1Corinthians 12:13

"For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."

The Holy Spirit bind us to Christ just in the same way as it binds the Father and the Son together in the trinity.  It is through the spirit that we can be in Christ just as he is in the Father and the Father in Him (Jn 17:21).  Because of this, we are no longer independent beings but interdependent, our identities being grounded in the Holy Trinity and in the Church, the Body of Christ.

The Church is the product of Jesus's work and is a continuation of his present ministry through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  We belong to Christ and are bought with his blood (Col 1:16-20).  Christ is the first born of the Church, its head, and priestly mediator who enables peace and fellowship with God through reconciliation.

It is inseparably linked to the Holy Spirit which binds us and animates us.   The Church is not a club, but an image of the inter-relatedness of the Trinity.  It is an eschatological community but not Christ's ultimate goal and is distinct from the kingdom of God.  The Church's mission is to bear witness and be a witness to Christ in the present day.  We are the new Temple where God dwells; a living, breathing, and moving temple that goes to the people instead of having them come to it.

Mark 11:12

This is what happened on Monday, the second day of Holy week.


"Is it not written: "My house will be called a 'house of prayer for all nations?'"  But you have made it 'a den of robbers'"


Jeremiah 7:9-11

“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!' declares the LORD."

Isaiah 56:6-7

"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him,
to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.”

Jesus makes it clear the stark contrast between a true believer and a pretender, those who truly love God and go to church and those who go to church so that they will be loved by God, between true and false religion. We, who bear the name of Christ, are his house.  Have you been washed or are you impure?

Psalms 46:4-5

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day."


In verse 4 we see a happy river flowing through the city of God in contrast to the raging waters of verses 2 and 3.  We see that despite what chaos may be going on outside, those in God's kingdom experience peace.  David, who wrote the psalm, would have also understood rivers to be places of abundance and provision.  Imagine the stark contrast between the desert he and his men were fleeing through with the lush green foliage around the riverbanks and the fresh water for his men to drink.  Not only is God's kingdom peaceful, but it is also abundant and full of life.  In short, it is a paradise, an oasis in the midst of chaos.

It is this way because the Most High lives there and because He lives there, it will not fall.  The phrase "God will help her at the break of day" can also be translated "will help her see the dawn", that is He will see her through the night safely.  Traditionally, the place where God dwells is the Temple.

But the best part is this:  You are the temple or "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1 Cor 6:19)  With God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, we have inner strength and peace when the world around us crumbles.

1 Samuel 6:20

"Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?"

    There is no denying that the Lord's presence does powerful things. Those who even dare to approach him boldly or carelessly perish in his presence. To those in Beth Shemesh, 50,070 men perished just from looking into the ark where the Lord's presence dwelled! It is no wonder why they uttered this question in 1 Samuel 6, for indeed who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?

    To what then can we speak of the Lord's presence with us today? The Lord dwells within His temple not built by human hands but by His own. His presence is made known to all those who call upon Him, that through His Son he is known to us and that through the Holy Spirit he dwells within us. You are that Temple who trust in the Lord. That same power which raised Christ and led Moses and his people out of Egypt dwells in those who would receive it. You are the place where Heaven meets Earth.

    It comes as no surprise, then, that the closer one gets to God in Christ, the more one dies inwardly to the flesh and lives eternally in the spirit. God is so holy, that is wholly other, that to receive him all at once would be death. Confronted with our own sin and shame, we again ask "Who can stand?" None other than whomever Christ raises.