Doing Well

7 min read

18 “But the LORD said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’”
— 1 Kings 8:18-19

On this side of the cross, we know that God was not referring to Solomon, but to Jesus Christ. The One who would be anointed to build that temple (house) for the Name of the LORD would be born after David passed away (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

And, of course, that Temple is Jesus Christ Himself (John 2:20-21). Not only that, through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we too are “being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5) “to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21).

Our sanctification through faith in Jesus Christ in not merely a personal matter, but also a corporate matter.

And so—as the prophecy was given to King David, that prophecy is given to us, as well—we do well to have it in our hearts to build a temple for the Name of the LORD in Christ Jesus. We do well to have it in our hearts to build up the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

However, I have to have the right understanding about what it means to build the church. First and foremost, it means that Jesus will build up the church. What that means for us is in many ways a deep mystery. It means that Jesus is more responsible for building up the church than we are—than I am.

At the heart of this reality, I believe, is the understanding that my person relationship with Jesus Christ is not simply the compass for my walk of faith but is also the frame, the drywall, the doors, the windows, the electrical system, the environmental system, etc., of being built up onto His church with Jesus as the Foundation and the Chief Cornerstone.

We are not called simply to do church but to be the church.

Another matter that is significant with respect to building up the church has to do with my relationship with other brother and sisters in Christ. If Jesus is responsible for building up the church then every single person that visits us is here according to His sovereign blueprint. Whether that person sticks around to become part of the frame, the drywall, the doors, the windows, the electrical system, the environmental system, etc., has a lot to do with OUR obedience to His command to love one another.

The royal command is not for us to love those we already love, but those that we do not.

Because of sin and pride, we all have our own blueprint in mind when it comes to building up the church (of course, filled with perfect people just like ourselves) But our blueprint is really just toilet paper. And not very soft and absorbent toilet paper at that.

We can always see Jesus’s blueprint by who He brings here to visit us. If they come or leave because of their disobedience to the love command, that is on them. But if they leave because of OUR disobedience to the love command, that’s on us.

The last point about building up the church that I need to understand is that the church is not a static body but a living body. The church is wherever the people of God are at—in our schools, our workplaces, our gyms, our golf courses, etc. And the church is called to bear witness to Christ.

Father, I have had it in my heart to build up Your church ever since I got saved. Forgive me, though, for trying to build up Your church based on my blueprint and not Your own. Let me “do well” in Your eyes so that You may use me according to Your word to build up Your church by Your Spirit. In Jesus’s name. Amen.