The Church building is not the house of God. 

In the Old Testament, the temple was the house of God. It contained the ark of the covenant and was the very presence of God among his people. The Psalms are full of statements about the excitement of going to the Lord’s house. When someone went to Jerusalem, it was a big deal, as they would be able to go to the temple and worship. 

Christians, unfortunately, have adopted the same language, and I fear the same concepts. They will often call the Church building the House of the Lord. A worship leader says happily, “Isn’t it good to be in the house of God?” And people will respond with cheers, applause, and “Amen.”

The Church building is never referred to in the New Testament in this way. The Lord does not live in buildings made by human hands. In fact, a few passages give us a completely different understanding. Hebrews 3:6 states, “and we are his house,” in reference to Christians. The Apostle Peter, in his letter to the Church, writes, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). The Apostle Paul will tell the believers in Corinth that “You are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). Elsewhere he will call individual believers’ body’s “the temple of God” as well. 

When people come to follow Jesus, they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and their body becomes a vessel for God. Then, when the group of believers get together, they are the house of God. A spiritual house where the Lord reigns and works. Christians have access to God without going to Jerusalem, having a physical temple, and without a priest to intercede. 

Christians need no longer say, “Isn’t it good to be in the house of the Lord,” they need only say, “Isn’t it good to BE the house of the Lord.”