I have just finished reading about the building of Solomon's temple (1Kgs 5-9). One of the things that really struck me this time was that it was not designed for people to use, but purely for God to inhabit. All the human activity took place in the outer courts. From what I understand, the priests only spent small amounts of time in the Holy Place performing their duties, and the high priest was the only one allowed to enter the Most Holy Place once a year.

God said to Solomon: "I will live among my people Israel in this temple that you are building." Once completed, and with the Ark of God in place, "it was suddenly filled with a cloud shining with the dazzling light of the Lord's presence". Solomon was soon to pray: "Can you, O God, really live on earth? Not all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this temple?" Yet somehow God was pleased to dwell there, and for it to become the centre of a place where worship, sacrifices and prayers could be offered.

Now think for a moment about this: "You yourselves [individually] are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in you" (1Co 3:16). How amazing is that! "We [corporately] are the temple of the living God" (2Co 6:16). That too is amazing! "His [Christ's] purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two [Jew and Gentile], thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God [and to each other] through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility" (Eph 2:15-16). "As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual temple to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1Pt 2:4-5).

Every disciple of Jesus is God's temple where Father, Son and Holy Spirit permanently dwell (Jn 14:17, 23). Jesus is building his church, described as "one new humanity" (the "full-grown man" of Eph 4:13), bringing born-again Jews and Gentiles together as "living stones" to form a "spiritual temple". The "one new humanity", the "full grown man" and the "spiritual temple" all refer to the Christian community (the church) viewed corporately. The church – not the current nation of Israel who reject Jesus, God's one and only Messiah – is now God's "chosen people", God's "royal priesthood", and God's "holy nation" – "a people belonging to God" (1Pt 2:9); even called "the Israel of God" (Gal 6:16). John Stott writes: "The Christian church enjoys a direct continuity with God's people in the Old Testament. Those who are in Christ today are the true circumcision (Php 3:3) the true offspring of Abraham (Gal 3:29) and the true Israel of God".