When I first launched this Substack, several wondered why I chose the word paradigms as one of the central themes for this space. It’s not a casual word. However, it’s an important idea to help us make sense of the moment we live in—and to help us understand how the Church moved from the patterns of Christ and His Apostles to the wide spectrum of largely fragmented practices we see today. Today’s post is my attempt to make sense of this idea of paradigms, and to give us clarity and hope for navigating the days ahead.1

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Why Paradigms?

As Thomas Kuhn explained in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a paradigm is “the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so on shared by the members of a given community.”2 Hans Küng sharpened it even further when he showed that paradigms help define the boundaries, and they tell you how to function successfully within those boundaries.3

Joel Barker, in his talk titled “The Business of Paradigms,”4 talks about paradigms being a set of “rules and regulations” that we subscribe to and use to interpret the world around us and solve problems as they arise. However, it’s often very difficult to see beyond the present prevailing paradigm because the emerging paradigm breaks the “rules and regulations” we’ve learned to live by.

Put more simply, paradigms shape everything. They’re the assumptions that we rarely question, the mental world we often take for granted. In the same way that Copernicus in the 1500s reframed humanity’s place in the cosmos—shifting us from an earth-centered system to a sun-centered one5—paradigms determine what we see as even being possible. When the paradigm shifts, the entire picture looks different, and we’re now able to answer questions that were previously unanswerable and solve problems that until that time had insufficient solutions.

For many years, people have generally operated with the assumption that knowledge simply compiles over time…each generation building upon the previous one. Kuhn instead showed that there are distinct periods of major revolution where everything begins to be approached from an entirely different vantage point.

Some shifts are subtle. Others are Copernican—so radical that old assumptions collapse and new ways of thinking emerge. According to Kuhn, these kinds of macro paradigm shifts happen every 300-500 years. And when they do, entire worlds of meaning must be rebuilt.

A Drift from the Apostolic Paradigm

After my recent three-part series on Reframing Worship, one frequent comment I received was: “So how did we get to where we are today?” It’s the right question—and one that requires both honesty and historical clarity.

So what happened? How did we drift so far from those early patterns?

The short answer: paradigm shifts. As Christian history unfolded, new paradigms emerged—and each brought both gains and losses.

For 2,000 years, the Church has not simply grown in a linear fashion as some might assume; it has passed through a succession of major paradigm shifts. Hans Küng, building upon the paradigm ideas of Thomas Kuhn, identified six distinct paradigms in Church history, from the Apostolic paradigm all the way to the modern Enlightenment paradigm that still shapes much of Western Christianity.

And now, in our own generation, a new church paradigm is emerging.

While well-intentioned leaders during each of these paradigm shifts were working hard to remain faithful to Christ’s call, these shifts came at a cost—especially when it came to the relational, communal, and reproducible patterns of the apostolic era.

• The Early Church (Constantinian) paradigm elevated institutional power but diminished the household-based, relational patterns of early Christian life.

• The Medieval paradigm produced rich theological reflection but layered clergy/laity distinctions that reshaped the DNA of the Church.

• The Reformation paradigm recovered Scripture and proclamation but reinforced a sermon‑centric, clergy‑centric model.

• The Enlightenment paradigm brought rational clarity but introduced an individualistic and academic view of faith that has shaped most Western churches today.

And now? The Western Church is showing the signs of a church paradigm reaching its limits:

• Leaders burning out.

• Congregations shrinking.

• Division increasing—30,000+ denominations and counting.

• Marketplace believers struggling to find their place in a church system dominated by professional/vocational ministers.

• Maturity declining—most attending church only 1–2 times a month, with little expectation of growth or maturity.

Meanwhile, movements in places like the global South—many operating much closer to the apostolic paradigm—are exploding with life and multiplication. I believe the church is living in one of those Copernican-type moments. The old paradigm is proving insufficient to answer the questions and solve the problems of our rapidly changing world. A new paradigm is emerging, still not yet fully formed, but unmistakably present. And in between these two worlds, it can be quite disorienting, and people instinctively begin searching for solutions.

Some return to their denominational or secondary church traditions. Others reach back as far as the Reformation, or the early Church Fathers, or the Desert Fathers, or even the Jewish roots of the faith. Many try inventing new and novel models—hoping to find something that might stick.

But there is another (better) option: recover The Way of Christ and His Apostles—as Roland Allen wrote more than a century ago.6 Over the past 50 years, thousands of leaders globally have been working to recover these New Testament ideas and root their churches in this paradigm. Once you begin to see the scripture through this lens, you can easily contrast it with the institutional paradigms that arose over the past 1,700 years. In contrast to what we see—especially in the Western church today—the apostolic era had a fundamentally different way of forming communities, developing leaders, and strengthening the Church.

Recovering the New Testament Paradigm: The Way of Christ and His Apostles

When we study the first-century Church—not as a nostalgic ideal but as a real, functioning network of communities—we find patterns woven deeply into the fabric of their life together.

• Training, maturing, and growth was relational and communal, not programmatic.

• The local church family was firmly at the center of Christ’s plan.

• An integrated framework for gospel proclamation (Evangelism), planting/establishing churches (Mission), and training/raising up leaders (Leadership Development)—all done organically within the context of church family.

• Churches met primarily in households—networked together as extended family.

• The teaching (“the deposit,” “the faith,” “the sound doctrine”) was handed down in ordered, foundational patterns.

• Maturity was expected of every believer—not optional, not outsourced.

These patterns weren’t accidental; they were the patterns the Apostles expected every church family to follow. Through the Holy Spirit’s leading and the Apostles’ traditioning process, they shaped a paradigm designed and intended to thrive in every culture, in every language, in every household, in every church family, across all time.

And the fruit speaks for itself.

From approximately 25,000 followers of Jesus in the mid-first century to nearly 20 million by the early fourth century7—a nearly unimaginable multiplication:

• 800x growth

• 80,000% increase

All without:

• large cathedrals or auditoriums with a stage

• professional clergy systems

• multimillion-dollar budgets

• seminaries

• branding strategies

• or weekly events designed for passive spectators

They had a paradigm—a way of life that worked. A way that aligned with the patterns handed down by the Apostles. A way designed for ALL believers to fully mature, lead, and participate locally and globally in Christ’s plan.

Why Recover the Apostolic Paradigm Now?

The reason this matters is simple: the New Testament apostolic paradigm wasn’t a first-century accident—it was a Spirit-designed framework for forming believers in every culture and generation.

When we return to those patterns, something amazing happens. The questions of our moment begin to find new answers—solutions the current paradigm can’t sufficiently provide.

• How do we form ALL believers to become mature, resilient participants in Christ’s plan?

• How do we develop leaders at every level?

• How do we establish churches that function as families on mission rather than audiences consuming religious goods?

• How do we as Christians remain faithful in a post-Christian culture?

The apostolic paradigm has answers—because it was designed for precisely these challenges. As Roland Allen argued over 100 years ago, we need a return to The Way of Christ and His Apostles.

Ultimately, the real question isn’t just, “How did we get here?” It’s also: “Where do we go from here?”

And I believe the way forward looks a lot like the original way.

A return—not to nostalgia, not to romanticized history—but to the Spirit‑formed patterns handed down by Christ and His Apostles.

A return to:

• communities as extended families on mission

• leadership development embedded in everyday church life

• ordered teaching that moves every believer towards full maturity

• worship expressed and church families built up through everyday one‑anothering

• churches that multiply through relational networks

These are all pieces of a paradigm shift emerging in our time—not a new invention, but an ancient pattern becoming visible again.

It may feel like we’re living in a moment of unraveling—but it’s also a time of rebuilding. As with all paradigm shifts, it can feel disorienting—but it is also deeply hopeful. As the Broadway hit Hamilton puts it: “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”

We live in a moment when the Church has the opportunity to recover its original DNA…the original patterns of Christ and His Apostles.

It’s time to return to the Way of Christ and His Apostles.

This is a paradigm worth rediscovering.

This is a paradigm worth committing our lives to.

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Matthew D. Andersen is based in the NYC area and is part of the METRO equipping team, a network of leaders who are establishing churches as families…patterned after Acts.

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The Copernican Revolution – 1543

Part 2 carried that thread into the New Testament, where the picture comes into sharp focus. God’s Spirit doesn’t live in buildings made of stone, but in and among His people (Acts 7:48). We, individually and collectively, are His temple (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:5). Worship is no longer about GOING to some specific place for a ritual or event (John 4:21, 23); it’s about BEING His image bearers, how we honor His image in each other, and how we live together as a community where God’s Spirit dwells.

Now, in this third and final post, we bring it all together: our greatest act of worship isn’t just what we do for one hour on Sunday—but how we love one another throughout the week. Worship finds its truest expression in community—in what I like to call “worship as one-anothering.”

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A Picture of Heaven…

Growing up in the Evangelical church in the 1980s, I remember how people talked about heaven. It wasn’t necessarily the popular cultural picture of meeting St. Peter at the pearly gates or floating on a cloud in a toga strumming a harp, but there was still a very particular evangelical picture being painted. Heaven, I was told, would be an otherworldly place where we would sing praises to God for all eternity.

In short…heaven would be an eternity-long worship service.

I think I can safely speak on behalf of a whole bunch of pre-teens growing up evangelical in the ’80s:

“That sounds BORING!”

Is an eternity-long worship service all that we get to look forward to when Jesus returns to make all things new? Is that why we gather weekly? Is that the ultimate reason Jesus gave His life—so we could spend eternity singing songs to Him?

Honestly, that might even sound a little narcissistic to some. If that’s what His plan amounts to…no wonder some people are so turned off by this version of Christianity. Who would want to sign up for that?

Now, I want to be careful not to come off as too critical or negative on this issue, and I also want to be wary of completely writing off the role that musical expression (or other artistic displays) can play in our world as Christians (there are clear scriptural references to the role of music). But we MUST ask ourselves: Is that all there is?1

Are our expressions of worship limited to music, tithes, and sermons within a “worship service”? Or could it be that God’s vision for worship is bigger—something that runs deeper and fits better within the full biblical story?

The Commands of Jesus

From the creation account all the way into the New Testament we see that humanity was created to honor God’s image in one another and that His Spirit dwells in us and among us as His followers. Jesus came to launch this major paradigm shift: worship is no longer tied to geography or to buildings or rituals. So what does worship look like in this new reality?

One key is found in John’s Gospel. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35)

Notice what Jesus does not say. He doesn’t say, “By your sermons,” or “By your songs.” He clearly states that the world will recognize His followers by their love.

Love is the apologetic of the church. How we live together in community—how we “one-another”—can be our greatest witness.

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Paul’s Correction to the Corinthians

But then we come to Christ’s continuing work in Acts and the Epistles…and the work of the Apostle Paul in particular. Paul had been given a unique stewardship…his primary concern was the establishment and maturity of a complex network of churches that was quickly expanding around the world (2 Cor. 11:28). He was clearly given instructions from Christ on building this new global household (family) of God which now included Gentiles (Ephesians 3:1-10).

Paul saw how the Corinthian church had misunderstood how this family ought to operate. Their gatherings (1 Cor. 11:17–14:40) had turned into a time to show off their gifts and centered around religious displays rather than letting “All things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26). Their gatherings were full of giftedness and outward expressions, but also pride, competition, and division. They had turned worship into a display of status and ability, but they were completely missing the opportunities to “one-another” well.

So, he went out of his way to poetically tell them about a “more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31).

“’If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

This passage was not written simply to be read at modern wedding ceremonies. It was at the very heart of what Paul was trying to establish among the churches of the first century. Paul’s point was clear: without love, even the most spectacular outward acts are empty noise. Without one-anothering in love, it’s just hollow displays wrapped in a package of religious rituals and feel-good zeal.

This was not acceptable…it should not be…not for the church in Corinth, and not for the Church today. And it’s not just Paul saying this once to the Corinthians…this theme runs throughout the New Testament.

Worship Beyond Rituals – From the New Testament on Into Eternity

In his book, “Prepare Your Church for the Future,” Carl F. George highlights the 59 times we’re exhorted in the New Testament to “one another” well. These commands are not just random niceties; they are at the very heart of how we honor God and live according to His plan.

A few examples:

• Love one another. (Multiple times)

• Forgive one another.

• Bear one another’s burdens.

• Encourage one another.

• Serve one another.

And the list goes on.

Download the full list of One Anothers

Each one is an act of honoring God by honoring His image in another person. Each is a way of offering worship to Him by caring for the temple He now inhabits—His people. Jesus said if we love him, we’ll keep His commandments…so what better way to show our love for him than obeying His commands to love one another.

This paradigm shift can help us see God-honoring worship through a wider lens. Worship isn’t limited to buildings, rituals, or songs. It is lived out in everyday acts of sacrificial love. These 59 “one-anothers” are practical ways we can “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)

Worship and the Kingdom

This type of “one-anothering” is really at the heart of Christ’s Kingdom. And the picture of eternity isn’t of a never-ending modern worship service, but of a great table – the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” It’s a vision of God’s people gathered in love, sharing life together, putting these radical “one-another” commands into action.

THAT’S the eternity I’m looking forward to! A feast put on by the King of Kings!

But this vision isn’t just about the future. Jesus’ kingdom is already breaking into the here and now. The Spirit dwells in us and among us today. We get to participate in living this out in our day today. We get to practice it now.

Imagine the implications if God’s people fully embraced these 59 “one-anothers” as our spiritual act of worship. What might it look like if the church was known less for its divisions and dissension, and more for loving one another as Christ loved us?

What if our loudest witness wasn’t our arguments or disagreements, but our love?

This was exactly Jesus’ vision in John 13. He gave His followers a new command to “love one another” so the world would recognize them as His. It’s not our music, preaching, doctrine, liturgy, denominational labels, or politics that will make Jesus known. It’s our ability and willingness to honor God by loving one another.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

When we intentionally honor God through one-anothering, it becomes a witness the world cannot ignore.

This is what I mean by “Worship as One-Anothering.”

• It began in Genesis, where God created the cosmos as His temple and placed His image on humanity.

• It continues in the New Testament, where His Spirit makes His home in and among us.

• And it finds its fullest expression today in how we love one another.

May our worship not be confined to songs or sanctuaries but be displayed in lives marked by love. For in loving one another, we honor His image, build His temple, and show the watching world that we belong to Jesus.

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Matthew D. Andersen is based in the NYC area and is part of the METRO equipping team, a network of leaders who are establishing churches as families…patterned after Acts.

Now we continue the story from the Old Testament into the New Testament, where this idea grows even more significant. Not only is creation God’s temple, not only do all humans bear His image, but now His very presence dwells within us.

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Worship in a Building vs. Worship in the Spirit

In the Old Testament for the people of Israel, the tabernacle and the temple were central to worship. God’s presence tangibly dwelt in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and later in the temple in Jerusalem. The tabernacle/temple was set up and structured like a microcosm of God’s cosmic temple, where God took up residence on the 7^th day. Sacrifices were offered there, priests ministered, and Israel gathered to worship. The presence of God was visible – the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire – His presence filled the Holy of Holies.

One thing that made the tabernacle/temple so unique in the ancient world was the obvious absence of an idol/image (tselem) in the temple. As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, this is because in the ordering of the universe as God’s cosmic temple, His image (tselem) was placed on man and woman…not on an idol (tselem) made with human hands.

By the time of Jesus, temple worship had become more about ritual than relationship. Buildings became symbols of religious status and nationalism rather than places of true encounter with God. Man-made traditions were the norm…and they were missing the big picture of God’s story for all mankind. A terrific example of this is found in Mark 7 when the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus about why His disciples didn’t follow the traditions of the elders in the washing of hands. Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders by quoting from Isaiah:

“Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men…You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!'”

Jesus went on to chastise them for “Corban”, their man-made loophole where they quite literally left “the commandment of God” and were holding onto “the traditions of men”. More to say on this in another post, but the point here is that for the nation of Israel, worship was tied to a building: the temple, in a specific place: Jerusalem, and very much rooted in man-made traditions. (Sadly, this sounds a lot like Western Christianity today.)

In one sense, for the Jewish people, this is understandable as the tabernacle/temple was where God’s presence very tangibly dwelt for centuries. But in John chapter 4, Jesus had an important conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well that foreshadowed the coming paradigm shift. We know this conversation was significant because of the cultural norms that were broken down simply by having a conversation (Jew/Samaritan, Man/Woman).

But there’s another noteworthy part to the story that must not be overlooked. The Samaritan woman, in asking about worship in Jerusalem or in Samaria, assumed worship was all about geography. In her mind, (As with most in her day), worship was tied to a building in a specific location. She said to Jesus in verse 20:

“Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” (John 4:20)

Faithful Jews worshipped in Jerusalem…at the temple site that we know today as The Temple Mount. Samaritans, however, as “half-breeds”, were not permitted to worship in Jerusalem, so their traditional place for sacrifice and worship was on Mt. Gerazim in Samaria.

But Jesus, in His response to her, shifted the entire framework:

“The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21, 23)

This shift ultimately came at Pentecost when God’s Spirit took up residence not in His Cosmic Temple (Genesis 1), not in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle or temple in Jerusalem, but rather His presence now dwells in and among His followers. From that point forward, throughout Acts and the Epistles, God’s Spirit provides direction, strategy, power, courage, words, protection, healing…and the list goes on. This was a radical shift in God’s way of relating to His people! Now, His presence is in and among His global family.

With the new way of life that Christ instituted by building His global family, worship was no longer confined to a physical building or a geographic location. Instead, we honor God through His presence that resides within us and among us as a gathered body of believers.

God’s Spirit Now Dwells in Us

Peter expands the idea to not just individuals, but to the whole church:

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:5)

This is breathtaking. In the old covenant, God’s presence resided in a temple building. In the new covenant, we are that temple building—both individually and corporately. Stephen understood this in the climax of his sermon before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 7:

“Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands”

The Spirit no longer dwells in stone structures, but in the hearts of people redeemed by Christ. Paul takes this truth and drives it home in his letters:

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

And again, reminding the Corinthians of the implications for their daily lives:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

What Does This Mean for The Church Today?

This MUST redefine how we think about “going to church.” Worship is not limited to a building or a weekly “praise and worship” event. Wherever God’s people are, His temple is…and His presence resides there. We’re all called to honor Him by honoring and building up one another.

When Paul writes to the Corinthian church about their chaotic gatherings (1 Corinthians 11:17 – 14:40), he reminds them that their gathering should not be about performance or self-display, but ultimately about mutual edification:

“Let all things be done for building up.” (1 Corinthians 14:26)

This challenges our assumptions about worship and gathering today. It’s not about polished or well-produced worship services or impressive music or well-delivered oratory. It’s about God’s Spirit dwelling among His people, transforming their lives, and celebrating their new life in Christ together in community.

The Big Shift

One of the biggest paradigm shifts in the New Testament is this: worship is not about a location, a ritual, or a man-made religious tradition – it’s about what Paul said in Romans 12:

“I appeal to you…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

We don’t need to enter the temple to meet God. We, individually and collectively, are His temple. His Spirit dwells in us and dwells among us.

This truth demands that we rethink worship as an all-of-life reality. It affects how we use our bodies, how we live in holiness, and especially how we gather as a community.

In Part 3, the final part in this series, we’ll see how this presence of God in us overflows into love for one another—and how “one-anothering” can become one of our most powerful acts of worship and witness.

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Matthew D. Andersen is based out of the NYC area and is part of the METRO equipping team, a network of leaders who are establishing churches as families…patterned after Acts.

Click Here for Part 2 - God’s Spirit in Us — Living Stones Built Up into a New Temple

Click Here for Part 3 - Love as Our Greatest Witness

Laying the foundation

What do we think about when we hear the word “worship”? Thoughts likely come to mind about a type of musical expression, but Scripture paints a much larger picture than just music alone. Bible teachers sometimes acknowledge that there is more to worship than just singing songs…they accept that we worship through giving, study/teaching of the word, celebrating the Lord’s Supper…or they may even go so far as to say that worship is a “lifestyle” (Romans 12:1-2). These are not bad ways to honor our Creator, but how do we get beyond the music that seems to dominate our cultural and traditional norms and ideas? How do we take the idea of a lifestyle of worship and actually begin practicing a lifestyle of worship in our everyday lives? Not many teachers tread down this pathway very far beyond some basic practical advice or ideas. My contention would be that we need to build a new Biblical foundation for what worship means.

To understand worship from a Biblical framework, we must go back to the beginning—Genesis chapter 1.

Old Testament scholar and author Dr. John Walton has argued that Genesis 1 is best understood through the lens of the ancient Near Eastern readers. For Israel’s first hearers, the seven days of creation would not have sounded like a science lesson like we make it out to be today, but more like a cosmic temple inauguration.

Put simply, ancient Near Eastern readers were not primarily concerned with the details of how the house was made, but rather they would have been more concerned about the things that made it a home. It’s a difficult paradigm shift for our modern minds to make, but it makes sense…even for a toddler-aged version of myself.

While I was too young to recollect this completely, right around 1980 my family of 6 moved to a new home across town. I was just 4 years old, and I DID NOT like the idea of moving into a new home. As the movers came and packed up our belongings and our old house was emptied, I was in denial. In my four-year-old mind I couldn’t comprehend how this other space full of empty rooms could function as a home for our family. As my mother recounted to me years later, it wasn’t until that fateful day when the movers unpacked our belongings into the new house…more specifically when they moved our beds into the bedrooms…that I finally commented with excitement in my high-pitched toddler voice, “Ahhhh….now this is a HOME house.”

Cute, right?

I wasn’t concerned with how the builder framed the structure, or what kind of foundation it had, or what year it was built, or whether it used oil or natural gas for heat…all of the technical things. I was concerned with the functional things that made a house into a home. Ultimately in my brain it was the beds that made the difference.

The same could be said for the ancient Near Eastern mind as they interpreted the creation account from Genesis 1. The things that made the cosmos a home were the things that brought order and function to the cosmos. They also would have fully understood the Genesis 1 account as the setting up of the functions of a cosmic temple.

• Days 1–3: functions of time, weather, and food are established.

• Days 4–6: sacred objects are placed in the temple—sun/moon/stars, animals/creatures, mankind.

And on day 7 in Genesis 1? God rested—not because He was tired…but because the work was finished. All of creation was ordered and functioning (and it was good!) and now God took up residence in His cosmic temple.

This contextual understanding helps us better understand Isaiah 66:1:“Thus says the LORD: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?'”

We also see this 7-day temple inauguration pattern throughout ancient Near Eastern cultures, and even with Moses building the Tabernacle in the wilderness and Solomon constructing the Temple in Jerusalem. This pattern would have seemed obvious to the original readers…not so obvious to our post-modern minds.

But I’d like to focus briefly on day 6. According to ancient thinking, day 6 is the day where the image of the deity (The idol or the tselem in Hebrew) would be placed in the temple. Then on day 7 the presence of the deity would take up residence in that space. From that time forward, the deity would be honored through caring for the idol/image/tselem, making sacrifices, offering gifts, etc.[i]

But this is where the biblical account is radically different. Unlike pagan temples where man-made idols of wood or stone represented the gods, the Tabernacle in the wilderness had no image in it. The Jerusalem temple had no place for an image or an idol. Why? Because based on the creation account of Genesis 1, God’s image was already placed on humanity: “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

Every person you meet carries this divine image - it’s inscribed on our very being.

This gives new meaning to the second commandment:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Exodus 20:4)

Why? Because God already placed His image in the created order of the cosmos…or his cosmic temple. It’s inscribed on each of us. For us to try to substitute wood or stone is to abandon our calling as His living image bearers. When we put other gods before Him, we’re abdicating our responsibility as the stewards of His image for all of creation.

It’s why the serpent’s temptation in the garden was so diabolical: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5). Adam and Eve were ALREADY created in His image.

We have a responsibility as His image bearers to represent Him and fulfill our role in the created order. We must not abandon that calling.

This vision also reshapes how we view the rest of humanity…the more we understand this, the more we begin to see the world quite differently: creation as God’s dwelling place, and all humanity as His living image bearers. You see, true worship begins not just with songs, but with fulfilling our role as image bearers, and honoring the image of God in others.

In part 2 of this 3-part series, we’ll trace these ideas forward into the New Testament, where God’s Spirit takes up residence not just in creation, but in us as His followers…His “living stones being built up as a spiritual house” 1 Peter 2:5

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Matthew D. Andersen is based out of the NYC area and is part of the METRO equipping team, a network of leaders who are establishing churches as families… patterned after Acts.

[i] While some scholars have claimed that God co-opted the ancient way of thinking to fit within the pagan temple framework so it could be easily understood by the ancient mind, I still have trouble reconciling this idea. It seems to make more sense to me that God’s cosmic temple design was first a part of the created order of the universe, and Satan has counterfeited these ideas throughout the centuries through pagan temples, rituals, and other religious “knock-offs”. God creates, Satan counterfeits. God is a God of order, Satan causes disorder. I have not done enough research and study around this idea to state it conclusively, but it seems to make much more sense based on this Genesis 1 argument.