The Church Belongs To God

 1 Corinthians chapter 3:3-4/20-23

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere humans?  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours,  whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Sometimes we tend to forget who owns the Church of God. Believers go to church and then participate in a church service in a building that was set aside for special services, but the building is not the Body of Christ - We are the Body of Christ.

Who was it who sacrified Himself on the Cross so that our sins would be atoned for by His own Blood? He cared about us so much that He allowed Himself to be born and to be seen as a mere man, a humble servant for His Father in Heaven.  He loved us enough to suffer the shame of sin and death so that one day we would be able to live eternally with Him.

We enjoy listening to great sermons, we enjoy singing worship songs, and we love to spend time in our places of worship, but the Chruch of God is not confined to any building. The Church of God is everywhere. Wherever you can find two or more people that are worshiping or praying together, that is the Church of God

Your pastor does not own you - no pastor, evangelist, minister or speaker can claim to have saved you. It was the Holy Spirit that knocked upon the door of your heart and offered you the sweet gift of salvation that you accepted once you confessed the Lord Jesus christ as your personal Lord and Savior. The Church of God belongs to Jesus Christ!

No church or denomination can claim any believer. Your pastor, ministers and priests are the servants of the Lord, and the most important task they have is to give you to Jesus so that He can change your life. They should point you to the way of salvation and to the word of God. You have the responsibility to accept God's gift of salvation and to love Jesus Christ with all of your heart and mind. You are responsible to allow the Holy Spirit to change you and to read the Word of God. His love will help you to love yourself and to love the people in your life.

Do not worship the leaders of your church. You should love them and be kind to them because they have a difficult job as God's servants. They will keep giving until that have nothing left to give, so pray for them and help them if they need your assistance. The people of God need to grow spiritually by prayer and worship, but also we must trust the Lord to show us what we can do for Him and He will give us the confidence and the strength to stand for His standards and His word.