“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is
greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a
temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain
him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn
sacrifices before him? 2
Chronicles 2:5-6
In
2 Chronicles we see the extravagance put into the temple. Why?
Because God was literally going to live in this temple in
Jerusalem. No other building on the
planet could make this claim.
Our
churches house God’s people and, yes, the Holy Spirit lives in His people, so
technically they are His temples. So do
we need to replicate the original temple’s ornate design in our buildings? No, there’s no need for gold plated walls,
but our churches should reflect excellence and sacrifice. Whatever we do for the Lord we should give
our best, which doesn’t always mean extravagance.
In
the same way, Christians, who are God’s temple, should treat themselves well,
do their best to be presentable on the inside and outside. That’s the best testimony of the presence of
God.