Last time we looked at how Jesus turned up in the Temple, threw out the money changers, chased away the sheep and the goats, released the pigeons and then declared that the temple was now obsolete because he was the real deal, and the temple was just a signpost.
The Temple was the place where God had chosen to dwell among his people and the place where you came in order to make sacrifice for forgiveness of sins. In our series from John's gospel, Jesus is being presented as God on earth (e.g. 1:14) and the perfect sacrifice (e.g. 1:29).
In the light of this progression from Tabernacle - Temple - Jesus, how does 1 Corinthians 3:16 fit: 'Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst...you together are that temple'?
This was one of the questions that we did not get time to look at on Sunday. So whilst Jesus remains the ultimate sacrifice and the one way to God, the place where people should be able to encounter God is in the church - in terms of the gathered people, rather than a physical building.
When Jesus walked into the Temple he found a whole range of things that would get in the way of people meeting God. That was one of the reasons he was so angry. But what about us as the local church? What are the things that hinder people coming to God? If God has chosen to dwell within the local church - are people aware of God's presence there? If not, why not?
