SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:1-16
“But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.” (Acts 7:9-10)
Stephen is accused of slandering the temple and the law (Acts 6:13-14).
The temple is where God lives among His people; it represents ‘God with us’.
Stephen reminds them how God was with them everywhere – Mesopotamia, Haran, and Egypt.
The point of this history lesson (so far) is that God is not tied to one place.
The other charge (Acts 6:14) is that Jesus will destroy the temple and change the customs of Moses.
What Stephen ultimately means is that Jesus is uniquely ‘God with us.’ (Matthew 1:23)
Moses spoke about God, but Jesus is God speaking with us (John 14:24).
Moses built a tabernacle for God, but Jesus is the tabernacle of God (John 1:14).
No matter where we are, no matter where Jesus sends us, He is God with us to the very end.
Who needs a temple when we have God Himself over, with and in us.
Who needs the law when we have God’s Spirit in us, leading us in God’s will.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, I am not under the law, yet I am under Your Law (1 Corinthians 9:20-21). Help me to know the difference, and with Your Spirit’s help to live the difference, as Your temple on earth.