The Temple of God

Thank you very much to the Festival Choir, Festival Chorale. Wonderful job adding some inspiring music to services today here on Pentecost. And Mr. Barbol Schohe says a wonderful job with the music. Thank you, Mr. Barbol Schohe, for getting it all together for us today. And you guys are in the middle of a transition now with the Dallisandros coming into town. Terry and I have known them for quite some time. Terry and I and Mary worked together in Pasadena in the auditorium and in the Ambassador Foundation area. 30-some years—well, I won't say how long ago it was. And of course, Mary worked at the home office in Cincinnati for a while, too, before she then married Randy. So it's great to see them come to Chicago for you. And it's a young congregation here. I'm just looking at all the little kids. And I heard there's maybe 30-some little kids right now, which is wonderful, because that's the future of the congregation. And so that's very nice to see. And I see Bill Bradford with his paper airplanes—not Bill, but Billy—with his paper airplanes here at church. You know what I used to do in the late 60s at church? I made paper airplanes, and after services went up to the balcony and threw them off. And then the deacons would come up, tell me to clean up all my mess and my papers. But we used to see how long we could keep them in the air. And we had some good flight time. Do you find history a fascinating study? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in a past distant age? I know that the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages is one time I'm glad that I didn't live in. I know that much. Let's go back in history for a moment and recap the conditions about 1,000 years before Jesus Christ was born. And hopefully you'll like a little bit of history from time to time. Moral and spiritual conditions were very low at Shiloh when the prophet Samuel was born. And although God had desired to rule Israel, the people clamored for a national champion to rule them. They wanted a king. The first king chosen, Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, though a man of proven military ability, failed the tests that God gave him. And he was soon disqualified from being king. So young David, a shepherd boy from the tribe of Judah, was then chosen by God. And David proved by his wise choices to be a man after God's own heart. And as a great military strategist, David united the tribes and extended the national boundaries so that in his time, Israel enjoyed a greater fraction of the land promised to Abraham than has been the case ever since. David ruled as king for seven years in Hebron, then established his throne in Jerusalem after overthrowing the ancient Canaanite community there. His reign continued in Jerusalem for the next 32 years. And secure on his throne and dwelling in a magnificent palace made from cedar and stone and marble, David began to be concerned that he dwelled in a wonderful house, in a wonderful palace, and yet the invisible king of kings, his God, still dwelled in an aging, sometimes torn tent, the tabernacle, Moses' tabernacle. At first, the prophet Nathan gave David approval to construct an actual temple for God. But the following night, God intervened because David, God said, was the man of war and was not to build this first temple. And that task was then given to his son Solomon, although David did draw up the plans before he died. And the temple was to be a memorial to Israel and a dwelling place for God. And after the temple was built, Moses' tabernacle was then dismantled. There are some great lessons for us to learn in examining the temple of God that was built in Jerusalem. And that's where today's history lesson begins.

But that wasn't the first temple.

And there have been and will be successive temples of God built. In fact, we figure into the construction plans as well. And in examining the scriptures, I count five temples of God. So here on this day of Pentecost, let's take a quick look at the temples of God. And I believe you'll find it very relevant to this day. And I trust inspiring as well, especially since we are part of the temple-building story. So where do we start? As we go through the subject today, you'll see why we want to examine these temples and how they apply to us individually.

So number one, which is the one I first mentioned, was Solomon's Temple. That's number one, Solomon's Temple. We're going to turn to 1 Kings 6 here for a moment. Solomon's Temple was completed in 960 BC.

So it's almost a thousand years before Jesus Christ began his ministry. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. So, you know, about 400 years later, it was destroyed by the Babylonians. Most of the dimensions of the temple structure were twice as big as what the tabernacle used to be, what the tent used to be.

The temple is about twice the size. So 1 Kings 6, look at verse 1. And it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt. So they had the tent, the tabernacle, for a long time. After Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

Now the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was 60 cubits, its width 20, its height 30 cubits. That's about 100 foot long, 33 foot wide, and 50 foot high, if a cubit is 20 inches. Verse 7, and the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool made any noise while the temple was being built. It all just fit together on site, like big Lego blocks.

Verse 14, so Solomon built the temple and finished it. And then note, starting in verse 20, this is very important. Note the care and beauty that went into building the temple, and in particular the inner sanctuary. Verse 20, the inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, 20 cubits high, about 33 foot feet cubed. And he overlaid it with pure gold and overlaid the altar of Cedar. Verse 22, the whole temple he overlaid with gold, the whole thing, until he had finished all the temple.

Also he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary. Inside the inner sanctuary he made two carobim of olive wood, each 10 cubits high. Verse 27, then he set the carobim inside the inner room. They stretched out the wings of the carobim, so the wing of the one touched one wall, the wing of the other touched the other wall, and the wings touched each other in the middle of the room. And he also overlaid the carobim with gold. Instead of getting the picture of this place, verse 29, then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries with carved figures of carobim, palm trees, and open flowers.

Look at verse 30, and the floor! What people walked on! He overlaid with gold. Both the inner and outer sanctuaries. Verse 38, and in the 11th year in the month of Bull, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details according to its plans, so it was seven years in building it. So the Dallas Andros house is going up in, you know, a few months.

They don't have as much gold in theirs, but seven years to build Solomon's temple. The construction of God's temple under Solomon's rule, which is known today as Solomon's Temple, was a true masterpiece of its day. And it was a place for God himself to dwell. Remember that important fact as we proceed. That's one of the reasons that it was so ornate. And so carefully done. Look at 1 Kings chapter 8. Go a couple of pages over to 1 Kings chapter 8, verse 6.

Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place into the inner sanctuary of the temple. So the ark of the covenant was there, and they put it under the wings of the carobim. Verse 10. And it came to pass when the priest came out of the holy place, after having put the ark of the covenant in there, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the temple, filled the house of the Lord. God made it known that he was going to dwell there. Verse 12. Then Solomon spoke, and the Lord said he would dwell in the dark cloud.

And he did. Verse 13. I've surely built you, God, an exalted house and a place for you to dwell in.

And so God was present in Solomon's temple in the holy place, and the priest saw visible evidence of the moment the Lord entered. An interesting psalm adds further color to this story of God dwelling here between the carobim at Psalm 99 verse 1. I'll read it to you, Psalm 99 verse 1. The Lord reigns, let the people tremble, he dwells between the carobim. And that's actually referring to God's throne in heaven, in Psalm 99 verse 1. God dwells between the carobim on his throne in heaven. But the significance here is that then the physical replica on earth had God dwelling between these carved carobim inside the temple. So this is the first temple. Sadly, this beautiful historic piece of architecture, Solomon's grand temple was not to last. It would be destroyed because of Judah's sins. God withdrew his support of the sinful nation. And in 586 BC, it was destroyed by the invading Babylonian military forces. And the inhabitants were taken captive away to Babylon and became slaves. So this leads us into our second temple. It's the Rubabels Temple. It's called. The second temple is often called the Rubabels Temple. 70 years after being carried away to Babylon, a reconstructed temple was then built back in Jerusalem. The Rubabels Temple stood between 516 BC and 70 AD. So almost 600 years it stood. It became known as the second temple. Construction of this new temple was begun in 535 with completion not occurring until 516. So it took about 20 years to do the second temple. And after the return from Babylonian captivity under the Rubabels, arrangements were made almost immediately to reorganize the desolated kingdom of Judah after its demise 50 years earlier. And first, they erected and dedicated an altar on the very spot where the old altar used to be before the destruction. And they cleared away the charred heaps of debris which occupied the site of the old temple, and then the foundations of the second temple were laid. And after a delay of about 14 years for various reasons and six years of further construction, it was ready for consecration in the spring of 516 BC, more than 20 years after the return from captivity. Look at Haggai chapter 2 about this. And you'll see why we're going to turn here in a moment. Let's look at some commentary written by the prophet Haggai about Zerubbabel's temple, the second temple. So a few interesting things for us to note. Haggai 2 verse 3.

Haggai said, is there anyone here who saw the first temple in all its glory? No doubt a few hands went up. They'd seen the first temple. And then he says, so now look at this second one. Is it not as nothing compared to the first one? The second one didn't quite measure up. Verse 4.

Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel says the Lord. You know, God's saying, don't get discouraged by this. And be strong, Joshua, son of Jehoshadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work. Crying with you, says the Lord of hosts. Verse 6. For thus says the Lord of hosts once more. It's a little while yet, but I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land. I will shake all the nations, and they shall come to the desirable nations. And I will fill this temple with glory. So the second temple didn't look as good as the first one that Solomon built. But God said, don't worry, I'm actually going to fill this temple with glory one at some time in the future. Verse 8. The silver is mine, the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. And the glory of this later temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts. Do you know what Haggai's talking about here? Another temple that would be filled with God's glory, even though this second one really wasn't. And recalling the glory of the first temple, a measure of disappointment set in with the people. And when the foundation of the second temple was first laid, when they returned from captivity, put the altar in its old place, and started to rebuild the destroyed temple, Solomon wept, says in Ezra chapter 3. Sorry, those who remembered the first temple of Solomon, the people wept. They cried. It wasn't as nice as the first one. The Babylonian Talmud indicates five things that were lacking in this second temple, in this temple of the rubber bell. Five things that were in the first temple that weren't in the second one. First of all, the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments was gone. It was not there. It was not there. Secondly, the holy fire that miraculously appeared to light the altar was not there.

The divine presence of God, what they called the Shekinah glory, was not there. The spirit of prophecy that was there before was not there. And the Urim and Thummim that they used to consult to see what God's will was, was not there. So, five main things missing in the second temple. The people looked and said, this thing's just no good compared to the first one, and they weren't happy about it. Haggai said, don't worry, at a future time, the glory of the Lord will return to his temple. Also, in the second temple, the holy place was separated by a curtain, by a veil, rather than a wall. Solomon's temple had a wall into the holy place, into the holy of holies. The second one had a curtain, a veil. Yet, consider it was to this very temple, later renovated by King Herod, that Jesus Christ came and visited as a human being. God made flesh. And what's also interesting, if you read our Bible reading program about this, there's a reason to believe that the second temple may have been the house where Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem on that first day of Pentecost.

There's some good evidence that when the Holy Spirit came on the first day of Pentecost, the early church, the 120 disciples were gathered at the temple, on that day of Pentecost. Because what else do you do in a holy day? You go to the synagogue, you go to the temple, that's where you'd be. And so, did the Holy Spirit return at that moment to the temple? But not to the building.

This was the beginning of the New Testament church, the spiritual temple of God, you and me, that provided a sense of continuity from one temple to the next, from the physical temple to the spiritual temple. But Haggai puts these discouraging sentiments into the mouths of the audience. They're all thinking it, and Haggai had said it. The New is inferior to the Old, and that fact, along with other discouraging circumstances of the captivity, had the people thoroughly depressed back when the second temple was built.

Perhaps we reflect sometimes on the accomplishments of the church in the past. We think on huge congregations, five or six congregations in one city, superb buildings and grounds, world-class concerts, abundant financial means, a glo-girdling work. We think that, you know, we want the good old days back. The second temple's not as good as the first kind of thing. And we look on the more modest physical situation of today and become discouraged, wondering what is the use of carrying on with the temple building where God is delegated to us, when our physical circumstances don't seem to match what we had before. But as we know, that's not the point.

Around 19 BC, Herod the Great began a massive renovation and expansion of the second temple complex. And the big expansion of the second temple that Herod did was what Jesus Christ then came to when he walked this earth. The old temple was actually torn down, a new one built in its place. But the sacrificial rituals continued all the way through the renovation, so they say it was still just the second temple. But in 66 AD, the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. And four years later, in 70 AD, Roman legions under Titus reconquered and subsequently destroyed much of Jerusalem and destroyed the second temple.

So this leads us to the third temple, and this day of Pentecost. And the third temple is you and me. And we are what Haggai was talking about. We are what was prophesied to come when the glory of God would return to his temple, something the second temple was missing. Like I said, there were at least five things missing from the second temple that were in the first.

So we're the third temple, you and me. The people of God, the Church of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, today comprise the temple of God. And upon the crucifixion of our Savior, the veil in the second temple, the curtain closing off the Holy Place, was miraculously torn down.

Look at Matthew 27, verse 51. And I'll read it to you here, Matthew 27, verse 51. So let's read the biblical account of the beginning of our temple. It's in Acts chapter 2. I'm going to turn over to Acts chapter 2 here. And as we ponder the glory of the former temples, as we think on the intricate and elaborate artwork of Solomon's temple, as we imagine the pure gold covering the walls and even the floor, as we see the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Place, we start to glean some respect and admiration for the diamond-covered, bejeweled and gilded temple that God is creating in each one of us. We are a replacement for that gold, for that silver, for that fine artwork. This temple, this temple, is greater than the former temples, as Haggai prophesied it would be. What God is working in each one of us, the beautiful spiritual craftsmanship, cannot be compared with a former physical building. Haggai was right. Acts 2, verse 1, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Remember when the first temple was dedicated? The cloud of God. The wind moved in. Remember that in the first temple, Solomon's temple? Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each one of them. What did the priests see in the first temple? The altar was miraculously lit on fire, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, verse 4, and began to speak with other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. In verse 16, what happened here on the day of Pentecost is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel. Verse 17, Joel says, And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and of my men servants and of my maid servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. Go down to verse 32. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. Verse 38, Peter said to them, Repent that every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And as we know, it is up to God's calling. And so what happened on the first day of Pentecost extends to each of us here today, and as many as God has called since.

This leads us straight into the epistles of the Apostle Paul. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 2. I'm going to read verses 19 through 22. Ephesians 2, verse 19.

So because of this indwelling now of the Holy Spirit in God's people, verse 19 says, We are no longer then strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of the building of God. Verse 20. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone of this building. Verse 21. In whom the whole building being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. So God doesn't dwell in a physical building anymore, no matter how much gold is on the floor.

We are now where God dwells. It's a huge spiritual transformation in our lives. It's almost unbelievable, actually, to think that God is placing each one of us into his temple and dwelling in us, saying that we are his temple.

The size and spectacle of the Temple of Solomon cannot compare. Do we fully appreciate what God is doing through each of us who are filled with the Holy Spirit? Do we appreciate the miracle that occurred on that day of Pentecost that has been extended to us?

I'm going to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and read two verses. Verses 16 and 17. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 16, where this is spelled out very plainly once again. 1 Corinthians 3, 16. Paul tells the Corinthians, Do you not know that you are the temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in you? But then notice verse 17. Here's the warning. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy. Which temple you are. So what is this telling us? Therefore, we must live our lives in a manner worthy of being God's temple, respecting the vessel that we have now become upon our conversion. The temple of Solomon was treated with great respect.

It was considered a holy place. And God dwelt there. And so today, we must not allow our lives to defile the temple of God either.

How are we walking each day? How are we talking? How are we living?

Is our temple lined with gold on the inside? That's the question for us today. Do we live up to being the temple of God? Is gold covering the floor of our lives, of our temple? Or is it besmirched? Is it scratched and damaged?

How sacred are the holy places in our lives? So it certainly gives us a moment to pause and consider. If we are now God's temple, and He's now living in us, not some stone building, how well are we living up to that calling? Something for us to think about. Those elements of the first temple that we're missing in the second temple now have spiritual counterparts in the third temple, in us, in the Church of God. So rather than the ark of the covenant containing the Ten Commandments, the members of the Church of God now have the law of God written on their hearts, we now house the law.

Rather than the divinely ignited holy fire for the sacrifices, we in the Church now are offering up a living sacrifice each day of our lives.

The indwelling glory of God abides within the members now, not in a physical building, but in the spiritual temple. The Church of God does have the prophetic word confirmed, as we read in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 19. And rather than consult the urum and the thummon, let's try saying that fast, those of us in the Church are now able to consult the full written word of God. We don't need the urum and thummon anymore. We go here to find out what God's will is. And then, with this, we receive discernment through the church. God's Holy Spirit. And so we can make spiritual decisions. We can make decisions that lead us in the way God would want us to go, based on His word, and by Him now, living in us. We don't need the urum and thummon. It's the Church of God, the spiritual temple, that will obtain the greatest glory of all when it is fully glorified. In fact, we will be actually deified. At the time of Christ's return and upon our resurrection to spirit life, we will partake of the divine nature. That's the ultimate goal of this third temple. It'll be so much greater than the first one or the second one. The glorified Church will then dwell with Christ at the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem, which is actually a fourth temple, which again provides continuity to the theme of the temple. That of a dwelling place, a house, a home for God and His family. I'll have you just write down here a couple more scriptures to describe what God is doing through each of us as His temple. I won't read them completely, but you can jot down these for your notes. That's in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20, where we're told, do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? That's plain and simple. Do you not know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Within those verses. Then in 2 Corinthians 6, verses 16 through 18, Paul says, for you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. God will dwell in us as His temple. Let's take a quick look at the two remaining temples. This will round out the sermon and give us a vision of what lies ahead for us and all humankind. Imagine these other two temples that are coming in the future. Picture them in your mind's eye. Number four is the Millennial Temple.

We read about that in Ezekiel chapters 40 through 43. I'm actually going to note a verse in Ezekiel 43 here in a moment. But in Ezekiel chapters 40 through 43, we're given the plans for God's Millennial Temple. Plans are all drawn up for us, so to speak. It's to be constructed after Jesus Christ returns to the Mount of Olives, to Jerusalem to set up His Father's kingdom for a thousand years here on earth.

And the temple sanctuary is described in enough detail to recognize that design is very much like the Temple Solomon built, and very much like the original tabernacle in its design. The design of those earlier structures, of course, were given by God to reflect the pattern of His heavenly throne, His heavenly temple. There's some correlation there.

Ezekiel's vision is of Jerusalem and the Promised Land during the millennium. So let's just note a few verses in Ezekiel 43. So returning to the east gate of the city, Ezekiel here in his prophecy is given a glimpse of the awesome and thrilling arrival of Jesus Christ to this newly constructed temple. It's a Millennial prophecy.

Back in chapter 10, Ezekiel had talked about God leaving the temple after it was destroyed, and now here in Ezekiel 43, he's talking about God returning again. And this is in the Millennium. Ezekiel 43 verse 1, So what's the fifth temple?

It's the New Jerusalem Temple. There's another temple at the very end, the New Jerusalem Temple. This is after the Millennium. The New Jerusalem, which is the city of God, will contain temple pillars of the faithful.

Temple pillars of the faithful. Revelation 3.12. This is turned there for a moment. Revelation 3.12. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem. This is talking about the period of the New Jerusalem now, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name. So we eventually become pillars in the temple of God during the Millennium, after the Millennium, I mean. So that takes us to Revelation 21, where we read about the new heaven and the new earth. Revelation 21, verse 1.

Now, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth has passed away. Also, there was no more sea. So this is, you know, a spiritual kingdom now. Verse 2. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God as a bride adorned for her husband. But verse 22, Revelation 21, verse 22. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

So what is the New Jerusalem temple? It's the Lord God and the Lamb. They are the temple, the focal point of the new city of God, of the holy city. And we will be pillars in that temple. God will be the temple, and we will be pillars in it, and then on for eternity.

I want to conclude and wrap up this Day of Pentecost message by reading one more passage from the book of Acts. Acts 20. Let's turn to Acts 20. And it kind of fits in with the first part of the service today, about God has given us a job to do in this age, as Spirit-led members of his New Testament church, as members of his temple today.

As the temple of God, what should we be about? As we purify ourselves, as we make sure gold is lining inside of our lives. What should we be working to accomplish? What did the apostles do? Because we should do likewise. Acts 20 verse 16. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia. For he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. So here's a Pentecost story right here. So verse 17. From my lead as he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you. He said, I served the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials. You know, he had a tough life as an apostle, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. Verse 20. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly, and even went from house to house. So he was preaching and teaching in members' homes. He was preaching publicly like on Mars Hill. Verse 21. Testifying to Jews and also to Greeks. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So he was preaching the gospel. Verse 24. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. But Paul took the job of preaching the gospel very seriously as he became filled with the Holy Spirit, as he became part of the temple of God now. Not only did he make sure he was purified on the inside, like the gold of the earlier temple, but that he also preached the good news of God's kingdom. Christ said to the apostles earlier, going to all the world and preached the gospel to every creature. Christianity is not a popular message today, and increasingly more so.

And our version of the gospel is even less popular. As I say at the Home Office, it's a tough crowd that we're preaching to. A tough crowd. And even our most avid readers and followers that we try to get to come out to a personal appearance campaign, here in Chicago we've invited 4,000 people. Got 120 signed up. It's a tough crowd to get them to get off the couch and come. Many of them know they should be keeping the Sabbath. They know they should be keeping the Holy Days. And they write us letters and they call and they order all the booklets and they're reading everything. They even call the minister, but then they don't show up. It's a tough crowd. So what we're endeavoring to do with the America at the Time is now personal appearance campaigns is just a small part of our approach to preach the Gospel for us to stand on the figurative Mars Hill and try to make a difference before Christ returns. Because as the temple of God, ours is a mission that comes from another world. We're not of this world. Ours is a mission for the New Testament church, the temple of God, you and me, to accomplish, ours is a mission from another dimension, from a spiritual dimension. And therefore, we must live our lives in a worthy manner, respecting the vessel that we have become upon conversion and we have become now the temple of God. For on this feast of Pentecost, this very day of Pentecost, you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God now dwells in you and me.