Ecclesia - The Temple of God

Ecclesia - The Temple of God

Introduction

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2: 4-5

When Scripture speaks of the church as God’s temple/house/sanctuary, it draws on one of the richest images in the Bible. A temple, by its very nature, is one structure — many stones precisely fitted together to form a single dwelling for God’s presence.

In the Old Testament, the temple in Jerusalem was the meeting point between heaven and earth. But in the New Testament, the temple is no longer made of stone and gold. It is made of people — redeemed, Spirit-filled people joined together in Christ.

The striking thing, however, is this: whenever the New Testament calls the church God’s temple, the emphasis is on unity. God doesn’t dwell in scattered stones — He dwells in a structure where every stone is joined, aligned, and held together in harmony. However, this unity is not sentimental or shallow. It is unity in truth, unity that flows from alignment with Christ the Cornerstone.

Love, Unity & Growth

The new birth

Too long, please open your Bible 1 Peter 1: 22-25

Peter grounds the admonishment for love and right relationship in the fact that believers are born from the same seed — the imperishable word of God. So before we ever become “stones” in God’s building, we are first to see one another as brothers and sisters born of the same word of God.

Peter is also careful to note that love is not optional as he makes it the end of soul purification.

Growth

Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have TASTED THE KINDNESS OF THE LORD. 1 Peter 2: 1-3

The command to “put aside” relational sins shows that unity must be guarded. Nothing divides the body faster than hypocrisy, envy, or gossip. These are not small cracks; they are fractures in God’s building. However, the body only grows by nourishment from the same source — the unadulterated word of God.

And Peter says, “that you may grow.” The verb is plural — you all together. Spiritual growth in Peter’s mind is never a solo project. It is a corporate experience; we grow as we are shaped by the same truth and sustained by the same nourishment.

Spiritual house

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2: 4-5

In this verse, even though there’s no explicit mention of the word “temple”, the context helps us firmly see that Peter had the temple in mind. Phrases such as “spiritual house”, “holy priesthood” and “offer up spiritual sacrifices” are very closely associated with the temple.

All the instructions on love, growth and putting away relational sins climax in these verses. They are prerequisites for the proper building of this building — the temple. If each stone will fit properly and the structure will withstand harsh conditions, each stone must be united in love and be without the actions that lead to a breakdown of relationship.

Division & the temple

Too long, please open your Bible 1 Corinthians 3: 1-16

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for their factions — some claiming allegiance to Paul, others to Apollos or Cephas. To correct them, he reminds them that the church is not a collection of competing ministries but the very temple of God (vv. 16–17).

The warning is striking: to divide the church is to vandalize God’s dwelling. The temple image makes unity sacred; it raises church harmony from a matter of courtesy to a matter of holiness. The Corinthian believers are not free to fragment the structure that God Himself is building, because to harm the unity of the temple is to defile the presence of God within it.

Too long, please open your Bible Ephesians 2: 11-22

In Ephesians 2, Paul grounds his call to unity in the profound truth that the church is God’s new temple, built through the reconciling work of Christ. He reminds Gentile believers that though they were once “far off,” separated from Israel and from God’s covenant promises, Christ has “made both groups one” by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility through His cross.

The result is not simply peace between people groups, but the creation of a new humanity — a single household of faith. Paul then climaxes the argument with temple imagery:

You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2: 19-21

For Paul, disunity among believers is not merely social tension — it is a contradiction of the gospel’s architectural design. The church’s unity is sacred because it is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit, and to divide that temple is to obscure the reality of reconciliation that Christ has already accomplished in His body.

Cornerstone

In the Apostles’ historical context, is the first and most crucial stone laid in a building’s foundation. It sets the alignment, orientation, and stability for every other stone in the structure. If the cornerstone is true, the whole building stands firm; if it is off, the entire structure is skewed.

When the New Testament calls Christ the cornerstone, it means He is the defining reference point of the church—its truth, direction, and cohesion all depend on Him. Every believer and every teaching must align with His person and word. The unity and strength of the church are not achieved by human effort but by being rightly joined to Christ, the cornerstone chosen and precious in God’s sight.

That said, something interesting to note is that all the scriptures we have read make references to Christ as the cornerstone/foundation.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone… you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house… For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone…’” 1 Peter 2: 4-7
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3: 9-11
“You are… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2: 19-22

All three passages use architectural language to describe the church’s identity and unity, and in each, Christ is the structural reference point — whether as the foundation or cornerstone. Together they teach that the church’s unity is not organizational but Christological: it exists only as believers are aligned, built, and continually measured by Christ the Cornerstone–Foundation of truth.

Anchored in truth

In all the scriptures, there is also a reference to truth that underpins the unity of the church.

“Having purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again… through the living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1: 22-25

We must notice the sequence: obedience to the truth produces love for one another. The foundation of Christian unity is truth — the gospel that gave us new life. “Obedience to the truth” means the gospel shapes how we love — it defines what love is.

Unity that ignores truth isn’t love; it’s sentimentality. If we truly love one another, then we must continually steer one another towards the truth.

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn infants, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2: 1-3

The community’s health depends on everyone drinking from the same source — the unadulterated word of God. We cannot be one people if we feed on different gospels. We cannot grow together if we are sustained by opposing visions of truth.

So unity isn’t achieved by ignoring doctrine or downplaying differences. It’s achieved by hungering together for the pure milk of the Word, by letting the same truth form us into maturity.

In Ephesians 2, believers are “fitted together” into one temple because they stand on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone—the measure of all true teaching. However, later in Ephesians 4, we see a more explicit connection between unity and truth.

Too long, please open your Bible Ephesians 4: 11-16

Paul shows that true unity in the church is inseparable from maturity in truth. Christ gives the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints so that “we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God.” This unity is not achieved by sentiment or sameness, but by growing together in sound doctrine—so that believers are no longer “tossed here and there by every wind of teaching.” Instead, the church matures by “speaking the truth in love,” growing up into Christ who is the Head. In Paul’s vision, truth is what stabilizes unity, and love is what sustains it; together, they make the body “fitly joined and held together” in every part.

How do we build?

  • Guard the foundation: We must keep Christ’s teaching central. Everything else — methods, programs, traditions — must align with His Word.
  • Cultivate integrity: We must reject hypocrisy, deceit, and envy. Those are the cracks that weaken the structure.
  • Pursue love through truth: We must speak the truth in love, correct with gentleness, forgive quickly, and bear with one another.

The Spirit builds the church through people who are united in truth and joined in love. Unity without truth is not holiness — it’s hypocrisy. Truth without unity is not faithfulness — it’s pride. The temple of God stands only where truth and love meet.

Conclusion

The picture Scripture paints of the church is breathtaking: God Himself choosing to dwell not in temples made by hands, but in a people built together in Christ. Every act of love, every word of truth, every humble act of service is another stone being set in place. We are God’s temple—His holy dwelling in the world. But that means division, deceit, or pride are not small matters; they are fractures in His sanctuary. The unity of the church is not a sentimental ideal—it is sacred architecture designed by God Himself, held together by the truth of Christ. As we remain aligned to the Cornerstone, we become the visible sign of His presence on earth—a structure so radiant and alive that the world might glimpse heaven in its midst.

Reflection & Application

  • Where am I building?: Am I contributing to the unity of God’s temple or weakening its structure through neglect, pride, or gossip?
  • What truth shapes me?: Do my convictions, relationships, and service align with the cornerstone—Christ’s teaching and example?
  • How do I guard this house?: Unity is maintained not by ignoring differences but by anchoring every difference in Christ’s truth and love. Ask the Spirit to help you “speak the truth in love” and to be a stabilizing stone, not a loose one.