Today's encouragement comes from 1 Corinthians 3:17a, where we read these words:
"If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. . . . "These Holy Spirit-inspired words of the Apostle Paul (above) are very strong. The same Greek word is used here for "defiles" and "destroy." The "temple of God," in the New Covenant age, is comprehended under two related heads: the true church corporately, and the particular Christ-redeemed members therein individually.
The same point holds: if someone seeks to destroy (or ruin, or mar) the church, he will be destroyed by God; and if someone seeks to harm one of the lambs in the church fold, he will be destroyed by God. This is a very dire warning; but it is also a sweet comfort for all of the sincere children of God (since the Lord treasures us so much so as to protect us to the uttermost).
[Puritan quote of the day: "Peace rises out of quietness and order; and God, who is 'the God of peace,' is the 'God of order' first, (1 Cor. 14:33).” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Soul's Conflict with Itself"]
