The architect and builder of the church is God and His design is revealed throughout all of Scripture.
In Scripture, we can see God seeking man, and not man seeking God. To inhabit His people, God designed the tabernacle. Exodus 25:8-9 says, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” This tells us that the design was not Moses’, but it was made by the hand of God. Nothing of man fits here. The tabernacle fulfilled its purpose and years later another attempt by God to inhabit His people was the so-called “Temple of Solomon.” In 1 Chronicles 28:19 David says, “All this I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.” The temple fulfilled its purpose. The question is “What is the latest design God made to inhabit his people?” The answer is the church. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there.” Edified with living stones… Stones are God’s handiwork… A building of God whose foundation is Christ.
Although the foundation is Christ, there is another question: “How are you over-edifying?” To speak about the design is to speak about something that already exists. There is no place for the ideas of men, soulful thoughts, trends or contemporary tendencies. Today “God told me” is used more than “It is written.” It seems that today the church is more full of good ideas than it is the design of the word of God. When there is already a blueprint, a divine design, there is no place for improvisation or human ideas. Remember this: “…the builder of the house has greater honor than the house itself.” Hebrews 3:3. The architect and builder of the church is God and His design is revealed throughout all of Scripture.
