Grace Bible Church
Pastor/Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Under the first mention principle found in the word of God, starting in the Old Testament, the presence of God and the people of God were manifested by different items or objects as it were.
There was the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle and ultimately the temple which were considered the places where the holiness of God, His Spirit and His presence dwelled most strongly.
There was the altar for the burnt offerings, the table of Shewbread, the laver, the lampstand, the altar of incense, the ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat.
Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory of Israel, lived in the Holy of holies, Exo 25:21‑22; Lev 26:11‑12; Psa 91:1; Heb 9:5.
a. The cloud over the tabernacle and sometimes in the tabernacle. b. Then the Shekinah Glory appeared as a bright light between the cherubs over the mercy seat in the Holy of holies.
Just like the deity of Christ appeared in Old Testament where He could not be seen but the items that talked about could be seen, the same is true today in the body of Christ which is called His temple.
As the items in the temple and the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night represented the invisible manifestation of the presence of God so do we as believers in the church do the same today as a temple of God.
What made the items in the Temple and the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night Holy? It was the presence of God the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ the Shekinah glory!
What makes the body of Christ, the Royal family, the church which is also called the Temple of God Holy? It is the presence of God the Holy Spirit indwelling our physical body and the fact that Jesus Christ, the Shekinah glory, is not living in us!
Just like the presence of God made the items in the Old Testament considered to be holy, the presence of God also makes the church, His temple holy as well.
He was God in flesh but now His body is God in the flesh and is called His temple where He indwells.
We see this fully at Pentecost when Jesus promised His disciples that His own spirit, His peace, His presence would now be with Him.
Through Him manifesting Himself through the body of Christ which is His Temple of manifestation.
1TH 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
We are all vessels in the Temple of God or believers in the body of Christ which is His church.
This is why some of the best metaphors we have for this incredible reality is that we as a corporate body the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1Co 3:16).
Not only is your physical body a temple of God the Holy Spirit but the spiritual body, known as the Royal family, the church of Jesus Christ, the body of Christ is also a temple.
In drinking the wine we participate in and share a fellowship or communion in the blood of Christ (the Messiah).
The bread which we break means that in eating it we participate in and share a fellowship a communion in the body of Christ.
COL 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first‑born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
MAT 25:45 "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."
ACT 9:3-4, And it came about that as he journeyed, he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
ACT 9:5 And Paul said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
It couldn't have been Jesus because He was in heaven seated at the right hand of God.
To persecute the Lord's people is to persecute the Lord, or the Lord's temple where He indwells corporately.
That is your physical body but also a reference to the spiritual body that you have been called to in 1Pe 5:2, where you are to glorify God with your Time, Talent, and Treasure and operating in your Spiritual Gift.
2CO 6:16 For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
The temple is called "we" not "you" referring to the church that you are a part of.
It is usual to regard these verses as referring to the individual Christian but the Epistle is addressed "unto the Church of God which is at Corinth,"
The Church, the body of Christ, is referred to as a temple.
1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you [Second person plural = believers] are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you [second person plural = ya'll] ?
1Co 3:17 If any man destroys the temple of God that is the church of God, --- God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you [Second person plural = you all] are.
That is not discerning the value of the impeccability of our Lord's physical body as well as His Church, the spiritual body of Christ or the Temple of God.
Not discerning the blood of the Lord or His spiritual death and His finished work on the cross where He died for our sins and also for those in the Temple or His Church.
2CO 5:16 Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh or according to human viewpoint but rather divine viewpoint;
EPH 4:32 And be kind to one another, tender‑hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
1Co 3:17 God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
They did not or do not discern the Lord's spiritual body = His Temple or His Church.
Do you operate with the Temple of God with your spiritual gift for in ROM 12:6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly:
1TI 4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you.
1PE 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Notice the three main words I mentioned, = exercise, neglect, serve.
1. The first purpose of the Lord's table is unity among believers.
2. The purpose of the bread which is to bring to your memory the uniqueness of the "person" of Christ.
3. The purpose of the cup which refers to the uniqueness of the "work" of Christ.
4. The communion table is designed so that our thinking will orient to grace.
5. The fifth purpose for celebrating the Lord's table is to announce and proclaim His death.
6. The sixth purpose for celebrating the Lord's table that the Lord's table or the eucharist is for the church, the body of Christ, only.
7. The seventh purpose for celebrating the Lord's table is restoration to fellowship through rebound and recovery if necessary.
REV 21:3 "I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle or the Temple of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,"
REV 21:22 "And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple." The balance of The
Divine Perspective on Christian Fellowship.
Never assume that loving God the Father, loving God the Son under occupation with Christ, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit be set aside for a lot of nonsense called "Christian fellowship" or social life with Christians?
Christian fellowship is nice, but it is not the Christian way of life.
Learn to distinguish between fellowship with God and so-called Christian fellowship, which is nothing more than having social life with Christians.
The reason there are so many problems and sins among Christians is simply because of wrong priorities.
You cannot fulfill the #1 priority of fellowship with God simply by resolving to make God #1; it comes through the daily perception of Bible doctrine.
Spiritual growth and the execution of the PPOG and subsequent glorification of God only occurs through perception of doctrine, not through Christian fellowship.
If you forsake assembling yourself together with the people or the Temple of God you are living in sin.
The present active participle of the Greek verb PARAKALEO which means to be encouraged - this is a participle used as a noun in the Greek, and so it should be translated "encouragement."
Telic participle - which indicates the purpose of the action of "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together " = to gather together to receive encouragement not from fellowship with one another but from the communication of Bible doctrine.
What is encouragement in the assembly, the church, the temple, the body of Christ? It is perception of Bible doctrine, not Christian fellowship.
Without that you will never have fellowship with invisible God.
1PE 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
In Heb 10:25 Encouragement comes from Bible doctrine, not from Christian fellowship.
Heb 10:25 is talking about learning Bible doctrine in the company of other believers not assembling together just for Christian fellowship.
The purpose of assembly worship is the function of post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation, and through the momentum from metabolized doctrine.
They are isolated because of Geographic's, handicaps, illness, lack of transportation or many other reasons.
1CO 5:3 For I, on my part, though I am absent from you in my body I am present with you in spirit,
1CO 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
God always supplies a right pastor with doctrine for positive believers.
JER 3:15 "I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.
JER 23:4 "I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord."
For some positive believers, doctrine is provided through face-to-face teaching in a local church. For others, doctrine is communicated through the internet, tapes, audio, video, books, radio, etc.
(1) Through the local church under face-to-face teaching.
Under the principle of supply and demand, the demand of positive volition is for accurate Bible teaching regardless of the geographical location.
Because of his fellowship with the Trinity through Bible doctrine, the believer in spiritual adulthood understands that
Christian fellowship (social life, interaction with Christians) is not the basis for fulfilling the PPOG.
Christian fellowship or social life with other believers at best is a result of taking in doctrine, whether you assemble with other believers or get it on your own in isolation.
Christian fellowship is not possible for isolated believers due to their geographical location, military service, illness, handicaps, or a job that conflicts with Bible class time.
Being deprived of Christian fellowship may be just the blessing they need to get a good start in doctrine before they come into contact with other believers.
Christian fellowship is nice to have if there is no legalism involved, but Christian fellowship cannot advance the believer in God's plan, purpose, or will for his life.
1. Rebound And Recovery
2.The Filling of the Spirit
3. The Faith Rest Life
4.Grace Orientation
5. Doctrinal Orientation
6. A Personal Sense of Destiny
7. Personal Love for God The Father
8. Impersonal, Unconditional
9.Love for All Mankind .
Contentment and Perfect Happiness With God 10. The Ultimate Occupation with The Lord Jesus Christ
JOH 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
“Unity is certainly more noticeable by its absence than by its presence.”
Psalm 133 sets forth the standard, the goal, the requirement, the necessity which is to dwell together in unity.
To truly love a person in the Lord is to love him as the Lord loves him—genuinely and sacrificially.