This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Considering the Church” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, September 11, 1994.

We begin this morning our scripture reading in the book of First Kings. We are in First Kings chapter eight. We are beginning our reading at verse one. Give your attention now to the reading of God’s inspired and fallible word. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast in the month of Bethany, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord in the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those that the priests and the Levites bring up.” King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the Ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitudes.

And the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, the most holy place even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherry beans spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherry beans covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without. And there they are unto this day.”

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

Then spake Solomon, the Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in forever. The king turned his face about and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel stood.

He said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and half with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house that my name might be therein, but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a house in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David, My father, whereas it was in mine heart To build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build a house, but thy son that shall come forth from out of thine own loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake. And I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel, and I have set there a place for the ark wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

1 Timothy 3 verse 14. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I carry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Father, we are desirous of seeing your churches filled up in the full complement of those whom you would draw to yourself. We thank you, our God, that you are blessing your word throughout the world. Help us in our prayers for your servants who minister in your name, that they would be given grace, as also they are preserved in faithfulness, to declare your word aright. We also ask, Lord, that where your people suffer for the cause of the gospel, may they know that there are many who pray for them, even after the likeness of their Savior, who makes intercession for them in heaven without fail. Bless us now as we reflect upon your word, and Lord, we ask that we may go forth from this place, knowing your word better, understanding you, our God, better and better. This we ask in Jesus’ name, amen. It is difficult to imagine a structure more magnificent than the ancient temple to Diana, the goddess of the earth, truly a Mother Earth figure, and also the goddess of love. Her temple was recognized as one of the wonders of the ancient world.

It was built in the city of Ephesus. Its foundations were laid approximately 500 years before the birth of Christ, just about The Israelites were looking at that pitiful excuse for a temple that they had erected upon their return from the Babylonian exile, their return under the leadership of Zerubbabel the prince and Joshua the priest. While the Jews were weeping over what they perceived to be the lost glories of the reigns of David and Solomon and Hezekiah and even Josiah, the Asians of Ephesus stood at the edge of a dawning golden age. That glory and all its glory burst upon the world two centuries later. in a marriage of East and West under Alexander the Great. Shortly before Alexander’s rise to world dominance, the Temple to Diana in Ephesus, having been in construction now for 260 years, often delayed by vandalism and fire, was completed. In length, it was 425 feet. In breadth, 220 feet. It is now recognized as the largest of Greek temples. On its massive stone and marble base stood 120 pillars, each of them 60 feet in height. This massive structure drew the attention of the entire world, and we can understand how.

After all, Diana was sort of the native goddess to the world. She in herself drew the attention of the world. She offered not only love, but the promise of fertility, agriculturally, domestically and commercially. Her temple then had become the world’s largest religious center, and also the most famous and the most secure banking institution in the ancient world. The reputation of this temple was only enhanced by its beautiful surroundings.

The temple faced west, across the Kayster River that meandered past a beautiful, extensive forest to the north, and then past the portal of the temple before flowing on the three or four miles to the Aegean Sea. On the south side of the temple flowed the Salinas River, which emptied into the Kastor. This river came from the city of Ephesus itself. A mile upstream was the port of the city itself. Imagine coming by boat. river from the Aegean, catching sight of that temple, then moving past the temple along its south side on the Salinas River, only then to be struck by the panorama of the city itself, which until that point had been hid behind the temple.

Picture this boat ride in the early morning hours, the sun rising in front of you, radiating its brilliance behind the temple and city. Seeing this spectacle, you may conclude that you had arrived at the site of the world’s most perfect offering, a veritable paradise on earth.

It would be nearly 400 years after Alexander’s death that a small Jewish man by the name of Paul, a convert to Christianity, would write to his dear friend, a son in the faith, and a young pastor named Timothy. presently serving a congregation of God’s people in the city of Ephesus, the very city that embraced the cult of Diana. Paul tells Timothy his purpose for writing. towards the end of the third chapter in his first letter. Verse 14, he tells Timothy that his intention is to visit soon. However, he may be delayed.

Therefore, he feels compelled to write so that Timothy might know how to conduct his affairs in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.” Now, certainly Paul’s statement is meant to be something of a put-down for Timothy. After all, we would fully expect Timothy, would we not be well acquainted and well instructed already in the proper ordering of the affairs of the church. But it seems that with this statement.

Paul is calling attention to the fact that Timothy and his ministry stand in jeopardy. And the apostle’s letter now, in part, is intended to pull Timothy, the young pastor, back on track. But note Paul’s message. He is subtly critical of Timothy, but yet he lays his criticism within a statement that has a definite positive ring. In fact, so positive is Paul’s message that its sheer glory will literally overwhelm Timothy.

And beyond Timothy, those to whom Timothy ministers For surely this letter will not only be read by Timothy, but it will be read to all who are a part of that assembly in Ephesus. But consider this assembly. Consider this church in Ephesus. For instance, in light of the temple to Diana, beyond the edge of the city itself, the saints at Ephesus are gathering in the shadow of that astonishing house of the goddess.

It is a house made of the things of this world. It is a house made of wood, stone, and mortar. It is very cleverly and artistically decorated, elaborately designed. But the Apostle, you see, speaks of the house of God, which well might be put in contrast to the house of Diana.

And when he speaks of the house of God, he means the people of God, who can hardly claim such an impressive structure as the cult of Diana. Think of where these Christians might meet. Do you think they had a structure to gather in that in any sense approached the grandeur of that temple beyond the edge of the city. Could it be that these saints actually gathered in a poor dwelling, one that was unadorned, one that was simple and even common?

Paul speaks about the house of God, but you must now realize what the Apostle is doing as he uses such language. By that language, he is not speaking about a structure made of wood, stone, and mortar, elaborately designed and decorated. He is speaking about the people themselves. Paul’s interest is in the people, not the structure in which those people gather. And by calling those people the house of God, he is calling attention to a glory that is theirs far exceeding that of all the world’s wonders combined. This man is thinking and speaking on a different level.

Now, every stroke of his pen will insist upon this very glory for the saints. They are the assembly,” he goes on to say. They are the assembly that is the Church. Did you know that that’s what the word Church means? The word Church does not mean the structure. It does not mean the building. The word Church means assembly.

These are the assembly of the living God, he says. In the temple beyond the edge of the city, an assembly is gathering to honor a lifeless image to a nonexistent deity. And although there were many in that assembly gathered from the world over who gave testimony to all that that goddess had done for them in their lives, testimonies run rampant in paganism.

Even though there were those gathered there who gave testimony to all that this goddess had done for them, this goddess has no life in herself. She can’t speak, she can’t move. She cannot act on anyone’s behalf, regardless of what is claimed for her. Neither life nor love are within her control in any sense whatsoever.

But the true and living God That’s Paul’s word, the living God. The true and living God has acted in creating the world. He’s even created the wood stone that makes up the temple out of which now Diana’s sanctuary is constructed. He has even created the stuff out of which her idol has been constructed. This true and living God has acted in creating the world.

He has also acted in saving Noah, calling Abraham, rescuing Israel from Egypt, establishing David, returning Israel to the land, and in sending his own dear son to die for sinners. among whom Paul identifies himself to be the chief, and in raising up his son from the dead on the third day, in order that sinners such as Paul might have eternal life. Diana’s temple boasts of 120 pillars, well anchored so as to reinforce her claims to the truth. But here in the house of God, the assembly of the living God, we witness the genuine pillar and mainstay of the truth.

That which has all the outward splendor and visible glory is of no account to the apostle, while that which appears so mundane, so simple, so unadorned, is of great value. and the Church at Ephesus may feel inferior while living in the shade of Diana’s domain. They may even be tempted to move in a direction that they want not to move, just for the purpose of laying claim to a greater piece of outward glory. But Paul draws out before them their excellence, an excellence that is hidden, subdued, understated, and even dismissible as far as the world of Diana worshipers are concerned. But we must not think that this excellence of which Paul speaks is discerned mainly or even chiefly by contrast to pagan worship.

You see, much more pressing for the church is the temptation to pursue the very spirit that would seduce us with pagan temples, but comes at us in the guise of biblical religion with the defense of God’s law. Much more pressing For the Church is the temptation of that spirit that would seduce us with pagan temples, to be sure, but comes at us in the guise of biblical religion and with the sanction of biblical law. Satan knows so well we may have sent enough to turn from idols and from their shrines. But can we resist an appeal that is clothed with the name of Jehovah, his temple, and his commandments?

This is precisely the difficulty that Timothy is facing. Yes, the shrine to Diana is a threat, but there are those who are coming at him from an entirely different direction. Yet Paul would have him know that though they are coming at him from an entirely different direction, that they are imbibing of the same spirit that is responsible for that shrine to Diana.

It can be said that Paul’s language here in the 15th verse of 1 Timothy 3 may have a target in Diana’s temple, but it is language lifted out of the Old Testament, language that described Solomon’s temple. The Church since Timothy’s day has self-righteously declared herself by idolatry, but sought at the same time to defend her lavish, expensive, and expansive structures by an appeal to Solomon’s temper. In fact, many a building campaign has been justified by an appeal to Solomon’s grand building enterprise sanctified by an appeal to God’s law and the commandments that rise out of the Old Testament.

But you note once more now that Paul in his remarks, makes no reference to the structure in which the Church gathers in Ephesus. Actually, he takes his language from 1 Kings chapter 8, which we read this morning. All of the references that we find now Paul’s statement in that 15th verse of 1 Timothy 3 are lifted in some way or other out of 1 Kings 8. So Paul takes the language pertaining to Solomon’s temple, and now he applies it to the church in Ephesus.

He takes language that is meant to refer to a building, and he applies it to the people. The house of God is not a building, any building, be it pagan or Hebrew, be it even the temple in Jerusalem, much less this place. Instead, the house of God is now defined as the people of God. that is, the Church of the Living God, which is now comprised of Jews, yes, but also Gentiles who have welcomed the Lord’s Messiah and the Lord’s Christ. This, then, in the assembly, in the congregation of the people, is where God, the Living God, now resides, where he dwells.

But you must be impressed with how Paul now stretches the language that he lifts out of 1 Kings 8. So intimate is the bond that exists between God and his people, that not only are God’s people his house, but they are perfectly equated with the glory cloud that appeared on that day when the temple of Solomon was dedicated. You remember, the priests had to retreat. They couldn’t even stay in the house because of the cloud. Now Paul uses pillar language.

He says that this assembly is the pillar of truth, and he identifies the church as the pillar cloud. of it. That pillar of cloud was the glory of God, and now the people of God are being described as His glory. Even further, they are the pillar of truth. They are the pillar of God’s faithfulness and a memorial to the fact that he has kept his promise. Solomon makes a point of making mention of the promise that God had given to David. God has kept all of his promises.

We have been taken up into the cloud of His presence then, and we are bound to our God in our identity as the people of God. We are His glory, and He has made us to be such by the work and ministry of His Son, application of that work to us by his Holy Spirit. We are the mainstay. Not just the ground or the foundation or the support, as some translations have it, that we are the mainstay of this truth, the memorial to this truth. that is, an abiding testament to and a permanent fixture now in the world declaring his faithfulness. Here in us, God is pleased to establish a memorial for himself in the world.”

Timothy, in hearing these words, is most certainly overwhelmed. with the superlative excellence of the church. Those people, in fact, who are gathered with him in the city of. The church has an excellence that cannot be superseded by the site that reach any pagan widening up the Kayser River as Diana’s temple and offices come into view. But the church has an excellent even a greater excellence that cannot be superseded by the site that reach any Jew climbing from the Jordan Valley to the Mount of Olives there to behold Solomon’s Temple in the city of Jerusalem. No, as Jesus once said, something greater than Solomon. Now, such a consideration as that forces a discipline upon Timothy and calls him back to the superlative glory of the Church that he serves.

But think of yourself now. Does not such a consideration instruct you as to how you want to treat the Church, and how you want to conduct yourself in the Church, as part of the Church. For, after all, you are the house of God. are the assembly of the living God. You are the glory cloud and pillar of God’s presence. You are the mainstay, memorializing your God’s faithfulness in Jesus Christ, your Savior.

Father, the sights of this world will blind us. But Lord, make us blind to them, that we might see those things that are not seen, and wonder at the glory. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, by the work of the Spirit in us, we have been made new, and we have been given new eyes so as to see the excellence, yes, of our God, but also of his church. We being that church. And all of this, O God, that your name may be praised and hallowed, and that we may be sanctified for service unto the end. Keep us, O God. May we bless you forever. Through Christ our Savior, amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.