John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (20) Then the Jews said, This temple was built in forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days? (21) But He spoke of the temple of His body.
The contrast between religion and God's economy [plan] can be illustrated by the Lord's human living. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, the temple with all its rituals, practices, and ordinances was still in Jerusalem. In the temple the priests presented the offerings, burned the incense, and lighted the lamps. However, God was not in the temple--He was in the Lord Jesus. Sometimes the Lord stayed in the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany. He visited with them and spoke with them in a normal, human way. Nevertheless, while He was in that house in Bethany, the priests continued to perform the rituals in the temple. With the priests in the temple we see the practice of religion, but with the Lord in Bethany we see God's economy. God's economy is to work Himself into man. His economy was carried out not in the temple, but in that house in Bethany, for there Christ, the embodiment of the fullness of God, was present. Those who worshipped in the temple were practicing their religion, but Lazarus, Martha, and Mary enjoyed the presence of the Lord Jesus. The local churches today should not be like the temple in Jerusalem, but be like that home in Bethany. This means that the churches should not be places of religion, but be places where God's economy is being carried out.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 482. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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