Sermon Central
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Destroy This Temple, Let Jesus Build It Up
Contributed by Prakash Jacob on Dec 23, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: When we go through the process of being destroyed or broken, we have this promise of Jesus Christ that He will build it up in three days!
Destroy this temple, and I will rise it up in three days.
This portion says do not destroy the temple of god.
If any man destroys the temple of god, God will destroy him.
One side God says He will destroy the temple. 1Cori3:17.
On the other side Jesus asking people to destroy the temple. But in John 2:21, see He was speaking of his own body.
I would like to take you to two different sides of the destroying of this temple.
In this verse, Jesus is asking the Jewish people to destroy the temple, His body, although they thought of the building.
Why did Jesus say to destroy it?
Because he knew that if it is broken down, then only it can rise up.
John 12:24 says,
Verily verily I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into 5he ground and die, it abide the alone. But if it die, it bringers forth much fruit.
Jesus was saying that if his body is broken, it will rise up in three days. But it is not only the process of resurrection on the third day, there is some thing else at large.
The New Testament church is mentioned in Bible in many different ways.
The bride of Christ
The tabernacle
The temple or House of God
The perfect army (Padayali)
The kingdom of god
The mystery of god
The body of Jesus Christ
The epistle of Ephesians is full of these information
The epistle of Colossians talks about Christ the head of church.
Now...
Let’s talk about two temples here..
1) the body of Jesus being the temple he refers to.
2) also our own little temples that we might have to destroy.
Firstly the physical body of our Lord Jesus.
Jesus was asking Jewish people to destroy his own body.
Because he knew that His Body is going to be a large organism in this world.
And in order that to happen, his own body needs to be broken.
Jesus physical body was risen on the third day as He promised.
Church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ.
It is because of Jesus body was broken in Golgotha, upon the cross, the body of Christ the church is being expanded every day. The body took its first root with 120 people and then 5000, 7000 and it expanded to different regions, countries, nations and cultures. Yes His body is still being built, being expanded to the ends of the earth.
If Jesus said I will rise it up in three days, He will for sure do that. And we see that every day. Thousands and thousands of people are added to his Body from all over the world.
Yes he is rising it up in these three days.
Now..
The. Three days are not the three days in our calendar,in terms of the church being built.
Three calendar days he took to rise his physical body.
Read 2Peter 3:8
Do not forget this one thing dear friends,
With the lord a day is like a thousand years,
And a thousand years are like a day.
It does not mean that Jesus will take three thousand years to build his church fully.
But over the past 2000 years Jesus is building His body.
Jesus can finish the work of the His body even today.
Holy Spirit is purifying the body of Christ these days.
Jesus said Upon this rock I will build my church. The gates of hades shall not prevail it.
Remember the church in this world is going through all sorts of persecutions, however, the builder who said I will rise it up in three days will ensure that his promise will be established and fulfilled completely even in the midst of all storms and obstacles.
Praise God that he made you and I a part of his body, the universal church.
Now..
Secondly Jesus is asking the Jewish people to destroy this temple.
Why should they destroy that temple?
Listen ...
When Jesus said destroy THIS temple..
All the people understood that it is the physical temple.
His disciples also thought then, that Jesus spoke about the physical temple, (later they understood differently).
Jewish people kept the temple as a good market place.
They used to sell oxen, doves, and exchanged currencies inside the temple.
They were actually helping those people who would come to Jerusalem by selling these animals and birds so that they don’t have to bring it from houses.
Also money exchangers help people to trade with local currency in Jerusalem.
When Jesus said destroy this temple, people understood that it was the physical temple.
Yes that is another message Jesus wanted them to understand.
It is not destroying the temple of God in 1 Cori 3:16-17.
