December 21 - God’s Temple 하나님의 성전

December 21 - God’s Temple

 

“Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you?” - 1 Corinthians 3:16

 

 

This verse creates Paul's third metaphor to describe the local church in Corinth. First, he compared them to a field being planted and watered by himself and Apollos as God's workers (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). Then, he compared their community of Christians to a building constructed on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ by other teachers and leaders (1 Corinthians 3:10–15).

Now, Paul compares them to the temple of God. The word for "you" here is plural, not singular. He asks his readers, as the local church in Corinth, if they understand that they are God's temple and God's Spirit lives in them. This would likely have been an unusual idea for those living there. Those who had seen it would likely have pictured the massive, sprawling Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which is truly an impressive structure. By comparison, the church in Corinth likely had no building of its own, meeting in smaller groups in various members' homes instead. How could they possibly be God's temple?

Paul's answer is to the point: God's Spirit lives in them (1 Corinthians 2:12; 6:19). To be clear, God's Spirit lives in each believer individually, but Paul shows here that in this way, the Holy Spirit occupies the collected believers known as the church. Thus, they become the temple of God, even without a physical structure to meet in. As Christians often say, "the church" is the people, not the building.

 

A wall blocked the entrance to a garden, called the court of Gentiles, into Herod’s sanctuary.  They built the wall to distinguish a different place from the sanctuary. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, there was an inscription written in Latin and Hebrew on the wall outside, which prohibited Gentiles from entering the wall's confines. 

 

Paul said Jesus dying on the cross pulled down the wall of partition. When Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This means all believers can come to God directly through Jesus Christ. From this moment on, the meaning of the temple is that the temple is no longer confined to a building made by men’s hand, but rather it is the living temple formed by God’s people (1 Corinthians 3:16). “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. God said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

 

In the Old Testament, the temple served as a physical, solid representative of God. But now God’s people have become His temple to serve in the spirituality of Christ and as the representative of Jesus. Like people who went to the temple to know who God was, people are discovering who God is by observing Christians. We, as Christians, have become the temple where God dwells in this world. 

 

Both Jews and Gentiles can come close to God without any discrimination, and they can form a spiritual union with God. The reason for not being able to form the proper vertical relationship with God or the proper horizontal relationship with other people is not because of the problems of humanity’s intellect, politics, or social skills but rather a spiritual problem. Thus, we can come closer to God through the cross and be closer to our brothers and sisters in Christ (1 John 1:3). 

 

 

 

Today’s Prayer: Pray that God moves your family and friends to live with dependence upon him and a wholesome awareness of their morality. 

Prayer Pointer: Spending time with God through prayer and His Word is a prerequisite for having a great life and fulfilling your purpose. – Joyce Meyer

Bible Reading: Micah 6-7; Revelation 12

 

 

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12월21일 - 하나님의 성전

 

“너희가 하나님의 성전인 것과 하나님의 성령이 너희 안에 거하시는 것을 알지 못하느뇨” - 고전 3:16

 

바울이 고린도의 지역 교회의 정체성을 말하기 위해 세 번째로 교회에 대한 바유와 은유로  설명합니다. 이미 그는 첫번째로, 교회를 하나님의 일꾼으로서 자신과 아볼로가 심고 물을 주는 밭이라고 설명했고(고전 3:5-9), 두번째로, 교회의 교사들과 지도자들이 그리스도인 공동체로서 예수 그리스도의 기초 위에 지어가고 있는 건물에 비유하여 걸명합니다(고전 3:10-15).

바울은 이제 하나님의 성전을 설명합니다(고전 3:16). "너희가”는 단수가 아니라 복수로 표현되어 있습니다  그는 고린도의 그리스도인들에게 지역 교회로서 하나님과 함께 하는 성전이며 하나님의 영이 그들 안에 계시다는 사실을 알고 있는지 묻습니다. 이러한 생각은 고린도 지역의 그리스도인들에게는  특이한 생각이었습니다. 고린도 교인들은 예루살렘에 있는 거대한 유대인 성전을 상상했을 것입니다. 고린도교회는 지어진 자체 건물이 없어서 여러 교인들이 돌아가면서 가정에서 작은 소그룹으로 모였을 것입니다. 어떻게 그들이 하나님의 성전이 될 수 있겠습니까?

 

바울의 대답은 매우 중요합니다. 하나님의 영이 그들 안에 거하십시고(고전 2:12; 6:19), 하나님의 영은 각 신자안에 개별적으로 거하시지만, 바울은 여기서 성령께서 교회라고 하는 믿는 자들의 모임을 하나님꼐서 주관하신다는 것을 줍니다. 그들은 모임을 위한 물리적 건물이 없어도 하나님의 성전인 것입니다. 기독교인들이 흔히 말하듯이, "교회"는 건물이 아니라 사람들입니다.

 

헤롯 성전으로 들어가는 이방인의 들에는 입장을 금하는 담장이 있었습니다. 성전의 다른 곳과 구분하기 위해 담장을 세워 이방인들이 들어가지 못하게 한 것입니다.  유대인 역사가 요세푸스에 따르면, 그 담장에는 라틴어와 헬라어로 이방인들이 그 담장 통행을 금지하는 경고의 문구가 표기되어 있었다고 합니다.

 

바울은 예수님께서 십자가의 죽으심으로 하나님과 인간의 죄의 담을 헐으셨다고 말합니다. 예수님께서 십자가에서 운명하시는 순간, 성전 휘장이 위에서 아래로 둘로 갈라졌습니다 (마27:51). 휘장이 갈라진 것은 예수를 통하여 누구든지 하나님께 직접 나아 갈수 있다는 것을 의미합니다. 이 순간부터 하나님의 성전은 사람의 손으로 지은 건물이 아닌 그의 백성들로 된 살아있는 성전이 된 것 입니다(고전 3:16). “하나님의 성전과 우상이 어찌 일치가 되리요 우리는 살아 계신 하나님의 성전이라 이와 같이 하나님께서 가라사대 내가 저희 가운데 거하며 두루 행하여 나는 저희 하나님이 되고 저희는 나의 백성이 되리라 하셨느니라”(고후 6:16).

 

구약성경의 성전은 물체적이고, 하나님을 대신하는 고형물이었지만 이제는 하나님의 백성들이 성전이 되어 예수님의 대리자로 그리스도의 영안에서 하나님을 섬기고 있는 것입니다. 하나님을 알기 위해 성전을 찾은 것 같이 세상 사람들은 그리스도인들을 보고 하나님을 알게 되는 것입니다. 그리스도인들이 이 세상에  하나님께서 거하시는 성전이 되었기 때문입니다. 

 

유대인과 이방인이 아무런 차별 없이 하나님께 나아갈 수 있고 모두가 하나님과 더불어 영적인 연합을 이루게 되었습니다.하나님과의 수직적인 믿음의 관계나 사람들과의 수평적인 인간 관계가 잘 되지 않는 것은 지성이나 사회 정치적인 문제 때문이 아니라 궁극적으로 영적인 문제에 있는 것 입니다. 먼저 예수 그리스도의 십자가를 통해 하나님을 만나 교제한 후에 그리스도안의 형제 자매된 사람들과 사랑의 관계를 통해서 더 가까이 교제할 수 있는 것 입니다(요일1:3).

 

 

오늘의 기도: 하나님께서 당신의 가족과 친구들이 건전한 도덕성을 인식하고 하나님을 의지하며 살아가도록 기도하십시오.

기도 지침: 기도와 하나님의 말씀으로 하나님과 함께 하는 것은 위대한 삶을 살아가며 당신의 목적을 성취해 나가는데 전제 조건이 되는 것이다. - 조이스 마이어

성경 읽기: 미가 6-7장; 요한계시록 12장