331. Sanctuary in our Midst
Ezekiel 37:27, 28 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
A sanctuary is a set-apart holy place designated for the god, whether a false god or the true God. It is the place where one can find access to the God. It is holy because the holy God’s presence is located there. God makes it holy. Adam, Noah, Abraham and Jacob set up altars where God met man, or man could meet God. Then the Lord directed Moses to build a Tabernacle for the residing presence of God among the Israelites. The tabernacle was built according to the pattern from heaven in great detail. It was movable so that the Lord could be with His people wherever they traveled. Then David had Solomon build a permanent Temple that would house the living God and provide a place of access and worship. Finally, Jesus’ body became the Temple, the actual presence of God on the earth. Then the body of Christ, the Church, the gathering of believers or the individual believer himself, is the sanctuary of the Presence of God on the earth. The Christian’s body is the temple, the sanctuary, of the Holy God. The Lord lives literally “in the midst of them forever.”
This Truth is both metaphorical and literal. It is metaphorical in that the “body of Christ” is the invisible group of all the believers. It is literal in that the very presence of the real, living, and true God of the universe is actually inside of us. This is awesome to think about and reflect upon. If we realized it more often we might be more careful and intentional about how we treat one another and ourselves, and it should affect how we conduct our lips and our lives.
It is impossible to separate and distinguish what God is doing in us and what we are doing by ourselves, and how our actions are mixed, but generally we sin on our own but God does the good works. Nevertheless, we take the promise as true that the Lord has made a sanctuary for Himself in us and among us. The Lord sanctifies the Church on earth, and the world of unbelievers can recognize that fact, if the Spirit opens their eyes to it. Would that more heathen would say, “The Lord is here!”