What if the church is not a building at all? What if it never was? This past Sunday, worship leader and guest speaker Blake Goss brought a message from 1 Peter 2 and Ephesians 2 that traced the story of God’s dwelling place from the garden of Eden all the way to you.
From Eden to the Temple to You
Blake opened with a sweep through biblical history that set the stage for everything that followed. The first temple on earth was the garden of Eden. No sin. No separation. Man and woman walking with God face to face in unbroken fellowship.
Then sin entered and that fellowship was broken. The rest of the Bible, Blake said, is the story of God pursuing us to restore what was lost.
From the garden came the tent of meeting in Exodus 25, the portable tabernacle that traveled with Israel through the wilderness. God’s glory would fill that tent. It was in that tent that David appointed people to worship God through song and praise.
From the tent came the permanent temple that Solomon built, the dwelling place of God’s glory. That temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. The book of Ezra and Nehemiah, which this series has been walking through, tells the story of that temple being rebuilt.
Then Jesus came. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word dwelt in that verse actually translates to tabernacle. Jesus himself was the temple. He made it explicit in John 2:19 when he said, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. They thought he was talking about the building. He was talking about himself.
So the progression runs from Eden to the tent of meeting to the first temple to the second temple to Jesus as the true and final temple. Now we arrive at the temple that Jesus builds.
Dead Stones and Living Stones
Blake shared a moment from a trip to Israel several years ago. Walking through a garden area with an Israeli Hebrew scholar, they stopped at a scene with stones lying on the ground. The scholar explained that in builder’s terms, those stones on the ground were called dead stones. Not useless just because of what they were made of, but because they were not connected to anything. On their own they served no purpose. They were actually stumbling blocks.
But those exact same stones, when picked up by a builder and placed side by side with other stones to form a wall, an arch, or a structure, were called living stones. Not a different kind of stone. The same stone. The difference was the builder and the purpose.
That is the picture the Apostle Peter uses in 1 Peter 2:4-5. As you come to Jesus, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
A dead stone is simply a stone not connected to other stones. A living stone is a stone that has submitted itself to the builder, been placed alongside other living stones, and is now serving a purpose greater than any one of them alone.
Three Ways to Become a Living Stone
Blake pulled three movements directly from the passage.
Come to him. There is an active step. You submit yourself to the builder. You surrender yourself to Jesus, the chief cornerstone. Without that coming, that submitting, you remain a dead stone regardless of how good you look on the outside.
You are chosen and precious. This one was not an action step. Blake wanted people to make an agreement with what God has already declared. The God who spoke the universe into existence, who breathed light and birds and oceans into being, handpicked you to be part of this temple. You are not just useful. You are precious. Valuable. His workmanship. Ephesians 2:10 says we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works he planned in advance for us to do.
Blake also shared personally. His family recently moved from South Carolina to Georgia. It has been a chiseling year. Things removed. Things that felt necessary but were not. He spoke directly to anyone in a season that feels like that. If the builder is chiseling you, take hope. You are in his hands. He has a purpose. When the chiseling is done, you will be exactly where and what and who he wants you to be.
Be built up as a spiritual house. You are not meant to be a dead stone sitting alone. You are meant to be connected, joined together with other living stones, filled with the presence of God. Blake made one point in this section that stopped the room. The Holy Spirit would not choose a dwelling place he did not first make holy. If you are in Christ, you are holy. Not because of what you have done but because of what Jesus has done. His blood washed you. His righteousness was credited to you. You are the dwelling place of God.
Blake also gave a clear warning. Division breaks the temple. When living stones are at odds with one another, when gossip enters, when preferences become battles, the filling stops. The enemy knows this. When he can divide the church, God’s presence cannot fill what is disconnected. This is why unity is not optional. It is architectural.
Four Ways to Be a Living Stone Right Now
Blake closed practically with four ways to move from a dead stone to a living stone at First Baptist Powder Springs.
Worship. Psalm 22:3 says God is enthroned on the praises of his people. Other translations say he inhabits the praises of his people. When the church worships together, God fills the temple. That is not a metaphor. That is a promise.
Serve. Every person Blake called up to illustrate the living stone illustration was someone already serving. An orchestra member. A local missions volunteer. A greeter. A student serving in kids ministry. Serving connects you to other stones and makes you part of something greater than yourself.
Groups. Gathering outside of Sunday with other believers, being honest about your life, studying the Word together. That is how stones get built side by side.
Missions. Going outside the walls of the church to reach dead stones, sharing the gospel, bringing them in. When they come to Jesus, the builder picks them up and places them in the temple too.
Blake ended with a vision of the final temple. Revelation 21 says John saw no temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Eden restored. God and man together forever. No need for sun or moon because the glory of God is the light. That is where this story is heading. That is what all of this is building toward.
There’s a Seat for You
Whether you have been sitting on the sidelines of church as a dead stone or you are ready to be picked up, placed in, and built into something eternal, you belong here. We are a church that believes the presence of God fills his people when they are connected together.
Plan Your Visit and come experience that for yourself. Or take your next step and Get Connected with our church family. We would love to be built alongside you.