A significant element of the Romanization of Phoenicia (modern day Lebanon) was the construction of a Roman temple complex at Baalbeck overlooking the fertile Bekaa valley.  Every emperor from Caesar Augustus onward invested enormous resources in this grand project until 312 A.D. when Constantine converted.  The acropolis housed four temples, the largest and most magnificent being the Temple of Jupiter, Roman god of war.  Its marble columns towered far above the valley floor – a clear communication of the power and glory of Rome.                            

The Father, “from whom every family on heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:15) employed a similar strategy of communicating his power and glory.  When He triumphed over Satan, death, and sin through the death and resurrection of his Son (Eph. 1:20-21) he also built a temple, but this temple was not constructed with enormous stones and finely carved columns.    Instead, God brought together Jews and Gentiles and created them into “one new man” (Eph. 2:15).  The holy temple he built was a transnational and reconciled community with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone (Eph. 2:21).  This living temple replaced the Temple in Jerusalem as the place to meet God. The Herodian Temple was impressive in its own right, but it was temporary and the Spirit of God had long since departed.  How astounding Paul’s words to the Christians of Asia Minor must have sounded, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).  The dwelling place of God is a people, not a location.

Many Christians do not regard the Church as highly as the One who created it does.  In the West, it is common for people to claim to have faith in Christ but to have no commitment to a local expression of the global Church.  Sadly, many of them lose an orthodox faith and find themselves worshipping a god of their own making.  It is impossible to develop and thrive as a Christian without taking your place within the family of God.  Brothers and sisters in countries that are hostile to faith know profoundly how precious and powerful it is to pray, worship, and fellowship with other believers.  They don’t get caught in the trap of taking the stance of cynic and critic towards the Church, no matter what its weaknesses and faults.

The global Church and all its local expressions is the most important social institution on earth.  No government, educational system, humanitarian organization, or economic system can compare.  The Church carries the treasure of the Gospel and is called to demonstrate the healing and redemption work of Jesus.  Through the Church the “manifold wisdom of God” is revealed to every power on heaven and earth (Eph. 3:10).

Cape Town 2010 will give a physical expression of the reality that we are one body (Eph. 4:6), though we are citizens of over 200 nations.  May God use this gathering to mature us collectively (Eph. 4:13) and to send us out in unity to preach the Gospel in word and deed.