The Resurrection to the New Temple

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

Jesus-John11:25

 
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him.

And We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Jesus-John14:23 

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [ who is ] in you?

Whom you have from God, and you are not your own!

Paul-I Corinthians 6:19

First, a short rant-The problem I've always had with trinitarianism, besides the fact that there is no good ism but a prism, is that many trinitarians, because of the 'orthodox' doctrine of the Trinity, have inserted a great separation, whether they know it or not, whether they admit it or not, within the God-head! Now Paul also said ( Colossians 2:9 ), 'For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily'. Would that not tell you, in other words, that Jesus was the embodiment of God Himself?! One may accuse me of proof-texting here, but how else are we to read Paul's words? 

I am not denying the Scriptures by revealing this, because there IS plenty of available evidence that, during the period under which Israel was being tutored (  groomed? ), and especially the transition period between Jesus' Ascension and His return ( in the clouds ), there WAS somewhat of a separation ( Matthew 27:46 ( Psalm 22:1 ), or distinction of offices. In John 14:26, most famously, Jesus told His ( first-century ) disciples that, after He had ascended to Where He was before, He would send His Spirit to comfort them during their tribulations. He said numerous times, in other words, maybe, that 'My Father is greater than I' ( John 14:28, Luke 10:22, Luke 22:29, Matthew 26:53 ). Clearly, Jesus WAS a man, as He referred to Himself most often, 'the Son of Man' ( Matthew 10:23, Mark 8:38 ( 14:62 ), Luke 9:22 ( 26 ), John 5:19 ), so, during this period, there WAS a definite distinction to be made between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but NOW that we have His Presence ( dwelling with ( in ) us ); I believe that, post-Parousia, it is no longer necessary, and even useless to make that distinction!

Now that I've shocked most of my family & friends ( well, maybe I haven't! ); let us go on to better things!

As Jesus clearly said; He, being the Son of God, God Himself ( John 8:58 ) was the embodiment of the Resurrection, or the Resurrection made visible ( revealed ) to the eyes of those who sought a sign. The Scripture can't be much clearer in that respect; whoever believed in Him would never die, but would in turn, become a vessel for that 'living water' which He alone gives ( John 4:1-26 ).

Some may wonder if the Holy Spirit dwells individually within each one of His people, and while we may answer in the affirmative, this is somewhat beside the point! The greater and revealed mystery is this, that He has chosen to make His Home ( one could say, 'Their Home', if one wishes ) in the midst of His people ( Luke 17:21 ( ESV ) ( Deuteronomy 23:16. Hosea 11:9 ).

There are those, and this IS the accepted 'orthodox' position, I believe, that insist that Jesus still inhabits His ( individual ) physical Body, in 'Heaven', at the 'right hand' of the Father ( 'from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead' ), and while I can recite this phrase almost without 'compunction', I cannot abide by the 'orthodox' understatement of it! I believe that Jesus DOES inhabit His physical Body, but that Body is not an individual one, physically occupying a place on His Father's throne; it is what Paul refers to as 'His body, which is the church' ( Colossians 1:24 ).

We've 'been there, done that', but it seems like the problem just won't go away!

'Individualism', spiritually speaking, is probably about the wost kind of 'ism' out there, and 'a root of all [ kinds of ] evil'. There can be no argument that the Body of Christ, the Church that Paul spoke so highly of, is necessarily made up of individual Christians ( followers of Christ ), but I wonder if we often don't put too much of a focus on how we, as individuals, fit within that Body, than on the glorious fact that we, as a part of that Body, have been (corporately ) 'made perfect in love' ( I John 4:16-18 ( Hebrews 10:14 ). 'Individualism' is the culprit that insists that Jesus is yet a man, and must come again, in that form, to judge the living and the dead! 'Individualism' says that the Resurrection has not happened yet because men still die ( physically ), and their biological bodies 'return to their dust' from whence they came ( Psalm 104:29 )!

'Individualism' must die!

The Church, the ( corporate ) Body of Christ MUST realize that She IS One! Till the Church realizes that She is not ( just ) a group of individual persons, or even congregations placed on this earth to foment and spread the love of God to His 'children', She will continue to have, at most, a nominal, and in many cases, adverse effect, on the Kingdom of God on earth! Now, don't get me wrong; it IS God's Kingdom, and He rules omnipotently over all, but as 'those who are outside' ( I Thessalonians 4:12 ( Revelation 22:15 ) perceive it ( KoG ), the Church has done much to degrade it!

I do not say this, as some have accused me of, to slander the Bride of Christ, nor do I say things like this to lessen the guilt or culpability ( responsibility ) of 'those who are outside', but to alert Her, and yes, individuals within Her, of the Unity that we have in Christ, not because we share the same doctrines in uniformity, but because we share the same Lord and Father!

If the Resurrection has not yet occurred, although most will admit that there HAS been 'a' resurrection of sorts ( kinda like 'a' Coming, 'a' Parousia? ), then we ( the corporate Body of Christ ) cannot BE the New Temple, for the 'Lord of heaven and earth' will have nothing to do with a dead body, as typified in the Law of Moses ( Leviticus 21:11, Numbers 6:6, 19:11 ( Isaiah 26:19 ) Haggai 2:10-14 ), but rather, as Jesus explained to the 'hardhearted' Pharisees, 'He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living' ( Mark 12:27 ). If there remains a Resurrection of biological bodies, in the manner of our Lord's, then we wait for the fulfillment of His promise, and if we await the Resurrection, then we CANNOT be the Temple of the Holy Spirit, for we are a dead Body!

In the love of God and the Unity of the Spirit.
Let us reason together, Charles Haddon Shank