Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Jewels Are In The Church

1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

These are some of the most misused verses in the Bible I think. The tendency is to view them as being applicable to individual believers but they are meant to be viewed as applicable to believers as a part of the local church. Gill says of verse 9, "...believers in a church state are God's house, in which he dwells, and which he himself has built..." Again he says of verse 16, "..they being incorporated together in a Gospel church state, were the temple of God..." The Word of God is here speaking of the local body of Christ, which is a church. And in that context we find the carnality of the believer who is in involved in building.

The foundation of Jesus Christ is laid in a person's soul at the moment of salvation. From there the building process is a process involving the church. The gold silver precious stones all have to do with the believer's relationship with a local church. The wood hay and stubble too have to do with his involvement in that local church. A person's involvement in the local church is not mandatory for salvation. But it is mandatory for any degree of reward in eternity.

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