God's Church

Posted by TJ Klapperich on 05/04/2007

I occasionally read out of Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening along with my normal time of Bible reading. My copy is a little leather-bound edition that sits on my shelf next to my computer. I picked it up at the Metropolitan Tabernacle bookstore in 2003 as a keepsake of my visit. However, God has used Spurgeon’s words in that little book in my devotional life, despite my earlier intentions for the little volume. The entry for May 5th speaks of God’s people from the text of 2 Corinthians 6:16. Spurgeon emphasizes the uniqueness of being a part of the people of God. He states, "Canst thou read thy title writ in precious blood? . . . If thou canst, then God saith of thee, and of others like thee, 'My people'; for if God be your God, and Christ your Christ, the Lord has a special, peculiar favour to you; you are the object of his choice, accepted in His beloved Son." I hope we all find this a humbling truth to meditate upon. Due to no merit of our own, we are the people of God and have a "peculiar favour" from God.

 

This truth complements the passage I have been studying for this coming Lord’s Day sermon. Paul emphasizes, in 1 Corinthians 3:10–17, that the Corinthian church ("you" is plural) is the temple and building of God. Oftentimes preachers miss the plural "you" and take this passage as a declaration of individuals as the temple of the Spirit, a truth taught elsewhere in Corinthians. However, the local church at Corinth is the focus of Paul’s statements. The statement is very strong in regard to God’s concern for his church. Paul says, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Cor 3:17). This is a sobering statement. Destruction from God comes on those who destroy local churches. If more Christians understood this they would be much more careful about pushing their personal agendas and fighting over petty issues in their local church. How many churches have been damaged by the selfish and sinful choices of those who decide to split the church in order to get their own way, or because they did not get their own way. On the other hand, this also applies to those who teach false-doctrine and destroy the local church through winning disciples to their unbiblical teachings. We must always remember that the cause of Christ in his local churches is bigger than us. It is not about our agendas, but about Christ’s mission.