Temples

  We are not only ambassadors who live in an embassy, we are temples of the Holy Spirit.  Paul emphasizes this teaching to the believers in Corinth.  He first uses it in his exhortation toward church unity.  The believers, the members of the church, corporately are one temple in Christ because God's Spirit lives in them as a body of believers (1 Corinthians 3:16).  Therefore anyone seeking to destroy the unity of the church, as some evidently were, is seeking to destroy the temple of the Holy Spirit.  This is not a good thing.
  Being united in Christ is an important matter to Paul.  He constantly warns against those who would try to separate or cause division in the body.  We are not meant to be solitary Christians, or, as some have said, Lone Ranger Christians.  We are meant to be part of the body of Christ. The body is composed of a diverse group, yet we are to be one in belief, one in the Spirit, as Jesus and the Father are one (see John 17).
  For Reflection:  Have I done anything to sow dissension in the church?  Gossip?  Criticism?
  Let us pray.  Lord Jesus, I know that you want us as Christians to be one just as you and the Father are one.  That's a tall order, but all things are possible for you. I repent of the times when I have caused or attempted to cause division.  I repent of being critical of others in the church.  I repent of spreading gossip or rumors.
  

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