athenians, that's so
foolish that they actually thought they could build these buildings
and build these altars and that knowing clearly this is the work
of their own hands. and yet think that their God
dwelled in those things? That they could build these things
for their God? That's foolishness. But brethren,
there are many philosophers and idolaters in our day who have
taken the name of Christ Jesus the Lord in vain who feel the
same exact way and think the same exact thing about their
works of righteousness and their devotions and all their religion. The exact same thing. This refers
back to when Solomon was given a charge to build God a temple. Look back there with me at 2
Chronicles 2 and verse 5. 2 Chronicles 2 and verse 5. I want you to see this. This is what Solomon said. He
is the son of David. David wanted to build him a house,
but God said no. And he said, your son Solomon
is going to build me a house. And here is what Solomon said.
2 Chronicles 2 verse 5, And the house which I build is great,
for great is our God above all gods. But who is able to build
him a house? Seeing the heaven and heaven
of heavens cannot contain Him. Who am I then that I should build
Him a house save only to burn sacrifice before Him? That's
the only reason. And Solomon knew that's the only
reason he was building this house was to go in and offer sacrifices
in praise unto God. That was the only reason. But
he asked a good question. Who's able to build him a house?
Who's able to build him a temple? You know who's able? God that
made the world and all things therein. The Lord of heaven and
earth. There is but One who builds the
temple of God. There is only One who builds
a house wherein God dwells. And that's the Son of David. That's our Solomon. Our King,
Christ Jesus the Lord. He's the One that builds it.
Now, we just read. Turn with me to Luke chapter
1. Luke chapter 1. We just read that in the beginning
The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God
said, Let there be light, and there was light. Look at Luke
chapter 1 verse 35. Luke chapter 1 verse 35. And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee. This is Mary the virgin. And the Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God." The Spirit moved. And God said, let
there be light. And there was a body formed,
prepared, and there His Son entered in. Look over at Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10. Why was it? Why was it? Hebrews 10, verse 4. In burnt offerings and sacrifice
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Sorry, verse 5. Wherefore, when
He cometh into the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, He saith,
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared
Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure, Those things never could take
away sin. The works of men's hands never could take away sin. The blood of bulls and goats
couldn't take away sin. An earthly high priest couldn't
take away sin. All he did was foreshadow an
atonement. God sent forth someone to propitiate. He sent forth someone to make
satisfaction. And He said, Then said I, Lo,
I come in the volume of the book, it's written of me, to do thy
will, O God. Look over at John chapter 2 with
me. John chapter 2. There were some that our Lord
came to in the temple. This was that second temple.
After Solomon's temple had been torn down, They had another one
in the days after Cyrus came in and conquered Babylon. The
Lord raised up Haggai and Zerubbabel and they built this second temple. The Lord had gone into this temple.
and speaking and casting out the merchandisers out of the
temple. Verse 18, Then answered the Jews
and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing
that thou doest these things? They are asking him, By what
authority do you do these things? Where do you get the power and
the authority to do these things? Show us some sign. You know what struck me when
I read this today? What they're saying is, we built
this house. Now who are you coming along
talking about your works? We don't know you. And one day
they're going to come to God and they're going to say, well
what about the works that we've done? And He's going to say,
who are you to try to come to this house? I don't know you.
I don't know you. But look what the Lord said.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty
and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear
it up in three days? It took us forty-six years to
build this temple. Are you going to build this temple in three
days? But he spake of the temple of his body. For Christ our Lord,
brethren. Look over Colossians 2. Where
what what's the temple that our lord dwells in look over colossians
chapter 2 Beware lest any man spoil you
verse 8 through philosophy in vain deceit after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
That was the problem they had at Athens. That was the problem
men have today. That's the problem men have all
over this world. That's the problem that's been
happening ever since the fall in the garden. Philosophy in
vain deceit. You know what vain deceit is?
You know what being deceitful is? It's vain deceit. vain deceit, because it can't
deceive those whom God will save. Now look, for in Him, in Christ,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. You going
to build a house for God to dwell in? He don't dwell in temples
made with hands. But in this one right here, over
whom the Holy Spirit shadowed Mary, and this one was formed
in her womb, He said, the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit dwelleth
in the man, Christ Jesus. And ye are complete in him which
is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, and putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with
him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised
him from the dead. You being dead in your sins and
the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with
him having forgiven you all trespasses He's blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us Which was contrary to us and
took it out of the way nailing it to his cross. He spoiled principalities
and powers He made a show of them openly triumphing over them
in it. I No man can judge you, therefore,
in these things. And when He died, brethren, this
One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells, who came to where
we are and gave His life a ransom, who laid down His life, when
He died, when He said, destroy this temple, and they hung that
temple on a cross and they cried out, crucify Him, crucify Him,
crucify Him. And that temple went into the
grave. In three days that temple came out. And He says, In Hebrews
9.24, Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands
either, which are the figures of the true, but He's entered
into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us.
Christ the Lord went in, and that high priest went in with
the blood of a bull or a goat, and He sprinkled that blood on
the mercy seat in the holiest of holies. Christ just went in. He's the high priest and His
presence, Him appearing Himself in the presence of God for us
is satisfaction with God. He is the atonement. He is the
propitiation. He is our completion. He is the
fullness of the Godhead. He is everything God requires,
righteousness and holiness and wisdom. That's what He is. Now
he came to build a house for God. He came to build a temple
wherein God would dwell. God dwelled in him and he's going
to dwell in somebody. He's going to build the temple
of God. Let's see how he does that. Look at 2 Corinthians 4,
verse 3. Now, we read, In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without
form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and
the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God
said, Let there be light, and there was light. And in 2 Corinthians
4, 3, Paul said this, If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost. in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. Because God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, God, who in the beginning said,
let there be light. God who in the beginning, the
Spirit that moved upon that void and formless dark chasm called
the world. He said He's moved upon us and
God has commanded the light to shine out of darkness and He
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2.4, Peter says, be looking
at Ephesians 2 with me. And 1 Peter 2.4, look there with me too. 1 Peter
2.4, He shined, He moved, the Spirit moved upon, moves upon
a sinner. And He says, let there be light.
And there's light. Because He's the Creator. He's
the Lord of heaven and earth. He dwells not in temples made
with hands. But look here in 1 Peter chapter
2 and verse 4. And He commanded the light to
shine out of darkness, and He shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And what was the result? 1 Peter
2.4. To whom coming? We started coming to Christ,
we've been coming to Christ, and we shall keep coming to Christ.
And from then on, from the moment He said, let there be life, from
the moment He created, that's what happened. To whom coming
as unto a living stone, a foundation, a chief cornerstone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God, precious. And ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood. He's using that old temple, that
temple that Solomon built, and the metaphors of that temple
to describe the temple that Christ is building. Lively stone, living
stones, on Christ the solid rock, on Christ the foundation, on
Christ the chief cornerstone, built up living stone, made kings
and priests unto God, a holy priesthood. To do what? Look there, verse 5, to offer
up spiritual sacrifices. acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious." That's Christ. He's that chief cornerstone that's
been laid. He's the elect of God. He's precious. And he that believeth on Him
shall not be confounded. He won't be ashamed. Now look
at Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, verse 21. in whom all the building..."
In Christ. Do you see where this is? It's
in Christ. "...in whom all the building..."
Let's go back to 20. You're built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner, the chief cornerstone, in whom, in Christ, all the building,
these living stones, are fitly framed together, and they groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord. Now get that. This temple is
in Christ the Lord. This temple is in Christ Jesus
the Lord. That's where this temple is.
These living stones grew up into Him. In whom also, in Christ
ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through
the Spirit. That makes some sense of what
he said when he said, A little while, and the world seeth me
no more, but ye see me, because I live. Ye shall live also, and
at that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye are
in me, and I in you. Look at Ephesians 2.21 again.
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto
an holy temple in the Lord. This temple is in Christ. in
whom ye also are built together for the habitation of God through
the Spirit." He said, in that day you'll know I'm in the Father,
and you're in Me, and I'm in you. This is that temple that
He built. This is that... He's the temple
wherein the fullness of the Godhead dwells. Do you realize there
is a man seated in glory? There's a man seated in glory.
A glorified flesh seated in glory. And God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit dwells in Him. And He's omnipresent. And He dwells in His people through
the Spirit. And His people are in Him. It's called oneness. It's called
a holy temple. a holy priesthood. It's called
being one with God, being reconciled unto God, being made one with
Him. That's what Christ did. Now let
me ask you something. Do you believe God? There's more to believe in God
than just believing there is a God. Do you believe God created
the world in all things therein? Do you believe that this God
is Lord, that He is the sovereign, absolute power over all things? Everything that comes to pass
is in His hands. Do you believe that there is
a man, Christ Jesus, who is the Son of God, in whom all the fullness
of the Godhead dwells, and that you're complete in Him? Do you believe that this One
truly dwells in you? Here's the application. Look
at 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians chapter
6 and verse 14. And this is what God says, this
is what God does in the heart of a sinner when He creates life. When He says, let there be light
and He shines and we see the glory of God in the face of Christ
Jesus. He really says this in our heart
and it's made effectual in our heart because we do exactly what
this is saying. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with
darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God. God hath said I will dwell in
them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be
my people Wherefore come out from among them and be you separate
saith the Lord and touch not the unclean and I will receive
you and will be a father unto you and you shall be my sons
and daughters saith the Lord Almighty I Now, when He says,
let there be light, and He enters in, and He takes up dominion,
and He speaks this word effectually in the heart of a sinner, and
He takes up His residence in a sinner, you know what that
sinner does? That sinner comes out from among them. That sinner
is separate. That sinner is separated. He's
sanctified. He's removed. He's taken out
from among. He's saved out of the midst of
a people. And he is brought out to worship
God and commune with God because he's the temple of the living
God. What a word it is. Your life
is hid with Christ in God. And you're the temple of the
living God. Whenever this oneness is brought
home to us, I tell you what it'll do. Look at Psalm 139. Psalm
139. This is what David said. Psalm 139, verse 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from
thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell or the
grave, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light
about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and
the light are both alike to thee, for thou hast possessed my reins.
Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee, for
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works,
and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid
from thee when I was made in secret, curiously wrought in
the lowest parts of the earth, in my mother's wombs, where he's
talking about. Thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet They didn't even
exist. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God. How great is the sum of them. That's where God brings a sinner.
He brings him to see, I know where God dwells. I know where
He dwells. He dwells in me, and I dwell
in Him, and wherever I go, there He is. He's with me wherever
I am, and He upholds me, and He keeps me, and He guides me,
and He directs me, and He carries me, and He has since I was curiously
wrought in my mother's womb. When He began fashioning my members
from then, and in continuance fashioned them, up until the
day He revealed that He's my creator. that He's my Lord, that
He dwells in temples not made with hand. Now let me ask you
this question. Is it really that big a deal
for you to understand that God created the heaven and the earth?
Is it really that big a deal for you to believe that He really
has created all things? Is it that big a deal for you
to truly believe that If you're going to be saved, if you're
going to know God, if you're going to trust God, it's going
to be because God has sought you out and has created life
in you and has said, let there be light so that you behold Christ
the light. Is it really that big a deal?
It's a very big deal. You know why? If any man be in
Christ, he's a new creation. That's what the word means. He's
a new creation. God has said, In the beginning,
God has said, let there be light. And He's made a new creation
for every person that's born of His Spirit. And old things
are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Paul said, God who made the world
and all things. The all things are the All His
people are made new in Him. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything nor uncircumcision. It doesn't matter if you have
the law or you don't have the law. It doesn't matter if you've
been subject to the law of Moses or haven't been subject to the
law of Moses. Here's what matters. A new creation. A new creature. God saying, let there be light
and creating. all things, giving you all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus, making you a new creature at creation.
That's what matters. So you see, it's not just a big
deal, it's a matter of life and death. This is God. And this struck the very root
of those that were in Athens. Because if a man can somehow
put out of his mind and ignore all the evidence that God has
given, we're going to see later, so much so that a man is without
excuse for not believing God. If a man can just put out of
his mind that God created everything, and that somehow man has been
his own creator, and is in charge of his destiny, of his gods,
and of what happens in the end now, he can do away with that
beginning thing that must happen before any sinner can know the
true and living God. And that beginning thing is,
in the beginning, God has got to make you a new creature. He's got to make you a new creation. or you can't know God. Because
He gave that work to His Son. And He dwells in His Son. And
His Son will receive all the glory for building the house. Who can build Him a house? None
but God. None but God. And in that day,
when we're brought into His presence in glory, Those that have been
brought to see Him in this life are going to praise Him and praise
Him and praise Him that it's so. And those that refuse to
bow to Him, their foolish mind was darkened because they turned
away. They turned and rejected God. They're going to praise Him too.
They're going to bow and say, it's just how you said it was.
It's just how you said it was. I pray God will make it a matter
of life to you. He creates His holy temple. The
Son of God, Christ Jesus, the Son of David, through His one
offering, builds God's temple. And God's people are built together
in habitation of God through the Spirit. That's the temple
wherein He dwells. Amen.

The Temple of the Sovereign God

What does the Bible say about God being the Creator?

Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ is the temple of God?

What does it mean that believers are the temple of God?

Why is it important for Christians to believe God is sovereign?

Sermon Transcript

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The Temple of the Sovereign God

What does the Bible say about God being the Creator?

Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ is the temple of God?

What does it mean that believers are the temple of God?

Why is it important for Christians to believe God is sovereign?

Sermon Transcript

About Clay Curtis

Comments

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