But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God,

— 1Timothy 3:15a

There is a way to behave in the house of God, and as part of a corporate body.  For many years now, Christians have been hurt and wounded in the church.  But the days of strife, of envy, of offense and gossip are coming to an end in the last remnant church.  Truth and love will be the new order of the day.  Brothers and sisters in Christ will now walk in truth with one another and have a concern for each other.  Prayer will take the place of gossip, encouragement instead of envy, and forgiveness rather than offense.  God’s plan and purpose will supersede any self-promoting, any self-advancement in the house of God.  As the anointing continues to increase and the glory continues to rise, there will be no place for the works of the flesh.  We will guard our hearts with all diligence, for out of them flow the life of God (Prov. 4:23).  It is time to deal with past hurts and offenses, not to continue to avoid them.  You must be aware of and allow the Holy Ghost to move in your daily life–-to keep you in a close relationship with God.  The Holy Ghost is quick to correct and to expose anything that is not the correct behavior for a house of God.  You will know how you “oughtest to behave thyself” in the house and as the house of God.

...which is the church of the living God,

— 1 Timothy 3:15b

The building that God is constructing is a habitation of God through His Spirit in you and in the Church.  The living God moved into your life the day you were born again.  He quickened you, made you--a spirit--alive that day, even though you were dead in trespasses and sins.  Now the living God wants to flow out of your spirit into your soul and into your physical body.  The life of God is available to the whole you, to your marriage, your money, your thought-life, your talk, your life, and into the local church.  You can even truly become a “life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45), with the ability to speak truth and life into the lives of others.  Even if your money seems dead, your marriage and family life are dying, or your physical body is wracked with sickness and pain, there is a living God in you Who desires to quicken and make alive every area of your life!  He can bring life to your physical body, supernatural life to your relationships, Holy-Ghost power into your finances-–He is in the business of giving life where life is needed.  Break free of old habits, come out of your old mind-set, repent of old offenses and unforgiveness-–allow the life-giving God, the revival Spirit, to hit every area of your life.  A living God desires to reside in a living house, in an alive body of believers.  You too can claim “I once was dead but now I am alive,” “...once in divorce, but now happily married,” “...once sick, but now I am healthy, wealthy, and alive”!

...the pillar and ground of the truth.

— 1 Timothy 3:15b

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  When He moved into you, He came to show you the way, to fill you with truth, and to give you life and life more abundantly!  As you learn more and more truth through the Word of God, the life of God will start to flow through your being.  The truth about God, the truth about you, the truth about all areas of life will make you free and keep you free.  God’s will is that all men be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth (1Tim. 2:4)!  Many people are saved, but few will take the time in the Word and with the Spirit to come into the knowledge of the truth.  If you are dead or bound in any area of your life, the problem is simply that you do not know the truth in that area.  When you know the truth, the life-giving God and His power will enter that area and set you free.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are required to “speak the truth in love, that we may grow up into Him in all things” (Eph. 4:15).  Notice:  not grow up to be like him, but grow up into Him!  We can become part of Him, part of the Body of Christ, part of the Church of the living God.  It is error that keeps you dead, that keeps you bound in your life!  Allow the truth–-through a sermon, through the Holy Ghost, or through another brother or sister-–to keep you alive and free.  It is said that the “truth hurts,” but it doesn’t; the truth helps!  It helps you to behave correctly in the house of God, to stay alive in the house of God, and to become a life-giving spirit!

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

— Ephesians 5:27

We are entering into a time of wrinkle-straightening, spot-removing, and blemish-eliminating.  The Church of the living God is a glorious Church because it is filled with the glory.  When the fire of revival burns bright in you and the living God is allowed to live in you, old hurts, old offenses, and past set-backs will become among that which has passed away.  You were created in the image and likeness of God, reborn as a new creation, and have become His workmanship.  Now you must keep the fire of God hot in you so that wrinkles and spots will not be part of your life.  As we grow older physically, wrinkles become part of our life, but as the years go by spiritually, there is no place for spiritual wrinkles.  Wrinkles of fatigue, wrinkles of being worn-out while serving God, are only a result of not tending to the life and fire in you.  You do not have to burn out over the years of your Christian life; you can grow hotter each year.  You must renew your inner man day by day (2 Cor. 4:16).  Do not expect to stay on fire just by attending Sunday church.  This life is a daily life; this life must be fed and nurtured daily.  Spots come through set-backs and discouragement.  They come to dull the life and fire you have.  But you can “shout them out”!  Shout the praises of God!  Shout the great things He has done.  Put on that music CD and worship the Lord.  You can choose to be wrinkle-free and without a spot–-a glorious church–-for Christ.