And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.' (I Peter 2:5)
This is what the Lord God says: “The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’
“Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!
“Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.
“Does anyone remember this house—this Church—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all! But now the Lord says: Be strong, my people. Be strong, all of you still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when I led the Israelites out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.
“In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Church. I will fill this place with glory. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. The future glory of this Church will be greater than its past glory. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22)
No comments:
Post a Comment