This year I have really been touching on walking in faith and the importance of coming to the knowledge of who we are as new creations through Christ Jesus.
I would like to draw your attention to the Book of Ezekiel when he describes the vision the Lord gave him of The Temple. We see him describe the glory of the Lord in Ezekiel 43:2 (ESV), “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.”. We then see the reaction of Ezekiel to the glory of the Lord filling the Temple in verses 4-5, “As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”. Ezekiel in this very passage was given a vision of the Temple of the Lord that was to come. I want you to look at this passage with the mindset that as new creations in Christ Jesus that we are all individually a Temple of the Spirit of the Living God (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Let us take this a step further and look at some keys in Ezekiel 47:9-12. In this very chapter Ezekiel describes a river that is flowing from the Temple.
- In verse 9: “ And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”.
- Jesus told us in John 7:38 that those who believe in Him will “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”.
- In verse 10: “Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.”.
- In Matthew 4:18-19, Jesus called two fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew to come follow Him and that He would make them “fishers of men”.
- Additionally, Galatians 3:28 (ESV) tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”. The Body of Christ will be composed of both men and women, and people from many different ethnicities and cultures around the world.
- In verse 12: “And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
- Jesus told us in Matthew 7:15-20, that we “would know a tree by its fruit”. He is talking about believers here. It is not about how long ago we prayed a prayer, but the fruit that we bear as disciples of Jesus Christ.
- We also know that through the finished work of Jesus Christ we have Salvation from sins, healing from all sickness and disease, and deliverance from every type of demonic oppression.
Too often when we read about the Temple of God as in the Old Testament, we may be quick to brush over it. However, we should pay attention to this, because as New Covenant believers we are each a temple of the Holy Spirit. This is just one example of how the Temple in the Old Testament relates to us as believers today. I pray that you will study these passages for yourself, and that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened to know who we are as new creations in Christ Jesus.