GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Study 7 — One People, One King, One Kingdom

We have covered a lot of ground.

The curtain was torn.

The Old Covenant reached its appointed end.

Christ offered one sacrifice for sin.

Christ became our permanent High Priest.

God made His people His temple.

Jew and Gentile were brought together in Christ.

And the risen Jesus ascended to God's right hand and reigns as King.

Now we need to put it all together.

What has God been doing all along?

Has He been working with several separate plans for several separate peoples?

Or has the whole story been moving toward one redeemed people living with one God under one King?

The Story Began With One Human Family

Before there was an Israel, there was humanity.

Before Abraham, Moses, Jerusalem, the Law, the priesthood, or the temple, there was Eden.

God created human beings to live in fellowship with Him.

Then came Genesis 3.

Satan tempted.

Humanity sinned.

Adam and Eve hid from God.

Death entered.

The curse came.

And humanity was driven from the Garden.

The problem wasn't originally Jewish or Gentile.

The problem was human.

Sin separated humanity from God.

And from that point forward, the Bible tells the story of what God was going to do about it.

Why Did God Choose Abraham?

God called Abraham and promised:

“All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
— Genesis 12:3

Israel had a special place in God's plan.

But God's purpose in choosing Abraham was never limited to Abraham's physical family.

From the beginning, the promise looked toward:

“all peoples on earth.”

Paul later calls this:

“the gospel in advance”
— Galatians 3:8

God chose one family through whom He would eventually bless every family.

Then Christ Came

Paul tells us where Abraham's promise was going.

“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed... meaning one person, who is Christ.”
— Galatians 3:16

Christ is the center of the promise.

Then Paul says:

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
— Galatians 3:29

That changes the question.

The important question is no longer:

Who are your physical ancestors?

The question is:

Do you belong to Christ?

Christ Tore Down Another Barrier

The temple curtain wasn't the only barrier Christ removed.

There was also a great separation between Jew and Gentile.

Paul says:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
— Ephesians 2:13

Then:

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one.”
— Ephesians 2:14

And then comes this remarkable statement:

“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace.”
— Ephesians 2:15

Don't miss those words:

One new humanity.

Not two peoples with two ultimate destinies.

Not two ways of salvation.

Not two separate covenant families.

One new humanity in Christ.

One Body

Paul continues:

“In one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.”
— Ephesians 2:16

The cross works in two directions.

It reconciles us to God.

And it brings us together.

Jew and Gentile stand before God on exactly the same ground.

Both need Christ.

Both need grace.

Both need faith.

Both are called to turn to God.

Both enter Christ.

Both become part of the same body.

Jesus Said There Would Be One Flock

Jesus had already said:

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.”

Then He said:

“There shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
— John 10:16

One flock.

And:

One Shepherd.

The gospel doesn't preserve the old walls.

It tears them down.

One Body, One Spirit, One Hope

Paul could hardly make the point more strongly:

“There is one body and one Spirit... one hope... one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.”
— Ephesians 4:4–6

Look at all those ones.

One body.

One Spirit.

One hope.

One Lord.

One faith.

One baptism.

One God.

Why would we divide what Christ died to make one?

And One King

The same Jesus who died to reconcile us now reigns over us.

Peter announced:

“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
— Acts 2:36

Paul says God:

“has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
— Colossians 1:13

So God's people aren't waiting for their King to begin reigning.

We have a King now.

And we aren't waiting for His Kingdom to begin.

We are in His Kingdom now.

Does That Mean the Story Is Finished?

No.

This is important.

Christ reigns now, but we still live in a world where sin and death remain.

Paul says:

“For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:25

Christ is reigning while His enemies are being defeated.

Then:

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:26

The Kingdom is present.

But the Kingdom's final victory is still ahead.

And when that victory comes, death itself will be gone.

Now Follow the Story All the Way Home

This is where everything we have studied comes together.

Start in Genesis.

God and humanity are together.

Then Genesis 3 changes everything.

Sin.

Fear.

Hiding.

Death.

Curse.

Separation.

Satan appears to have won a terrible victory.

But God wasn't finished.

Abraham.

Israel.

Law.

Priesthood.

Sacrifices.

Temple.

Prophets.

All of them moved the story forward.

Then Christ came.

The Shadow Gave Way to the Reality

The sacrifices pointed to Christ.

Then the final sacrifice was offered.

The priesthood pointed forward.

Then our permanent High Priest arrived.

The temple represented God's presence.

Then God came among us in Jesus Christ.

The curtain represented separation.

Then God tore it from top to bottom.

The Kingdom was promised.

Then the King ascended to His throne.

Everything was moving toward Christ.

Why would God's plan now turn around and move backward?

Don't Sew the Curtain Back Together

This has been the point of the whole series.

God tore the curtain.

Don't sew it back together.

God provided the final sacrifice.

Don't put animals back on the altar.

God gave us a permanent High Priest.

Don't rebuild the old priesthood.

God made Jew and Gentile one.

Don't rebuild the wall Christ tore down.

God made His people His temple.

Don't wait for God to move back into a building.

The shadows served their purpose.

The reality has come.

And Then We Reach Revelation

The Bible ends where it began.

But better.

Satan, who appeared in Genesis 3, is finally defeated.

“The devil... was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur.”
— Revelation 20:10

Death itself is destroyed.

“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”
— Revelation 20:14

The curse introduced in Genesis is gone.

“No longer will there be any curse.”
— Revelation 22:3

The tree humanity lost appears again:

“On each side of the river stood the tree of life.”
— Revelation 22:2

And something happens that would have been impossible after Genesis 3.

God's people:

“will see his face.”
— Revelation 22:4

What Satan Did Has Been Undone

Look at the story.

Genesis 3: Satan deceives.

Revelation 20: Satan is defeated.

Genesis 3: Sin enters.

Revelation 21: Nothing impure enters.

Genesis 3: Death begins.

Revelation 21: There is no more death.

Genesis 3: The curse comes.

Revelation 22: There is no more curse.

Genesis 3: Humanity loses access to the tree of life.

Revelation 22: The tree of life is restored.

Genesis 3: Humanity hides from God's face.

Revelation 22: God's people see His face.

What Satan did in the Garden, Jesus completely undoes.

And Where Is the Temple?

After everything we have studied, John gives us one final surprise:

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
— Revelation 21:22

The Bible doesn't end with a rebuilt temple.

It ends without one.

Why?

Because the temple was never the destination.

God Himself was the destination.

The temple allowed God to dwell among sinful people while barriers remained.

When redemption is complete, there is no need for the barriers.

God doesn't live behind a curtain.

His people don't stand outside.

“God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”
— Revelation 21:3

God Has Left the Building

Now perhaps the title doesn't sound quite so shocking.

God has left the building.

But He hasn't left His people.

Quite the opposite.

He has come closer.

He came to us in Christ.

He dwells in us through His Spirit.

And one day we will live openly in His presence forever.

One people.

One Savior.

One Shepherd.

One King.

One Kingdom.

One God dwelling with His people.

No temple.

No curtain.

No sacrifice for sin.

No death.

No curse.

No Satan.

No fear.

No separation.

The war is over.

The enemy is gone.

The King has won.

What Genesis 3 broke, Jesus has restored.

The Bible has taken us from Eden, through the temple, to Christ—and finally into the presence of God Himself.

God has left the building.

And at the end of the story, we are going home.