ATTACK ON THE TEMPLE BUILDING
Strategies for the Body of Christ to Overcome the Attacks of the Enemy
by Laura Benington
ATTACK ON THE TEMPLE BUILDING
(Strategies for the Body of Christ to Overcome the Attacks of the Enemy)
We, the church, are the body of Christ. We are all parts of one another. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew, a Greek, a male, or a female (Galations 3:28). Your nationality and gender don’t give you a leg up so to speak nor do they make you less valuable than any other member. If we are Christ’s then we are one with one another in Him. We hear so often about how in marriage a man and woman are joined together and become one flesh but within that, we forget that we as the church are also depicted as the bride and Christ is the groom (Ephesians 5:22-33). We are one with Him AND one another and that is why unity and peace are so important however it is currently severely lacking in the body of Christ and has been for a long time.
How did it become this way? Why are we so divided into different sects and denominations? What can we do going forward to prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready to be the bride of Christ without spot or wrinkle, walking in unity? This is the very thing I’d like to talk about for a while.
We all know (or we should know) that we have an enemy, the devil. His job description is to steal, kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). He doesn’t want the body of Christ to walk in unity because he knows that a house divided will fall and a kingdom divided comes to an end (Mark 3:20-27). Thankfully, Christ’s kingdom has no end (Luke 1:32-33) so we know that, ultimately, His purposes and plans will prevail, not the enemy’s, but taking a look at the body of Christ today you would have to say that the enemy has been doing a pretty good job of helping to cause those divisions. It looks like there’s nothing but division, dissension, hatred, and hurt. We see strife in the church, in the home, and among the best of friends. It’s very sad to see and it hurts the heart of God to see His children biting and devouring one another. We don’t realize that when we hurt one another we are actually hurting ourselves. What exactly do I mean when I say that?
Let’s head over to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
Unity and Diversity in One Body
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
As we see here, we’re all individually parts of the same body. We all have our place, our gifts, and our talents. God places us in the body where He wants us and where we’ll have the greatest impact although, sometimes it does take us a while to see which part we are and why we’re there. Now, this is what I meant when I said when we hurt one another we’re hurting ourselves. Picture your own body. You have parts on both the right side and the left side. Say your right hand can do things that your left hand can’t do. Your right hand gets the idea, “Since I can do this better than the left hand I don’t really need it anymore.” The right hand then proceeds to take a knife and cut off the left hand throwing it off to the side somewhere. Searing pain begins to rip through and the right hand doesn’t understand why. It’s because they were both connected to the same body and so the whole body is in pain. Soon the right hand realizes that without the support that the left hand gave nothing can be achieved as quickly because that stable steady support that was being quietly given and sorely overlooked is no longer there. The body goes on crippling itself until it’s rendered immobile by the pain and mutilation of continuously cutting off seemingly unnecessary but truly essential and desperately needed parts.
This may seem like a violent and grizzly depiction but is in fact what we’re doing to one another when we say, “I don’t need you” and throw another member of the body of Christ away. Then we don’t understand why we hurt inside and why nothing seems to be working or happening. WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! WE CAN NOT DO WITHOUT ONE ANOTHER! We, as the body of Christ, need to start recognizing that we don’t all have the same functions, the same abilities, or the same callings but we are of the same Spirit in Christ. Even in our differences, we are all necessary and we all have our place.
The way the body looks right now might be accurately described as the valley of dry bones in the book of Ezekiel 37. A place where the cut-off, thrown-away parts have decomposed into piles of dry bones. It looks like there would be no possibility to bring that thing back to life. Long dead and gone - most would just shake their head in dismay and call it done. Too far gone. BUT...with God nothing is impossible. When God is in it those dead dry bones will start rattling and come together into their place. Flesh will be overlayed and when the Spirit of the LORD breaths that fresh breath of life into that once dead dry body, that body will spring to life again!
I believe that this is the time and season we are in right now. A time of aggregation. This word came to me recently along with another.
The word aggregation means
1 a group, body, or mass composed of many distinct parts or individuals.
2a: the collecting of units or parts into a mass or whole
b: the condition of being so collected
The other word I was given was "aggrandize".
Aggrandize means:
1 to make great or greater: INCREASE, ENLARGE
2: to appear great or greater
: praise highly
3: to enhance the power, wealth, position, or reputation of
The parts of the body that have been scattered are being collected so they can be put together into their rightful and necessary places and positions in the body of Christ. As we're made whole God will make the body of Christ greater. He wants to cause increase and yes, enhance the power, wealth, position, and reputation of the church so that it will draw people in and enlarge the kingdom for His purposes and glory. These things won't be given for selfish purposes but for the growth of the Body of Christ. It’s a building process.
In Ephesians 2:19-22 it says we’re be fitted together and built together into a holy temple, a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Christ Our Cornerstone
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Now during this process of aggregation, you know the enemy doesn’t want restoration. He doesn’t want the church or you to be rebuilt because he knows that where there’s unity there’s power. He’d rather we all stay hurt and angry so that we have no power.
In Genesis 11:6 it says 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
The people being talked about in this scripture were working in unity to do the wrong thing so it was stopped. But can you imagine the body of Christ coming together in the unity of the Spirit of God, speaking the same things and having the goals of the kingdom in mind? Then NOTHING could stop us and in fact, we would not be stopped because God wants those purposes to be carried out on the earth. God wants to make us whole. To heal the hurts and pains. To restore and make new. He wants reconciliation and healing for His people and their relationships so we can walk in peace and unity according to the Word of God.
Let’s take a look at the enemy’s plans to stop the building process. In the old testament, God’s temple and the wall of Jerusalem were destroyed in the siege when Nebuchadnezzar came and carried the people away into captivity because they refused to obey the LORD. But there came the time for restoration. It was time to rebuild what was desolate and broken down. In the book of Ezra, we find that kind Cyrus is stirred up by God to send God’s people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Ezra is one of the captives who goes back to Jerusalem and he starts to rebuild the temple of God. But of course, here comes the resistance.
Ezra 4, 5&6
The enemy tries to discourage them. Then the enemy tries to frustrate them. After a while, they tattle tale to king Artaxerxes slandering God’s people that are doing the rebuilding and the king finds evidence that maybe the slander could be true and they are ordered to stop building. With that, it looks like Ezra and the workers are defeated. It looks like the enemy’s dirty tricks won. But, after a while, God has His prophets speak to the Jews and they start building the temple again.
This time a new adversary shows up but with the same old tricks. Tattenai writes to the current reigning king and details the building that’s going on and asks the king to look into whether what the Jews were saying is true or not. Did a previous king really order the temple to be rebuilt? Thankfully, the new king, Darius, has a search made and finds the proof that they were really supposed to be rebuilding the temple of God. Let’s have a look at the decree that was written back to Tattenai:
Ezra 6:3-12
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—
6 Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
The enemy is put in his place, told to stay away and let the people build. Not only that they were to provide whatever they needed so they wouldn’t be hindered in the building process. A pretty hefty threat was made so the enemy really wouldn’t want to get in the way of the building. The enemy uses the same old tricks and might look like he’s won for a while but God’s purposes always prevail.
In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is set on rebuilding the wall. Just like with Ezra, after the building starts here comes the enemy.
Nehemiah 4
The enemy hears that the wall is being rebuilt and is furious and indignant. They mock the Jews. The enemy sees that that did nothing to stop them and that they’re still making progress so getting even angrier they conspire together to come and attack Jerusalem and cause confusion. Nehemiah and the people pray to God and set a watch against the enemy’s attacks. This of course wears on the people and makes them weary so that they feel like they have no strength to build. Rumors spread that the enemy is going to come to kill them and cause the work to cease. So they positioned guards and told everyone not to be afraid of them but to remember the LORD and to fight for their brethren, sons, daughters, wives, and houses.
We need that encouragement ourselves today. The enemy comes in trying to cause trouble. Rumors and whispering about one another start. Even though it might not even be true it lodges into the back of our minds and makes us start to wonder if it isn’t maybe just a little true. So then offense arises. Or maybe it is true and we can’t see past our own hurt to forgive and love. Then nobody wants anything to do with one another. Just like that churches split, families break apart, close friendships are thrown away. When the enemy starts to stir stuff up don’t just believe it and give up. Don’t shrink away and let the enemy steal the most important things away. Stand up and fight for your brethren! They are part of you.
Another thing we desperately need to remember is that even though the enemy, the devil, might be working through a person that person themselves is not your enemy.
Ephesians 6:12
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Pray for the person that’s hurting you and yes, forgive them. Even if they don’t know it, they’re hurting themselves and they need to be delivered from that.
The enemy goes on to try to make Nehemiah afraid and false prophets are even sent to try to make him sin. But in the end, the wall is finished and God’s purposes once again prevail.
This time we, as the body of Christ, are the temple that is being built. Through the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah, we can understand that the enemy tries to stop that building process. The anger, fear, rumors, confusion, threats, tattling, and more come at us but we need to pray to God and not be afraid. We need to stand and keep on building.
What is our part in this building process? We are called to walk in love, peace, and unity. We need to learn to avoid the same mistakes of the past that got us into the current condition the body of Christ has been in.
*We need to love and forgive one another. (1 Cor. 13)
*We need to stop excluding and throwing one another away when someone seems different than us or useless to us. We’re all necessary. If we are the body of Christ and one of us goes to another place in the world and goes to a church, we should be welcomed and accepted. The response should be “Welcome brother or sister. This is your church. You’re part of us and we’re part of you.” We ourselves need to welcome one another with the same response wherever we are in the world.
*We all need to do the part we were called to do (Eph.4:16). When we do our part we grow, when we don’t growth is stunted.
*We need to be willing to work together through issues not just let them get so big that we can’t possibly see how to fix them now that it’s gotten so messy.
*We need to really listen to one another’s concerns. Bear one another’s burdens. Strife, jealousy, pridefulness, envy, and selfish ambitions need to be thrown out the window.
*We need to be able to receive correction and instruction without taking it as a personal assault against us.
*As we have the opportunity, we need to do good to all. Bless one another. (Gal. 6:10)
*As much as possible be peaceful with one another. (Rom. 12:18) (Eph. 4:3)
United We Stand – Divided We Fall
(Mark 3:20-27)