Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray for the church (and other things -- 7:00 PM Wed., LHF time).

In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 the apostle Paul tells us that if anyone destroys God's temple God will destroy him.

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (1 Cor. 3:16,17)

The "temple" Paul is referring to in these verses is the Church. (Some people think that Paul is talking about the human body as being a temple here as he does in chapter 6, but the context shows that he is talking about the Church. When he says, "You yourselves are God's temple," he is referring collectively to the Corinthian congregation. He is using the word temple in the same he did in Eph. 2:21.22) It's a very serious matter to destroy the Church, God's temple. If anyone destroys the Church, God will destroy him. What could have led Paul to give this terrible warning? How were the Corinthians destroying God's temple?

In the NIV bible, the translators gave a title to 1 Corinthians chapter 3: "On Divisions in the Church." But the problem of divisions actually goes clear back to chapter 1. It's the first thing Paul brings up in his letter after the introduction. In 1 Cor. 1:10-12 he says, "I appeal to you brothers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may no divisions among yuo and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, I follow Christ.' "

In chapter 3, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their divisions. He tells them that they are not spiritual but worldly ("fleshly" or "carnal") and brings up the same problem as in chapter 1 -- one says, "I follow Paul," another, "I follow Apollos." Because of this they are mere men (human beings, people). Obviously Paul thinks that they ought to be much more than mere men. So how are they falling short -- and how are they destroying God's temple (and putting themselves in danger of being destroyed by God)?

According to verse 3 there is jealousy and quarreling among the Corinthians. What's actually happening is that each one is trying to make himself better than the others. In order to make yourself better than others you have to make some kind of distinction, hence, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," etc. (Some even said, "I follow Christ" -- ch. 1, v 12 -- but they really weren't following Christ since their purpose was to distinguish themselves from other believers in Christ.) In chapter 3, verses 11 and 12 Paul compares what we do as Christians to building a building, the Church. The foundation of the building is Jesus Christ. What the Corinthians were doing was dismantling the building and using the building materials to build on other foundations than the one Paul had laid -- Christ. They were destroying God's temple in which his Spirit lives.

So how does this apply to us today? I'd say that today we almost take the present divided condition of the Church for granted. In New Testament times congregations were identified by the city where they lived ("the church of God in Corinth") or by where they met together ("the church that meets in Aquila and Priscilla's house"). Today we have multiple, multiple denominations and numerous independent churches, each with doctrinal statements ("we believe this" or "we believe that" or "we believe some other thing"). Many of them have sign boards in front of their buildings saying, "We follow John Jones" or, "We follow Joe Smith" or that they follow some other person. (Actually, they say, "Rev. John Jones, pastor," "Joe Smith, pastor," etc., but the effect is the same.) Many have their doctrinal beliefs built into their name (Main Street Free Will Baptist Church). In saying all of these things, I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to imply that every congregation should be identical. God gives different gifts to different congregations just as he gives different gifts to different individuals. But this should not be a reason for contention as it seems to be.

How then did we, the Church, get into our present condition? It is certainly because, to use Paul's words, we are still worldly. We want to make distinctions so that we can feel that our own congregation is better than the other congregations (and therefore, each of us ourselves is better than the members of other congregations). You have to positively resist this temptation. Divisions are brought about when people choose up sides over an issue. Satan loves disputes. Two people will disagree over an issue and he will encourage each of them to, instead of settling the issue between themselves, rather gather supporters to their sides. He will also encourage them to believe that nothing is more vitally important to the welfare of the church than the issue at hand. Pretty soon an entire congregation will have divided and taken sides. Each side will stop talking to the other side and only talk to each other about the other side. The obvious next step is for each side to declare its position to be the only correct one and to go its own way feeling superior and righteous.

What I've said is somewhat of an oversimplification, but, I think it demonstrates the root cause of divisions in the Church. The church I used to belong to divided over the issue of whether or not to use instrumental music during a worship service -- and apparently they thought it was not just an issue of personal taste, but of vital spiritual importance. Also, I think that Jerry mentioned that he knew of church that divided over what color to paint the pews or something like that. So if you have a dispute with someone, absolutely resist the temptation to gather an army of supporters to your side. Don't destroy God's temple.

The Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way. Come on Wednesday and pray for the Church.

Grace and peace,
Dean Svoboda

PS: You can also bring you own prayer requests and pray for them with your brothers and sisters in Christ (i.e., with the Church). Bring your requests to God with thanksgiving and receive his peace.

PPS: Pass this invitation along to others in your household or to someone who doesn't have an e-mail address in the LHF directory.