|
"For we are laborers together with God: Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:9
Being in the construction business for many years I found that before you can ever build something there must first be a purpose and a plan. A purpose implies that whatever is built will have meaning. It will be used to serve a specific end. A plan is also necessary so that steps can be taken to assure that whatever is built will facilitate that intention. Both require an initial inner image to begin the process. You have to see the purpose and the plan, on the inside, before it can ever be transferred onto paper-presumably a blueprint.
When our Father in heaven sought out his purpose and plan for man he had an inner image of what this man should look like. According to Genesis chapter one, man was created in his image, after his likeness (Gen. 1:26). Although we know that God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and that he created man to be a spirit, there was much more involved than just creating man in his own class of being. In the mind of God he formed a specific profile for man, one that came from within his own heart. He saw man as a reflection of his glory where all of creation would know their creator through this prize creation.
Man was not only made of the highest order of created beings, he was made so exact to the image of God that any further exactness would have joined him to the Godhead. David said man was created just a little behind God (Psa. 8:5 - literal rendering). Paul affirmed this by saying, "...he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" (Eph.1:4). The word "before" refers to man being made holy just as God himself was holy, without any blemish, standing face to face as a reflection of the inner image and likeness of his own person! That spells out the exact purpose of God for man. The amazing part of all of this is God destined his house in Christ long before he ever formed his house in Adam. Although he constructed man to live this divine life in every way possible, he knew that sin would enter and seek to sabotage the order of God for man. In other words, he already had a plan to reconstruct his house with a built in security system that would prevent any saboteurs from ever entering in again. Jesus came as our redeemer, meaning he purchased us back to God. He re-deemed us as a depository of his holiness, where now we have this treasure (the image of God) in us, and one day, he will "...present us to himself as a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that we should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27).
The Bible calls Jesus the chief cornerstone. We are "living stones, built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:5). We are also called to be co-laborers with him. In other words, we are to work hand-in-hand with the Lord Jesus Christ in building his body into the house that God sought to have from the beginning. That's why Paul said, "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church" (1 Cor. 14:12).
This is our primary task. Our job is to "build ourselves us on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20), and then, "seek that we might excel to the building up of the church." Everywhere you find the word "edify" it is in reference to building the house of God. The Greek word is OIKODOME. It has to do with the act of building. What is it that we are building? We are building a habitation of God through the Spirit! We are building a holy temple in the Lord! If there is anything we need to do it is to stick with the original blueprint of heaven, and give ourselves as workers together with him in forming a building that will reflect the glory of the Lord!
|
