1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

A lot of people confuse this passage with another famous passage in this same letter: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The difference is very easy to overlook in English, because “you” and “your” can be either singular or plural. This passage is talking about the corporate Body, all the believers together, whereas the one in chapter six is talking about our individual bodies in terms of sexual purity. We are indeed accountable for our stewardship of our physical bodies, but the language there isn’t nearly as dire as what is said here. Few people deliberately destroy their own bodies, but the same can’t be said of churches. Whether or not it is deliberate, there are countless cases where a few people, or even one person, have done things that tore apart a local church. Without repentance, their end is dire indeed! We are so prone to associate “church” with a physical building, when the Bible never uses that terminology. The words in both Hebrew and Greek that have been translated as “church” actually mean “congregation,” a gathering of people. Numbers of teachers have rightly talked about “the church assembled” and “the church dispersed,” because we are no less the church when we are going about our daily lives than we are in a worship service. Since Jesus prayed for unity among believers just before He was crucified, (John 17) we must never take that unity lightly. That’s not to say that we aren’t to stand for truth, or that church splits are always wrong. As in cellular biology, sometimes division is a method of multiplication. What Paul is talking about so strongly is destruction, through jealousy, pride, or any of a number of very human faults. If we are all humbly connected to our Head, (Colossians 1:18) then such destruction will not happen.

I have never been involved when a local church was actually destroyed, but I have had people attempt it even with this congregation. It’s neither pretty nor fun, but God is faithful. Right now I feel God is about to do some pretty remarkable things with this church, and I can only guess at some of them. I need to be a faithful “sheep dog,” protecting against attacks and rounding up strays, so that God’s plans, and His alone, may be fulfilled on His schedule for His glory.

Father, I am in awe of just the little bit that I am seeing. I pray that all of Your plans, not just for this congregation but for the whole Body of Christ, may be fulfilled indeed, destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and bringing Your rule and reign, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!