2. Acts 17:24

3. Temples  The Gentiles had many temples  Some were more famous than others The Temple of Diana at Ephesus The Parthenon, temple of Athena, in Athens Temples to Apollos and Aphrodite in Corinth  Yet they were all empty

4.  The greatest temple of New Testament times was in Jerusalem  Only one the Jews ever had Built by Solomon in 957 BC Took 183,600 men 7 ½ years to build  Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC  Rebuilt by Zerubbabel in 516 BC  Remodeled and expanded by Herod the Great in 20 BC  Yet God did not dwell therein (2 Chron. 2:5-6)  What Paul said in Acts 17:24 applies to the temple in Jerusalem also

5. The Modern Concept  Church buildings are temples  Believed to be the dwelling place of God  Yet Paul’s words hold here also  What about us?  Brethren sometimes get overblown on the building  It is a means to an end  God does not dwell in this building either

6. What The NT Teaches  God does have a temple  A temple more glorious than any other before  “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5)  Saints are a habitation of God (Eph. 2:19-22)  Christians are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17)  A spiritual dwelling for a spiritual Being  Thus, it is “not made with hands”

7.  “Holy”  Dedicated (consecrated) to God  Notice use of word “holy” Romans 12:1 2 Corinthians 7:1 1 Peter 1:15  We are caretakers of the temple What is it like? Is it acceptable to God?