Kingdom Disciples

The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the True House of God and the open way of access to the presence of God. He is the Greater and True Bethel , the “ House of God .” From now on, Heaven is open to all men, and angels are seen “ ascending and descending ” on the “ Son of Man .” What Jacob saw in a vision long ago has become a concrete reality in Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus is the True and Final Sanctuary where the glory of Yahweh dwells, the substance foreshadowed by the old Temple . In the second chapter of John , the disciples discover that Jesus is the True and Final Temple of God. The era in which God “ dwelt ” in portable tents and stone buildings in Jerusalem came to an end with the arrival of the Messiah. God does not dwell in structures “ made-by-hand ,” nor can His presence be contained within physical walls or geographical boundaries.

Jesus revealed the proper form and location for worshipping the Father to a woman in Samaria. With the advent of the Messiah, concepts and traditions about holy space and holy time have become irrelevant. The presence of the Messiah rendered the historical debate over the location of the Temple moot. From now on, the worship of God must be performed  in truth and spirit .

The New Testament usage of the term “ assembly ” is based on the language and imagery of Israel when the nation was assembled before Yahweh for worship in front of the Tabernacle. The Greek noun rendered “ church ” in many English translations is ekklésia . It means “assembly, congregation, convocation.” In secular Greek, it could refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state. However, that is not the sense found in the Greek New Testament.