Day #288 - The Dwelling Plan A

The Presence - A Devotional for Living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

“…and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22, 3:9-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash

Are you a person that likes to have a plan B?

Or do you only like to have a plan A? To me it can feel like having a plan B is conceding defeat by preparing for plan A not work out. Of course this shouldn’t always be the case. It is okay and even beneficial to plan for certain things in life with multiple variables for outcomes. But I just admire someone who goes all in on a plan and sticks to it without expecting failure or other options than mission success.

The church is God’s plan A as a dwelling place as a temple for His glory, “the Presence.” Paul is saying exactly this in Ephesians 2 and 3. The church is built on Jesus and the apostles and prophets. Another way we could say it is that the church is built on the person and work of Christ and the Scriptures (the Word of God through the apostles and prophets that reveal Christ). This is the dwelling place we are when we come together where God lives by His Spirit.

Paul continues to unfold that we the church are the eternal plan of God that was hidden in times past but has now been revealed. God always planned that we would have a church made up of Jew and Gentile that would together be a holy temple where He dwells in the earth. When God dwelled in Eden, in Moses’ Tabernacle, David’s sacred Tent and Solomn’s temple, He always had us the church in mind.

The church is so mysterious and powerful that we are revealing God’s plan of wisdom to rulers and powers in the heavens. The church caught the spirit world by surprise. When we gather in our cities to sing and worship we are not simply doing a religious duty, we are gathering as a supernatural dwelling for God’s glory that serves notice to dark rulers in the spirit realm that Jesus is the victorious King! May we never sell ourselves short or look at the church as an optional club to join or not. We are the dwelling place for God according to His eternal plan. We are God’s plan A!

Father God, what a marvelous plan to build the church of Jew and Gentile as a dwelling for Your glory and a bride for Your Son. Let me honor the church and contribute to the unfolding of Your eternal plan that is built on Christ and the apostles and prophets. Inhabit us Your church with Your glory. In Jesus name, amen.