The Danger of Being the Temple - Ananias and Sapphira

The Danger of Being the Temple - Ananias and Sapphira

In a compelling Bible Teachings delivered at Founded in Truth Fellowship, Matthew Vander Els explored the profound significance of participating in the community of God and the serious consequences of approaching this sacred connection with anything less than complete honesty and commitment. Drawing extensively from both the Old and New Testaments, the teaching centered on the cautionary tale of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts, illuminating the dangers of hypocrisy within the fellowship of believers.

The speaker began by establishing a foundational understanding of God's relationship with humanity, referencing the Old Testament and the boundaries God set for Israel to be a people set apart. These boundaries, encompassing distinctions between clean and unclean, holy and profane, were intended to honor God, even extending to practices like abstaining from pork. While some of these regulations were tied to the physical Tabernacle, they represented a commitment to honoring God's holiness. The state of being unclean, though not inherently sinful, restricted access to God's presence in the Tabernacle, acting as a separation from the intimate dwelling of the divine. Examples such as childbirth, bodily discharges, certain diseases, and contact with dead animals or bodies led to this temporary state of uncleanness.

However, as time progressed in Israelite culture, these practices, initially rooted in respect for God's presence, gradually transformed into a checklist for affirming one's identity within the Covenant. This shift intensified after the Babylonian exile and the Maccabean Revolt, when adherence to these commandments became markers of Judean identity, a way to distinguish themselves from the surrounding cultures. The speaker highlighted how Yeshua, or Jesus, strongly criticized the Pharisees for this very mindset. Their emphasis on outward displays of holiness led them to judge others based on their adherence to these self-imposed checklists, neglecting the crucial aspect of inner transformation and the heart of God. Yeshua condemned their hypocrisy, comparing them to beautiful cups filled with decay and whitewashed tombs concealing death. Turning faith into a means of self-exaltation and judgment of others, according to the teaching, amounts to idolatry, placing one's own perceived value above God's true intentions.

The teaching then transitioned to the concept of God's dwelling place throughout history. Initially, God's presence was associated with the holy mountain, Mount Sinai. This presence then moved to the Tabernacle, a tent, and later to the Temple in Jerusalem. In each case, the holiness of the location stemmed not from its physical structure but from God's dwelling within it. The New Testament introduces a radical shift in this understanding. Yeshua proclaimed that he himself was the new Temple, as seen in John chapter 2 when he spoke of destroying the temple and raising it again in three days, referring to his own body. This marked a transition where God's presence would no longer be confined to a physical building but would reside within individuals.

The speaker elaborated on this New Testament understanding, citing passages from Ephesians, 1 Peter, and 1 Corinthians. Believers are described as being built together as a spiritual house, with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone. Individually, the body of a believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit signifies that believers have become sacred, set apart not through their own merit but because of God's presence within them. This new reality brings immense privilege but also carries significant responsibility.

To illustrate the seriousness of this new covenant relationship, the tea