Bill Johnson - The House of God
You see, this is the initial fulfillment of that Old Testament unusual metaphor of an open heaven, angels coming and going—the fulfillment of divine purpose on the earth through a house that happens to be positioned on the edge of two worlds. This is Genesis 28:12. Then he dreamed; that’s Jacob. Behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven, and there the angels of God were ascending and descending. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, «I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.» Jump down to verse 16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, «Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.» A lot of church services are like that right there: surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. He was afraid and said, «How awesome is this place! Listen carefully: this is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.» There’s a very strange metaphor being used here to illustrate the nature of God’s design. He said, «This is none other than the house of God, the gate of heaven.»
Okay, verse 18: Jacob arose early in the morning, took the stone he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, poured oil on it, and called the name of that place Bethel. That’s a good name. Verse 22: «This stone, which I have set as a pillar, shall be God’s house.» Now that’s very strange; there’s no building here. Now, the house of God is revealed in many different ways throughout the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, we have the temple that Solomon built, which was the house of God. We have a tabernacle that David built, which was a house of God. We have the tabernacle of Moses, and we’ve got the rebuilt temple of Solomon. We have many houses of God, but this is the first mention of the house of God in the entire Bible. The first mention always sets a standard. Here’s the bizarre thing: it’s not a building; it’s a rock. It’s a rock where Jacob slept, had a dream, saw heaven opened, angels ascending and descending, and God spoke through the open heaven and delivered a word to Jacob about the house of God.
I think what excites me the most about this particular story is that, to Jacob, it was logical; to me, it just challenges me. He said this phrase: «This is none other than the house of God, the gate of heaven.» What’s a gate? A gate is a reality; it’s something that takes you from one reality to another. You may go through a gate from your backyard to your driveway; you may go from a gate in your front yard to a public sidewalk. But it’s something that takes you from one reality to another. And yet, this first mention, the first revelation in the entire Bible on the nature of the house of God, has several elements that are important for us to remember, because it will define everything we are. Number one: what is it? It’s a place where there’s an open heaven. Number two: God speaks through that open heaven. Number three: angels come and go—this angelic activity; that’s all open heaven; that’s all house of God—a gate on the edge of two worlds, the gate of heaven, and a gate into the hearts and lives of people. It’s the house of God.
Look with me at John chapter 1. John chapter 1, verse 14 says, «Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, tabernacled, or dwelt among us.» So the point I want to make is that Old Testament prophecy in Genesis 28 prophesies the nature of the house of God. The initial fulfillment or illustration of that prophetic metaphor is in the person of Jesus; he is the tabernacle, or the house of God on planet Earth. Chapter 1, verse 14. Jump all the way to the end of the chapter, and we see Nathanael have this interesting experience. His brother begs him to come and meet Jesus. «Come and see him.» Jesus saw Nathanael, verse 47, coming toward him and said, «Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.» There’s no guile. Nathanael said to him, «How do you know me?» Jesus said, «Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.» So Jesus is saying, «Hey, I saw you,» not in the natural; he could see in the spirit. He could see Nathanael inviting his brother to come meet Jesus.
Nathanael, verse 49, answered and said, «Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.» Jesus answered and said to him, «Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree, ' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.» He said to him, «Now listen carefully: most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.» Notice the similarities. You see, this is the initial fulfillment of that Old Testament unusual metaphor of an open heaven, angels coming and going—the fulfillment of divine purpose on the earth through a house that happens to be positioned on the edge of two worlds. We have been summoned and called to do greater things in Jesus. If it wasn’t in the Bible, that would be the worst thing you could possibly say: to do greater things in Jesus. But Jesus himself announced it: greater things than these shall you do. You can’t do greater until you’ve done the same. There are many believers who, in this day and age, have greater faith for the return of Christ than they do in the power of the gospel.
What I mean by that is the return of Christ is beyond glorious, so I’d never want to say or do anything to downplay that. But what is a frustration to me is that many people have faith in the return of Christ because they believe that the only thing that can fix this world is not the power of the gospel we preach, but the return of a military invasion of God to set things in order. In other words, the confidence isn’t in the message we’ve been given. You know, can an individual life that is absolutely in utter ruin be saved—not just forgiven, but restored? Can it be restored to a place of sanity, where addiction is broken off, and they have a healthy family and a healthy lifestyle? Can it happen for one? Can it happen for his family? Can it happen for his family line? What about his neighborhood or city?
You see the point—the power of the gospel is what is needed to re-embrace tuning our tuning fork to the one sound, the original sound that said, «Do what I taught you to do; teach everyone under you to do the same; have them teach those that they raise up to do the same.» Don’t change the standard. Get the tape measure out again and do it the way you were instructed to do it. Lay hands on the sick—don’t worry about how good you do; don’t worry about how bad you do—just obey what he said to do. I don’t have the right; I don’t have the luxury to change the assignment to what I know how to do well. Most people’s ministries are defined by what they do well. Most people, when they try to figure out what their ministry is, just try to figure out what they’re good at, not what they’re called to do. Now, I’m good with you doing what you’re good at, but don’t do it at the expense of what you’re called to do. Well, I pray for the sick; nothing happens? Find out why. Just don’t change the assignment.