By Faith, Not by Sight: Why Does the Body Matter? (2 Cor. 5:1-10)

[Sung Psalm: 62]

Think about Solomon’s words at the dedication of the temple: “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

From the days of Moses to the days of David the ark of the covenant dwelt in a tent. The law of God – the 10 commandments – had resided in a tabernacle. (Yes, you could say that the word became stone “tabernacled” among them!)

But now – in Solomon’s day – at the dedication of the temple, the glory of the Lord (the same glory that had been reflected in Moses’ face) filled the house of the Lord.

From a tent to a house. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul will use the same image when speaking of the Christian. What is it about this picture that made Paul think of this in 2 Corinthians 3-6?

Well, if you go back and look at the architectural description of the building of the temple, you find that the same words are used to describe the building of the temple that had been used in the creation of Eve in Genesis 2. When God took Eve from Adam’s “side” – that word is used to describe the sides of the temple. Further, the word that is used to speak of the making of Eve is the architectural term, “to build.”

The LORD built Eve from the side of Adam.

And after taking a rib, the Lord closed up the flesh “underneath” – the word used in 1 Kings 6:6 to refer to the “lower” story of the temple.

It’s no accident that the creation of Eve and the building of the temple use the same language. This fits neatly with the way that Paul talks about the church as the bride of Christ, and the temple of the living God....