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| "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." |
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10214985612929266
November 9, 2019
Here is another 3:16-17 worthy of your
careful attention.
There are a whole lot more than John 3:16-17.
1 Corinthians 3
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Some brief scattered thoughts:
1. "Ye" and "you" are
second-person plural, the "temple" is singular; the temple, the one
church made up of plural members, is indwelt by the Spirit of God.
- What a glorious truth! How we ought to
cherish the church of which we are members; it is nothing less than the temple
of God. How much do you cherish it, and cherish it above others, even lawful
things?
- What is the church of God to you? How much
love do you have for it? Search your heart and answer God.
- For the temple of God is holy; therefore
love her, cherish her, pray for her, etc. No, no, no, the temple is not that
building of bricks and mortar but the living stones, including yourself in a
union as a body of Christ.
- What are your thoughts on YOUR church
despite her many imperfections? Are they worthy of what God says she is?
- Or are you yet a churchless freelance
vagabond? Then there is one tooooooo many.
2. A man can defile the church of God. This
is not hypothetical. So, be very careful lest you be a defiler of the holy
temple of God.
- A defiler may be from within the church, or
from without; he could be any member of the body - whether he is the preacher
or not, a man or woman. And a defiler may have the best intention even while he
is ignorantly defiling the church of God.
- Anyone is capable of defiling the church
through their false doctrines and unrighteous practices; none is exempted.
- How well are you representing your church?
Are you contributing to the holiness of your church?
3. Be warned; God is very jealous of the
purity and well-being of His church.
- Whoever defiles God's temple, him God shall
destroy. He makes no empty threat, weaklings resort to threats; the Almighty
One doesn't.
- It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.
- Mat 10:28 "And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell."
- Not a few Corinthians believers died
prematurely, their lives were cut short for defiling the church.
Personally, I firmly believe that not a few
of God's children will end up in hell for all their false doctrines and evil
deeds in God's churches. But none of God's children will be cast into the lake
of fire; hell shall surrender them on the judgment day and they shall be
resurrected unto glory. All those solemn warnings addressed at God's people
about hell are not redundant or wasted. Christ SAVED His people from the
eternal lake of fire, not from the temporal hell during the intermediate state.
Therefore, "Keep thy foot when thou goest
to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of
fools: for they consider not that they do evil." Ecc 5:1
Let this truth be etched into your heart, and
have reverence.
Amen.
