The Bible uses at least two metaphors explaining God’s house. One of them is found in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 where the Apostle speaks of our physical body, which he describes as a tent, (a temporary dwelling), yet 1 Corinthians 6:19 says it is the temple or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; however it will be dissolved or pass from this present state, but he assures us that we, Christ’s followers, have and are a part of a spiritual “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The second metaphor is that not only are we individually temples or houses of God, but we are being built together to form God’s spiritual house. Peter explains it using the imagery of a stone house, perhaps he is thinking about Jesus words to him in Matthew 16:18 following his declaration of God’s revelation to him that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, Jesus then reminding him that he was Peter (Greek Petros) meaning a piece of rock, but He (Jesus) was Petra meaning a mass of rock (see 1 Corinthians 10:4) upon which His house, His church, would be built. Not on Peter the piece of rock, but on Himself the mass of rock; Peter and all Christ followers are pieces of rock being built together “on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” Ephesians 2:20 (durable like rock, and the forces of evil cannot overpower it). And Ephesians 3:1-20 goes on to explain the mystery of this body or this house as it was revealed to Paul, is that all nationalities are being built together to form this house, the church, “in Christ through the gospel”.
The Mysterious House
By Rose Hill
There is a house mysterious indeed,
God wants it to grow with great speed.
This wonderful house our God is building,
As to Him our lives we are yielding.
For we are the material that He is using,
In putting us together our lives He’s fusing.
When in this house we don’t stand alone,
And Jesus Christ is the cornerstone.
This is a house wonderful to behold,
And beyond measure more precious than gold.
In fellowship with each other we will grow,
As more about Christ we come to know.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission