Template for a Godly Community

This article borrows freely from a message by Dr. Woodroffe on kingdom principles from Solomon’s Temple. However, it is interspersed with new examples to illustrate the template of the kind of godly community that we need to build in this new season.

In 1 Chronicles 21 the account is given of King David who angers God by taking a census of the people. God gives him three choices of punishment and he chooses falling into the hands of God, which leads to the Lord sending a plague that sweeps through Israel killing 70,000 people. When David is made to see the angel of the Lord with sword drawn over Jerusalem, David repents and pleads with the Lord to destroy his household but spare the sheep. God then tells him to build an altar to offer burnt sacrifices at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, who when approached by David to purchase the land, tries to give it to him free of cost. He also offers to provide oxen and wood for the burnt offering and wheat for a grain offering to boot. David refuses to sacrifice to the Lord that which does not belong to him and that which costs him nothing, and insists on paying the full price. Subsequently, the Lord answers the burnt offerings on the threshing floor by fire, even as the tabernacle of Moses and altar of burnt offering are elsewhere, and David then declares the threshing floor [devoid of stones or anything] the House of God.

A community is a package of kingdom values and positions

David called the threshing floor the House of God because of the values upon which future structures would be built. The temple that Solomon built was not magnificent and perfect merely because of its gold and splendor and aesthetic beauty, but because of the values upon which it was founded. Thus whatever we build here in the earth- our communities, marriages, kingdom businesses and our very own lives- ought to be an outworking of kingdom values.

Our righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees to enter into the next level of the kingdom of God (Matthew 23: 23-28)

Jesus’ reprimand in verse 26 is:

"You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. (NAS)

In this present season it is not merely enough to have an external accurate response but it must flow from an internalized set of values. Note also that it is the inside that determines whether the outside structure is clean in the eyes of God. We cannot afford to be building accurate external structures that are an anathema to God. Such examples of blindness must be banished from the midst of our community.

Jesus also remarked in verse 28:

"Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (NAS)

Hypocrisy in this case means, not singular in purpose but double-minded, or no synchronization between declaration and lifestyle. Lawlessness speaks of a lack of self-government and the condition whereby the law has not been inscribed on our hearts and in our mind.

This is not to say that external structures are not important but Jesus sets the priorities for us in verse 23:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. (NKJ)

Thus both the internal and external are important but the former is weightier- meaning more serious or having greater implications. Not having balance in this regard will earn us the title of being blind and our actions akin to straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel (verse 24).

Values that David saw, the outworking of which led to Solomon’s magnificent temple, and which are useful for building our community in this season, are captured below:

Paying the full price

David paid the full cost for the House of God but the true underlying issue is that of servant-hood. Christ did the same by purchasing us with his own blood even though we did not deserve it. By doing this, he set an example that we should esteem our brethren more highly than ourselves. Kingdom covenants are such that the way in which we treat our brothers is not at all dependent on how they treat us but is based on how the Lord dealt with us. The parable of the unforgiving servant who refused to loose a brother from debt illustrates the consequences of not having this required mentality. We must be willing to sacrifice and pay the full cost in every respect.

Accountability

David held himself personally accountable for what had happened to his community and this pleased God. This is one of the cornerstones of a godly community. Dr. Woodroffe gave the example in Matthew 8:8-10 of the Gentile centurion who understood the kingdom principle that the basis of all power and authority lies in the fact of you being submitted to someone over you. This led Jesus to comment that not even in Israel had he seen this technology of faith whereby understanding that you are under authority (in essence being sent) gives you the declarative authority to progressively bring the kingdom of God here on earth. All this is in the context of being submitted one to another, which Jesus urges us to do. In this new season, this feature must become increasingly real in our community if we are to assume greater levels of authority in the spirit.

A devaluing of personal advancement for the sake of the community’s

God had promised David earlier in 1 Chronicles 17 that he would build and establish his house forever. His thankful response was:

"Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?" (NKJ)

Not long after the plague struck, David was perfectly willing to sacrifice God’s promise of an eternal kingdom through his lineage, for the sake of preserving the community.

Solomon in 1 Kings 3:10 received wisdom because his concern was for the people. He did not know how to rule them. In the context of his valuing community over personal wealth and even his advance in personal warfare, God granted him wisdom or discernment-a key ingredient in this season.

No longer must we be simply cheered by the fact that we are in the company of present truth believers, as this does not necessarily mean that we have assimilated God’s values ourselves. For our community to grow and advance, each member must transition and effect internal personal transformation so that according to Ephesians 4:16, the body will increase according to what each joint supplies. Let us be encouraged by David’s charge to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:20:

"Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God-- my God-- will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.