A person’s house is an incredibly important space. But that’s not because it’s just a necessary shelter or storage space; a house is the place where family love happens. In the house, families eat meals together, handle menial chores together, invest quality time in one another, care deeply for one another, and feel at home amongst the people they love most. It is in this home where, ideally, relationships and togetherness most resemble the love of God.
That’s why the house of God is one of the most important themes throughout the entirety of the Bible. God has always been about the business of establishing a space for his people to be together in relationship with him. First it was the garden of Eden, then the tabernacle, then the series of temples in Jerusalem, and now it’s us! God has worked to establish his house—his holy temple—in a space where his people can be in close, intimate relationship with him, and we his people—the body of Christ, the church—are that space!
The full Trinity is at work in this temple establishment. Our relationship with the Father had been dismantled by sin and death, but Christ Jesus became our mediator, so that the relationship could be restored. And just as importantly, the Holy Spirit now teaches us the love, wisdom, and joy of God so that we can actually flee from sin and draw near to the Father. So we’re no longer identified by any worldly labels; we are, first and foremost, the holy dwelling space of the Lord.
It's true that not all households are perfect. Far too often, they fall apart or lose members. We mourn for the fact that places that are supposed to be filled with love are at times not. But we are part of another household, of which the rest are merely shadows. We are the household of God, a household that will be filled with love and joy, that will be characterized by wonderful togetherness and relationship between God and man, for all of eternity. And that togetherness and relationship is the greatest good thing that humanity could possibly ever encounter. God is love, and in God’s holy house, we have access to the fullness of the love of God!
