The church as God's sanctuary

“When Israel went forth from Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion.  The sea looked and fled; The Jordan turned back.  The mountains skipped like rams, The hills, like lambs.  What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?  O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?  Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, Before the God of Jacob, Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of water.” (Psalms 114)

            What do you think the true image of the Church is?  What is the true church like?  I personally meditated on the book of Acts and came to realize five principles in the form of the early church.  The five principles are: (1) a church of prayer, (2) a church filled with the Holy Spirit, (3) a church boldly proclaiming the gospel, (4) a church where the Lord adds believers, and (5) a community of love.  I hope and pray that we can apply these five principles to our church so that our church can be like true church.

                In Psalms 114: 2, the psalmist says “Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion.”  Here the psalmist says “Judah” as “His sanctuary.”  In other words, the psalmist speaks of Israel as the sanctuary of God.  What is the sanctuary of God?  The sanctuary of God is where God is present among His people and dwell with them.  There is the word of God and it is proclaimed in the sanctuary of God.  It is also a place where God's people gather there to offer sacrifices, listen to the words of the covenant, and worship and pray to God.  There was a great feast.  The Old Testament “the sanctuary of God” refers to the New Testament “the church.”  In other words, the sanctuary of God refers to the church.  I want to meditate on the church, the sanctuary of God, in three ways and want to receive lessons.  I hope and pray that our church will be this community.

                First, the church, the sanctuary of God, is a saved community.

Look at Psalms 114:1 – “When Israel went forth from Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language.”  The psalmist is reminding what God did through Moses during the time of the exodus in which God rescued the Israelites from the barbarian Egyptians (Park).  In other words, the psalmist recalls the work of salvation when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt.  Why did God bring the Israelites out of Egypt?  Why did God save them?  The reason is because God loved the Israelites and was keeping the oath that He made to their forefathers.  Look at Deuteronomy 7:7-8: “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”  God's salvation is achieved entirely in God's sovereignty.  God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt because God set His love on them and chose them because God kept the oath which He swore to their forefathers.  

                In the New Testament, the Church is the true people of God who are saved.  Indeed, the Greek word "ekklesia" (church) is "ek" (out of) + "kaleo" (call).  In other words, the church means to be called out of.  God chose the church in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).  He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will (v. 5).  He saved the church from the Satan's kingdom like Egypt to the praise of the glory of God's grace (v. 6).  Therefore, whenever we think of God's saving grace, we must praise God.  In other words, the church must be a community of worship.  Also, when we think of the salvation God has provided in Jesus Christ, we must hope for salvation to be completed by the Second Coming of the Lord.

                Second, the church, the sanctuary of God, is a community where God is with us.

                Look at Psalm 114:2 – “Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion.”  “His sanctuary” is where God is present among His people and dwells with them.  In other words, the church must experience God's presence to know, feel, and experience that God is always with us.  In particular, we must experience the fact that God is with us as we worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  Also, we need to experience God's presence more deeply in crisis and adversity.  In Psalms 114:2, the psalmist recalls that God was with the Israelites who were liberated from Egypt (Park).  God was with the Israelites.  In the days of Exodus, God was with them in the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud.  God also walked with the Israelites in the wilderness by coming to them in the tabernacle.  God gave the Law to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai (Park).  In other words, God walked with the Israelites through the Word.

                When we look at John 1, the Bible says the Word who was in the beginning with God (vv. 1, 2) became flesh (v. 14).  The Bible says that God who dwells among us is “Immanuel” (Mt. 1:23).  In other words, God is with us.  Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16 – “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  We are the temple of God.  The Spirit of God dwells in us.  The Holy Spirit, who is with us all the time, is sanctifying us who are saved.  Therefore, the church must be holy.  In order for the church manifest that God is really with us to this dark world, the church must be holy.  We must live a life that is set apart from this world by the Immanuel faith, that is, God with us.  In other words, the church is the holy community of God.

                Third, the church, the sanctuary of God, is a community that manifests the power of God.

                God demonstrated His power many times as God delivered Israel from Egypt and led them to Canaan, the Promised Land during the Exodus.  In Egypt, through ten plagues, God demonstrated His power.  And in the wilderness God watered from the rock, and sent manna from heaven to feed the Israelites (Ps. 114:8).  God also revealed His power in the Red Sea, and about 40 years later.  When the Israelites came to the land of Canaan, God manifested His power in the Jordan River (vv. 3, 5).  Before the power of God, the sea split and became like land, and water came out of the rock.  In this way, the natural world also vibrated before God's power (Park).  Therefore, the psalmist said in verse 7: “Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, Before the God of Jacob.”  When all the people of the world see the power of God, they must fear God.

                The church must manifest the power of God.  The power of God is the gospel.  Look at Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  We must manifest the power of God’s salvation by boldly proclaiming the gospel, the power of God.  The church of God is the saved community, the community that God is with, and the community that manifests God's power.  May our church be such church of God.