Description
Understanding 1 Corinthians 3:17 – The Church as God’s Holy Temple
In this episode, we’ll explore the true meaning of 1… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Well, here’s a misquoted verse. And why should we misquote it? The original is great. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 17. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
It’s important that we know that in the Greek here, the word you is plural. Paul is talking to the church. He’s saying that the church entire is holy. And that we as the church as the body of Christ, we are the temple in which God is honoured and worshipped.
And I don’t know your situation in the church right now, whether you’re suffering persecution or not, but note, take comfort from this. What God says here, if anyone destroys God’s temple, if anyone destroys the church, if anyone tears it down, God will destroy him. Vengeance is his, he will repay.
But because vengeance is God’s, let us not dwell on this and seek for vengeance. Rather, God told us to pray for our enemies. Let’s focus on this instead. That God’s temple is holy. We are holy. We as the church are holy. We are sacred. God is glorified in us.
Do you feel that God is glorified in your church? He has gathered us together as people who love and serve him, who reflect his character in a growing way and who show his glory to the nations.
God’s temple is people, not buildings. And wherever we are, we take his Church into the world. This is inevitable just by being in communication with the world, we are taking the holiness of God’s temple with us wherever we go. Let us take that responsibility seriously and bless our communities in the name of Jesus.
