A Dwelling Place for Christ
by David A. DePra
All of those who are in Christ are presently allowing – or not allowing -- God
to build a dwelling place in them for Christ. We are doing that
personally, but then by extension – by our communion with others in Christ –
contributing to the building of a dwelling place for Christ in the body of
Christ as a whole.
This ought not to be surprising, for Christianity at the core is, “Christ in
you.” (Col. 1:27) Therefore, if am truly born from above, Christ already
dwells in me – I am joined to Him in spirit through resurrection union.
Thus, when we speak of building a dwelling place for Christ, we are not talking
about salvation – but we are talking about what happens AFTER salvation, and
because of salvation. We are really
talking about spiritual growth – we are talking about increasing the dwelling
place for Christ in us. We are talking about our need to decrease in order
that He might increase. We are talking about becoming a person in and
through whom the Christ who dwells in us can live and move and be expressed.
This fact leads us to a phrase we find a number of times in scripture:
“Rewarded according to works.”
What works? And what reward?
We are going to discover that the work is the dwelling place in each of
us for Christ. And the reward is
Christ Himself at one with us in that very same dwelling place.
This is actually going on right now, although the fullness of it will be
released into the eternal ages.
Right now we are a dwelling place for Christ.
The purpose of God is that our capacity for Christ might be expanded – we
must decrease that He might increase.
To the extent that this happens, we will be able to more fully experience
Christ, and be an expression and extension of Him.
This can happen NOW. Thus,
we do partake of what is called a “reward,” now – we can experience Christ now.
But it is at the end of this age when Christ returns that there will be a
full release of these realities.
And Christ will dwell in and through us eternally.
We will be, “rewarded” – the word is recompensed – for the WORK – the
dwelling place we have built – by the eternal presence of Christ in that
dwelling place. In short, “Christ
in you, the hope of glory,” will become, “Christ in you, the realization of His
glory.”
The Work and the Recompense
In I Corinthians 3 Paul directly speaks to the idea of a reward as the outcome
of ministry. But you will notice
that he uses the term, “fellow laborers.”
Here again we see that ministry is not only for Jesus’ sake – but within
Jesus’ sake it is for others. God
has chosen some to, “bear the heat of the day,” so that others may freely
receive and share in what God has given them.
This does not eliminate personal responsibility.
In fact, it is only if God is building a dwelling place for Christ in
EACH that the body of a whole is benefited.
Note verse 8 which reads, "Every man shall receive his own reward
according to his own labor." The point Paul is making, first of all, is that
despite the fact that all in the Body are fellow-laborers, the reward of EACH is
based on the, "labor," of EACH – it is based on the individual. There is no
reward here by proxy.
The phrase, “rewarded according to our works,” is repeated a few times in
scripture. Most interpret this to
mean that yes, we are saved, “by grace through faith,” but we are rewarded
according to our works. But does
this make sense? Are we saved, “by
grace through faith,” only to live the Christian life – or perform Christian
ministry -- on the basis of earning a reward based on works?
Does it make sense that Jesus would say, “Freely you have received, therefore
free give” – to those who would minister – and then turn around and say that the
same are going to be rewarded according to their works?
There are other questions about the common interpretation of, “rewarded
according to our works.” First of
all, what works? Most limit this
supposed reward to our good works, or to the good results of our ministry.
But if we are going to be rewarded according to our works then ALL of our
works must be taken into account – all of our outward works, inward works,
thoughts, and attitudes – all of our faith and all of our unbelief.
ALL of the impacts of our ministry, both good and bad, must be taken into
account. ALL of this must be
gathered up and tallied in order to determine the reward of each person.
So ask: If ALL of our works, and
ALL of our ministry, both good and bad, are going to be taken into account to
determine our reward, how much of a reward do we think we will merit?
There are some who would suggest that all of our bad works and bad ministry will
be forgiven, but all of the good we have done will determine our reward.
Ok, but then ask: How good
is good enough?
As you can see, once we bring any part of the Christian life down to works –
once we say that our eternal reward is going to be determined by our works – we
are right back under the law. We
may not be under the law as it pertains to salvation, but we are under the law
as it pertains to our reward as saved people.
And the Christian life that emerges will be essentially the SAME – that
of trying to merit the things of God.
No. This cannot be.
God has freely given us all things in Christ.
We are to freely give all things freely to others.
“Freely,” means grace. It
eliminates rewards as a motivation.
It eliminates the fear of the loss of rewards.
We are not only, “saved by grace through faith,” but all that is of
Christ is upon that same basis of GRACE.
Now, that being the case, we must still explain what God means when He says that
His people will be, “rewarded according to works.”
We can begin to see the Truth on this matter by turning to our passage in
I Corinthians 3.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder,
I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take
heed how he builds thereupon. For no other foundation can any man lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work
shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire. 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 Cor. 3:10-17)
If we read this entire passage it becomes clear that what is being built is a
dwelling place for Jesus Christ – that dwelling place is individual believers
who collectively constitute the body of Christ.
That is verified by Paul’s conclusion that, “You are the temple of God.”
Thus, “each person’s work,” is not what is done TO build this dwelling place,
but rather, “each person’s work,” is the finished dwelling place.
We use this kind of language all the time.
If we stand in front of a building we have constructed, we will say,
“This is my work.” We are referring
to the building, and not to the things done TO build it.
Paul is saying that the body of Christ is a living temple of God – a dwelling
place for Jesus Christ. Each of us
is building out of ourselves a dwelling place for Christ, and we are likewise –
through our oneness with others and through our ministry – building the same in
others. That is the work that will
determine the reward.
But what we are building is going to be revealed as to its true nature by fire.
If what we build consists of wood, hay, or stubble – that is, temporal
and corruptible materials – it is all going to be burned out of existence.
But if what we are building in ourselves and others consists of eternal
materials – that which is of the life of Christ – then the fire will bring that
out. It will be proven eternal.
How does the reward figure into this?
Well, if we are going to be rewarded according to our work, and the work
is the dwelling place for Christ, then the reward is the measure of Christ that
can dwell within what we have built.
Sure. The reward is
ACCORDING TO our work.
What could be a greater reward than Christ Himself – eternal fellowship with
Him? We are building a dwelling
place for Him. Or to put it another
way, we are right now building an eternal relationship with Him.
A Dwelling Place for Christ
Paul tells us, “let each man take heed HOW he builds.”
So ask: How do we build a
dwelling place for Jesus Christ?
The answer is simpler than we might expect.
We build a dwelling place for Christ by abandoning ourselves to Him by
faith -- for whatever it takes and for whatever He desires.
This is an inward surrender before it is anything outward.
And through ministry we help build a dwelling place for Christ in others
by teaching this Truth and joining each other in Christ by faith.
We are already becoming a dwelling place for Jesus Christ – or we are not.
To build a dwelling place for Christ, we must decrease – our old,
“dwelling place,” must be torn down through the work of the Cross – so that He
can increase in us. To the extent
that we lose ourselves to Him we will experience Him as our life – and be for
Him a dwelling place. And to the
extent that we edify others in Christ we are building in them.
This is about what Christ is becoming in a person.
The, “finished building” – one that will pass through into the eternal ages – is
one that proclaims, “Yet not I, but Christ!”
Clearly, this is NOT about how wonderful we are.
Rather, it is about how wonderful He is – and whether we have
unconditionally lost ourselves to Him.
Let’s gather this up: The temple,
or dwelling place in each believer, is what is being built.
Thus, the dwelling place that is being built determines the extent that
eternal fellowship with Christ is possible.
The eternal fellowship with Christ – the capacity to experience Christ
Himself – IS the reward.
But Paul is also telling us that the true nature of what is being built is going
to be tested by fire – and it will be revealed.
If what has been built is merely religious and of natural man it will not
be able to pass through the fire.
Thus, there will be no dwelling place for Christ that remains.
But if what is built is of Jesus Christ then the fire will prove it to be
eternal.
We need not push off this testing by fire to the last judgment.
Of course, that will be the ultimate.
But this testing by fire is going on right now.
Our faith and relationship with Christ is right now being proven – as is
anything we have built into the lives of others.
Trials will expose our spiritual life as being fake or as being real.
The fire will expose what we have built in others as fake or as real.
God is always redemptive. Thus, if
the fire shows our faith to be fake – if the fire exposes our lives to be built
of religious materials -- confess it and begin to allow God to build in us that
which is eternal. For if the fire
exposes that our life is built upon that which is merely religious, or built
upon self interest, and we keep building back up what God wants to tear down, in
the end we will own it. There will
be no room in us for Christ. We
might nevertheless be saved – as Paul says – but what a loss!
The Goal
The goal of the Christian life is to know and experience Christ, resulting in
the glory of God being made manifest in and through us. The temple is what is
being built – the temple is the work -- and the fullness of Christ that is able
to dwell within that temple IS the reward that corresponds TO that work. To the
degree that we become a dwelling place for God’s will and glory – this will be
the degree to which we will be able to experience Christ and experience all of
the spiritual blessings that are found in Him. Thus, our reward is Christ
Himself – and all that this means by extension.
Once we gain an understanding of some of these passages having to do with
rewards we should realize that God does not keep score.
He is not tallying our good works vs. our bad works.
In fact, this isn’t about what we DO at all – as far as serving,
preaching, teaching, or any other performed works.
Rather, it is about relationship with Christ.
In the end, that is what is going to matter.
What matters right now is our relationship with Christ in grace and Truth
– in spirit and Truth – and whether we are being built into a temple in which
Christ can dwell forever.