Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. — 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
As beautiful as the promise of yesterday was (Eph. 2:22), this is a chilling and ominous warning. If God builds us together into his dwelling place in the Spirit and makes us the holy temple of God, then we must value our congregations and the people who are part of that congregation.
Those who destroy a congregation by sowing discord, creating animosity, spreading gossip and rumors, must hear God’s clear warning: you destroy my temple and you will be destroyed! Why? Because the temple, the folks that make up a congregation of the Lord’s people, are holy and precious to God.
In a world that focuses on the negative and that cherishes the next juicy morsel of gossip, we must take a different approach to life because we know the value of those who belong to God!
Prayer : O Father, please forgive me for not valuing your children and your congregation of your people as you do. Give me a deeper appreciation of my brothers and sisters for whom Jesus died, a deeper connection to those who share in your Holy Spirit, and deeper reverence for what is holy and precious to you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Hi Georgy – Thank you for this post and kind reminder about being a temple of the Spirit. I thought you might be interested in my post on Sacred Space from an LDS perspective.