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"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them . . . . . and God shall wipe away all tears . . . . . no
more death . . . . . sorrow, nor crying."
It is evident, however great the wonder of it, that God has sought a home, a dwelling
place among His people, since the creation of man, and though the calling of Ephesians is
entirely distinct from that of any other revealed in the Scriptures, this insistence upon a
dwelling place is there, as much as anywhere else. The following words, all compounds
or derivatives from the root oik, which gives us the word oikos `house' and `dwelling'
katoiketerion, are all found in the section before us.
FOREIGNER (2: 19),
paroikos--Alongside the house.
HOUSEHOLD (2: 19),
oikeios--The family side of the house.
BUILT (2: 20),
epoikodomeo--To build upon as on a foundation.
BUILDING (2: 21),
oikodome--To build as a house.
BUILT TOGETHER (2: 22),
sunoikodomeomai--To build together as a house.
HABITATION (2: 21),
katoiketerion--A certain or durable dwelling.
As we have before observed, the sequence of events in Gen. 1: & 2: is creation . . . . .
man . . . . . paradise, with God finding a dwelling mid the cherubim. The sequence in
Eph. 2: is creation . . . . . new man . . . . . habitation, and this habitation, a Temple. This
can be seen more clearly if set out thus:
A
| Once.--Strangers and aliens
\
B | Now.--Made nigh.
\
BODY.
C | Unity.--The two made one.
/
D | Access.--In one Spirit.
/
A | No longer.--Strangers and aliens
\
B | But.--Fellow citizens.
\
TEMPLE.
C | Unity.--Fitly framed together.
/
D | Habitation.--In Spirit.
/
A number of terms used in this short section demand attention. They cannot be dealt
with adequately at the close of an article, but require as full a space as can be allotted.
We therefore reserve their consideration for a future study.