When God has His people undertake a building, it is not so that He might have an empty box dedicated to Him. Under the older covenant, even the holiest place of all contained furniture—the ark of the covenant with two great cherubim overarching the mercy seat. And the placement of that furniture meant a great deal—in that Holy of Holies, the law of God was kept inside the ark, but under the mercy seat. And so that is how we treasure our commitment to the law—under the mercy.
In the new covenant, the house of God contains three great items of furniture, and all three of them are gathering points for the people of God. The building itself is where the church, the ecclesia, the called out ones, gather or assemble. We are an assembly, but we are an assembly that has gathered in accordance with Scripture. We as God’s people are the church, but the furniture represents the reason for the church.
In chronological order, the central items of furniture a church should have are these—a font for baptisms, a pulpit for declaring the Word of God, and a Table so that the people of God might commune with their God. Now of course it should be perfectly obviously that these are simply tools that testify to God’s ordinances, saying amen to what the Scripture says about them. Baptisms can be performed at the river, without a font. Sermons can be preached from a tree stump, and often have been. The people of God can commune with bread and wine in hidden places, where tables wouldn’t fit. The furniture is not essential, although the faithful testimony of what they contain is always essential.
So to the extent that we are building at all, we should want the building to say what the Bible says to say. Baptism says that our sins are washed away. The Word of God gives shape and direction to our lives. The bread and wine nourish us, giving us strength to do as we have been directed. And we build in accordance with that.
So let the stones cry out.
Hi Doug, You say, “we should want the building to say what the Bible says to say”. What does the Bible say buildings should say? And does “So let the stones cry out” have any association with a building in the Bible? If you see fit to build a church building, I say go for it in all wisdom. When I read your comments on your building, I get the impression that you are going to great lengths to find some spiritual or Biblical justification for your building. I would caution you against confusing individual or congregational preference in pursuing… Read more »
John, absolutely. Principles and methods. Hence the mention of river baptisms, stump preaching, etc.