What kind of building is the church?

" (Eph. 5:27 NKJV) Paul calls the church "God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9 NKJV) and says Learn English
he laid the foundation to that building.He did so by preaching Christ and him crucified."We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:22-23 NKJV)If a man is going to be laid as a living stone into this spiritual building called the church which Jesus has built and continues to build by adding new stones onto it then he must be laid on top of this foundational rock that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world as the lamb of God to give his life as a sacrifice for all of mankind's sins in order to bring salvation to all who will but believe and obey the gospel message.What kind of building is the church?Paul describes it as "the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16 NKJV) and says that the Spirit of God dwells in it (1 Cor. 3:16) and says it is "holy" (1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV).In Ephesians he describes it thus, "the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:21-22 NKJV)Paul makes a statement in connection with the church being God's temple that ought to frighten all those who think they are free to tinker around with doctrine and practice in the church.He says, "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him."(1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV)He says it is holy.One has to remember who built the church.Jesus said, "I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18 NKJV)He did this by his sacrifice on the cross making the church possible and then through the medium of the Holy Spirit in the Spirit's teaching the word (the gospel) through the apostles and New Testament prophets.Later the work of building continued as it does today not by means of inspired men still living but of inspiration completed and placed in the book we call the New Testament.The Holy Spirit continues the work of preaching the gospel and building the church every time the word is rosetta stone online
read or accurately conveyed in teaching and preaching.The church was built by men and women and boys and girls of accountable age (old enough to be responsible) hearing, believing, and obeying from the heart the gospel of Christ.Every time such an individual obeyed the gospel another living stone was added to the building of the church and such building continues today and will until the end of time.Shortly after Pentecost the Bible says, "The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47 NKJV)Now note who was adding to the church?It was the Lord; the Lord built the church and continues to build it yet today in the manner just previously described.But I want to go back to something mentioned earlier that needs more emphasis.I speak specifically of the great danger inherit in defiling the church, the temple of God, of which Paul says that the one who does so God will destroy (1 Cor. 3:17).God (Jesus) built the first century New Testament church.Do we think we can do better than he did?Men are trying continually to change the church from what it was in the first century and modernize it.Do you really think that is wise?How do you know as a mere man that the changes that seem good and right to you are fine with God?Jesus is a perfect builder.Can you do better than he did without defiling the church?Remember the penalty for being mistaken is not a slap on the wrist but destruction.We might respond and say well I have read the New Testament and I know not all of the churches back then were what they ought to be.The church at Corinth had all kinds of problems and then we can read about the 7 churches of Asia (Rev. 2 and 3) of which most had one thing or another wrong with Learn English Online
them, etc.Yes, that is right but we also see in our reading they were rebuked for their error as well and told what to do to get their house in order.In other words we were given a blueprint for what the church ought to be.

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