The Sanctuary, or the Temple, of God.
THE word "sanctuary" in the Scripture means a place set apart to a holy or sacred purpose, consecrated to the worship of God. The word "temple" is used in the same way, as a special place to worship God, where sacrifices are offered and priests minister. They have various applications in the Scriptures: 1. The individual Christian is said to be the temple of God. "Know ye not that your body is a temple [sanctuary] of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body." 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. God desires to dwell in each of His children, write His law in their hearts, and control every member of the body. He dwells in our "hearts thru faith," in order to establish us in love. Eph. 3:17. Without faith we are "separate from Christ" and "without God in the world." Eph. 2:12. By faith we have His life, and He is Christ in us "the hope of glory." Col. 1:27. 2. The church is also His sanctuary, or temple. Paul writes to the Corinthian church: "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Cor. 3:16. "In whom [Christ] each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple [sanctuary] in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." Eph. 2:21, 22. In this temple it was God's design that His law should be supreme, His word paramount, His Spirit the motive power. Then His presence and power would have remained thruout the ages if the church herself had not set Him aside and permitted iniquity and error to reign. "The man of sin" would never have been developed, "the mystery of iniquity" would never have generated the Dark Ages if the church had held fast by faith to Christ and the word. His mighty presence, cherished in the heart and life would have forever restrained the man of sin. 2 Thess. 2:6, 7. 3. But the word "sanctuary" is generally used of the building, the inner tabernacle, erected by Israel at the command of God in the wilderness, the story of which is told in Exodus, chapters 25 to 40. When Solomon built the temple, that took the place of the portable tabernacle. In both of these buildings the worship of God upon the earth centered. All the earthly worship and service revolved around the holy of holies where rested the law of God over which was the mercy-seat. When this earthly center was repudiated by God as no longer sacred, and the invisible hand at the Crucifixion rent the veil dividing the holy and most holy places, the center of God's worship was transferred to the heavenly courts where Christ our Lord ministers His own blood on behalf of sinners. This latter sanctuary and its teaching is developed, as far as space will permit, in this issue of our paper and the next. It is a study of transcendent importance, a key to the understanding of the Scriptures. It reveals God's ineffable holiness, His sublime majesty, His boundless mercy, His nearness as Father and Friend.