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From Heaven With Love
bered that it was written of Him, “Zeal for Thy house has consumed
Me.”
Psalm 69:9
, RSV. Soon the courts of the temple were free from
unholy traffic. Deep silence and solemnity settled on the scene of
confusion. The presence of the Lord had made sacred the temple
reared in His honor.
In cleansing the temple, Jesus announced His mission as the
Messiah, and entered upon His work. The temple was designed to
be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. It was God’s purpose
that every created being should be a temple for the indwelling of the
Creator. Darkened and defiled by sin, the heart of man no longer
revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the
Son of God, God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the
heart becomes again His temple.
God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual
witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews did not
yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts
of the temple, filled with unholy traffic, represented all too truly the
temple of the heart, defiled by sensual passion and unholy thoughts.
In cleansing the temple, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the
heart from sin—the earthly desires, selfish lusts, and evil habits that
corrupt the soul. “The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to
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His temple; the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight...
. But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand
when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire... . He will sit as a
refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and
refine them like gold and silver.”
Malachi 3:1-3
, RSV.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him
will God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye
are.”
1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
.
No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken
possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple.
But He will not force an entrance. He says, “Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him.”
Revelation 3:20
. His presence will cleanse and
sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, “a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:22
, RSV.