Solomon's Temple Viewed as a Type of the Glorified Church
1 Kings 6:1-14
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt…


I. IN THIS TEMPLE WE HAVE A DIVINE IDEA.

1. The church in heaven is a Divine idea of mercy. What St. Paul said to and of those who composed the church at Corinth is applicable to the redeemed in heaven — "Ye are God's building." The idea of forming a society of perfect spirits claims God for its Author. Roman force, Popish prescription, and philosophic reasoning have failed to weld together in blissful harmony the spirits of men. The Almighty Intelligence is at the foundation of the "church of the firstborn." The plan of the building is God's plan.

2. The church in heaven is a Divine idea of remedial mercy. "Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish."

II. IN THIS TEMPLE WE HAVE A DIVINE IDEA EMBODIED.

1. The building of Solomon expressed the Divine contrivance or idea. It was God's thought made palpable or visible. The Supreme Being gave Solomon the idea, and he gave visible effect to it; he prepared the materials. As the king found them, they were unfit for use. Man in his natural state is unfit for the church in heaven. A sinner in the building of the glorified church would disfigure the whole edifice. A change is necessary here before such an one is fit for the perfected church. The statement — "Ye must be born again," is applicable to every man who has not experienced the change.

2. He prepared the materials at a distance from the temple. Lebanon was some distance from Zion, and here Solomon's men shaped the stone and wood, and hence it was the scene of action and noise, but it was all quiet at Zion; there was not the sound of hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard at Zion. And in a religious sense, all the squaring and shaping of character for the temple in heaven must be done and is, done on earth. There is no Gospel-hammer used in eternity to break men's hearts; there is no fiery blaze of Christian truth in heaven to burn out depravity and sin from the soul.

3. He prepared the materials by different kinds of agency. The glorified people of God have been prepared by different agencies for their position in the heavenly temple, but all instrumentalities have been under Christ. He works all according to His purpose.

III. IN THIS TEMPLE THERE IS THE UNION OF A VARIETY OF MATERIALS.

1. The temple of redeemed spirits in heaven is composed of a great variety of character — the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the learned and unlearned are there built into a splendid edifice. No family can be pointed out which has not a member placed in that building.

2. This variety is blended in perfect harmony. Every character has been shaped by Divine skill for its exact position in the structure. "Holiness to the Lord" is inscribed upon every "living stone" therein. The abiding principle of pure love is the uniting and harmonising principle. Rome has a kind of outward union, but no incorporation or vital unity; but the perfected church is one vitality, and for ever.

IV. IF THIS TEMPLE THERE IS MAGNIFICENCE.

1. Look at it as a work of art. The temple upon Zion was the marvel of creation, and the church in heaven is, and ever will be, the wonder of the universe! What a blaze of concentrated glories is that celestial temple, what consummate purity and Divine art!

2. As a work of art executed upon the noblest principle. Love to God moved King David to suggest the building, and love to God impelled his son Solomon to carry out the work. The glorified multitudes before the throne are there through the love of God — love brighter, wider, deeper and higher than imagination in her loftiest — Divinest soarings has ever described or even conceived — love which only the greatness of a God could have displayed.

V. IN THIS TEMPLE THERE IS GREAT VALUE.

1. The temple church is composed of spirit — hence of greater value. The building at Jerusalem cost nearly nine hundred millions of money, but the treasures of creation are a mere bauble in comparison to the glorified church.

2. The temple church is composed of spirit, through a greater agency than the edifice at Jerusalem — hence of more value. The structure in David's royal city was erected by Solomon, but the church is built into a holy temple by our Divine Saviour through the Holy Ghost. Solomon was a mat being, but "behold a greater than Solomon is here," in the work of humanist roration.

3. The temple church is composed of spirit for immortality. The splendid fabric on Zion lasted upwards of four hundred years, and then it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The glorified church, however, is to last for ever. "I give unto My sheep," says Christ, "eternal life." The good of all ages and climes are built into "a habitation for God through the spirit," and this building will continue longer than the sun, even for ever.

VI. IN THIS TEMPLE THERE IS GLORIOUS PURPOSE.

1. It was erected as a dwelling-place for God. On the mercy-seat of that hallowed building God met the high priest, and other men through him. Probably no higher end can be contemplated in any work than this — to make earth the house of God. The great purposes of the Incarnation are to make earth the residence of God — to eject Satan — to sap the foundations of his empire, and to turn this wilderness world into a Paradise, wherein innocence and God shall reign triumphantly for evermore.

2. As the dwelling-place of God for the good of mankind. What a sacred spot was the temple at Jerusalem! Here the Supreme and ever-blessed Potentate unfolded His purposes of mercy, and made man acquainted with redemption by blood. God dwells in the midst of disembodied spirits, as their Everlasting Light, and the Perennial Fountain of all their joy! A river of blessedness, pellucid and permanent, flows through the heavenly temple, and on either side of it grows the tree of life, whose fruits convey an element of immortality to the participants. We shall see God from every point of the glorious pavilion of redeemed and perfected men.

(J. H. Hill.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

WEB: It happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Yahweh.




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