… you are God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:9 (NKJV)
The Builder
Matthew 16:16 (NKJV) 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Characteristics of this Building
1 Peter 2:5 (NKJV) 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1.Spiritual house
2.Holy priesthood,
3.Spiritual sacrifices
…Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1. Spiritual House
a) House is the place where the family resides. House = Family
b)Spiritual
“The ‘wind’ of God and man is the ‘breath’, but from a Hebraic perspective, the breath is not just the exchange of air in the lungs, it is the person’s driving force, which directs and leads him on his journey through life”. (The Living Words, vol.1 – Jeff A. Benner)
This Family has a Father.
God is the Father of the House.
This special Family is led by the Father’s path, direction, will and journey of life.
… The Church is the Spiritual House, that is, the people led by God’s Will who relate to each other as family members do.
2. Holy Priesthood
- Priests were mediators.
- Their life was dedicated to God
- We, as a Holy Priesthood are people dedicated to God ready to lead others to the Lord.
3. To offer Spiritual Sacrifices
- Jesus is God’s Sacrifice
- We offer sacrifices in our journey as God’s Family.
- Priests offered gifts and sacrifices: “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices”. Hebrews 8:3 (NKJV)
Sacrifices we offer today as priests:
a. Our Bodies
Romans 12:1 (NLT) 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Purity/ Work/ Services/ Mission / Community
b. Our Words
Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.
4. Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ
1. The Tabernacle was built by Moses’ leadership
Acts 7:44 (NKJV) 44 "Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
2. The Temple was build by Salomon’s leadership
Acts 7:47 (NKJV) 47 But Solomon built Him a house.
3. Jesus builds His Church Himself
Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) … I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
God's Church
Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
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