As true believers, we know and
believe that God dwells in heaven, but the word of God also makes us understand
that God is not only omnipotent (being able to do all things) and omniscient
(knowing all things), but also omnipresent (being everywhere at all times)… We
know that God is present in the earth and also with every true believer, and
the consciousness of His presence is vital for the believer to live a
victorious Christian life…
But then an important question
arises, where does God (being an invisible Spirit) actually dwell in the earth?
Does God live in a Church building and is He really present in every Church
building? And Do we actually leave His presence behind when we leave a Church
meeting?... These questions if properly answered will sure bring about a change
in one’s thinking and behavioural pattern as regards to one’s
God-consciousness…
The Church or the House of God or
other times called God’s Temple or Tabernacle sure has a slightly different
meaning and definition in the times of old when the people of God operated
under the God-given Mosaic Laws and after the birth, death, resurrection,
ascension of Christ and the release of the Holy Spirit upon as many as received
Christ as their Lord and Saviour, both Jews, Gentiles, and all people from all
tribes, tongues and nations…
We also know that all the events
of the Old Testament were pointers to Christ Jesus and the coming of the Holy
Spirit to enable the people of God to live for God and fulfill His will and
laws, not by their own ability but by the Spirit of God which will be in them…
God’s presence dwelt in temple built by human hands in the time of old because
only few men were qualified enough to stand before His presence or to carry His
Spirit inside them at the time, and not without an unbroken fellowship in
walking with God or with strict accordance to God’s prescribed rites for the
Priests or Kings…
In this present time, every true
believer does not only carry God’s presence in the form of the Holy Spirit in
them, but they are also empowered by the same Spirit to accomplish God’s
purpose. Therefore, the believer carries God’s presence everywhere he goes and
he does not just go to a Church meeting to meet with God and then lose the
consciousness of God’s presence after… It is then important to note that what
brings God’s power and manifestations in a place is not simply because it is a
Church building and that is where God lives, but because the believers are
gathered in God’s name, in other words, they gathered together to worship and
seek God; the place of gathering has little to do, but the purpose and the heart
states of the people matter most… Just as Jesus said; “For where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them…” Matt. 18:20…
The Spirit of God/Christ becomes present to speak and do wonders, not because
it is a Church building but because the gathering is in the name of God…
Today, every believer is God’s
temple, tabernacle or the house of God, because God both works in them and
through them by the Holy Spirit which they have received, notwithstanding their
location… Many fail to properly understand this fact, believing that the
attitude/life-style in a Church meeting should be holier than the life-style
outside it, with the believe that you have to put up your best behaviour when
in Church because God is in Church; not understanding that God lives in them and they carry His
presence wherever they go, and that what makes a place a Church is not the
building but the people, and that any disgraceful acts done outside the Church
building is as bad as being done inside the Church building…
Often times, many would not say
or do certain things inside the Church building, but would not mind saying or
doing them outside it, not knowing that they are the Church and God who is
omniscient and omnipresent is not only with them, but also in them in the form
of the Holy Spirit… Jesus promising said: “…He is the Holy Spirit, who leads
into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking
for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now
and later will be in you…” John 14:17
God’s Word says; “…Howbeit the
most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands…” Act 7:48 “…Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
1Cor. 3:16-17 “…What? Know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and
ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's...” 1Cor. 6:19-20
Today, God does not live in a
Church building, He lives in ‘YOU’; your body is the house/temple of God;
wherever you go, He goes with you, and whatever you do, He is watching you do;
and any abuse of your body whether inside or outside the Church building, is an
abuse on the house/Church of God… A Church building is only a place where we
gather together as God commanded us to do, being different people from
different races/tribes but united in Christ Jesus in One body called the
Church, each member being a part of it, to fellowship and to share, to worship
and seek God together, thereby allowing Him to teach, instruct, correct, heal
and deliver us through the power of His Holy Spirit… It remains simply a
building/house like any other until believers gather in it, and then it becomes
a ‘Church’… Also the word ‘Church’ in the New Testament often referred to a
body/group of believers, not to a building… However, God’s work in and with us
never ends at the end of a Church meeting, but He also trains, teaches,
instructs and speaks to us from our everyday-life events and actions while
carrying out our everyday activities…
Never lose your consciousness of
God’s presence because you’ve left the Church building, because in reality, the
building is only the handiwork of man in which God does not actually live, in
the real sense of it, rather it is the presence of God inside you which you
carry into the building that makes it a Church… Don’t just go to Church, but be
the Church; because the Church is not a place, the Church is a people, and you
are one of the people… Same reason an empty Church building cannot be regarded
as a Church in reality, but a meeting of two or more people to seek God is sure
a Church, regardless of the location; and same reason we now have the freedom
to pray to God or worship God anywhere we are and He may also choose to meet
our needs in any way and in any place; because He is no more in a fixed located
temple somewhere, but He lives not just close to us, but right inside of us…
As prophesied many years before
the coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit: “…And I will put my Spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and
do them…” Ezek. 36:27 …The coming of the
Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the dispensation of the Church, when God
not only dwells with man, but also lives in man… Therefore, if you are truly
Born Again, you have the Holy Spirit of God in you, and you do not have to look
too far for God, because He is not really far from you; He has made His home in
you, because you have by faith willingly accepted His Son Jesus and the
finished work He did on the cross… The Holy Spirit is God, just as Jesus Christ
is God, the three being one in unity, you cannot have one without the other; if
you have one, then you have all… You are God’s house!
Watch to ensure that whatever you
say or do with your body brings glory to God at all times and in all places,
because you are God’s temple and He lives in ‘YOU’!
Nice Day Friends!
#GodIsStillInCharge
#GodIsStillInCharge
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