A Piece of the Re-built Temple

UV 2743/10000 A Piece of the Re-built Temple
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
John 2 v 19
Jesus allowed His own body, the very temple of God where He dwells in fullness of grace and truth to be destroyed and mutilated. He submitted Himself to this destructive act, knowing full well that by it a new and living temple would be built consisting of all who believe in the redeeming power of His act of love for all mankind. He willingly submitted Himself to all that evil can pile on Him and then proved to many eyewitnesses that He overcame death, destruction and judgement. He then began the historic mission of re-building the living Temple in place of the inanimate temple made with human hands. He did this to make each of us a piece of the living Temple, a piece of the Kingdom of God and a piece of heaven. Other earthly priests and kings need a physical paraphernalia like physical robes, rituals, ceremonies, thrones, crowns, palaces, armies to prove they are priests or kings but Jesus divested Himself of all physical manifestations. We are not confined or limited by physical location or restraints or protocols. As part of the living temple, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven, we can be natural, spontaneous and supernatural at the same time. In short, we enjoy a great deal of spiritual freedom.
As a piece of the living Temple, the believer in Jesus and His act of love experiences holiness without which no man can approach or come near the Lord. As a piece of the Kingdom of God, the believer both is ruled by the Lord and rules in His name. He experiences power and grace of the one true, glorious and perfect King sent by God. As a piece of heaven or the Kingdom of heaven, we experience righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We are a finished work in that sense but the mystery is that we are also a work in progress. Jesus is building us into the new Temple, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven. It will be completed or perfected only in eternity. He is the Capstone and cornerstone of the Temple, Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven. As long as we are continually connected with the capstone, the cornerstone – the Christ or Anointed One to save and to re-build us according to the architectural plan of the Lord, we are involved in re-building. The piece is like the whole as in a holographic structure. Individually and collectively, we are the temple, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus said that He would raise up His body, the symbol and perfection of the Temple, the Kingdom of God on earth, the Kingdom of heaven on earth, in three days. He used His spiritual authority to command His body to be resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, we experience resurrection power through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our task of building the temple, the Kingdom of God on earth and the Kingdom of heaven on earth. Like Jesus, we need to die to or to destroy our old self with its lusts and ego and re-build the new self re-cast in the image of Christ and full of the fruit of the spirit of love, joy and peace. We are part of the process and being part of the process is progress. The piece is like the whole as in a holographic structure. Individually and collectively, we are the temple, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven.

Prateep V Philip