Owned!

Owned!

1 Corinthians 3:16 AMP

[16] Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]?

It has to be noted that Paul was writing to people who had come to a personal knowledge of Jesus. Yes, they had heard about Him, and they had given their lives to Him, but as we know, it is not a one-off or one-time experience; it is a lifelong learning experience. You do not get in and then fold your hands and watch; you need to walk out that salvation with fear and trembling. This is clear from the first verse of the chapter from where the verse above is taken. Paul referred to his audience as brothers and sisters, but he also added that he was addressing them as worldly people, and infants in the new life in Christ. What could have led Paul here? 

It must also be noted that this was a church with many spiritual gifts, and Paul used this church to teach about the value of these gifts and how they help the church, but it was this same church that had a man sleeping with his brother's wife, as it was also the church with no regard for the ordinance of the Lord's supper. It appeared that the church did not yet know who they were, what they had been called out of and into, and what the rules of engagement were. This walk of faith cannot align with the life I once had before I met Christ. It is a call to a different standard: a different lifestyle. Can I say, with total conviction, that I have met this Christ?

The consequence of that understanding of who I am, whose I am, and what I have been called into, is what is laid out in the verse above. Paul was asking the church: 'do you not know who/what you are? Please note that the verse is not speaking to all who just come into church, but those whom the Christ of the church lives in. Being in the physical space of church is not what counts, but who lives in you. I am called the temple of God; the picture is one that reflects a place of holiness, purity and sacrifice. A temple is not a place where people joke or play in; it is a place we treat with reverence. If I know this, why do I allow just anything to pass through or settle in my temple? 

It is really amazing how this works: I am seen as the church, because the Christ of the church lives in me. His presence in me is not a seasonal wonder; His plan is that He comes in and stays in. It is not a weekly, monthly or annual sacrifice; it is a daily devotion and focus on the things that matter. The Spirit of God dwells in all who belong to Christ, and I must be conscious of this reality on a regular basis. I am no longer under the control or influence of the world system; I am under new ownership. If I get it right and you get it right, picture the amazing experiences that await us when we come together in fellowship. Christ has paid the price; does He really own me? God's time of favour is here.