The Living Temple

Principles of Stewardship Leader's Manual

• Preface by Linda Himes
• 60 pages.
• Published 2011, The Salvation Army

This stewardship Bible study is based on the picture of the temple that we see throughout scripture. It starts with the children of Israel being brought out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery and being given many possessions as they leave Egypt. Once they were safely in the wilderness, God called Moses up to Mr. Sinai to give him specific plans to build the tabernacle. Three principles that run throughout the study are:

1. God wants a house where He can live among His people.
2. He has given us everything we need to build that house.
3. He wants it built by those who have a willing heart.

The tabernacle is built and is the place where God lives and the people worship while they are traveling in the wilderness. Then when they enter the Promised Land, God chooses the place where the permanent temple is to be built. Solomon is the one chosen to oversee the building of that temple. It is built after the pattern of the one in the wilderness. It becomes the place where God lives and where the people worship.

The New Testament continued this theme. Jesus said He was the temple. He was "built" according to the same pattern as the tabernacle and Solomon's temple. He is the door, the bread, the light, the sacrifice, the veil, etc. Then when we accept His sacrifice for us, we become the temple. We are living stones being built person upon person to be the place where God lives and we worship.

All that God has given us is for the purpose of building a temple. The living temple is about salvation and our contribution from a willing heart is for the purpose of getting people saved and adding them to the temple.

Stewardship is about so much more than money ﾡﾪ it is about our very lives