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We can turn with me in your Bibles 
to Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6, our focus tonight 
is actually Acts chapter 7, verses 44 to 50, but I want to set it 
in its larger context. So we'll read the latter half 
of chapter 6 and then that section in chapter 7. So Acts 6, beginning 
in verse 8. And Stephen, full of faith and 
power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then 
there arose from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen, 
Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, 
disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist 
the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly 
induced men to say, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against 
Moses and God. And they stirred up the people, 
the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him, 
and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses 
who said, this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against 
this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that 
this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs 
which Moses delivered to us. And all who sat in the council, 
looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. 
So turn over to chapter 7, picking up at verse 44. Our fathers had 
the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he appointed, 
instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that 
he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also 
brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles. 
whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the 
days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find 
a dwelling for the house of the God of Jacob. But Solomon built 
him a house. However, the Most High does not 
dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says." Excuse 
me just a moment. The Most High does not dwell 
in temples made with hands, as the prophet says. Heaven is my 
throne and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for 
me, says the Lord? Or what is the place of my rest? 
Has my hand not made all these things? Well, before we pray, 
I just want to show you that this is, in fact, a unit. Beginning 
in chapter 6, verse 8, following to chapter 8, verse 1. Essentially, what you have is 
the arrest of Stephen at the end of chapter 6. Then you have 
the defense of Stephen in chapter 7, verses 1 to 53. And then you 
have the martyrdom of Stephen in chapter 7, verse 54 to chapter 
8 and verse 1. The reason we're looking at this 
tonight, I thought it would help us in terms of the temple. This 
morning we looked at John's gospel when Jesus said, destroy this 
temple and in three days, or destroy this house, and in three 
days I will raise it up. The apostle John tells us he 
was speaking about the temple of his body. He was talking about 
the death and the resurrection that he himself would undergo. 
We saw that the temple was typical. It signified, it pointed forward 
to, it foreshadowed the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just 
as Passover does, so does the temple. It finds its realization, 
its fulfillment in what Jesus Christ had done. So I wanna show 
you tonight that not only did Stephen understand this, But 
as well, Stephen tells us that the Old Testament understood 
it also. So let us pray, and then we'll 
investigate the passage. Our Father, we thank you for 
your holy word. We thank you for the temple, 
the reality that you dwell in the midst of your people. We 
see it in the tabernacle. We see it in the temple of the 
old covenant. But we see how those things were 
typical of our Lord Jesus Christ, that one in whom we have the 
presence of God Almighty. how we give praise to you for 
that blessed truth that you want to be with your people, that 
we will one day be in your presence, that you will be our God and 
that we will be your people. Now we know this is the case 
presently, but it's not yet been fully realized what it shall 
be. So God, encourage our hearts and strengthen us in the inner 
man and cause us to march onward by faith in these blessed promises 
and in the wonderful truths of redemption that you have bestowed 
upon us. Again, forgive us for all of 
our sin and unrighteousness now. Guide us by the presence and 
the power of your Holy Spirit. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. We'll go back for just 
a moment to chapter 6, just so we can see what is happening. 
Stephen essentially bested his opponents theologically and biblically. Notice in verse 8, Stephen, full 
of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 
There then arose from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen, 
these particular fellows, and they were disputing with Stephen. 
Now notice in verse 10, they were not able to resist the wisdom 
and the spirit by which he spoke. We don't do ourselves any favors 
if we don't know the Bible. We don't know theology. If we're 
going to give a defense, if we're going to engage the opponents 
of Jesus Christ, it is best to do so from a vantage point of 
knowledge and wisdom. That is what Stephen does. Now 
notice, because they could not best him in the arena of argumentation, 
they now turn their opposition toward him in the arena of false 
witness, false testimony, and drummed up charges so that he 
will stand and face the Sanhedrin. Notice in verse 11, then they 
secretly induced men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous 
words against Moses and God. It's a terrible thing to do, 
to go out and to try to get men that will slander another human 
being and allege a capital offense. at this particular time to speak 
ill of or to suggest not only the destruction of a temple, 
but the desecration of a temple was in fact a capital offense. It carried the death penalty 
at that time under the Roman Empire. So they engage in this. Now notice they then escalate. 
Verse 12, they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, 
and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 
So they have these men falsely charge him, and now they stir 
up everybody to turn popular opinion against Stephen. And 
now the formal charges come in verses 13 and 14. They also set 
up false witnesses who said, this man does not cease to speak 
blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. For we 
have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy 
this place, the temple, and change the customs which Moses delivered 
to us." Again, very serious allegations, very serious charges, and as 
a result, he now stands before the highest religious and political 
council in Israel, at that time. Notice in verse 15, and all who 
sat in the council, that's the Sanhedrin, it was made up of 
71 members, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face 
of an angel. Now, Stephen is not alone. The 
Lord Jesus Christ was accused of having a thought to desecrate 
or destroy the temple. They take his words from John 
2, they add a few false witnesses, and then they conclude at his 
trial before the Sanhedrin that he wanted to destroy the temple 
himself. As well, the prophet Jeremiah. 
Jeremiah simply prophesied concerning the destruction of the temple 
via the Babylonian captivity. And that was under the hand of 
God. He was simply announcing truth, 
but as a result, he was brought up on charges for having sort 
of plotted or engaged in a plan to destroy the temple. So Stephen 
here finds himself in good company. And essentially how Stephen responds 
to these two charges is that he shows in the first place with 
his appeal to various persons in the Old Testament, vis-à-vis 
Abraham and Joseph, for instance, They didn't need a temple to 
meet with God. In other words, the temple didn't 
contain God. God was able to show himself 
to Abraham. He was able to show himself to 
Joseph. He was able to show himself to 
Moses. It's not the case that you actually 
have to have a building in order for God to be present. So he 
answers the charge by showing that a temple is not absolutely 
crucial in order for the people of God to enjoy the God of the 
people. He brings that to a fitting conclusion 
in the passage that we're going to investigate in just a moment. 
But in terms of Moses, he hadn't spoken ill of Moses. He simply 
rehearses Israel's history and shows that his audience, the 
Sanhedrin, the people that are supposed to be the leaders, had 
affinity, not with Moses, but the people in their history that 
had opposed Moses. So Stephen, preaching Christ, 
Stephen being a champion of the gospel, Stephen was the one who 
went where Moses pointed. It was them that had refused 
Moses. It was them not getting the end 
of what God had written through Moses in terms of the person 
and work of the Lord Jesus. So Stephen's defense here is 
masterful. But as I said, let's look at 
verses 44 to 46, rather, to 50. Now I want to look first at the 
temple of the God of Jacob in verses 45B to 47. Secondly, the 
testimony of the prophet Isaiah in verses 48 to 50. So Stephen 
tells them what the Old Testament said to corroborate what he has 
claimed in terms of the temple itself. But before we look at 
the temple of the God of Jacob, just back up to verse 44. Our 
fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness as 
he appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern 
that he had received, in which our fathers, having received 
it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed 
by the Gentiles. We've seen that in our scripture 
reading on Sunday evening, they built the temple or the tabernacle 
rather. In chapter 25, there's detailed 
instructions given and that carries all the way to the end of the 
book. So after God delivers his people, after he makes demands 
of his people, he then promises to dwell in the midst of his 
people. And I quoted Davis this morning, or at least alluded 
to him when he said, the God of three, five in Exodus, that's 
the burning bush. And the God of 1921, that's Sinai, 
is also the God of 25-8. 25-8 in Exodus says, and let 
them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. So the 
God of 3-5 in 1921 is also the God of 25-8. That is the God 
of the bush, who will rescue his people from slavery, and 
the God of the hill, who declares to his people his law, is also 
the God of the tent who dwells in the midst of his people, with 
his tent among their tents. Indeed, the climax of the book 
of Exodus is not at the sea, chapter 14, nor on the mountain, 
chapter 19, but in the tent, chapters 25 and following. The 
pinnacle is Exodus 25.8. Let them make me a sanctuary 
that I may dwell among them. So they make this tabernacle, 
they go on the conquest under General Joshua, they dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites, and they shut up their tabernacle. 
That becomes their central sanctuary, that's where they offer their 
sacrifices, and that's where a sinful man has access to the 
presence of the thrice-holy God. Again, because of the efficacy 
of the Lamb of God who had come. Now notice secondly, or in terms 
of our overview here, notice the temple of the God of Jacob 
in verses 45B to 47. He speaks first of David's desire. Notice 45. He speaks of whom 
God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days 
of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling 
for the God of Jacob. So David found favor from the 
God of Israel. And then David reflexively wants 
to build a house for the God of Israel. In 1 Samuel chapter 
13, we first find out that Saul is going to be cut off. Saul 
wants to take worship matters into his own hand. He disobeys 
Samuel, and as a result, he is cut off. And then God makes this 
announcement to Samuel. The Lord has sought for himself 
a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to 
be commander over his people. David was that man. And it's 
intriguing because in the first part of David's life and at the 
end of David's life, David is able to report on the favor of 
God. 2 Samuel 4.9, he says, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed 
my life from all adversity. And then at the end of his life 
in 1 Kings 1.29, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life 
from every distress. So Stephen is doing biblical 
theology. He's up now, not from the tabernacle, 
but at the temple. It was David who had favor in 
the sight of God, and it was David who wanted to build this 
house for God. Turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 
7. This is fundamental in biblical revelation in redemptive history. If you do not know 2 Samuel 7, 
you should learn 2 Samuel 7. We refer to it as the Davidic 
covenant. It is the promise of God to David that from David's 
line, one would rise up and his kingdom would have no end. You 
see this alluded to in the gospel of Luke in chapter one, verses 
30 to 33. At the announcement of the birth 
of Christ, this son of David would be enthroned at the right 
hand of God most high and his kingdom would have no end. So 
2 Samuel 7 is foundational in terms of biblical redemptive 
history. Now we see Psalm 89 and Psalm 
132 also allude to this particular section. But notice David's desire 
in verses 1 to 3. Now it came to pass, when the 
king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest 
from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan 
the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the 
ark of God dwells inside the tent curtains. Then Nathan said 
to the king, Go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is 
with you. You see David's desire. David has been victorious in 
terms of his conquest of his enemies. You see that happen 
in the movement of the narrative. In 2 Samuel chapter 5, he consolidates 
power over both kingdoms. 2 Samuel 6, they bring the temple, 
or rather the tabernacle, to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem 
becomes the seat of political and religious power. And here 
in 2 Samuel 7, he's musing upon his victories, he's musing upon 
the fact that he lives in this beautiful house, and he says, 
it is in my heart to build a house for God. We wanna take him out 
of this temporary tent, and we wanna make this blessed and splendid 
house wherein our God may dwell. Nathan says that's a good desire. 
But now God reports that no, it's not gonna be David who does 
this. Notice his plan revealed in verses 
four to 17. He gives the revelation of his 
covenant in verses four and five, and then again in verse 17. It's 
God who speaks this to come to pass. He gives the background 
of the covenant in verses five, B to nine. Look at what he says, 
verse five, thus says the Lord, would you build a house for me 
to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house 
since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from 
Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and 
in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with 
all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone 
from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people 
Israel saying, why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now 
therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, thus says 
the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following 
the sheep to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I have 
been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your 
enemies from before you and have made you a great name, like the 
name of the great men who are on the earth. See what God says? 
It had been his purpose at this particular time to continue to 
dwell amongst his nomadic people. God's promise to David is simple. Once they get rooted and established 
in the land, then they can build this permanent structure for 
me. What a father, what a merciful God. He's willing to be nomadic 
along with the children of Israel until they find stability and 
tenure in the land. And once that comes to pass, 
then the God of heaven and earth will have David's son build him 
a house that is permanent in nature. Notice the promise is 
given through covenant. Verse 10. Moreover, I will appoint 
a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, that they 
may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor shall 
the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously, since 
the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and 
have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also, the Lord 
tells you that he will make you a house. Now that word house 
is doing double duty in the passage. David is sitting in his house 
and David wants to build a house for Yahweh. Now Yahweh says, 
no, I'm going to build a house for you, David. Now you say, 
wait a minute, David's already sitting in his house. He's talking 
about a dynasty. He's talking about a dynasty 
of kings and succession. God says to David, from your 
seed, my servant, will be raised up. Notice what he goes on to 
say in verse 12. When your days are fulfilled 
and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seat after 
you, who will come from your body and I will establish his 
kingdom. He shall build a house for my 
name. Back to that original meaning, 
a dwelling place for God. He shall build a house for my 
name. Keep this in mind when you read 
Matthew chapter 16, and Jesus says, and I will build my church 
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. That 
comes on the heels of a confession by Matthew that Jesus is the 
son of the living God. And on the heels of that confession, 
Jesus promises as a son of God to build a house for God. What 
do you think Jesus has in mind? 2 Samuel chapter 7. Notice, he shall build a house 
for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits 
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with 
the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart 
from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 
And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever 
before you. Your throne shall be established 
forever." So essentially, what we have in verses 12 to 16, it 
is a promise made to David that applies to Solomon. It then applies 
to the sons of Solomon. Again, it's a Davidic dynasty, 
but it finds its termination in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's 
why in verse 14, when it says, I will be his father and he shall 
be my son, if he commits iniquity, that's not relative to Christ, 
but from Solomon and all of the kings that descend from him up 
until the time of our Lord Jesus. Now brethren, bring this into 
its new covenant setting. In Acts chapter 2, the Lord Jesus, 
or rather Peter, highlights that at the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus, it is then that Jesus sat down on the throne of David. So this promise given by God 
to David concerning this dynasty revolves around the promised 
Messiah who would come to save his people from their sins. So 
David desires to build a house for the Lord, but David will 
not be the one ultimately to build the house for the Lord. 
Now later in the redemptive or in redemptive history subsequent 
to this, specifically in 1 Kings 5, 1 Chronicles 22 and 1 Chronicles 
28, we learn why David wasn't to be the one to build the house 
of God. It is simple. He was a man of 
bloodshed. That is not God's condemning 
of David. That is not a condemnatory bit 
of language. God's not saying, well, I'm embarrassed 
to David. He's got blood all over his hands. 
I'm not going to let him be the one to build the temple. That's 
not it at all. David was the king of kings at 
that time. David was the warring general 
that led the armies of Israel into the various places where 
their enemies opposed them. David was a man of war to create 
a kingdom of peace. And when his son Solomon, which 
means peace, takes the throne, it will be Solomon that builds 
the throne. So going back to Acts chapter 
seven, this is what Stephen says. Verse 46, who found favor before 
God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. Going back 
to Stephen's defense, you have to see what he's doing. He's 
been charged with being anti-Temple and being anti-Moses. He is saying 
you're anti-Moses because you have affinity with the people 
that resisted and opposed him. And you're anti-temple because 
you have not seen that the temple leads to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You have failed to appreciate redemptive history and the contours 
of it. You haven't understood typology. You haven't understood that Christ 
is the telos. He's the answer. He's the purpose 
for which the temple stood. And then he says very simply, 
very plainly and very clearly, but Solomon built him a house. That is what Stephen says. So 
the temple was built by Solomon. You see that in 1 Kings. You 
have preparation for the building of the temple in 1 Kings 5. You have the construction of 
the temple in 1 Kings 6 and 7. And then you have the dedication 
of the temple in 1 Kings 8. And in verse 20 of 1 Kings 8, 
he says, So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke. And 
I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the 
throne of Israel as the Lord promised. And I have built a 
temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. Now, in that same 
dedication, Solomon himself was conscious of the fact of the 
limitation of the earthly temple. Remember, the Philistines thought 
that Dagon actually lived in his temple. They thought that 
that's where his abode was. He lived in that particular box. It was never intended to be understood 
that way with reference to Yahweh of Israel. In fact, in the dedication 
of the temple, Solomon admits as much. He says in verse 27 
of 1 Kings 8, But will God indeed dwell on 
the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven 
of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which 
I have built." See, Solomon, at the actual dedication of the 
temple that was built in accordance with the promise that was made 
to his father David, understood that that temple didn't contain 
God. Now, for those of you who may 
have been brought up Roman Catholic, you will know that they put the 
bread in what they call the tabernacle. Typically, in every Roman Catholic 
church, there's a back wall there. They don't have a big baptistry 
like that. They don't need quite as much water. And so they have 
this gold box under lock and key, and they call that the tabernacle. And there they put the host, 
the bread that they use with reference to communion. So they 
put him in there, and then they bring him out, and then the priest 
says his words of consecration, and changes that bread into the 
actual body of our Lord. Brethren, that is not biblical 
in terms of that structure, and I'm not suggesting that all Catholics 
believe that God lives in the little box behind Roman Catholic 
altars. I'm not suggesting that. But 
that was pagan thought. Israel was never supposed to 
think that way. at the very announcement of the 
dedication of the temple, Solomon says as much. The Geneva Bible 
says Solomon built a temple according to God's commandment, but not 
with any such condition that the majesty of God should be 
enclosed therein. In other words, it was a place 
that was symbolic of God's presence among his people. It couldn't 
contain him, it didn't exhaust him, and it didn't make him such 
other than he is in terms of infinite and immense. Now let's 
look back at Acts chapter 7. He moves from the temple of the 
God of Jacob in verses 45 to 47, and then he ends on the testimony 
of the prophet Isaiah in verses 48 to 50. Notice in verse 48, 
Stephen says, however, the Most High does not dwell in temples 
made with hands, as the prophet says. So again, jump into his 
defense. He's standing before the Sanhedrin. 
He is telling them, I'm not anti-temple. I don't have a problem with the 
temple. Brethren, by implication, do 
you know what he's saying? He's saying, you guys have a 
problem with the temple. You guys misunderstand the significance 
of the temple. Why do you think they respond 
by actually committing murder against him? They are outraged 
and incensed by the implications of his defense in terms of the 
charges made against him. So in terms of verse 48, it's 
a bridge between Solomon's building the temple and the divine commentary 
on the limitation of temples. In other words, even Isaiah the 
prophet understood the limitation of the earthly temple. What is 
Stephen saying to them? You're at odds now with Isaiah 
the prophet. Notice this distinction made 
in terms of the New Testament texts. Christ makes this distinction 
this morning, not this morning, but in John chapter two, destroy 
this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was talking 
about the temple of his body. He was talking about the fulfillment, 
the realization. The anti-type to why the temple 
made with hands was originally constructed. The Apostle Paul 
at the Areopagus, you can turn to Acts 17, a pagan context, 
but the same truth was supposed to be imbibed by the nation of 
Israel. 1724. God who made the world and everything 
in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in 
temples made with hands." Again, he's speaking to pagans who put 
up altars to the unknown God, but Paul is speaking consistently 
with what Old Testament revelation had given him. There is a distinction 
made by Paul as well in the book of Hebrews. You can turn there. 
Hebrews chapter 9, specifically verse 11 and then verse 14. I'm sorry, verse 24. Notice in 
Hebrews 9, 11. But Christ came, just back up 
for a moment. Notice in verse nine, he's talking 
about the temple. He's talking about the earthly 
tabernacle. He's talking about the structure 
of that facility that facilitated access to God by the worshipers 
in Israel. Again, it wasn't a sham, it wasn't 
false, it wasn't fake, it wasn't futile, but the power lay in 
what Christ would accomplish. And they walked by faith in those 
promises as they engaged in this earthly observance. So in verse 
9, he says, it was symbolic for the present time in which both 
gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed 
the service perfect in regard to the conscience, concerned 
only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances 
imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ came as high priest 
of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect 
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. And then notice in verse 24, 
for Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, 
which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to 
appear in the presence of God for us. Again, the author in 
that section, he's not saying the tabernacle and the temple 
was bad, the sacrificial system was wrong, everything about it 
was a fake. No, it functioned typically. It functioned in the particular 
reason or purpose that God intended to teach the people of Israel 
concerning His holiness, concerning their sinfulness, and concerning 
their need for the mediator, the Messiah that would come in 
order to bring them into the presence of God Most High through 
his precious blood. The reference here back in Acts 
7 at verse 48, when he says, the Most High does not dwell 
in temples made with hands, suggests that these persons are the same 
sort of persons that you found in verse 41. Notice, and they 
made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced 
in the works of their own hands. Stephen is saying the temple 
isn't bad. God's purpose in the temple isn't 
bad. The badness comes in the people 
that have treated it superstitiously, in the people that have come 
and treated it as if God is contained there, or who've treated it almost 
like a lucky charm. In 1 Samuel 4, there's an intriguing 
passage concerning the Ark of the Covenant. And when Israel 
fails against the Philistines, do you know what their response 
is? Let's get the Ark of the Covenant and let's bring it out 
onto the battlefield. For certainly then we'll have 
victory. You know what happens? They lose 
even bigger. Why? Because they trotted out 
the Ark of the Covenant like it was a holy horseshoe, like 
it was a four-leaf clover. They thought superstitiously 
that if the Ark of the Covenant of God is with us, then we will 
win in battle. Well, God rather would have them 
lose in battle to dissuade them from a superstitious treatment 
of who he is. It's intriguing because the Philistines 
think in the same way as the Israelites. The Philistines see 
the Ark of the Covenant of God and they fear as well. Oh no, 
their gods are now with them. We better really mount up against 
them in battle. And so they do. And they win. 
Again, because God says, I don't want you to treat the Ark of 
the Covenant or the Tabernacle in some superstitious manner. It was not wrong that Solomon 
built the temple, but these people are wrong who think that God 
lives in the temple or think that it's a lucky charm that 
they can invoke at their leisure in order to best their enemies. 
Again, Solomon made this admission, but will God indeed dwell on 
the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven 
of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which 
I have built. And then in 1 Kings 8.30, and 
may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people 
Israel when they pray toward this place. Here in heaven, your 
dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. So Solomon builds 
the temple, verse 47. But then Stephen says, but the 
Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet 
says. Now he invokes the testimony 
of Isaiah to bring this sermon to a conclusion, to bring his 
defense home. Again, Stephen doesn't have a 
problem with the temple. Stephen understands the typological 
function of the temple and that now that Christ has come, we 
don't go backward in redemptive history. We don't jealously desire 
the presence of an earthly dwelling place when Christ the Lord, the 
word became flesh and tabernacled or dwelt among us. And we beheld 
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, 
full of grace and truth. Notice what he says, quoting 
from Isaiah 66, one and two. In the first place, he highlights 
that heaven is God's throne. not the earthly dwelling place, 
not the temple, not the tabernacle before it. Heaven is my throne 
and earth is my footstool. That's how we're to understand 
an infinite and immense God. He's not located in a box. He's 
not like Dagon who lives in a temple, but rather he transcends that. And the throne room of God is 
in heaven, and earth is his footstool. Gil explains, these things are 
not to be literally understood, but are images and figures representing 
the majesty, sovereignty, and immensity of God. Now notice 
he goes on, what house will you build for me, says the Lord. the reality that an earthly structure 
cannot contain him. So you see, Stephen says, in 
the words of Moses, in the words of the former prophets, in the 
words of the prophets themselves, they all understood that we're 
not to use the temple as if it's a holy horseshoe. We're not to 
use the temple in a superstitious way. We're not to think that 
the temple actually contains the infinite and immense God. 
Isaiah spoke this many hundreds of years ago, according to Stephen. Notice the creator-creature distinction. What house will you build for 
me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Has my 
hand not made all these things? In other words, God is the creator. There is nothing that the creature 
can make that will contain him or that will exhaust him. So 
Stephen ends with the prophet Isaiah having cited as well God's 
purpose in terms of Solomon and the building of the temple to 
make sure that we understand that even Solomon himself knew 
that God doesn't actually dwell in a physical locale. It's not 
Stephen that has a problem, but rather it is the Sanhedrin that 
has a problem. It pointed to Christ and was 
therefore never intended to be a permanent institution. Not 
just Hebrews 9, 9 and 10, and not just Hebrews 9, 11 shows 
that contrast, but read all the way down to verse 15 to see how 
the temple functioned typically to point to the Lord Jesus Christ. And now that the Lord Jesus Christ 
has come, it is not the case that the children of Israel in 
this scenario are supposed to be attached to this physical 
dwelling. It's not Stephen that's anti-temple. 
It's not Stephen that's anti-Moses. It is rather the Sanhedrin, along 
with the religious leadership in the first century that have 
abandoned Moses and the prophets in their rejection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. That's Stephen's point. And then he brings it home in 
great power and with vivid earnestness in verse 51. You stiff-necked, 
and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy 
Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your 
fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold 
the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the 
betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the 
direction of angels and have not kept it. See, he didn't shrink 
back, he didn't say, well, you know, those are trumped up charges. 
He uses the opportunity, he uses the occasion, yes, to defend 
himself, but more importantly, to push and press them to an 
understanding of who Jesus is relative to the Old Testament 
Scriptures. Well, in conclusion, in terms 
of his defense, the charge that he is anti-Moses is answered 
in verses 17 to 43. The council's rejection of Christ 
demonstrates the council's rejection of Moses. You search the scriptures, 
for in them you think you have eternal life. But these are they 
which testify of me. So Jesus said that to his contemporaries 
in his ministry, and he said to them very earnestly that Moses 
wrote about me. So Stephen does the same thing 
as his Lord. And then the charge that he is 
anti-temple is specifically answered in verses 44 to 50. But it is 
as well previously to show them that an infinite and an immense 
God can appear to Abraham in Mesopotamia. He can appear to 
Joseph in Egypt. He does not need the temple to 
manifest his presence, and that's one of the reasons why Stephen 
traces redemptive history. Secondly, the covenant with David. 
There is a promise that a son of God would build a house for 
God. It is realized typically in the 
building of Solomon's temple, a son of David, who is a son 
of God, builds a house for God. But that is realized anti-typically 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, the word became flesh 
and dwelt among us. Revelation 21, 22, there was 
no temple. Why? Because God and the Lamb 
are the temple. G.K. Beal says, the reference 
to Isaiah indicates that Stephen did not believe that Solomon's 
building of the temple was a sufficient fulfillment of the divine promise 
that a son of David would build God a temple. In other words, 
what we have in redemptive history is flow. It's organic. It jives together, such that 
when Jesus comes, he's announced as the Lamb of God, the antitype 
of the sacrificial system. He is told by us to be our Passover, 
who sacrificed himself for us. the antitype for why the Passover 
served as a type. And in our passage this morning, 
destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And 
when John says he was speaking of the temple of his body, that 
tells and indicates for us that the reason for the temple is 
fulfilled in our Lord Jesus. If temple means God dwelling 
with His people, where does that happen? In the New Covenant. 
It happens in and through Christ. It happens in the church, because 
we have solidarity with our head as His body. And it's in this 
light that we understand Matthew 16. I will build my church, and 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And then 
finally, in terms of some observations relative to the temple, the earthly 
temple was the visible representation of the presence of God among 
his people. Again, it wasn't a sham, it wasn't 
fake, it wasn't empty ritual. It served the purpose for which 
God intended it. Secondly, the earthly temple 
and its limitations were experienced and understood by the people 
of God. Abraham didn't need a tabernacle 
or a temple to meet with his God. Joseph didn't need a temple. They didn't even need the land. 
For Israel, the land is central in their redemptive history. 
But God met with them outside the confines of the actual geography 
of Israel. The earthly temple and its limitations 
were observed by Solomon, 1 Kings 8, 27, and by the prophet Isaiah, 
Isaiah 66, 1 and 2. Fourth, the earthly temple was 
typical of Jesus Christ. It was not an end in and of itself. Now there's one other passage 
in the dedication of the temple that I think is most instructive 
for us in this new covenant era. We live in light of the Lord's 
commission to his people, to his church. Go therefore and 
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 
them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, 
I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Brethren, 
that does not begin the mission to the Gentiles. That's the formal 
inauguration of it, but this promise of Gentile inclusion 
in the promises of God go back to Noah initially in Genesis 
chapter 9. They are reconfirmed, re-explained 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. in you all the nations of the 
earth shall be blessed." Well, Solomon in the dedication of 
the temple understood universal scope, not necessarily of the 
earthly dwelling place, but typically in terms of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verses 43 and 44, 
for here in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all 
for which the foreigner calls to you, that all peoples of the 
earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, 
and that they may know that this temple which I have built is 
called by your name. that all the peoples of the earth 
may know. It's too small a thing, the father 
says to the son in the prophet Isaiah in chapters 42 and 49, 
for him simply to come and fetch redemptively the tribes of Jacob. But I will give you as a light 
unto the Gentiles. Gentile inclusion and the covenant 
promises of God have always been the case. It's not an afterthought. The idea that the church has 
come now is not a replacement of old covenant Israel, but it 
is the organic outflow. It is the fruit of God's redemptive 
plan. It is most excellent and most 
wondrous and most glorious. Fifthly, the earthly temple was 
not bad or wrong. The attitudes of many in Israel 
were bad and wrong relative to the temple. Again, read Jeremiah 
7, read Jeremiah 9, read Jeremiah 26. In Jeremiah 26, Jeremiah 
announces the destruction of the temple again. Brethren, he's 
the prophet prophesying concerning the Babylonian exile that is 
to come. This wasn't, you know, thousands 
of years in their future. It was contemporary. The Babylonians 
were coming. Jeremiah announces that. And 
as a result, Israel says he must die. You know who saved Jeremiah's 
bacon? It was the prophet Micah. Because 
about a hundred years prior, Micah prophesied the destruction 
of Jerusalem and the temple as well. But Hezekiah didn't have 
Micah executed. Hezekiah didn't demand that he 
be put to death. So that invoking of Micah was 
the means by which, at least temporarily, Jeremiah was spared. Jeremiah can't be held, you know, 
as an anti-temple guy when he's simply rehearsing the prophecy 
of God, just like Micah the prophet. And then the final thing that 
we need to observe, and you probably know that I'm going here, the 
popular dispensational idea that there is a future rebuilt temple 
in the redemptive plan of God is wrong. It is wrong. It is to have the type, receive 
the anti-type, and then go back to the type. It is a backward 
movement in redemptive history to somehow suppose that in the 
future for God's people, there's going to be a physical dwelling 
in Jerusalem ruled and reigned over by a physical Jesus in Jerusalem 
and the reinstitution of animal sacrifices. That is backwards 
in redemptive history. Christ has fulfilled all that 
the sacrificial system put forth Christ has fulfilled all that 
the temple stood for. And by God's grace, the next 
big event in the plan of God Almighty is the second coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. When he comes in the glory of 
his father with all of his holy angels, taking vengeance on them 
who know not God and on those who do not obey the gospel. Our 
preparation is to believe on him. Our preparation is not to 
send money to dispensational churches so they can take up 
an offering and build a physical structure in Jerusalem. No, we 
preach Christ and Him crucified. We understand the contours of 
redemptive history. We understand that Christ is 
the yea and amen of all the promises of God Most High. And we look 
forward to His coming in glory to judge the living and the dead. 
The way of preparation for each of us is by grace to believe 
the gospel, to look to Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, 
to look to Him as the altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, 
to receive from God the blessed benefits of justification, sanctification, 
and glorification. And then when he comes again 
to usher us on into that eternal state, we'll understand those 
realities that we looked at last week in Revelation chapter 21 
and 22. There will be no more curse. There will be no more sorrow. 
There will be no more pain. There will be no more hunger. 
There will be no more thirst. God himself will wipe away every 
tear from their eyes and there will be no more death. 1 Corinthians 
15, 20 to 28, the clearest expression of biblical eschatology in all 
of the Bible. And for whatever reason, we don't 
spend any time there in our discussions of eschatology. Tells us that 
the last enemy is death. Christ must reign until all of 
his enemies are made his footstool. So in that eternal state to come, 
no more death, no more sorrow, no more tears. Praise God for 
the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. Let us pray. Father, thank you for your Word 
and thank you for the clarity of Stephen's speech before the 
Sanhedrin with reference to these false charges that he was anti-Temple 
and anti-Moses. God, the persons that were investigating, 
the persons examining were the ones that were anti-Temple and 
anti-Moses. in their rejection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that yea and amen concerning the promises of God. 
They had rejected all that had come before in Old Testament 
revelation. Thank you for giving us eyes 
to see and ears to hear and hearts to receive the wonderful truth 
that Jesus Christ is the end of the law for those who believe, 
that Jesus Christ is the purpose. Jesus Christ is the reason, the 
rationale for all that comes in the Old Testament. I pray 
that these things would encourage our hearts, that you would strengthen 
us in the inner man and cause us to walk by faith in the son 
of God who loved us and who gave himself for us. And we ask in 
Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.