Chapter 85
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
Part II – The New Testament Temple
Matthew 21:12-17
As it is our custom, before we begin this study let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, as we go through this study please open our spiritual ears, eyes and heart. Please Father God, cause us to truly hear, see and understand that Your ways are vastly different from the ways of this world’s system. As we see and understand this, please move upon us to live our lives more and more in harmony with your Word.
Amen
Before we begin with the particulars for this study let us read,
A RECAP OF CHAPTER 84
In chapter 84 we explored the events that occurred when Jesus, upon His arrival into Jerusalem, entered and cleansed the Old Testament Temple. More specifically, we found that He cast out of the Temple those who were the money changers and those who inspected and sold the sacrificial animals. To read what happened let us go to,
Matthew 21:12
[12] Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
To better appreciate the sacredness and holiness of the Old Testament Temple we briefly reviewed its history, design, construction and purpose. In doing this we discovered several key points:
1. The Temple and its furnishings were designed by God. In addition, we discovered they were also shadows and copies of the heavenly things.
2. There were two main portions of the Temple. There was the Tabernacle or dwelling place and the outer court that surrounded the Tabernacle.
3. The portion of the outer court that was in front of the entrance to the Tabernacle is where the people would come to offer to God their animal sacrifices. After the offering was slaughtered, the priest would then: (1) Offer the blood of the animal by sprinkling some of it on the corners of the altar, and then (2) Portions of the animal’s carcass would be burned on top of the altar.
It was through these offerings the people would pray, make confession of their sins, worship and praise God (For a more detailed description of these activities please go to the collection of Bible studies titled; “Old Testament Foreshadowings.”
4. Inside the Tabernacle structure, which means dwelling place, were two sections. These sections were divided by a large curtain. One section was called the Holy Place. The other section was identified as the Holiest of Holies. It was here, inside the Holiest of Holies where God’s Presence resided.
5. Only the priests were allowed inside the tabernacle to intercede for the people and maintain the Tabernacle’s furnishings.
We also found that at the time Jesus entered the Temple the High Priest and his sons desecrated the Temple by sponsoring two lucrative businesses.
One business was the exchange of foreign money for the one half of a silver shekel that was required to be used for payment of the Temple tax.
The second profitable business was the selling of certified animals that complied with the unblemished requirement for the worshipper to use in their offerings to God. If a worshipper brought their home raised animal, trained inspectors were paid to insure these home-grown animals met the unblemished certification requirements.
All this activity of the money changers and those who inspected and sold certified sacrificial animals occurred within the outer court of the Temple. Thus, the Temple was desecrated by the people’s merchandizing and profiteering.
It was this irreverent behavior that moved Jesus to cleanse the Temple from all these activities. To get a glimpse of how Jesus must have felt and the rebuke he gave let us read what He said as recorded in,
Matthew 21:13
[13] And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
With the above recap in mind, let us now begin the study for this chapter. Specifically, we will explore how Jesus’ cleansing of the Old Testament Temple serves as an object lesson for some of the financial practices that are present within today’s New Testament Temple.
INTRODUCTION
To do this we will:
1. Review the fact that the New Testament Temple is the true born-again believer in Jesus Christ and the various gatherings of believers.
2. Explore the object lesson to be learned from the cleansing of the Old Testament Temple.
We begin by exploring the fact that,
THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER(S) IS AND ARE THE NEW TEMPLE
First of all, to apprehend and accept the truth of this statement we must accept and take to heart the fact that every born-again believer in Jesus Christ is filled with God the Holy Spirit. To see this let us read what Jesus said to His disciples during the Feast of Tabernacles. It is recorded for us in,
John 7:37-39
[37] “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified."
To amplify Jesus' words a bit more, let us now read the following excerpt from the first letter that Paul penned to the Corinthian church. The passage of interest is,
1 Corinthians 3:16
[16] “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
To emphasize the significance of this, let us also read,
1 Corinthians 3:17
[17] … “God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."
Secondly, the Bible teaches us that we are also collectively being built into a Holy Temple of God. To see this, consider,
Ephesians 2:19-22
“[19] … “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, [20] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. [21] In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. [22] And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
The above dwelling identified in Ephesians 2:19-22, is the spiritual building composed of all the born-again believers. It is identified as the body of Christ or the church. To see this, let us first recall that every born-again believer in Jesus Christ is a member of the body of Christ. This truth is clearly stated in,
1 Corinthians 12:27
[27] “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
This body, that is the body of Christ composed of all the born-again believers, is the church that Jesus came to build. To see this, let us read from,
Colossians 1:18
[18] “And he is the head of the body, the church; ..."
The church that our Lord Jesus Christ came to build is the fulfillment of what the Old Testament Temple and the people who served it were pointing to. This church is not a building made of wood, brick, stone and mortar. No! It is a spiritual building composed of you and I, the born-again believers. It is a holy habitation of God the Holy Spirit. The church is that group of people He bought and paid for with His own body and blood. In other words, it is that body of people who have been set apart and made holy through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Namely, the church, composed of all the born-again believers of all time is the body of Christ. To see this, prayerfully consider,
1 Peter 2:4-5
[4] “As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- [5] you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
With the above in mind, let us now explore,
THE OBJECT LESSON FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE
The object lesson from Jesus’ cleansing of the Old Testament Temple is twofold.
First,
THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE GIFTS
In other words, the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit that are to be used for the building up of the body of Christ are just that: … spiritual gifts. Thus, they cannot be bought, earned or taught. To see this let us read from,
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
[4] “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. [6] There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. [7] Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [8] To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, [10] to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."
Let us notice the following verses,
4 … There are different gifts, but all of them come from the Holy Spirit.
5 … There are different kinds of service, that is some may teach, some may evangelize, some may prophesy, etc. It is noted that these functions or positions or services within the body of Christ are also gifts. To see this let us read from,
Ephesians 4:11-12
[11] And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Let us now return to chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians and expand upon verse,
6 … There are different kinds of working, that is spiritual gifts will take on various forms and manifestations.
7 … The Holy Spirit will give each member of the body of Christ a spiritual gift. Also notice these gifts are given for the common good, not for selfish ambition. (The operation or the activities of the members of the body of Christ, which is the church, is contained in chapters 11 and 20 in the collection of Bible studies titled; “Elementary Christian Principles.”)
8-10 … This is only a partial list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
11 … It is God who determines what gift or gifts of the Holy Spirit He will give us.
The fact that the spiritual gifts, functions and services of the Holy Spirit are gifts that cannot be earned or purchased is clearly demonstrated during,
The encounter between Philip, Peter and Simon
To read what happened we go to,
Acts 8:5-13
[5] Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. [6] And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. [7] For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. [8] And there was great joy in that city. [9] But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, [10] to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” [11] And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. [12] But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.[13] Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Let us notice the following verses,
5-8 … First of all, Philip was one of the first seven deacons of the church (Acts 6:1-6). Secondly, it is clear that through Philip God the Holy Spirit was exercising His gifts of preaching and healing.
9-11 … Simon was a sorcerer. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the 1984 Second College Edition a sorcerer is a person who supposedly uses an evil supernatural power over people and their affairs; black magic.
13 … Simon believed the message Philip gave with respect to the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. In fact, he was even baptized.
Ultimately this revival in Samaria came to the attention of the Apostles in Jerusalem. To see this we go to,
Acts 8:14-17
[14] Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, [15] who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. [16] For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Let us notice the following verses,
17 … It was through the laying on of the apostle’s hands that the new believers received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Apparently, Philip was not given this spiritual gift.
Let us now read Simon the sorcerer’s reaction, as recorded in,
Acts 8:18-19
[18] And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, [19] saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Let us notice the following verses
18-19 … Seeing the power God gave to the apostles, Simon tried to purchase this gift from them. It must be noted that at this time Simon believed in the Gospel and was baptized into Jesus Christ.
To read Peter’s response to Simon’s request, we go to,
Acts 8:20-24
[20] But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! [21] You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. [22] Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. [23] For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” [24] Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
Let us notice the following verses,
20-23 ... Notice the strong rebuke Peter gave to Simon. This rebuke should remind us of the holy anger Jesus displayed when He cleansed the Old Testament Temple.
24 … Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees who sought a way to destroy Jesus for His rebuke to them about desecrating the Temple of God, Simon apparently realized his sin and sought forgiveness.
The second point to be made is that,
FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY YOU ARE TO GIVE
To begin our exploration of this point let us read what Jesus told His twelve apostles when He sent them to preach and heal the infirmities of the of the lost sheep (people) of Israel. To do this let us read from,
Matthew 10:5-10
[5] These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. [6] But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ [8] Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. [9] Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, [10] nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
For this study let us focus upon the following verses,
8b …” Freely you have received, freely give.” In other words, we should give without expectation of payback.
The question arises as to; “What was Jesus referring to when He said to the apostles that they freely received?” To find out let us read what Jesus gave the apostles before He sent them to the lost sheep of Israel. To do this let us read from,
Luke 9:1-2
[1] … He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. [2] He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Notice, verse 1 says that Jesus gave them this power and authority.
Let us now return to the Gospel according to Matthew and examine the following verse,
10b … A worker is worthy of his food.
To expand upon this command, let us explore what Jesus told the 70 disciples of what they were to do upon entering a city to preach and heal. To read His instructions we us continue our reading from the Gospel according to Luke from,
Luke 10:4-8
[4] Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. [5] But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ [6] And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. [7] And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. [8] Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
Another way of looking at verses 7 and 8 above is that those who receive spiritual nourishment are to help provide for the physical needs of those through whom God gave the nourishment to them. To see this more clearly let us now read from,
Galatians 6:6
[6] Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
To expand upon these principles a bit more let us now review,
The example of Paul
Let us begin by reading what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth with respect to his calling to minister. We begin by reading from,
1 Corinthians 9:11-14
[11] If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? [12] If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. [13] Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? [14] Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … As an apostle of Jesus Christ Paul had the right to receive material support from those whom he gave spiritual support and nourishment. As Jesus said earlier; “A worker is worthy of his food.”
12 … Paul did not exercise this right or privilege. In other words, he did not charge or request a fee for his services. One of the reasons Paul did not charge a fee for utilizing the spiritual gifts he received from the Holy Spirit was because he did not want to hinder those, who were financially strapped, from hearing the Gospel. Thus, he freely gave what he freely received.
13-14 … Paul reminded the people that in the Old Testament Ceremonial Law the priests were given portions of the sacrifices, tithes, and taxes for their physical well being. Thus, in like manner those who preach the gospel should also receive support for their physical well being.
With the above in mind let us now continue our reading from,
1 Corinthians 9:15-18
[15] But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. [16] For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! [17] For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. [18] What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.
Let us notice the following verses,
15-17 … In other words, God had called and commissioned Paul to preach and teach the gospel. If Paul followed God’s will freely and joyfully then he would receive a reward. However, if Paul faithfully did his preaching or teaching as work or labor, he would had just become a steward, which means to be employed as a manager or a trusted servant.
18 … Again, Paul emphasized that he did not want to abuse his authority by charging or asking for a fee to exercise the spiritual gifts and commission he freely received from God.
On the other hand, we also read that Paul did accept support that was freely offered him for his physical well being. To see this let us read how he gratefully thanked the Philippians for their support and aid. The passage of interest is in,
Philippians 4:10-13
[10] But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. [11] Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: [12] I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. [13] I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Let us now continue our reading and go to,
Philippians 4:14-18
[14] Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. [15] Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. [16] For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. [17] Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. [18] Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
CONCLUSION (OR) POINT OF THIS STUDY
God’s Temple is holy, sacred, and very precious to Him. Let us never forget that each and every born-again believer in Jesus Christ is a member of the Body of Christ and that God the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Thus, we, the body of Christ, are the New Testament Temple or Tabernacle.
As members of the Body of Christ each one of us has been given a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit. It is important for us to never forget that God determined the type of gift(s) we received. Thus, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not purchased, earned, or taught; they are gifts from God.
In addition, let us beware of falling into the trap that the Old Testament High Priest and his sons fell into with the money changers and those who sold certified sacrificial animals. In other words, one should not charge monetary fees or profiteer for the ministry and exercise of God’s freely given gifts for the growth and nourishment of His body. This ministry of utilizing God’s spiritual gifts is a calling or commission by God. It should never be considered as a profession or profitable business venture. As Jesus said, “Freely you have received and freely you are to give.”
In other words, we are instructed to follow Paul’s instruction as recorded in,
1 Corinthians 4:16
[16] Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
CLOSING
Let us now close this study by reading the following exhortation,
Philippians 3:17-21
[17] Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. [18] For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: [19] whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. [20] For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen