“The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house will consume me.’” (John 2:13-17 NASB1995)
God’s house, prior to Jesus’ death on a cross and his bodily resurrection from the dead, was a physical temple (a physical building) built by human hands. In the temple, in the “Holy of Holies,” was the Ark of the Covenant, and it is where God’s presence dwelt. It was separated from the Holy Place by a curtain, and it was accessible only to the high priest who made yearly sacrifices for his own sins and for the sins of the people, as I understand.
But in Jesus’ death, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, symbolizing that the barrier between humans and God was removed, and now, by faith in Jesus Christ, we all can go directly into God’s presence, but not via a physical building called “church,” but via the Holy Spirit of God now living within us who are the church, the people of God, the body of Christ. Thus, God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands, but he dwells within us, by his Spirit, who have believed in Jesus to be our Lord.
So, God’s house today is the body of Christ, the people of faith in Jesus Christ. We are the church, his building, his temple, and we can meet together with other Christians anywhere appropriate for fellowship, prayer, teaching, discipleship, and for Christian ministry on any day of the week, at any time of day. And the meeting place doesn’t even have to be anywhere physical, for it can be via a phone call, or a text message, or an email, or on social media on the internet, or in the blogging world or on Christian forums.
Therefore, the church is not a building built by human hands, but it is us, the people of faith in Jesus Christ, wherever we gather. We are the temple of God, and his holy place now dwells within us. And when we gather together, it is to honor our Lord with our lives in doing what he has directed us that we must do together, as his body. And we are to gather together for mutual encouragement and edification, where each body part does its work as God assigned us our roles (body parts) within the universal body of Christ.
And our Lord is examining our lives individually, as well as collectively, and he is looking at what our gatherings are made of, and who is in charge of them, and what they are focused on to see if they align with his will and purpose for his body, his church. And he is seeing that many of these gatherings called “church” are not under his authority at all, but they are being led by marketing gurus who are training the “church” in how to attract the world to their gatherings, in place of being led by the Spirit of God.
And he is saying to the worldly church which has turned their gatherings into a marketplace to be marketed to the people of the world to “Take these things away” and “stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” And he is telling us all that we are not to turn our gatherings into places of businesses, and that we are not to partner with the ungodly of the world like so many are doing today under the name “church.” For so many have incorporated (merged, partnered) with the world to draw in large crowds.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
For if zeal for God’s house consumes us, this is not about loyalty and devotion to a building or to a business, but this is about us being passionate about sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of the world and caring for one another within the body of Christ to meet one another’s spiritual needs and any other needs that need to be met by us within the body of Christ. And it is about following our Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living, and it is about calling out the lies which we need to reject.
[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Zeal for Your House
Based off John 2:17; Psalms 69:9
An Original Work / August 1, 2016
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.
Lord, I love my times with You.
I love to worship You and sing Your praises.
Time in Your Word brings me closer to You,
List’ning to You speaking to me,
Gently guiding me in truth.
Lord, You are my life’s example,
Showing me how I should live.
I love to walk with You where’er You lead me.
No greater joy have I when serving You.
Loving, giving, resting in Your strength,
I’m yielding to Your will.
Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.
See the church turned upside down:
Marketing ventures taking place of worship,
Men of the gospel turning into clowns.
Gospel message made appealing,
So the world will feel at home.
Lord, we need a great revival.
Turn their hearts, Lord, back to You.
Open the blind eyes, turn them all from darkness,
Lord, to the light. May they return to You,
Turn from their sin, forsake idols,
Be restored to God again.
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Zeal for God’s House
An Original Work / December 2, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
