Bible Dictionary
SPIRITUAL HOUSE
A spiritual house is a community of believers made into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit. Christians are described as living stones and a holy priesthood offering spiritual service to God.
Definition
A spiritual house is a body of Christians pervaded by the Spirit and power of God. It is a dwelling place in which God’s glory, power, and grace are manifested. The expression may therefore describe the church and, in related biblical uses, God’s house, the temple, heaven, the tabernacle, and the household of God.
Biblical Usage
Believers are described as a spiritual house and as a holy community offering spiritual service. The concept is connected with God’s dwelling among His people and with the church as the habitation of God in the Spirit.
Historical Background
The phrase uses house imagery for a spiritual community rather than merely a physical building. The same biblical imagery is applied to the temple, the tabernacle, heaven, and the household of God.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(oikos pneumatikos, "house spiritual"): A body of Christians (a church), as pervaded by the Spirit and power of God (1Pe 2:5); a term applicable to God's house: "house of prayer," the temple (Mt 21:13); to heaven: "my Father's house" (Joh 14:2); to the tabernacle: "Moses .... faithful in all his house" (Heb 3:2); to saints: as "the household of God" (Eph 2:19), and "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1Co 6:19); hence, any "habitation of God in the spirit" (Eph 2:22) in which His glory dwells and His power and grace are manifest.</p>