经文：耶和华如此说，天是我的座位，地是我的脚凳；你们要在那里为我建造殿宇？那里是我安息的地方？耶和华说，这一切都是我手所造的，所以就都有了；但我所看顾的，就是灵里贫穷痛悔、因我话战兢的人。（赛六六1-2，另译）
圣殿也是表征，神要住在以色列人的中间
等到以色列人进入迦南，神一再施恩给他们，叫他们四境平安，安居乐业；这时候他们的君王大卫就想到了神这个住处的问题。他说，我住在香柏木的宫中，神的约柜反在帐幕里。所以他就定意要为神造一个殿。等到所罗门出来了，他果然为神造了一个殿。神的荣耀就充满在殿里头。
我再说，那个殿仍然不过是一个表征。神怎样不是住在帐幕里头，神也同样不是住在圣殿里头。神乃是以以色列人为殿。当以色列人在神面前的光景正常的时候，神就住在他们中间，那个殿就满了神的荣耀。当以色列人在神面前荒凉了，神没有法子住在他们中间了，神的荣耀也就离开了那个殿。所以那个殿不过是一个表号，不过是一个象征，真实的殿乃是以色列人。
神所要的居所，不是物质的，乃是祂所得着的人
神不是住在石头的房子里面，神乃是住在以色列人里面。所以神在以赛亚书里说，天是我的座位，地是我的脚凳，你们要为我造何等的殿宇呢？我根本不需要这些作我安息之所。但我所看顾的，乃是虚心痛悔，因着我的话战兢的人。天如何不是我的居所，地上的房屋也同样不是我的居所。我所要看顾的，我所要住进去的，乃是一班的人。祂藉着以赛亚又说，那住在永远里头的神虽然有至高至圣的所在，但祂却要与心灵痛悔谦卑的人同住。
这些话很清楚的给我们看见，虽然有天有地，但那都不是神的居所。神所要有的一个居所，乃是祂所得着的人。在宇宙中神若没有得着人，神就是无家可归的神。所以祂渴望得着一班人，叫他们被建造而成为祂的居所。
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God’s Salvation Is Also For Gaining His Household (2) – 1 King 6:1, Isa. 66:1-2
Temple Is a Type that God Dwells Among Israel
When Israel entered Canaan, God continually showed favor to them, allowing them to live in peace and contentment. At this time, their king David thought about the issue of God’s dwelling place. He said, I live in a house of cedar trees, yet the ark of God is in the tabernacle. So he decided to build a temple for God. When Solomon became the king of Israel, he did build a temple for God, where the glory of God filled the temple.
Let me repeat, that temple is still just a type. Just as God did not live in the tabernacle, he did not live in the temple either. God lived among Israel as his temple. When Israel was in normal condition before God, God lived among them, and the temple was filled with the glory of God. When Israel was desolate before God, God had no way to dwell among them and God’s glory left that temple. So that temple is just a sign, a type. The true temple is Israel.
The Dwelling Place God Desires Is Not a Material One, But Man He Has Gained
God does not live in a house of stone. God lives in Israel. Therefore, God said in Isaiah, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? I don’t need these as my resting place. But I look after the poor and the contrite in spirit, who tremble at my word. Just as heaven is not my dwelling place, neither are the houses on the earth. What I want to take care of and what I want to live in is a group of men. Through Isaiah, He also said that although the God who lives in eternity has a high and holy place, He will live with those who have a contrite and humble spirit.
These words clearly show us that even though there is heaven and earth, they are not the dwelling place of God. The kind of dwelling place God desires to have is the man He has gained. If God did not gain man in the universe, He would be homeless. Therefore, He desires to gain a group of men so that they can be built up and become His dwelling place.