Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? God came down in majesty on Mount Sinai. But the holiness of God was outraged by the behavior of the people and the children of Israel were terrified by the awful thundering and lightning. Such a display does not lead to the loving obedience and fellowship God is seeking.

God walked among men in Christ, His Son. But the guardians of the Jewish faith would not accept Him. Christ told them plainly that He is the God of their fathers. They laughed in His face, spat on Him, yanked the hair from His beard.

Finally they crucified Him—the thundering God of Sinai. Again, not an acceptable basis for ruling, blessing, and living with people.

Eden! Sinai! Galilee! There was little success from the standpoint of Him who desires to be a merciful and gracious King and Father to His children.

However, there is another way, and this way will be successful. God is creating a great temple for Himself of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the chief Cornerstone and of which we also are living stones and pillars. That temple is Christ—Head and Body.

The Temple of God is being fashioned now from the personalities of the saints as Christ is formed in them. By dwelling in Christ, including the great redeemed Body of Christ, God can rule, bless, and live with people. After God has brought the Church into perfect oneness with Himself in Christ He can be the merciful and gracious King and Father that He desires to be to the peoples of the earth.

As soon as God has perfected the union of the Church with Christ, just as Christ is in perfect union with the Father, the nations of the earth can be blessed of God and brought into a fruitful relationship with Himself (Genesis 22:18; Isaiah 60:5; John 17:21-23; Romans 8:19; Revelation 21:24). God will be able to rule and dwell among earth's peoples in a manner that will neither violate His own perfect holiness nor terrify His subjects and neighbors.

The fact that the nations of the earth will be subdued under the rule of Christ, as soon as the saints have been brought into complete union with Him, does not mean we are to stop preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth in the present hour. The Gospel must be preached as a witness to every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth—specially in these days when the greatest revival in the history of Gospel power is just breaking upon us.

It is the "Ark of the Covenant," the "Tabernacle of David," to speak symbolically, that is being formed now. The "firstfruits" to the Lord must be perfected. The ministries and gifts given to the members of the Body of Christ are for the perfecting of the saints until we all come to the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-16).

All the glory, joy, and responsibility—the best that God has to offer—is available in these days to every person, young and old, who will follow the Lord Jesus in sincere, wholehearted discipleship.

To be continued.