King
David turned to the assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has
chosen as Israel’s next king, is still young and inexperienced. The work
ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is for God
himself! Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough … The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy. (1 Chronicles 29)
Can this passage from the Old Testament of the Bible be justified to initiate and sustain a church building venture today?
If
it can, it does so because we assume constructing buildings for God is
his intention. And if it is, then we must pursue this goal no matter
what. The outcome is already decided.
In
addition, if constructing buildings for God is his desire, then let us
look at the examples when Jesus sought to do so and asked his disciples
to likewise do so. When you do, search the New Testament using words
like temple, house, and church.
How
did you go? What is the context that these structures are referred
to? Are they ever referred to in the sense churches today use them
(i.e. places to worship, do community, serve, etc)? And if they are,
were they pre-existing structures or ones Jesus and his disciples sought
to build or asked others to build?
- When Jesus said he would destroy the Temple in Jerusalem and rebuilt it in three days what was he referring to? (John 2:13-22)
- Where is God’s Spirit said to dwell? (e.g. 1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19; 1Co 12; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2)
- Where does God, the Father want to live? (John15)
Is
God for or against us erecting church buildings? Read Haggai 1:1-11
and Luke 9:28-31. But for the moment that is not the point. The point
is how we define the church: by its structures and activities or its
people and its character. Because depending which we choose, will
determine how we see God and how he interact with the world and the
people in it.
