Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
Text: Ephesians 2:22
IN WHOM YOU ALSO ARE BEING BUILT
God’s building blocks, according to the Apostle Peter are His very own saints (Cf. 1 Peter 2:5). The prophet Isaiah adds a most intriguing thought.
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,’ says the LORD.”
ISAIAH 66:1-2A
The eternal question is once again raised? Where would God dwell? If Heaven is His throne and the earth is only His footstool, where indeed could man build a house worthy of the Lord?
THE MAN THAT GOD REGARDS
What kind of a man would God use to build up His spiritual and holy temple? Once again, let us look at what Isaiah recorded in his book.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.”
ISAIAH 66:2B
1. “Poor and of a contrite spirit”
The virtue of humility is extolled throughout the Scriptures. God will always resist the proud. But the humble, the poor and the contrite…God has a special regard for them.
2. “Who trembles at My word”
The idea of trembling before the Lord suggests the highest sense of reverence before Him. The person who trembles at His word is well regarded by the Lord.
BEING BUILT TOGETHER
There is a beautiful passage in the Book of Isaiah that illustrates the idea of God working not only with His people… but also Gentiles.
“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants…
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer…For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
ISAIAH 56:6-7
God’s plan to build a holy temple, made up of Jews and Gentiles was already envisioned in the prophetic Old Testament Scriptures.