The Church Is Still the Church
by Doy Moyer
“Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory” (Psalms 63:2).
David wrote that while on the run in the wilderness. While the temple had not been built, David would have thought of the tabernacle and perhaps imagined what a future temple would look like. Thinking about the power and glory of God in His sanctuary helped David get through a very difficult time in his life.
In Psalm 27:4, David wrote,
“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.”
The dwelling of God is a powerful thought. This is about the presence of God, which provides comfort and a refuge in the time of storms.
“For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock” (Psalms 27:5)
When we face trial and trouble, think about the presence of God as found in His sanctuary.
“But,” one might think, “we don’t have God’s temple today.”
Oh, yes we do, and the same sense of comfort and refuge can be found therein. This sanctuary, however, is not fabric and a tent. This sanctuary is not wood and gold. This sanctuary is far more precious, and it does indeed show forth the power and glory of God.
God’s people are the sanctuary of God now:
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)
The church, the people of God, are the living stones being built up into His temple (I Peter 2:5). The church shows the wisdom, power, and glory of God. Ephesians is all about this.
In the present distress, when saints cannot assemble as normal, or when they feel deep isolation, remember that the church is still the church. The people of God are still God’s sanctuary, and we live in a time that allows us to maintain contact and seek each other’s well-being even though apart. The church isn’t the building in which we normally meet. The temple is no longer stationed in Jerusalem. We are it.
Perhaps we are learning how much we might have taken for granted our assemblies. Perhaps we are learning just how much we do rely on one another for strength. Perhaps we will come out of this present distress with a fresh, renewed outlook on the glory of God’s people.
Whatever the outcome, the church is still the church, and God’s presence is found within His people. Redeem the time. Pray for one another. Seek each other out for comfort. Build each other up. The temple of God will always stand.
“Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory” (Psalms 63:2).
