What Is The House Of God
The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright, and valuable]; They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; They will flourish and be vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment]; [They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises]; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalms 92:12-15 AMP.
This passage of scripture is truly valuable, and I want to examine it to help us understand the house of God. We will explore how we are planted in it, allowing our roots to grow deep so we can bear fruit, prosper, and serve as living memorials to Him.
The house of the Lord begins in us individually and in our homes. “In the house” in Hebrew means those belonging to the same household, dwelling, or habitation. Jesus would ask, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” and answer, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:48-50). We may instantly associate this question with those who attend a " church " building on a Sunday but just attending that meeting does not mean that we are planted in His house, and that those around us are our brothers and sisters. In Greek, "will" is translated as thelēma, which means "what God wishes to be done by us, His choice, inclination, precepts, desire, and pleasure." So, although one may attend a Church on Sunday, they may live like the world for the other 6 days with no desire to be renewed or transformed and to walk in obedience to the will of God.
The temple was the house of God, and when the Jews turned it into a marketplace, Jesus came with a whip and overturned all their tables. When they questioned Him about a sign to validate His authority, John 2:19, 21 AMP [19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [21] But He was speaking of the temple which was His body. John 2:20 AMP [20] Then the Jews replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?”
The Jews had only an external experience with the temple and did not understand that Jesus was speaking of a new Way. Many still do not understand and have no revelation of the kingdom of God being an internal reality, not made or built by man's hands, but by the Spirit of God that dwells in us. The true place to meet with God is not in a physical building but in Christ, who is the true Temple. He is the One in whom we are unified. He is the mediator through whom we now have full access to God. When we come to Him, we are no longer separated by a temple curtain; instead, we can confidently approach the Father through Jesus. The buildings serve as external meeting places that are wonderful for gathering to hear the teachings of the Word and for the edification of the people. Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians 14:26 (ESV): "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up." So we don’t boycott the gathering together in fact Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV says [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Still, if we do not understand that Christ is the One we are all gathered in, we may attend a Sunday meeting year in and year out and never experience any transformation. If we come to a building expecting that we can be transformed in it and by it alone, we are grievously mistaken.
John 14:2 KJV [2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. This is one very misinterpreted scripture, sadly, but it reveals a compelling mystery.
In Greek, the word for house is "oikia," which means a dwelling or the family, very much the same as the Hebrew meaning. Even more beautiful is that in Greek, the word for mansions is “of the God, the Holy Spirit indwelling believers.” So, for all awaiting heaven to receive a mansion, I am sorry, you are waiting for the wrong thing. It is simply a symbol of all believers who are in Christ and have become the dwelling place for the Spirit of God to live. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Where was He going? To the cross! The Cross is where the dividing walls come down between us and God, and us and one another. In Christ, we become one united new man. Ephesians 2:14-18 NKJV [14] For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, [15] having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, [16] and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. [17] And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. [18] For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. And then in Colossians 3:10-11 NKJV [10] and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, [11] where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
By Christ, all who were once separated are now invited into Him, where those divisions have been abolished, and together we all become one new man (Bride/Body/Church) who is renewed in knowledge according to Christ. Remember Paul in Ephesians 5:32 AMP said [32] This mystery [of two becoming one] is great; but I am speaking with reference to [the relationship of] Christ and the church. Paul discusses marriage in this passage, but he also reveals the mystery of believers being the bride and Christ her head. He highlights the divine order of authority within the home, also symbolising the relationship between the Bride (the Church, Body, or New Man) and Christ. He is teaching us an incredible heavenly order that reveals a profound mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven when obeyed and represented on earth. This may be why marriage, family, and Godly authority are so targeted by the enemy and resisted by our own flesh. The revelation of something so profound and a passionate desire to see it in fruition will attract the greatest of battles, and therefore, we must learn to fight on the right ground and use the right weapons.
Returning to the House of God; 1 Corinthians 6:19 AMP [19] Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?
In Greek, the word for temple is “naos” which means the spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in Christ. This sounds like a new man to me. The saints of all ages, even those before the cross, right? ALL the saints.
So, you may ask, how is Christ the Temple if we are the temple? The word “naos” also means the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek, it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of the god was placed, which is distinguished from the whole enclosure).
This sacred sanctuary, consisting of both the holy place and the holy of holies, housed several significant elements: In the Holy Place was the lamp stand symbolising the Word of God, the table of show bread representing the Bread of Life, and the altar of incense, which signifies true worship and prayer. Within the Holy of Holies was also the Ark of the Covenant, containing powerful reminders of God's Covenant—the tablets engraved with His commands, the manna illustrating His provision, and Aaron's rod representing His appointed priesthood. Capping the Ark was the Mercy Seat, flanked by two angels, where God instructed Moses that He would meet with him (Exodus 25:22).
Examining the items from the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, it becomes clear that they are symbolic representations of Christ. He is the Light of the World, as illustrated by the Menorah, and the Bread of Life, represented by the Showbread. The incense, which was to be kept burning continuously on the altar, signifies the ongoing nature of Christ’s mediation. His intercession on our behalf is a pleasing aroma to God.
Jesus said in John 14:11 AMP [11] Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed]. God dwells within Christ, and Christ exists within God. He is the sacred sanctuary where divine presence resides, setting Him apart from all others. Likewise, we, as His followers, are meant to stand out among all people because we have Christ living in us, along with God in Christ and the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to Him. If this truth doesn’t stir our hearts, we might still be a bit too tied up with the distractions of this world.
Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). The responsibility of the high priest was great, and the order in which he was to conduct himself and present himself before God was so carefully detailed and prescribed by God to show us how mindful we are to be when coming before Him. If you have time, please read all of Leviticus 16. Here are a few verses for us to examine. Leviticus 16:3, 15-17, 21-22 AMP [3] Aaron [as high priest] shall enter the Holy Place in this way: with [the blood of] a young bull as a sin offering and [the blood of] a ram as a burnt offering. [15] “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. [Heb 2:17] [16] So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place (Holy of Holies) because of the uncleanness and transgressions of the Israelites, for all their sins. He shall also do this for the Tent of Meeting which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness (impurities). [Heb 9:22-24] [17] There shall be no person in the Tent of Meeting when the high priest goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place [within the veil] until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself (his own sins) and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel. [21] Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat [the scapegoat, the sin-bearer], and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is prepared [for the task]. [22] The goat shall carry on itself all their (the Israelites) wickedness, carrying them to a solitary (infertile) land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. [Ps 103:12; Is 53:11, 12; John 1:29]. There was no coming before God without an offering of blood for the atonement of sin.
Back in Exodus 25, we see God's heart and intention, Exodus 25:8 9 AMP [8] Have them build a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. [Heb 8:1, 2; 10:1] [9] You shall construct it in accordance with everything that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.
God longs to inhabit the hearts of His people, yearning for an intimate relationship with each one. Through Christ, the sacrificial Lamb who was slain and triumphed over both sin and its consequences, we are now, by faith, reconciled to the Father. It was the people who rejected His presence then, and it is we who can reject His presence now. Exodus 20:18-21 AMP [18] Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance. [19] Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” [20] Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him [that is, a profound reverence for Him] will remain with you, so that you do not sin.” [21] So the people stood at a [safe] distance, but Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
The writer of Hebrews helps understand the type and shadow of these things that were always in the heart and mind of God to dwell with us.
Hebrews 3:1-6 AMP [1] Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, [thoughtfully and attentively] consider the Apostle and High Priest whom we confessed [as ours when we accepted Him as Savior], namely, Jesus; [2] He was faithful to Him who appointed Him [Apostle and High Priest], as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. [Num 12:7] [3] Yet Jesus has been considered worthy of much greater glory and honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house. [4] For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. [5] Now Moses was faithful in [the administration of] all God’s house, [but only] as a ministering servant, [his ministry serving] as a testimony of the things which were to be spoken afterward [the revelation to come in Christ]; [Num 12:7] [6] but Christ is faithful as a Son over His [Father’s] house. And we are His house if we hold fast our confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ].
This is amazing! We are His house in Christ Jesus, and He dwells in us. That does mean that we can come boldly before the throne of Grace, but it does not mean that we can go on living as we did before Christ.
Hebrews 3:7-12 AMP [7] Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, [8] Do not harden your hearts as [your fathers did] in the rebellion [of Israel at Meribah], On the day of testing in the wilderness, [9] Where your fathers tried Me by testing [My forbearance and tolerance], And saw My works for forty years [And found I stood their test]. [10] “Therefore I was angered with this generation, And I said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways [nor become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them]’; [11] So I swore [an oath] in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest [the promised land].’ ” [Ps 95:7-11] The Peril of Unbelief [12] Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God.
Hebrews 3: 14-16 AMP [14] For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end, [15] while it is said, “Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah].” [Ps 95:7, 8] [16] For who were they who heard and yet provoked Him [with rebellious acts]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
We have entered into a new and better Covenant with more significant promises (Hebrews 8:6; Jeremiah 31:33). The law is no longer written on tablets but on our hearts and minds. We no longer need to perform works to gain a right standing with God; instead, we are called to believe in the One He sent (John 6:29). Therefore, knowing and understanding what and where the House of God is will only enrich your walk with the Lord. Here is what David prayed: Psalms 27:4 AMP [4] ¶One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord And to meditate in His temple. [Ps 16:11; 18:6; 65:4; Luke 2:37] To enhance the beauty of what David is expressing here, the phrase “of the Lord” in Hebrew, which is “Yᵊhōvâ,” translates to Jehovah, meaning "the existing One."
Our faith is in Christ, and by that faith alone, the works that we do, we do by faith in Him. James 2:14 22 AMP [14] What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.] [15] If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, [16] and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? [17] So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. [18] But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].” [19] You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]! [Deut 6:4; 11:13-21; Mark 12:29] [20] But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless? [21] Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]? [Gen 22:1-14] [22] You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience].
We are the house of God every day and everywhere we go. And by how we live our lives, we are either testifying to the life of Christ in us or the flesh that remains. Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.
We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. Notice that it does not say, "We were chosen to be holy and blameless." This can only be fulfilled in Christ—abiding in Him and He in Us, just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. The spirit of God that dwells in us testifies of Christ. John 15:26 ESV [26] “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And, John 16:13-15 ESV [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is mine; therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. He dwells in us so richly, testifying of Christ and teaching us all things.
Every morning when you rise, take a moment to remind yourself that you are a dwelling place, carrying the spirit of God within you. He has promised to guide you in everything you do. This journey isn’t limited to Sunday services; it’s a daily experience. As a living house that holds the Divine within, we truly flourish when we are firmly rooted in Him. He is our rock, and in Him, there is no unrighteousness. He is pure, and as our roots grow deep in His Word, and we nourish ourselves with His truth, we will thrive and prosper. In our later years, we will bear fruit and become living testimonies that declare His righteousness and faithfulness.
