The Church is God's People, Household, and Temple

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19–22).

Paul mentions three metaphors for the church: God’s people (fellow citizens), God’s household, and God’s temple.

The first two metaphors are important to communicate the relational security that we have, with increasing intimacy. We learn first that we have a place in the kingdom, and then we learn that we have a place at the King’s table. These metaphors are of particular significance when we remember that those gathering in the Ephesian church were of different backgrounds and ethnicities. The work of the gospel not only breaks down barriers but unites hearts in profound ways.

The third metaphor is particularly rich in theological significance. The temple in the Old Testament was the physical representation of the divine manifestation. The sacrifices, the rituals, the festivals—these all took place at the temple because God dwelt there. God lived among his people and met with them through the temple to indicate his care and their preciousness to him. In the age of the new covenant we are the Holy Spirit’s home and the temple of God (vv. 20–22; cf. 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Pet. 2:5), to indicate his care for us wherever we are and to indicate our preciousness to him whatever our situation.

Temple imagery stretches from Genesis to Revelation—from Eden (the first place of God’s presence) to the tabernacle (the portable temple) to Solomon’s temple (designed to resemble a garden paradise) to Ezekiel’s temple, to Jesus Christ the incarnated Son of God who “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). The cubic dimensions of the new Jerusalem suggest that heaven is our final temple (Rev. 21:16).

What an indescribable privilege that we who have the Spirit of Christ should be counted as the temple of God. Living in light of this privilege leads to joy, gratitude, confidence, and holy living as God’s holy people.

Adapted from the Gospel Transformation Study Bible