____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ August 9, 1992 ____________________________________________________ "You Are A Temple of God" by Tom Edwards In the Greek, there are two words that are each translated as ``temple'' in the New Testament. The first word is ``hieron,'' and Bullinger defines this term as being ''...used of the whole compass of the sacred enclosure, including the outer courts, porches, and all the other subordinate buildings appertaining to the Temple. (This word must be carefully distinguished in every passage from No. 2 [the other Greek word that we will soon see, TTE]).'' When we read of the moneychangers in the temple whom Jesus cast out in John 2:13-17, the word ``hieron'' is used. According to Farrar, it was in the ``court of the Gentiles'' where animals were penned and sold; and there the moneychangers had set up their tables. Though this was not taking place in the inner-most part of the temple, it was still a corruption to which Jesus was greatly displeased. He, therefore, made a whip of cords, drove out the moneychangers and upset their tables; and to the dove sellers, He said, ``Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a house of merchandise.'' Even this part of the temple should not have been defiled in this way. The second Greek word translated as ``temple'' is ``naos.'' Bullinger defines this as ''...the interior and most sacred part of No. 1, where the presence of God was manifested; the Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies.'' Interestingly, this is the same Greek word that is used in 1 Corinthians 3:16, in which Paul asks, ``Do you not know that you are a TEMPLE of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?'' The term ``you'' is in the plural, and this passage is referring to the church as being God's temple today. It is that holy place where He Himself is to dwell. Similar passages refer to the church as being the ``house of God'' (1 Tim. 3:15), a ``spiritual house'' (1 Pet. 2:5), and Paul reiterates the thought that ''...we are the temple of the living God....'' in 2 Corinthians 6:16. In the context of this passage, God implies that we must be a separate people who have come out from the midst of wickedness to live a holy life. By so doing, the Lord will then dwell in us and walk among us; He shall be our God, and we shall be His people. The Greek word ``naos'' (the most sacred part of the temple) is also used in 1 Corinthians 6:19 where Paul declares, ''...do you not know that your body is a TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?'' The following verse adds, ``For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.'' Both the church and the Christian's body are referred to as being a TEMPLE of the Lord--and not merely a temple, but in comparison to that physical temple of God that the Jews had for so many years, the church and the body of the individual Christian is more likened to that most sacred part of the temple where the Lord Almighty had dwelt. Just as the temple of old was not to be desecrated or corrupted through worldliness or mundane uses, the Lord's church today is not to become something worldly or mundane; it is a spiritual institution that has been founded upon spiritual laws that must be complied with by spiritual adherents. To make something mundane out of the church (which Jesus had to die in order to purchase), such as by providing physical recreation in "church-bought" gymnasiums, food and refreshments in its ``fellowship halls,'' or business enterprises to raise funds is not the work of the church--rather, it is making something carnal out of it. Can you imagine the most sacred part of the temple of old being used for similar secular activities or business ventures? It would have been an abomination unto the Lord and one for which the guilty would have not gone unpunished. The sanctified items in the temple were so sacred that to merely touch them would have resulted in death. Also, since the Christian's body is seen as being a ``temple'' of the Lord, it, too, must be kept pure. In the same context, where Paul conveys this thought, he says that ``the immoral man sins against his own body'' (1 Cor. 6:18). Our bodies can not be a holy dwelling for the Lord if we allow sin to reign on the throne of our hearts instead of making that seat vacant for the Lord. Jesus states in John 14:23,24, ''...If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words....'' Let us strive to be holy TEMPLES unto God as individuals and as a church. For it is only through holiness that God can dwell in us and we with Him--now while on earth and later in that eternal realm of ultimate bliss (Heb. 12:14). ___________________________________________ Fulfilling Our Responsibilities by Tom Edwards An important aspect of being a Christian pertains to our role as teachers of God's truth. We must each be a soul-winner for Jesus. The Hebrew writer rebuked those who--though by that time should have been instructors of righteousness--had not grown to their potential and, as a result, were spiritually lacking (Heb. 5:12-14). Paul's exhortation to Timothy to ''...entrust (the gospel, TTE) to faithful men, who will be able to teach others, also'' (2 Tim. 2:2) includes the need to teach the woman as well as the man. The Greek word translated as ``men'' in this passage is the plural from of ``anthropos.'' This is the same root we use in some of our English words, such as in ``anthropology'' (the study of mankind), ``misanthrope'' (a hater of mankind), and ``philanthropist'' (a lover of mankind). The Greek word ``anthropos'' is often used to refer to mankind in general--both male and female. For this word to be used in a limited sense to merely the males, the context would have to so indicate. If a Greek individual wanted to specify something concerning only the male, he could use ``aner,'' which we would translate as ``men'' (males only). This word is seen in 1 Timothy 2:8 where Paul instructs ''...the men in every place to pray....'' It is the duty of the males to lead in the public prayers. Another Greek word that could be used in referring to the males exclusively is seen in 1 Timothy 2:12 where the woman is forbade from usurping authority over the man (``andros''-- the male) when she teaches. (For this reason she could never be a gospel preacher, for the preacher must teach with ``all authority'' [Titus 2:15].) Still, however, the woman can fulfill her role in teaching. Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife team, taught the eloquent Apollos (Acts 18:24-26); Philip the evangelist had four virgin daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9); the older women were also specifically instructed to teach the younger women (Titus 2:3,4). When I read in Acts 8:4 that the persecuted church went into all the world spreading the word, I realize that many women also helped make up that number, and they could also teach in their own various capacities. Because the apostle Paul diligently strove to win the lost to Jesus, he was able to say in Acts 20:26, that he was ``innocent of the blood of all men.'' He could not be held accountable for those who rejected the truth, but he would be held accountable if he had not tried to reach them. Can we say the same about ourselves as Paul did? that we, too, our ``innocent of the blood of all men''? To illustrate this point, consider the following incident: In New York, a pedestrian paused on a bridge to watch some men working on a subway. One of the workers, noticing this onlooker, warned him to move on or he might be accidentally hurt. Stubbornly, the pedestrian protested of his rights to be on the street. To his misfortune, however, this obstinate onlooker, who had been previously pleading for his inalienable rights, got it all right--right on the head when a piece of iron pipe had fallen from high above. As a result, he was seriously injured and sued for damages. At the trial, the court decided that the man did have the right to be standing where he was and that the contractor would have had no right to remove him by force; but because the man was warned, the company was under no further obligation--they had done their duty. In similar manner, God declares, ``Yet if you have warned the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself'' (Ezek. 3:19). But on the other hand, to not warn the wicked will result in one's own guilt for not having done so (Ezek. 3:18). Will we be found having done our duty in the Judgment Day, and will God be able to say, ``Well done, My good and faithful servant''? or will Titus 1:16 be more true? It states: ``They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him....'' Let us each who are Christians strive to fulfill our responsibility toward winning the lost to Jesus and helping our brethren to grow strong in the faith. The time for this endeavor might be short, but let us use what moments we have for the salvation of souls, the glory of God, and so that our moments will one day be exchanged for a blissful eternity in heaven itself. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________