I’m hearing it all the time now in public prayer: “We thank
you, Father that we are able to freely gather in the house of God” and other similar thoughts, where the words “house of God” are unquestionably being used to describe the building in which we are sitting.
A similar misconception is given voice by people who insist upon
referring to the auditorium in which a church meets as a “sanctuary”, as in (from
mother to child), “Don’t run in the sanctuary! Don’t make noise in the
sanctuary!”
These are not new Christians. It makes me wonder if they really know what the house of God is or what the term sanctuary means. I think in many cases they do, but have through inattention lapsed into language that is potentially misleading.