Acts 17:24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands."
David was the guy that had the grand idea of building God a house. God didn't want a house; He preferred tents. Tents are mobile; you can pack them up and go. God is always moving, so a tent just suited Him. He loved David's heart, so He allowed David to have his way. That particular temple, Solomon's temple, was attacked and destroyed, rebuilt and then trashed for hundreds of years. Today the site is still a topic of dispute.
Jesus began the process of introducing the idea that God should not be housed in a building. The religious leaders of the day were incensed that this man of Galilee had the audacity to disrespect hundreds of years of tradition. One of their accusations were influential in his crucifixion: Mark 14:58 "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.' " Jesus was frustrated that their traditions and structure had entirely obliterated the original intent of God. Mark 7:6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written : 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 7 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' 8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."
Fast forward to the present, and here we are in the same place. The building is revered, and the precepts of men are elevated as doctrine. Why do we like buildings so much? Well, buildings are awesome. They provide safety, security, stability, strength, shelter.They can be beautiful. You can design them into an image of what you think God is like. Look at each era and decade, and you can get insight into the builder. Hmmm. I wonder if that's a problem...
The larger problem of the building is that it becomes an idea, a structure in the minds of a culture. When the Church is a structure in the minds of a culture, it becomes easy for the culture to make broad-based generalizations approving or disapproving of the 'Church'. And nobody is there to pick up the slack. How can a building assume responsibility? A building is unmovable. A structure is a product of design, intended to remain true to the design.
God moves. His favorite way of moving is through His children. Jesus' purpose was to tear down the old structure, and rebuild a vibrant, moving, living being. A wife. The Church. It didn't take too long after His death and resurrection that the Church began confining herself with structure yet again. Doctrine is a two part entity; revelation from God combined with human interpretation. What happens when God wants to take His Church into a new area of growth? A new place of maturity? What happens to doctrine? According to the Paul and the New Testament church, the Holy Spirit led through prophecy. Prophecy, conjoined with the other gifts, leads the Church into new phases of intimacy with Jesus and thereby affects outreach. Unfortunately the Cessationist doctrine circumvents prophecy. If all gifts have ceased, then leadership is governed only by Scripture and doctrine, but without the full influence of the Holy Spirit. Until the Lord has open individuals and groups ready to be open to truth, the Church remains fettered. By herself.
The biggest earmark of the Church is supposed to be her love. John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." We don't, do we? We criticize and backbite, we criticize those that criticize. We are not welcoming, we cannot resist casting the first stone. That's our modus operandi. It is our Structure; the Building we reside in. It is what the world sees when they look at us.
The Church does not need to leave the Building, she needs to stop being a Building. We are a beautiful, moving, vibrant Bride. We are responsible for ourselves, our words and our relationships with each other and with the world. It's time to embrace our identity and mature, and stop kicking the immature in the groin. They are immature because they haven't been fathered. They must begin as servants and become Sons. Sonship is positional, not a gender. Isn't that cool? We are sons and a Bride. ;)
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