There are two descriptions of the church found in 1 Timothy which are not found elsewhere in the Bible. Only in this Epistle is the church called “the church of the living God” and “the pillar and base of the truth” (3:15).
For us to behave properly in the house of God, we need to take note that it is the church of the living God. God is called the living God several times in the Old Testament (Deut. 5:26; Josh. 3:10; 1 Sam. 17:26, 36; 2 Kings 19:4, 16; Psa. 42:2; 84:2; Isa. 37:4, 17; Jer. 10:10; 23:36; Dan. 6:20, 26; Hosea 1:10). He is also referred to by this title in nine books of the New Testament (Matt. 16:16; 26:63; John 6:69; Acts 14:15; Rom. 9:26; 2 Cor. 3:3; 6:16; 1 Thes. 1:9; 1 Tim. 3:15; 4:10; Heb. 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22; Rev. 7:2). When Peter recognized who Christ was, he called Him “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In Hebrews 3 we are exhorted not to withdraw “from the living God,” and in chapter nine we are told that the blood of Christ purifies “our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
In 1 Timothy 3:15 the church is also referred to as “the house of God.” The term house means household or family, as well as the lodging place of the family. Thus in the Bible the house of God means both His family and His dwelling place, because God’s dwelling place is within His people, not in a physical building. “House of God” is also used in 1 Peter 4:17 (“Judgment must begin at the house of God”) and in Hebrews 10:21 (“Having a great Priest over the house of God”).
The church is also called the pillar and base of the truth. The temple in the Old Testament had two pillars in front (1 Kings 7:15-22). Standing on their base, they bore the weight of the building. The Apostle Paul considered that the church was not only a house in which the living God dwelt but also a pillar standing upon its base bearing the truth.
Many Christians think of the church as merely a gathering of God’s called ones. From the names given to the church in 1 Timothy we can see that the church is also a house where the living God dwells and a pillar which supports the truth (reality). Both a house and a pillar need to be built.
It will help us to know how to behave in the house of God if we consider these two words, “living” and “truth.”
For us to match our living God, we too must be living. Suppose you came into a house and found everything in disarray. The tables were turned upside down, dirty socks were scattered around, shoes were in the sink, and the chairs were knocked over. You concluded that the people were either dead or kidnapped, but when you checked in the bedroom, there they were in bed sick. Sickness or death are the only excuse for such a disorderly house.
How is the house of a healthy family? Everything is clean, neat, and orderly. If you entered such a house, you would be assured that the members of that household were living and healthy.
What signs of life should characterize the church of the living God? Consider how the living God affected the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When the evil power of darkness tried to force them to worship idols, they boldly declared to Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:17-18). This same, living behavior also characterized Daniel when he was confronted with a den of lions for praying to his God. That is why the king called him the “servant of the living God” and proclaimed that “the God of Daniel...is the living God” (6:20, 26).
As the Lord’s recovery spreads throughout this earth, the door is open for all sorts of people to enter. Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus, “After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch” (Acts 20:29-31). This responsibility for watching to see that the house is kept in order falls upon every one of us, young and old. The Lord is not only adding His life to us, but also making us living. This phrase, “the church of the living God,” was used during a time of degradation in the church, just because most Christians were not living, but sleeping. The Lord’s recovery must not be like sleeping Christianity. Our God is living! We are His living children. In His house we must behave in a living way. We must be on the alert to guard it from all evil.
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