What The Bible Says About The Church
What’s really important to you?
"Well", you say, "a lot of things are important to me; my home, my
family, my job, going fishing… " But what about church? "Aw, the kids go
to Sunday school, but I don’t need church. I can worship sitting by the
lake under a big tree while I’m fishing." Sounds typical, doesn’t it? A
lot of people feel just this way. So going to church is very low on the
list of priorities.
But going to church should be on the top of the list. Why? Well, the
apostle Paul reminds the church at Corinth by asking, "Do you not know
that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
(1 Corinthians 3:16). In other words, Christian people gathered for
worship compose a temple. God’s Holy Spirit dwells in that temple.
Yes, God is everywhere. You can turn to God and talk with God no matter
where you are. But there is a special sense in which God is in His
church.
You see, in Old Testament times, God had a special place to meet with
His people. That meeting place was the ancient temple in Jerusalem. That
temple was a picture of the church.
In New Testament times, after the coming of Christ, God no longer has a
single temple in Jerusalem where He meets with His people. God now has
churches scattered throughout the world. Every church, every group of
people meeting for worship, is a temple. These people are gathered to
meet with God, to talk with God and to listen to God. If you attend such
a church, you too can expect to meet with the living God. Do you see
why going to church is so important?