How great it is to be part of God’s family! The blessings from our Father are innumerable. We will never exhaust them. We will never comprehend them. How great it is to be a Christian!

Being a Christian is possible because God wants to be with us. God spoke the universe into existence because he wanted a people with which to fellowship and share his glory. He built a world perfect for his purposes which humans could inhabit. He said it was very good. Unfortunately, that perfect creation was devastated by sin. The creature, formed from dirt and elevated by God, rebelled against God the Creator.

Despite the sinfulness of mankind, God still sought to dwell among his people. He promised to send the Savior who would redeem the world (Genesis 3:15). In the time between the coming of Jesus the Redeeming Savior and mankind’s exile from the Garden Temple paradise, God enjoyed fellowship with his people in special places called Temples. When Jesus came, he was the presence of God. He was the new temple. He was the way in which mankind could be in God’s presence.

Today, we who are in Christ are the temple of the living God. This temple is called the church which is the family of God. The church, the New Covenant Temple of God, is therefore, the most precious thing on earth. It is where God dwells with his people. Since it is the most precious thing on earth it is to be valued and protected. The Bible says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The church must be protected by preaching truth and walking in the truth. The blessed unity of the church must be protected–Ephesians 4:1-4. If anyone destroys that unity, he is destroying the church. God will destroy that person. God will bless and receive those who fight for unity, truth, and pure service to God.