Building The House of God

Mobile Conference November 10, 2013

by Mike Vinson

Christ told us:

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

How, and by whom does Christ build His church? This is who Christ uses to build His church:

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

So by Christ’s own words you and I are “Jesus of Nazareth” who is persecuted and “hated of all men”.
This is what we are told about the materials with which Christ is “buil[ ing His] church… the house of God”:

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Later in the same epistle Peter tells us that God’s judgment of mankind has already begun at His own house:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Paul tells us we are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells within us:

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So we are the Christ, the “Jesus of Nazareth”, the temple and house of God, and not only are we, as “Jesus of Nazareth”, to build that church, that temple, but we are to keep it clean and sanctified for the indwelling of the spirit of God.
How do we cleanse God’s house? I really helps to use the right building materials. Let’s contrast the build materials of Babel, with the building materials of the house of God.
This is what we are told was the material used in the construction of the tower of Babel:

Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

“They had brick for stone”. We make our own bricks to build Babel, and we have “slime” for mortar”, and we think we are getting closer to heaven because we believe that our own efforts can build the house of God. But such is not the case. This is what God thinks of our efforts to please Him and to build Him a house:

1Ki 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

Only God can make stones, and we are told “there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” just to let us know that Christ really is the one who is building His church, and it is not us.

The tabernacle of Moses

Let’s take the time to see how the holy spirit reveals to us the original tabernacle of Moses was built.

Exo 35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

So “the work… His service… and… the holy garments” are all the result of the efforts of “every one whom His spirit made willing“. In other words:

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

What we must acknowledge is that our will is not our own but God’s, and our deeds are not our own but God’s. Here is this verse with the preceding verse:

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Our work, our fear and our trembling are one and all “God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”.
Who is building this tabernacle? It is “every one whom His spirit made willing”. What did they bring to build this first house of God? “They brought the Lord’s offering… for all His service and for the holy garments”.
It was “the Lord’s offering”. So the offerings for the building of the house of God are offered by “every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom His spirit made willing… they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the of the tabernacle…”
Who are these people whose hearts stirred them up and whom His spirit made willing?

Exo 35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exo 35:26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.

When we see ourselves as the espoused virgin bride of Christ, these verses come alive to men and women:

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

God uses only those whose hearts He stirs up in wisdom to contribute to the construction of His house.
Continuing with those God uses to contribute to the construction of His tabernacle:

Exo 35:27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

You and I live by these words to if we are granted to rule the nations within first, and the nations of this world later:

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

“Now are we the sons of God”, and as such ‘now are we rulers’ if Christ is upon the throne of our hearts and minds. If He was a king and a ruler then we are too. This is what we are told of those who are God’s ‘Israel’:

Num 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Gal 6:15 Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16 Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GB)
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

God is using rulers to build his tabernacle and His rulers bring “precious stones… to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate”, which is what we are admonished to bring in the New Testament also:

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

This is not literal gold silver, precious stones”, nor is it literal “wood, hay [ or] stubble. God Himself works in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” and it is His good pleasure that we build His church upon the Rock He Himself is, as both the truth, and as His own gold and silver, and precious stones.

1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

There is more that is used to tells us what is needed to build and maintain the house of God:

Exo 35:28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
Exo 35:29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Moses is the type of Israel’s Savior to whom we all bring our contributions toward the construction and maintenance of God’s house. The spice and oil for the light and the anointing old and for sweet incense which we bring to our Lord for use in the house of God, are all types of the spirit of God which is to be understood as His Words, and our obedience to our Lord and His spiritual words.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Christ is the Rock on which He is building His house, He in those who are His virgin bride, He in us, is the wise hearted women who spin with their hands the blue, purple, and scarlet coverings and the fine linen to make the robes of God’s priests, and He, in His elect, is the rulers who bring the gold, silver, and precious stones for the ephod and the breastplate, to be worn by Christ and His Christ. He, as His Word, is also the spice and oil for the light and anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
Now He also wants us to know that He is a body with many members, who need each other to do the work of His house.

Exo 35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
Exo 35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exo 35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Exo 35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Bazaleel, and Aholiab, have been gifted “with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship”. They are able workers in gold, in silver, and in brass. They are gifted in cutting precious stones and in carving wood, He has put in their heart to teach others.
This is the same message we are given in the New Testament doctrine of Christ:

1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1Co 12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The point being made throughout scripture is that God is working all things after the counsel of His own will, and He is doing it all through Christ and His Christ. His Christ is called His body, and we are told that His body has many members, who all realize their need one for the other:

1Co 12:8 For to one, the word of wisdom is given through the Spirit, and to another, the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
1Co 12:9 to a different man, faith by the same Spirit, and to another, gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
1Co 12:10 and to another, workings of miracles, and to another, prophecy, and to another, discerning of spirits, and to a different man, kinds of tongues, and to another, the interpretation of tongues.
1Co 12:11 But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each man individually as it wills.
1Co 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. (ACV)

Just as the spirit of God worked in the hearts of His people to give to the construction and maintenance of His house, and just as the spirit of God was in all those who were used to construct that house of God, and to teach others to do build that house, so is the construction, maintenance, and teaching in His true house. It is God Himself, through His spirit which He has given to Christ and which Christ has given to His Christ, who has built and is maintaining His house to this very day:

1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1Co 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
1Co 12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
1Co 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1Co 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
1Co 12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

Applying the principle that “the dream is one” we know that the body of Christ, and the house of God are both one and the same thing, and the message of 1Co 12 is the same at this verse of scripture:

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The function of the house of God

Here is the function of this house in ancient Israel, and this is still the function of the house of God in the present Israel of God:

2Ch 6:5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
2Ch 6:6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
2Ch 6:10 The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

In being used to build the house of God, Solomon is a type of Christ, and in that capacity this is what Christ did and what He is yet doing:

2Ch 6:11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.
2Ch 6:12 And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
2Ch 6:13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,

A cubit Isa 18 inches or one and a half feet. This scaffold then was seven and a half feet square (2.286 meters) and four and a half feet tall (1.3716 meters), and Solomon had it placed in the middle of the court of the temple.

2Ch 6:14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
2Ch 6:15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
2Ch 6:16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

“There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel” is just the Old Testament way of saying:

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
2Ch 6:17 Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
2Ch 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

“Heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain [ God]” nevertheless this is how God communicates to us His relationship with us:

Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

God’s eyes are always upon His own house.

2Ch 6:19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
2Ch 6:20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.

God’s house and the body of Christ pray for each other and forgive one another.

2Ch 6:21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
2Ch 6:22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

Judgment begins at the house of God:

2Ch 6:23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
2Ch 6:24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
2Ch 6:25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

Repentance and forgiveness is the reinstitution of the “deadly wound”, the “dy[ ing] daily” of the beast within, and it is simultaneously the birth and growth of the new man, and it is all accomplished in “the house of God”.

Joh 3:30 He [ Christ in us] must increase, but I [ the beast within us] must decrease.
2Ch 6:26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
2Ch 6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
2Ch 6:28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:

“If there be 1) dearth in the land, if there be 2) pestilence, if there be 3) blasting, or 4) mildew, 5) locusts, or 6) caterpillars; 7) if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land”. Here we have seven specific curses or plagues which “proceed out of the mouth of God” against the sins of His own house, and we have the same number of plagues poured out upon every man who will enter into the temple of God in the revelation of Jesus Christ:

2Ch 6:29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
2Ch 6:30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)

For God to know the hearts of men he has to be in charge of those hearts. We are told that if Christ dwells within us then we are His espoused bride. We are also told that God dwells both in heaven and in us. What that means is that heaven is within us because we are called the heavenly Jerusalem, which is also called the bride of Christ.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
2Ch 6:31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
2Ch 6:32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
2Ch 6:33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

We are all first strangers before we come to be of the household of God. We all come to the house of God to get to know Him. It is in His house that we dwell and He in us as His house:

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

That sounds impossible to the natural man, but it is the voice of the True Shepherd to the man of the spirit.

2Ch 6:34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
2Ch 6:35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

We have just seen in Rev 21:2 that we are in symbols, both the house of God and we are the city of God.

2Ch 6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
2Ch 6:37 Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
2Ch 6:38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
2Ch 6:39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.

Here is what all of this means:

Mat 18:18 “I tell you the truth. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God’s judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness.
Mat 18:19 “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something, then you can pray for it. And the thing you ask for will be done for you by my Father in heaven. [ ERV]

Here is these same verses in the Analytical Literal Translation:

Mat 18:18 “Positively, I say to you, whatever [ things] you bind on the earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever [ things] you loose on the earth will have been loosed in heaven.

God prepares our hearts before He makes it so on the earth.

2Ch 6:40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place.
2Ch 6:41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
2Ch 6:42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

Verse 42 summarizes who is the subject of this whole chapter of 2h 6. It is “thine anointed”, which is just another way of saying ‘Thy Christ’, which, remember, is who Christ Himself tells us we are:

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Those who are building God’s tabernacle will be “Hated of all men”, just as was Christ:

Luk 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luk 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

It is we who are all first blasphemers of the name of God and His ways:

Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

As the book of Job demonstrates, “no man” is granted the spirit of repentance “till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled”.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

We, as the “spiritual house” of God, are His “house of prayer”:

Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

“[ Our] burnt offerings and our sacrifices” are all given to our Lord within before we are given to become a “house of prayer for all people”.
This verse automatically eliminates each of us as long as we are still clinging to the Babylonian doctrine of an eternal hell for most people, but it is a promise of great hope to those who are given to become that “house of prayer”.