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Q25. Dwelling Place for God


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The significance that the congregation in the church I attend has made to be “a dwelling place for God in the Spirit” is we are always welcoming anybody that want to attend. We get together and discuss what the bible means to us and we study it every week. I think the thing that hinders that from being fully experienced is not accepting people as they are and loving them and making them feel at home.

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  • 5 months later...
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God was present amongst the people in the wilderness tabernacle and even in later years in the temple in Jerusalem; however, the people had no direct access to the great and mighty God. Access was through the priests. With Jesus' atoning death on the cross, we've been brought near to God, those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, in fact He has taken up residence in us. We now have full access to Him at all times.

During the Old Testament, God dwelt only amongst the Jews, just the Jews were 'Children of God.' With Christ's death on the cross access to God is available to all nations, tribes, peoples and languages; the gentiles could now also become 'Children of God'.

Some hindrances are denominationalism, racism and pride

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  • 1 year later...

Q4. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated?

The significance our congregation was made to be a dwelling for the spirit of God is that as we believers come together is for edification in the word of God, to strengthen one another and pray for physical and spiritual healing.

What hinders the above from being fully experienced and coming to pass is that if we do not go to church period, the house of God will never get built.

We can help and appreciate this experience by going to church and encouraging our fellow Christians to attend. 

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  • 1 year later...

Where two or more people gather in prayer there God shall be. We were called to become a family with each other. We were brought together by a belief system that we together welcome God into our community. There is to be a love between us that is all encompassing. It is to reach out to everyone. We are to live in accordance to the examples of Jesus.

 

The hindering effects to this are many. We, sometimes, have people on ego trips that feel that they are better than others. We have those who only come to be entertained by the sermon. They feel that they do not have to participate in anything. We have those that pray with hardened hearts. And I do not feel that God really listens to those that use fake words or feelings. I also feel that people who really have no faith for themselves but acct as Christians really hinder the flow of God's graces throughout the congregation. And I am sure that there are a lot more that can be listed.

 

I have tried to talk to people about the problems that we were facing and still face. However, that really proved to be a futile activity. I tried to start different types of bible studies, but there was no interest in them. I tried to incorporate different ideas into the worship itself but too many people did not want to change. I have become burned out and now I feel God has lead me to a place where I can grow.

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  • 2 years later...
On 7/29/2006 at 6:49 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q4. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated?

Where two or more are gathered in his name there he will also be, as we gather together to praise and worship.

When we don't love one another.

To love and show that love to everyone.

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  • Pastor Ralph changed the title to Q25. Dwelling Place for God
  • 2 months later...

Q25. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated? 
We, as believers, together provide a dwelling place for God, where He can fellowship with His people. Each one of us is a building block with our Lord Jesus as the foundation and the cornerstone. Since the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus, is the congregation itself, we have to be united in our love for each other and in our worship of our Heavenly Father. The quickest way to suppress Christ's love is to be friendly with only those people that we like. We have to be united, one body, in spite of differences in race, colour, nationality, culture, language, and temperament. All our man-made divisions will be swept away when our Saviour returns. Eventually Jesus will knock down all these barriers and we will be all unified in one family. 
 

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Q25. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated?

This implies that there is need for us to ensure total togetherness in our worship services and relationship.

Lack of full recognition of this need may hinder this noble plan of God.

Prayers and teaching on the subject will help every communicant to play his role as a member of God’s house.
 

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What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated?

In earlier lessons, I was troubled by the meaning of church, or what it should be in "real life." This exasperates my confusion. What is church? It's not a building, obviously. It's not programs or activities, social hours and children's playtimes. It's not a B-grade country club with greens and exercise equipment, even nurses, in some cases. 

If church is the people coming together to talk about the Lord, learn and worship, then two or three should do it, right? Does a church need a leader/pastor/elders or is this structure unnecessary today?

If I get together with eight Christian friends every Wednesday to study the bible and pray, is this church????

I ask because of the last question Pastor Ralph posed -- what can we do? That depends on what we think church is, our working definition of it. 

I attended a dying church for many years which finally split over the COVID fiasco -- now, I'm attending, but not joining, a charismatic church. I feel a real difference, socially and culturally, with the people in the new church that I didn't feel as much at the Anglican church I used to attend. Perhaps my discomfort is good, not bad -- I don't know -- but it doesn't make for easy conversation or trust. Christians tend to attend churches that "fit" them ... which means what? That they are social peers with other people in that church? They look for a church "home" as if church should be as comfortable as their own family rooms. 

I no longer know what church means, what I'm supposed to give/be/do and what I'm supposed to receive. I know what church means intellectually, but not practically, in my life. 

To say that church is a dwelling place for God, that God somehow dwells within us, is true -- but God also dwells in us individually.  How is this different?  To say we're the body of Christ corporately makes sense and is true -- but God also is in my body individually. I need to think this through more. Perhaps the rest of the study of Ephesians will help. I hope so.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/29/2006 at 6:49 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q25. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated?

With this pandemic, it was like a great scattering in the Church.  People couldn't get together,  people should wear masks; people shouldn't wear masks.  It almost caused a division in the Church.  Some got Covid and some didn't.  Some were fearful and some didn't care.  People got lazy and didn't come back to Church. Our Pastors were holding on, being faithful. Our Church had meetings online, but there is nothing like getting together with the Body of Christ.  You can't worship at home in front of a computer like you can in the Church with your brother and sisters.  It goes to show you that we need the Body, nothing like being together with the saints, praying for one another and that all the congregation comes back.  That is where we sense God's presence, learn to get along with others, grow in the Lord and seek His Spirit.  It is a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. 

We can help to become more fully experience and appreciated by being an active member of the Church, such as being in a ministry in the Church - Sunday school teaching, doing a connect group, choir, greeter, usher and fellow shipping with the Body - getting to know one another, sharing our lives and finding out that we are pretty much going through the same thing and praying for one another.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My status is quite unique.   I am an independent evangelist.   Yet I am part of the five fold ministry.   Proclaiming the Word of God in the public arena.   Distributing Gospel literature and giving testimony about Jesus Christ.   I love that text from Revelation 19:10, "....for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy".   Due to Covid restrictions here in NYC,  I have had to be in many ways "a lone ranger".   

Edited by Jonathan Edwards
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  • 1 month later...

The significance that our congregation was made to be “a dwelling place for God in Spirit” is that we can get together and know that the Spirit of God is with us in all that we do in the Church. I think that the thing that hinders us from being fully experience is that we don’t expect the Spirit to be with us during those times. We can get together and expect the Holy Spirit to be among us.

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