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The Temple of God into All the World

Wayne Galloway
05/15/22 - Sunday Morning Worship

The Temple of God into All the World

Dan. 7:13-14

 

Introduction:

 

1.  In recent studies we have given attention to God’s presence manifest among us.
2. We have traced His presence from the garden of Eden, to the tabernacle, to the temple of Solomon, to the second temple erected following the Babylonian exile, and to the temple built by Herod.
3. Most recently we considered Jesus as the temple of God, the manifestation of God’s presence among us.
4. In this lesson we will connect Jesus as the temple of God with God’s people as the temple of God.
5. We will learn that as representatives of God’s presence it is our mission to communicate Him to the world.

 

Discussion:

 

1.  Dan. 7:13-14 highlights the authority and the universality of the kingdom of God in the world.

 

1. God’s presence is manifest in His sovereignty over the kingdoms of the world.

1.  In this vision four beasts, representing the kingdoms of the world, are overcome by the “saints of the Highest One (Dan. 7:17-18, 22, 27).
2. They overcome as a result of the authority and dominion given the “One like a Son of Man” (Dan. 7:13).
3. In other words, the saints are victorious as a result of God’s presence made known through the Son of Man (Jesus Christ).  Cf. Matt. 16:28; 19:28; 24:30-31; 25:31-34; 26:64.

2. The universality of this reign is evident in the statement made in Dan. 7:14: “All the peoples, nations and men of every language serve Him.”  After His resurrection and prior to His ascension into heaven Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
3. While connecting Dan. 7:13-14 with the great commission of Matt. 28:18-20 it is important to realize how all this “fits” in the whole plan of God and the mission of man from the beginning.

1.  As the image bearer of God Adam was to “be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28).  As God’s representative, he was supposed to fill the earth with the presence of God.  He was less than successful.
2. But God did not abandon His mission.

a.  He selected Abraham through whom He would make His presence known   

     to all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:1-3).

b.  God reiterated His promise to Isaac (Gen. 26:24, 28).  Note v. 25.  Setting

      up an altar was a mark of God’s presence.

c.   He reiterated the promise to Jacob (Gen. 28:13-17).  Note v. 22.  Setting

      up a stone there marked God’s house.

d.  As we have seen previously the tabernacle and the temple of Solomon

     evidenced God’s dwelling place among the people but jump ahead to the

     time of the Babylonian exile (cf. the exile from Eden).  Just like the O.T.

     temple forms a type/anti-type correspondence with the N.T. temple the

     rebuilding of the temple at the time of Cyrus forms a type/anti-type

     correspondence.   2 Chron. 36:23 compares to the Great Commission.

1. Cyrus has been given authority by God like Jesus has been granted authority by God.
2. Cyrus commissions God’s people to go and rebuild the temple which makes God’s presence known.  Jesus commissions God’s people to go and make disciples of all the nations, thus making God’s presence known.
3. Cyrus says, “May the Lord God be with you.”  Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always.”
4. The language and the circumstances are not coincidental but revelatory of the execution of God’s mission and thus our mission in the world.

 

2. (Now let’s shift gears a bit and focus on how God’s people are portrayed as the temple or dwelling place of God.)  Just as Jesus is portrayed as the temple (or dwelling) of God in the N.T. God’s people are identified as God’s temple.

 

1. 1 Cor. 3:16.

1.  Some may reason that you should not harm your body because it is the temple of God.  While that may be true it misses the point here.
2. The church is the manifestation of the presence of God in the world.
3. We are God’s building.  Jealousy, strife and division do not fit in this building. 

2. Eph. 2:14-22.

1. There is reconciliation in this building.
2. There is peace.  Relational breakdowns hinder the building.

3. 2 Cor. 6:14-17.

1. There is partnership.
2. There is fellowship.
3. There is harmony, commonality, agreement.
4. There is separation and purity.

4. 1 Pet. 2:5.

1. We are a holy priesthood.
2. To offer up spiritual sacrifices.
3. In obedience to the word (contrast 1 Pet. 2:8) through our behavior we image God to the world (1 Pet. 2:11-12).

5. We are the beginning of the true tabernacle (Heb. 8:2; 9:11-12).

 

3.  As God’s temple we are representatives of His presence in the world with the mission of communicating Him to the world.

 

1. It is the fulfillment of O.T. prophecy.

1.  Lev. 26:9-12:  “I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you . . .  I will make My dwelling among you . . . I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”
2. Ezek. 37:26-28:  “I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.  My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.  And the nations will know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”

2. It began on Pentecost with the initial execution of the Great Commission and continues through us as we serve the purpose of God in our generation.

1.  When we fail to understand who we are, we hinder the manifestation of God’s presence in the world.
2. When we fail to keep our behavior excellent, we mar the image of God in the world.
3. When we fail to execute the great commission, we fail to accomplish our mission as those created in the image of God.
4. We have a great and noble purpose to be the temple of God in the world.

 

Conclusion:

 

1.  Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2. You are the image of God in the world.
3. Be sure that you reflect that image in a way that glorifies Him so that all might come to know the presence of God in the world.