New Testament metaphors of the church-as-temple are often confusing because they envision a growing building, a building that acts a lot like an organic body: “growing into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21); “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5).
The conflation of organic and architectural imagery has an Old Testament root. The house of Yahweh grew from the time of Moses on. Under Moses, the “house” was simply the tabernacle; with Solomon, the “house of Yahweh” encompassed both the temple and Solomon’s palace complex (cmp. 1 Kings 6:1 and 7:51); in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the “house” Cyrus authorized included the city walls. Thus, over the course of Israel’s history, the “house” grew up from a tent into a city.
So has, and will, the church.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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