Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:19-22 (day seven)
In whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord. vs 21
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. 1 Peter 2:5
I teased this in the Monday vlog this week, but we are currently with our high school students at our annual Beach Retreat. We were teaching them the importance of a baptist distinctive known as “Priesthood of the Believer.” This is the belief that each person has direct access to God due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and through the work of Jesus on the cross. How cool is it that we are both the temple and the priests? Not only can we enter into the presence of the Lord as the priests, but the presence of the Lord dwells within us as the temple.
If this is true, do we still need the church? The verbiage of this passage constitutes that we are being fitted together to grow into the temple. Yes, we do have access to God without others, but we fit together like a puzzle. Each of us are a different shaped piece, but as the pieces come together, the bigger image becomes more clear. Together we make a more holy temple.
Beautifully stated, Rick. Such a great explanation of the image of the body of Christ, His church, being knitted together to reflect who He is.