“Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,’ says the Lord. ‘But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).

What kind of temple can mankind make to properly honor the God who inhabits eternity? The entire earth is the Lord’s footstool. All the physical material available to raise a temple has been made by God.

Such temples were constructed for God in the past. They had His approval and served an important purpose. However, in this age God does not desire to dwell in temples made with hands. He is constructing a spiritual temple as His dwelling place among mankind. The building material of this temple is not timber and stones. It is the souls of those who have been saved.

“Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-22). As each person is saved, they become living stones to be placed alongside others who “are being built up as a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

God isn’t impressed with just any kind of building material in this spiritual temple. He is looking for those who are of the same consistency as the chief cornerstone – Jesus Christ. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” No kind of physical material is suitable to construct a dwelling place for the Lord. He is looking to dwell with those who will become like His Son.