Cornerstone

By: Angelique Ngaleo

I love learning about history, especially ancient Rome and Greece. I’ve always been fascinated with their architecture and art techniques. The strategy, design, and most importantly--attention to detail--have crafted some of the most beautiful and impressive structures in the world. Some even considered “wonders”. 

I want to bring up temple building, specifically, because we’ve been studying the construction of the Israelite’s temple recently in my church. At first, I was listening to the sermons more casually, but the Lord started to show me how the Hebrew temple wasn’t just a natural, tangible structure. It was a representation of what God desires for the heart of every Christian. 

One of the first things our study focused on was how God instructed the Israelites to build His temple. He told them what resources to use, the dimensions of each part, what workers and builders were needed, what to put into it, etc. The Bible’s descriptions are very detailed--actually, more than half of Exodus is dedicated to God’s temple blueprint and design. I have to admit, hearing/reading all the facts on the temple were pretty dense and exhausting. Before I knew it, the fog of boredom had started to creep in on me. 

But just before that, the Lord reminded me to think spiritually. The Hebrew temple was the physical representation of God’s glory and presence amongst His people. And with everything natural in the Bible, there is its spiritual counterpart. Before Christ, God had to show His power and might by natural terms. This is why He was a ginormous cloud during the day and a blazing pillar of fire in the night for the Israelites in the wilderness. This is why He gave the 10 commandments and strict laws for the Jews to follow. Before God imparted the Holy Spirit to His people, the Hebrews had to physically offer sacrifice to God to show their devotion to Him. They couldn’t even eat certain animals and they couldn’t be around non-Hebrews or Gentiles. 

But in the new covenant, after Jesus, the Lord says we have all been sanctified by His blood. His word and salvation isn’t just for the Jews anymore, but given for all humanity (Jn. 3:16 & Rom. 15:16). And now the way we honor and devote ourselves to God has become spiritual. We are made righteous in Him; now, through the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2) and spiritual growth, we become the physical representation of the Lord’s might and power. We don’t have to literally build temples and sacrifice sheep and cattle to witness God’s presence anymore. Instead, we wholly offer our hearts to Him and allow Him to be the Lord and Ruler in our lives. 

The Word even reminds us of our new spiritual selves saying…

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

WE are the temple. WE are the ones now that God manifests and shines His glory in. It seemed like such a simple concept, but at the same time, it was like an “a-ha” moment for me. 

If the Lord desires me to be His temple, I have to be built and made BY Him and FOR Him. My temple, the place for His glory to reside, has to be created in His design. And it’s so hard to say, but my personal dreams and plans for my temple or how I want to magnify God aren’t going to be better than His way for me.  I may think MY design is perfect for ME, but ultimately, it couldn’t stand against the issues of life. Anything I could try and create on my own would be flawed, just because, as a human being, I am faulty and I am FULL of imperfections. But this is why God asks us to let Him be the creator, the potter to our design.

“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” Isa. 64:8 

What can compare to the Lord’s design, his craftsmanship? His care and attention-to-detail?

That was the first thing the Lord showed me that day.

The second thing I heard was how precise workman would be when creating the temple. For example, in order for a building to be sound and evenly squared, masons had to use a corner stone to help define and align the foundation. The stone had to be PERFECT. It had to be equal on every side; otherwise, the structure built on it would be crooked. 

Immediately after hearing the phrase “corner stone”, I thought of the Bible calling Jesus our “chief corner stone”. The Bible has many verses referring to the corner stone that was once rejected now becoming the chief stone (Ps. 118:22); my paraphrase. Translating to spiritual terms, whatever we, as Christians, decide to build up in our lives has to be ordered and aligned on Jesus Christ, our perfect example. Anything else we try to build on would be like a foundation of sand. On the flipside, this can also meanthat people can choose to build or align themselves with things other than Jesus Christ as their measure. But we know better spiritually--a foundation built on anything but Jesus, the rock of our salvation, will not stand.  

I had to start asking myself these questions...

If I’m supposed to be God’s temple, is Jesus my cornerstone, my foundation?

And if Jesus Christ is my cornerstone, am I perfectly aligned with Him?

And then…

If my life, my essence is supposed to reflect Jesus, what does my temple look like? Is it the master’s design, or is it what I want it to be? Where is his craftsmanship?

And finally…

What things am I allowing places for in the temple? Are they vessels of honor--gold and silver--or dishonor--wood and earth?

The answers to these questions are a lot of “no’s” and “yikes” and “Lord, help me!” because I know that God has a LOT of work to do in my heart and life. But I hope by holding up the mirror to my own heart and seeing what’s really inside, the Lord can keep changing me and perfecting me into His glory. I know I can trust the Lord for His design in my life and His workmanship will be what sets me apart from others, fellow Christians and the lost alike. 

These are some things the Lord’s been working in my heart. I hope these words can be of use to someone somewhere, too. But, most of all, I pray it can be brought to fruition in my own life. 

Be encouraged!  The Lord delights in us because we are His children. As long as we live and choose God, He will never stop molding and shaping and building us up for His glory!