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The Temple in Me
By Peter Marshall McLewin
Everyday people cross our path, who know nothing of God’s love. They live with an inner rage because they feel that the wrath of God that is on them. They try with all their might to please a God they have never met, and never succeed. They have no peace and know nothing about the presence of God in their lives. They cannot allow themselves to be loved by a loving God. Propitiation is a word that most people never use in conversation. What did the Apostle John want to us to know when he said…
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son,
the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10
Does John’s statement have any significance to those of us living in the twenty-first century? The answer lies halfway around the world. Journey with me to another time and place.
Temples
It has been my great privilege to visit the ruins of some of the greatest temples that pagans have ever built. Come with me to the Parthenon in Athens, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. The Parthenon is still a marvel of architecture and engineering. The proportions of this building with 8 columns across the front and 17 down the side are so pleasing to the eye that they have been duplicated around the world. Across the grand entrance to the Supreme Court of the United States stand eight magnificent Corinthian columns.
The Parthenon was the first building constructed of pure pentelic marble. The tiles on the roof were so pure that sunlight penetrated into its inner chamber, called the naos. The naos housed the massive statue of Athena who stood 45 feet tall. Her golden dress, wrapped around a wooden frame, weighed 400 pounds. Her feet, arms, hands, neck and head were carved out of pure ivory. Her facial features were precious jewels.
But Paul, unimpressed by her earthly splendor, courageously challenged the thinking of the Athenian Supreme Court by saying,
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; …being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”
Acts 17:24-25, 29
Ephesus
From Athens come with me to Ephesus to the location of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, where the great temple to Artemis was built. The Artemision made the Parthenon look like a matchbox. While the Parthenon had 54 columns, the Artemision stood like a petrified forest, with 156 columns. Bulls by the thousands were shipped to Ephesus and slaughtered on the altar to Artemis. Tragically, no worshiper of this great pagan deity ever left with his sins forgiven. No worshiper ever knew the joy of John’s simple statement, “…this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.”
Paul cursed that temple which stood for nothing but darkness and despair. A riot broke out in Ephesus and the people gathered in their massive 24,000-seat theater to protest. For two hours they cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” but they went home with hoarse voices and no inner peace. Paul was right when he had the courage to tell them “that gods made with hands are no gods at all.” Acts 19:26
Beth Shean
Come with me to Galilee to a stronghold of the Egyptians and Philistines, the town of Beth Shean. On the old tell stood the walls of the ancient city where the lives of Saul and Jonathan came to a tragic end. Their bodies were hanged there to shame the God of Israel.
In the valley below, Beth Shean was transformed into a Greco-Roman city. Walk with me down the broad main road lined with columns and flanked by exclusive shops, baths, brothels and high society. At the end of that road once stood the temple to Dionysius, the patron god of the theater, love, and wine.
When God had had enough, He sent an earthquake to destroy that pit of darkness. Today the columns lay imbedded in road in the exact place where God cast them down.
The Sacred Way
Leading to all of these temples and a thousand others just like them, a road was constructed called the Sacred Way. Every week men traveled those roads, groping to find God. But the Bible says…
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of destruction.”
Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25
Just like the temple to Dionysius that God destroyed, those seeking God on the wrong road will be destroyed.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me.”
The roads to the temples of this world are broad, but Jesus said, do not enter by the broad way, but enter by the narrow way.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14
When people tell you your faith is too narrow, thank them for the compliment. Tell them the broad way leads to destruction. All the roads of the ancient world might have led to Rome, but all the religions of the world do not lead to God. Jesus did not say, “I am a way.” He said, “I am the way.” The Greek could not be clearer about this; the language is emphatic. Jesus said, “I, I myself, I and no one else, I am the way.”
Mohammed is not a way to God.
Buddha is not a way to God.
Krishna is not a way to God.
Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before any of the temples that I have mentioned were built. He said…
“A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.”
Isaiah 35:8
We must warn people that the roads of this world that will never lead to God! Are you walking on the Highway of Holiness?
More about temples
The English New Testament uses one word for temple. But the Greek uses several words that bring added meaning to our word “temple.” While in Turkey I visited the city of Hierapolis mentioned in Colossians 4:13. Hierapolis became a holy city devoted to pagan gods. Hierapolis means holy city or city devoted to god. Hieron is the primary word for “temple;” it refers to a complex that is devoted to the gods. It includes the surrounding porticos and service buildings, including the temple itself. Naos is another word that is translated “temple.” Naos has a very specific meaning. It refers to the inner sanctuary of the temple complex, the place where the statue to the pagan god is housed. In the Bible the word naos is translated “Holy of Holies.”
Hieron: The temple complex
Naos: The inner sanctuary
Early in John’s Gospel we read that Jesus went up to Jerusalem; He entered the court of Gentiles, the hieros, and cleansed it. When He was questioned by what authority He had taken action, He said…
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple (hieros), and will you raise it up in three days?”
John 2:19-20
The temple complex (hieros) that can be seen in Jerusalem today sits on 20 acres. Work on this complex was begun by Herod the Great in 20 BC. When the Jews spoke to Jesus about His actions in 26 AD, work on the temple complex (hieros) had been ongoing for 46 years. It was not finished at Christ’s birth, His dedication, His bar mitzvah, His trial, His crucifixion, or His ascension. Work on the temple complex was not complete until 66 AD. Four years later God said, “I don’t need it any longer,” and sent the Roman general Titus to destroy it.
God never gets attached to buildings. God uses buildings but does not attach Himself or His work to a building. His primary interests are not externals but internals. When Jesus was brought to trial, this whole issue of His loyalty to the temple buildings came up. A witness accused Jesus of saying…
“I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.”
Matthew 26:61
But the man did not listen to the words of Jesus. Jesus said he would rebuild the naos, not the hieros. In three days the inner sanctuary of the temple would never be the same place. The inner workings of the temple would be totally changed.
Judas in the temple
In Judas we find a man desperately groping for God but hopelessly lost. Judas leaves the Upper Room in Zion, makes his way down through West Jerusalem, across the Tyropean Valley and enters the temple complex (hieros). He makes his deal with the leaders and later that night descends into the Kidron and crosses the brook to betray our Lord in the garden of the olive press. As events escalate out of Judas’ control, we find him in deep remorse trying to undo his past. He tries to return the money but is rejected and, in his desperation, he does an unthinkable thing. Matthew tells us…
“And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary (naos) and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”
Matthew 27:5
Ask yourself, what is Judas doing in the naos, the Holy Place? Remember it was illegal to carry anything, even a purse into the temple. He has violated the rules of the court of Israel; he has contaminated the court of priests and has entered, at the very least, into the Holy Place, if not the very Holy of Holies. Since the leaders will not take their money back, he is trying to give it to God to somehow appease God for his abhorrent behavior. So we see in this act of Judas a desperate attempt to connect with a God he never knew. He leaves the naos in a defiled state on the eve of Passover, he departs the temple complex (hieros), descends to the Hinnom Valley and kills himself within sight of Caiaphas’ palatial home.
The apostle Peter would warn us that, “We are redeemed not with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Jesus.”
Connecting with God
All of this raises a central question for humanity. How does a man or a woman connect with God? To answer that question, I want to take you to one more pagan temple.
Come with me to the lusty maritime commercial center at Corinth. The very word “Korinthiazomai,” to act the Corinthian, in Greek Theater meant to play the part of a desperate person addicted to the vices of alcohol, sexual perversion and folly. But even in pagan Corinth, men unfulfilled by the passions of the world sought to make contact with God. On Acrocorinth stood the temple to Aphrodite serviced by 1,000 temple prostitutes ready to prey upon every sailor or merchant who crossed the Isthmus or the Delcos. In the center of the city, stands the temple to Apollo. What hope does a man in Corinth have of experiencing the presence of God? He comes into town feeling the wrath of God on his life. He walks up the magnificent Lechaion Way lined with columns, flanked by exclusive shops. At the end of the Lechaion Way he turns to the left to enter the sacred Piriene Fountain fed by water from the mountain springs. Because of his guilt he enters the pool in a desperate attempt to cleanse his soul. He washes not only himself but also his small animal that he has brought to appease Apollo.
After completing his ritual cleaning he ascends the stairs into the market place. From the market place he approaches the sacred way leading the temple of Apollo. He waits in line for his turn. While he stands in line, he stares at the magnificent temple complex (hieros). Each of the massive Doric columns are cut from a single stone and erected by engineering that defies our imagination. He longs to enter the inner sanctuary (naos) to catch a glimpse of his god, but that is reserved only for priests. His only hope is that some how the animal in his hand would appease a god he has never seen.
Appease is a word that men of those times understood. They knew that their behavior had angered the Olympian gods, so they would regularly seek to appease the gods. They tried to ward off trouble before it even started. Their word for appease was hilasmos. So we find our man in Corinth standing in line with his hilasmos in his hand hoping to appease his god. He watches as one by one the men present their animals at the place of appeasement, called the hilasterion.
As the line grows shorter, the man can feel his blood pressure elevate and his heart rate increase. His moment arrives. He hands his sacrifice (hilasmos) to the priest who places it on top on the altar, the place of appeasement, the hilasterion. The sacrifice is made and the man leaves the temple complex to go about his business in the market place. But as he descends the sacred stairs, sadness comes over him; he feels no closer to God. He has done all the things that were required of him, but his inner soul, his naos, is still empty. He still feels the wrath of God on his soul. What a tragic life!
God steps into history
But God! But God, having overlooked times of ignorance. But God, in the fullness of time. But God, when the cup of His love could not help but spill over onto humanity, sent His Son. John tells us He acted not out of wrath but out of love.
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10
This is the word from God that everyone on the street is hungry for. God loves me and sent His son, the propitiation, the hilasmos, the appeasement for my sin. I do not have to appease an angry God because a loving God has appeased Himself, by Himself, for Himself to bring me into harmony with Himself. God’s wrath has been removed from my life.
Now return with me to the holy city of Jerusalem. There outside the gates hung our Savior. All have left Him except the women and soldiers. In the darkness of the hour Jesus utters His final incarnate words... “It is finished!” But what is finished? His earthly suffering is finished, but His atoning work has just begun. Both Matthew and Mark are clear about the sequence of events I am about to relate to you.
The moment that Jesus released His last human breath, He left His body on the cross to His remaining earthly friends. His Spirit raced back across town. He entered the temple complex (hieros). He passed through the beautiful gates, through the court of women, through the court of Israel, through the court of the priests and into the Holy Place. Hovering before that great veil which weighed 300 pounds, He spoke it in two, splitting it from top to bottom. The tear of the massive curtain brought everyone in the temple to their knees, crying out to God for mercy. The sound of that tear can still be heard reverberating around the world today to…
“Approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
The writer to the Hebrews goes on to describe the view beyond the veil.
“Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat (hilasterion).” Hebrews 9:2-5
The word for mercy seat is hilasterion. The mercy seat is the place of propitiation. Above the mercy seat were two cherubim with their wings touching. One represented the righteousness of God, the other the justice of God. Both of them looked down at the mercy seat where once a year the high priest would sprinkle a few drops of animal blood. But on this holy night things would be different. After He split the veil Jesus did not enter the physical Holy of Holies in Jerusalem, He entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven.
The writer to the Hebrews tell us that…
“…when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered though a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands… through His own blood He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption… to cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
Hebrews 9:11-14
Our conscience has been cleansed. The wrath of God has been removed from us. God, by Himself, for Himself, through Himself has brought us into harmony with Himself.
We can go out from this place to serve our living God, because Jesus is our propitiation.
One final thought on The Temple in Me
After Jesus was raised from the dead, the disciples looked back on the events of that first Passover in Jerusalem. They remembered the day that Jesus cleansed the temple and all the things that He has said. John tells us that the disciples realized that…
“…He was speaking of the temple (naos) of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.”
John 2:21-22
The apostle Paul takes our study of The Temple in Me one step further when he asked the Corinthians this penetrating question…
“Do you not know that your body is a temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
I Corinthians 6:19
Do you know that your body is the naos of God? Say to yourself, “I am the inner sanctuary of God.” You and I were not allowed to enter the ancient Holy of Holies, but the Holy of Holies has entered us. The Holy of Holies is in me. My loving God has appeased Himself, by Himself for Himself to bring me into harmony with Himself. God is directing my way down a Highway of Holiness. God’s good pleasure rests on me! I am the sanctuary of God. I am the presence of God to men and women groping for hope in the twenty-first century. I am the living temple of Almighty God. The Temple is in me!
